[Remford]

In a miracle of miracles, I found a way to build the van I want that includes the rear A/C unit (not just the stubbed-out plumbing for it) wirhout also giving up the high-end appearance and option content I want. It involved selecting some individual options in lieu of packages and costs a wee bit more, but the non-combinable packages previously has been giving me fits.

As I'm sure some others have experienced, your local Ford salesperson isn't necessarily going to be much help beyond muttering about what a pain Transit's near-infinite number of combinations can be. Truly adept fleet reps are as invaluable as they are rare. But I digress.

The only two compromises I can't resolve is how the rear A/C unit (behind the rear left wheel housing) precludes any vinyl factory floor coving and the load area protection package (which the Premium Van Group previously provided. One may order carpets, but that's hardly what I want to do in terms of either cost or functionality. The spray-in liner isn't compatible.

Has anyone else needed to solve for a van that came without any floor covering? If so, how and what did you use? In tempted to order a vinyl liner from parts and trim and install it myself, but experience makes me wary of how it will arrive and that the inevitable bends, folds and creases won't ever come out - even if I manage to trim and install it properly.

Thanks again in advance to all who reply with relevant input.

 

[jhtransit]

Our van has been a couple of miles from us since Thursday but hasn't made it to the dealer. I ordered rear air and went through what you are experiencing. Fortunately my salesman has saved a vinyl floor from a van that had it removed. Unfortunately not all the trim pieces are with it. Priced the side door step plastic at $99.00. The vinyl floor is $1300.00. Ordered the rear headliner that is a NO COST option but that missed the dealer order - $3000.00 for 2 pieces! Should see the van in a couple of days and will be able to answer your questions more accurately.

 

[bbird]

I installed a diamond plat floor, 1/8" thick, weights about 200#. should last about 50 years

 

[orton]

In a miracle of miracles, I found a way to build the van I want that includes the rear A/C unit (not just the stubbed-out plumbing for it) wirhout also giving up the high-end appearance and option content I want. It involved selecting some individual options in lieu of packages and costs a wee bit more, but the non-combinable packages previously has been giving me fits.

As I'm sure some others have experienced, your local Ford salesperson isn't necessarily going to be much help beyond muttering about what a pain Transit's near-infinite number of combinations can be. Truly adept fleet reps are as invaluable as they are rare. But I digress.

The only two compromises I can't resolve is how the rear A/C unit (behind the rear left wheel housing) precludes any vinyl factory floor coving and the load area protection package (which the Premium Van Group previously provided. One may order carpets, but that's hardly what I want to do in terms of either cost or functionality. The spray-in liner isn't compatible.

Has anyone else needed to solve for a van that came without any floor covering? If so, how and what did you use? In tempted to order a vinyl liner from parts and trim and install it myself, but experience makes me wary of how it will arrive and that the inevitable bends, folds and creases won't ever come out - even if I manage to trim and install it properly.

Thanks again in advance to all who reply with relevant input.

Where are you located? Have vinyl floor for a 148" not extended. New. Removed for conversion floor. Do not want to ship. Can deliver in SF area.

 

[Remford]

Where are you located? Have vinyl floor for a 148" not extended. New. Removed for conversion floor. Do not want to ship. Can deliver in SF area.

Wow! Thanks!

I'm in TX, but have a good friend in the bay area who I am sure would pick up the liner and forward it.

Stand by for PM shortly.

 

[Remford]

I installed a diamond plat floor, 1/8" thick, weights about 200#. should last about 50 years

Sounds like it. Not sure I'd want to carry all that extra weight around 24/7 though. And I think vinyl is a better choice for my application.

 

[Remford]

Our van has been a couple of miles from us since Thursday but hasn't made it to the dealer. I ordered rear air and went through what you are experiencing. Fortunately my salesman has saved a vinyl floor from a van that had it removed. Unfortunately not all the trim pieces are with it. Priced the side door step plastic at $99.00. The vinyl floor is $1300.00. Ordered the rear headliner that is a NO COST option but that missed the dealer order - $3000.00 for 2 pieces! Should see the van in a couple of days and will be able to answer your questions more accurately.

What a bite in the ass. Sorry to hear it.

I'm sure I've managed to complicate things as often as I've simplified it, but I never order a vehicle without thoroughly studying a current order guide first. No dealer staff can know everything their customers want. But they CAN know the product they sell. I appreciate how convoluted Transit orders can be, but dealers enjoy legally-mandated territorial monopolies upon the products they sell. If dealers are to continue to enjoy being delivered captive audiences, they **** well ought to know more about a product than those who require their involvement to buy it. Few things piss me off more.

$3,000 sounds like full SRP for the parts, which is preposterous for the dealer to be charging you when it COULD HAVE had them included for free. I'd press like **** to at least pay no more than their cost - which shouldn't run you more than $2K. If they won't move on price, give the good folks at the Autonation Ford White Bear Lake parts department. Best prices and services I've found anywhere. Chances are your dealer doesn't pay a nickel more for its parts stock than these folks.

If you don't mind, since you actually have one of these rare specimens, would you please answer a few specific questions about it to help me prepare for mine?

Does the rear A/C cause ALL floor covering to be removed throughout the van - including the driver and passenger area? (I presume you'll need to manually trim the cover they've given you).

Does the van include any kind of plenum and ducting to carry air from the rear unit along the perimeter of the roofline as in the attached parts diagram? The only van like it that I've located nearby has ONLY the AC unit behind the rear wheel which would merely dump the output air by the back doors. If the ducting is included in a dunnage box, it wasn't apparent.

I'm trying to understand if I'd need buy the ducting components separately and if, given the amount of exclusion and retrofitting of other components that seems to result from ordering the auxiliary unit, perhaps just ordering the prep package and installing an aftermarket unit wouldn't be better.

Best of luck, and thanks in advance for any additional help you may be able to offer. I can't believe Ford documents this stuff so poorly.

 

[bbird]

Sounds like it. Not sure I'd want to carry all that extra weight around 24/7 though. And I think vinyl is a better choice for my application.

I have the E.B.200# is nothing, had a 1,000# last week and my MPG was the same loaded and empty

 

[jhtransit]

I appreciate how convoluted Transit orders can be.

And that's part of the problem with rear ac in the CV. The description is not thorough - the vinyl floor in the rear is deleted but are the rear wheel well covers and the plastic thresholds at the side and rear? When I priced the headliner this week I also checked for the plastic parts to go from the ac unit to the ceiling. They don't show under CV so am looking for a vin for a LR PV so I can look up the vertical and horizontal distribution. Don't need much for my dogs and will settle for nothing. Would have ordered a PV like my Sprinter but the tow capacity is too low and I'm sick of storing 200# seats in my living room. The idea of having rear ac within the back rather than having it sitting on the roof is the clincher. I think the solution may have been to order the rear ac piping and added one of the units that have been talked about here. That way the vinyl floor and accessories would have been there and with a headliner and wall panels would have been finished enough for me.

Van is close and should be at my dealer any day. I'll know more when I see it.

 

[EddieZ]

Don't be too set on the OEM rear vinyl floor covering in a cargo van. Yes, better than nothing. But, it's not level, and is annoying to walk or kneel on. It's bonded to a 1/2 inch fiber mat that has been pre-compressed to the shape of the corrugated floor. The more compressed fiber areas are about 1/8 inch thick (so, 3/8 inch of compression, to fit the 3/8 inch corrugations). But, the material is not uniform, so the compression-to-shape, and the feel underfoot, is not uniform.

I laugh at that $1300 price, noted above, and on other threads. If I had a choice of what floor to get for $1300, it would be one of the HDPE floors made for tradesmen. Kinda sad to think that the $1300 mat that came in my cargo van is resting in a landfill somewhere. OK, I know what you're ALL thinking! Crazy. But, it was taking up space, and I had no real prospects for selling it. And, even if I did, an informed buyer would not pay more than $xxx for it -- far less than the mythical $1300. ($xxx so I don't mess up somebody's deal in progress, who actually did find a nearby buyer.) I thought I might possibly use the vinyl, someday, and could store it easier. Had tried to skin off the vinyl from the fiber, but, found that was not practical.

 

[jhtransit]

Van is here. Won't take delivery until the first as rebates might go up. Anyhow ..... Vinyl rear floor is missing as expected. Wheel well covers missing. Side door sill plastic is just the flat bottom - no vertical leg. Rear plastic piece is missing. Salesman is giving me vinyl floor from another vehicle, the wheel well covers and the flat rear piece. Went to parts today and found side door plastic for $140-(I have the fasteners from the existing flat piece) and screws, nuts and covers for 10 bucks a hole - 5 holes for the rear piece. So not bad. In addition there are complete black wall panels. The NO COST headliner is not there (thanks to the dealer missing it on the last go-round and me not catching it) but I think I can reasonably find something to cover after I insulate.

I needed rear air and didn't want something on the roof like my Sprinter so the necessary compromises are acceptable. And it fits in my garage! And I don't have to worry about overhead limbs when I'm field training with my dogs.

One thing that I'll have to get used to is getting into the driver's seat. It's much easier than the Sprinter but the first time in I smacked my surgically repaired right knee on the shifter housing.

 

[Remford]

Congratulations!

Thanks for posting all the first-hand info about the implications of the rear A/C unit.

I presume you'll need to trim the vinyl loadspace cover your dealer found for you. When you do, please let us know how complicated a proposition it turns out to be and whether or not you're able both to trim it and have it look decent upon completion.

You mention "complete black wall panels". Are these part of the Load Area Protection Package, or do you think they're what Ford substitutes at the plant for vans with Front and Rear A/C systems - presuming I haven't misunderstood and they're not something different altogether.

In revisiting the Order Guide, I saw Option 21H described as "Complete Headliner" (which I always presumed to mean Bob Hope). The description indicates this to be available ONLY for low-roof vans. Is your van a low roof?

Lastly, did the van include any of the roofline perimeter ducting for the Rear A/C unit, or will you also need to source those parts independently if you decide upon them rather than something you retrofit independently?

Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience. By the way, which engine did you choose?

Many thanks again.