[ShadeTreeMech]

Thanks for the preview information. It came in handy already. I took delivery of a custom order 2015 Transit 250 Cargo van yesterday from Santa Fe Ford.

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Click to enlarge pictures.

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[ShadeTreeMech]

faux windows ;-]

Knot Yett,

I've only had it for a couple of months and only have 500 miles on the odometer. Mostly highway miles except for some cross town traffic this morning. I can tell I'm sitting on top of the front wheels and not behind them like in a car or truck. I can also "feel" the road, but it's not a rough ride. A lot depends on perception. Just a guess, but the wagon version will seem quieter and smoother than a similar cargo body.

Load out will vary. Mostly I got the 250 for towing a boat and hauling a motorcycle around. Maybe a larger trailer sometime down the road. It's better to have and not need it, ... I'm working one getting some insulation in now.

Darrell

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Click to enlarge.




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[ShadeTreeMech]

Fresh air ...

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Looking for the pix!

Interesting: What can happen when coping and pasting text.

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Nice, I'm in St. Aug. Not too far away.

Interesting: My second break in run was out to St. Auggie and then down to Flagler.

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I have a 2011 F-150 with a shell that rides "hard"

Interesting: I've got a 2010 F150 Screw cab with an ARE topper. It's got the best ride of any vehicle I've had. Can't bring myself to sell it because I'm starting to think that might of been the end of Ford's "golden age".

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[ShadeTreeMech]

the devil in the details

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It's all a 3" setup to fit in the available spaces without cutting holes in the body. The exterior access on the passenger side is too close to that stubby exhaust pipe outlet (might be ok for a shore power line). The fans are for venting fuel (and other) vapors on boats. The fans are noisy. Stepping them down to 9 volts helps some. I've also got some 12 volt PC fans that are quiet, but don't move as much air. There are two fans so I can check getting air out or air in for different situations. Short term I'm using the Y and fan vents from the louver kit to direct the flow and close out one or both sides. When I get it figured out I'll build a long box in between the last roof brace and the channel above the rear doors to house it all and try to silence it some more. I'd like to build "box" to function as a duct so I can try to direct some air through all those hollow spaces behind the panels and between the roof braces. That's to dry the areas out as much as to cool the van. Just a temp setup for now to see what works how and when ...

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085UZKIO
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O0DE9E
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007VRE4IO
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BPUTL4
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LXTCQHM
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085UZLPG
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GGONYM

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Needed to add the mud flaps due to the exit location and I was tempted not to go with the "blue oval".

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[ame]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002NIJQC[/ame]

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002NIJPI[/ame]

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[ShadeTreeMech]

by removing a cover

on your van the pillar is open to the underbody structure just by removing a cover

No cutting and mostly a clean run except for some of the OEM wiring. View from underneath ...

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[ShadeTreeMech]

All that unused space ...

Maybe that Attwood fan could be mounted outside

All that unused space just begging for a purpose ... Mounting outside was why I got the Duct Mounting Plate. For stealth, the PC fan running inside has appeal.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BPUTL4

 

[ShadeTreeMech]

Re: Gainesburger

"beach pic out the door looks like Matanzas"

Nail on the head. How about this one taken this morning ...

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"wait to order from Santa Fe or Ocala Ford"

I ordered through the salesman that handled the commercial sales. I think he left and took a management job at White Ford in Chiefland.

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[ShadeTreeMech]

Ponce Inlet???

Still there as of this morning. Love the coast, but I try to time it before too many people are out ...

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"Had 2 huge sun roofs"

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I put a 20" hatch in the old Dodge van. Caught trout and flounder out of the retention pond next to the bridge over to Crescent Beach - from on the roof - over the top of that 6 foot chain link fence. I want a hatch behind the driver's seat in the transit and a roof rack big enough to put a small tent on. I think I'm going to have to take up welding first. ;-]

 

[ShadeTreeMech]

May have seen that blue Dodge 40 years ago?

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Three decades ago for the Mopar. Four decades ago it would have been a Germain air cooled outfit.

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Time passes by ...

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[ShadeTreeMech]

Americans still don't know

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I'll admit to having cravings for one of those 4WD diesel Tacomas from over there. This year it was time for a change and I was ready for a van. Saw the 6 speed like I had in the '10 F150, that they had gotten away from the old truck frame and I took a chance on the 3.5 EB. I can work through the Mickey Mouse issues on ol' "Aqualung". It makes a dandy steel tent as it is. Now ... if I only had that roof hatch and second floor porch, I wouldn't have to get sand on my feet when I want to take a quick roadside photo shoot.

~dwb~

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PS - We probably have crossed paths somewhere over the last 40 years.

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[ShadeTreeMech]

they closed the beach South to Matanzas Inlet

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Tomorrow got here Yesterday and is Gone Forever, but not for good.

"The only thing constant in life is change."​

That's why we need homes we can wear on our backs, so we can keep moving on.​

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Baliker Gallery​

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"The Barracuda" is a '67 Boston Whaler Nauset ...

"According to Whaler's records, serial number 36986 was built in our old Rockland, MA factory as a 16'7" Bare Hull model and was originally shipped out on 7/21/67. Sorry, no details on the original dealer back then. The Bare Hull information from a 60's brochure states that the Bare hull weighed about 500lbs, while yours had 545lbs listed as the hull weight in our records."

Just a coincidence, but it was made the same year that white VW bus was.

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¿Quién sabe? Maybe in a few decades these transits will be collectors items.​

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[ShadeTreeMech]

ventilating

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Rick,

There is a little more info over on the conversions post ... custom interior ...

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1. did you have to cut any holes in the pillars
2. does the duct work exit on top of the doors or though the rectangular holes on the side
3. airflow will primarily be intake or exhaust

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1. No cutting, but there was a little drilling to mount the "blastgates".
2. I ran the 3" flex vent out at the top of the pillar due to the "blower box" construction.
3. The current setup will do either or both from either side.

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As I mentioned in the other post, It might do more good as a passive airflow portal. I had a fan blowing in from the slider door while I was under mounting the blastgate and was surprised at how much air was getting channeled out through the pillar. I looked at three different sources for the three inch flex vent: auto heaters, wood shop dust collection systems and RV "sanitary lines". Based on 20/20 hindsight, I'd probably use the 3" RV flex tube (a little stronger and no wire support).

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I "sealed" the side near the exhaust and drive with both blastgates closed. There is fiberglass pool screen mounted between the lip of the gate and the flex hose. It currently looks like this ...

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Enjoy the journey & the ride,
Darrell

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