Be sure to view the follow-up video in a year or two when they show where the sheet-metal has torn apart at the hinges. Oh, wait.. no... that won't be shown. But it will happen. Pull-ups are nothing compared to the continued shaking of everything hanging on there over thousands of miles...

 

I have 5 years and countless hard off road miles on our Aluminess door racks, with absolutely zero issues.
I have a spare wheel, full size shovel and a trasheroo clone on the driver side and a NATO Jerry can, high lift jack, 4 maxtracks and a ladder on the passenger side. Both doors have lots of stuff strapped to the inside of them.

 

I do not recall reading any posts on this forum about door hinges or d-pillar where they are mounted failing. A quick look at Google does not turn up anything either. If anyone can point to any posts or personal experience with this issue please chime in.

There have been posts about the following issues reported on the forum about cracking of the door itself.

• A spare tire carrier that was mounted to the door skin ... that did not work out well and was taken of the market (Trail Tested? kinda ironic branding)
• Doors cracking from repeated closing (slamming) seemingly common on ambulances. Don't recall location.
• Aluminess rack causing cracking of the door "frame" where mounted to the latch area. There is a post on this.
• Ford increased the length of the press formed depression in that area at some point in 2020ish?) I'd guess that was in response to the ambulance issue, not the #vanlife problem.

There have been a couple? of reports of problems where the front door hinges mount. IIRC resulting from over extension due to the door getting hit by a gust of wind to folks that just fling the door open. Don't recall the exact failure mode. Also a few reports of few door handles breaking. And of course there is the fuel filler door.

The van in the video is a Sprinter. No clue how door/frame/hinge/#vanlife parts on that vehicle compare to the Transit.

 

Do any of you think if it was just the pullup bar (with nothing else on the doors) that the hinges could handle pullups fine for a 210 lb person?

I ask as this was an ingenious way to create a simple pullup bar system.
(I would love to do this on my Transit)

Also, have you heard of Aftermarket stronger Transit Rear Door hinges?

Actually, just found this link:
Have any of you tried these?

180˚ Degree Rear Door Hinge

Upgrade your Sprinter or Transit with heavy-duty 180° door hinges for stronger, more secure rear doors—essential for mounting storage boxes or tire carriers.

avataroffroad.com

Thank you

 

Do any of you think if it was just the pullup bar (with nothing else on the doors) that the hinges could handle pullups fine for a 210 lb person?

I ask as this was an ingenious way to create a simple pullup bar system.
(I would love to do this on my Transit)

Also, have you heard of Aftermarket stronger Transit Rear Door hinges?

Actually, just found this link:
Have any of you tried these?

180˚ Degree Rear Door Hinge

Upgrade your Sprinter or Transit with heavy-duty 180° door hinges for stronger, more secure rear doors—essential for mounting storage boxes or tire carriers.

avataroffroad.com

Thank you View attachment 231299

Just seems like a bad idea. That picture makes me cringe.

There are extendable pullup bars that work well, but they require a narrow residential style door.

Amazon.com : extendable pullup bar wide

This is the widest one on Amazon and it only goes to 53".

Amazon.com : IRONSURGE Pull Up Bar for Hallway or Doorway 6-piece Set with Two Attachable Resistance Bands/Handles, Training Manuals, No Screws Chin Up Bar, Max 680lbs, Width options: 27-37", 37-47"; 46-53" : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : IRONSURGE Pull Up Bar for Hallway or Doorway 6-piece Set with Two Attachable Resistance Bands/Handles, Training Manuals, No Screws Chin Up Bar, Max 680lbs, Width options: 27-37", 37-47"; 46-53" : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

The narrowest part on the rear steel door hoop is 58". It's possible it could be used on one of the front door frames, though, if you wanted to try that.

The highest part of the front door frame that is flat on both sides is about 38" across.

 

Couple of them:

https://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/threads/rear-door-cracking.59585/

#22

Same exact location for both of these cases from the pictures.

 

Couple of them:

Yup that's the issue that was apparently in earlier model years and common on ambulances use. If you scroll down that thread to post #70 you will see the photo that shows the revsison to the stamping that was made. I suppose someone could sift through to see if that change did have the desired impact. Off the top of my (aging) head I don't recall any posts about that problem post revision, but I was not looking for that corrolation either, so ...

One point that everybody is missing is that its a Sprinter in the video.

I did. ⬇

The van in the video is a Sprinter. No clue how door/frame/hinge/#vanlife parts on that vehicle compare to the Transit.

For example, 200lb acting on the ~6" thickness of the door, equates to 100lb.ft of bending moment. Whereas 200lb on say 3ft of open door, equates to 600lb.ft of bending moment.

Well the load is spread to both doors though ... so half that?
(and another 40% less than that for some skinny guys)

Also, have you heard of Aftermarket stronger Transit Rear Door hinges?

Are you aware of any reported failures of the Transit hinge? I also would wonder if the hinge would be the failure point. I could see where the area on the door/ door frame sheet metal around the threading (weld nut?) for the bolts that attaches the hinge, might fail before the hinge does. Simlar the the cracking of the rear door on the latch side noted above or the front door hinge or is it the hinge restraint issue (CRS).

I'm glad to hear it's not a, "given," that they'll fail. I'm curious if there are differences between the reported failures versus non-failures - how they're made or mounted?

Where are these failures of door hinges on Transit that you are mentioning. Is this something you see in #vanlife areas of the country that you frequent? I don't have the advantage of seeing this stuff in the wild. I can't recall any posts on hinge failures or where they mount on the forum. "Just" the problems on latch side of the door.

Could this be a case of tribal internet misinformation (I hear that's a big problem these days) Perhaps misattribution pf the door cracking issue or is/was a MB Sprinter issue that's worked its way over to the Ford Sprinter Van lore. No doubt I'd I am missing any reporting on Instagram /Facebook/Reddit/TicToc Someone else is gunna have to do that research.


Funny thing is I have no interest in hanging crap off the back of an already too huge vehicle
(actually any vehicle) Sorry if I sound cranky ... it's tough being a Mets fan. 😭

 

...
Where are these failures of door hinges on Transit that you are mentioning. Is this something you see in #vanlife areas of the country that you frequent? I don't have the advantage of seeing this stuff in the wild. I can't recall any posts on hinge failures or where they mount on the forum. "Just" the problems on latch side of the door.
...

Def thinking of the ones @OldChubbyKnuckle linked. Seems like there were other examples of them cracking at the edge where the hinge mounts to the door... but I could easily be mixing them up.

Generally, I'm leery of the sheet-metal on the Transit... it's just not the beefiest of stuff. But I suppose that's why the reported problems are in the middle of the doors, not at the hinges - where they're into the boron? 🤷‍♀️