Results from 2700 miles trip

16251 Views 32 Replies 15 Participants Last post by jmastuff, Mar 20, 2015

Bigt420

Discussion Starter · Oct 10, 2014

My wife and I just got back from an 8 day road trip in our New Transit. I have the 3500 extended high roof with the diesel motor.

All I have done to the van is add an aftermarket radio with nav. Our trip was from Mississippi through Alabama into Tennessee. Then onto Kentucky back to Pigeon Forge Tennessee then over to Branson Missouri via a Kentucky Illinois route. Then back into Arkansas through Louisiana and back home to Mississippi..

We traveled mountains, hills, hollers, flats, 1 lanes, 2 lanes, 4, lanes +, 75 to 80 max mph down to 30 and 40. Our average mpg for the whole trip was 20.4. Which includes 9 hours idle time.

The van performed exceptionally well, it now has a little over 2900 miles, no rattles or squeaks, exceptionally quite for the diesel motor and the lack of wall liners and insulation at this point. Our first day in Kentucky was at 90 degree +_ temps and the air was sufficient.

The factory seats are very comfortable and the van is very nice to enter and exit at all door locations. My wife even comments that she can get in and out of the van easier than my Chevy 3500 HD dually pickup. Over all I feel this van is an excellent investment for my use.

My only complaint is the high roof is top heavy and it catches wind, especially in the open areas and behind 18 wheelers in the wind wash. My van has single rear wheels and I believe if it had dual rear wheels it would solve this problem.

Does anyone know if you can put dual wheels on a van that came from the factory with single rear wheels? also, would sway bars help and does anyone know where to find them?

Overall I would give the van a 9 out of 10.

Reactions: 1

1 - 20 of 33 Posts

Brad

· #2 · Oct 10, 2014

Sounds like an awesome trip! Thanx for the feedback!

orton

· #3 · Oct 10, 2014

Apparently the SRW long wheelbase passenger van comes with a rear sway bar. That might be a possibility. None of the other SRW vehicles have a sway bar. I believe the DRW vehicles have a sway bar but probably a different one.

Could also call Roadmaster to see when they will have a rear sway bar kit.

bbird

· #4 · Oct 10, 2014

what is your gearing

ted

· #5 · Oct 11, 2014

Calling roadmaster is probably one of the better things to do.

Chance

· #6 · Oct 11, 2014

Bigt420 said:
.......cut.......

Does anyone know if you can put dual wheels on a van that came from the factory with single rear wheels? also, would sway bars help and does anyone know where to find them?

Not to factory specs. The dual rear wheel vans are very different, including heavier duty axle, spring centers that are closer and therefore mounted at different location, and the body's wheel wells are wider to accommodate the inner wheels being much closer together.

Anything can be done with enough money but this sounds cost prohibitive. It would be cheaper, faster, and better to sell your van and buy another.

Regarding adding a sway bar there is no guarantee it will make your van handle better in crosswinds. It's possible it could make it worse. When the van leans a sway bar loads the outer rear tire to a greater degree which may make it better or worse. I honestly don't know because I don't know what causes your van to handle poorly. My guess is that if Ford thought it was helpful they would have included it to improve handling and therefore safety.

PeterR

· #7 · Oct 11, 2014 (Edited)

Bigt420 said:
My wife and I just got back from an 8 day road trip in our New Transit. I have the 3500 extended high roof with the diesel motor.

[snip]

My only complaint is the high roof is top heavy and it catches wind, especially in the open areas and behind 18 wheelers in the wind wash.

[snip]

Overall I would give the van a 9 out of 10.

Thanks for the detailed write up, very helpful.

In my opinion, your van will behave much differently when you complete the interior work you have mentioned in other threads, and have heavy material loaded on the floor. This will not only increase the van's gross weight, but it will also lower your center of gravity to be much closer to the ground.

Right now, with the high roof van having a high center of wind resistance (looking at the side of the van), and with the unloaded van's center of gravity/weight being the highest it is ever going to be (and higher than your van's engineered design for loaded use), you are asking a lot for this "sail" NOT to react to lateral wind loads. There is no "sailboat keel" to keep the thing grounded, in a sense.

When you load the van with its designed weight, placed closer to the floor, I think you will find that side winds have much less of an impact than during your recent trip.

To test this out, take whatever heavy material you want to use temporarily, and load up the van with 1-2,000 pounds of material held low to the floor. I think you will find quite a change.

All the Econoline vans I have owned required loading up (if empty of regular loads) to act right, including temporary sand in the rear to help with traction during the winter snows. It made a big difference . . .

Good luck, and thanks again for the review.

Peter

PS -- Did you ever order the interior paneling you mentioned?

http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/interior/3450-long-walls.html#post44610

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Reactions: 2

hammerdown

· #8 · Oct 11, 2014

What gear ratio are you running? Was your idling time accumulative over the entire trip?

Lefty724

· #9 · Oct 11, 2014

We have the same van except mine has the DRW. Your description is 100% spot on with my findings and driving experience.

I still get a lot of cross wind even though I have the DRW. The only reason I went dually was that it felt a little more stable on turns (on/off ramps, etc...) and I knew I was goingto carry a lot of weight in the back (construction).

nyc sprinters

· #10 · Oct 11, 2014

Wider tires will help with wind thats what i did to my SPRINTER and the wind problem was gone!!!

greg-92083

· #11 · Oct 12, 2014

Air Tabs

I have seen on the EO forum posts for the positive aspects of Air Tabs, below is one thread:

<http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/general-expediter-forum/36770-airtabs-hood-roof-line.html>

Air Tabs page.

Airtab: Aerodynamic fuel savers for truck, tractor, trailer, bus, RV

Users report that Air Tabs make high wind/18-wheelers-passing behavior much better and easier. Users report that Air Tabs keep the rear of their vehicles cleaner, and improve mileage on the order of 1-2 mpg.

At a quoted price of $3.50 each in groups of four, they are glued onto the rear of vehicles. Surface preparation -- ie removing any coatings other than original paint is a good idea. Users report one should carry a few extra's since one never knows when in commercial service some may be torn off.

Greg Hayden

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Chance

· #12 · Oct 12, 2014

PeterR said:
......cut......

Right now, with the high roof van having a high center of wind resistance (looking at the side of the van), and with the unloaded van's center of gravity/weight being the highest it is ever going to be (and higher than your van's engineered design for loaded use), you are asking a lot for this "sail" NOT to react to lateral wind loads. There is no "sailboat keel" to keep the thing grounded, in a sense.

......cut.......

An empty van typically has a lower center of gravity than a loaded van. The added load's CG is higher than the empty van's, so the combined is almost always higher than the empty van. What is different about this application?

Tall vans have a higher CG but their load can also be much higher. As an example, when converted for RV items added like roof AC and upper cabinets are that much higher. Even lower cabinets sit above the empty van's CG.

Chance

· #13 · Oct 12, 2014

What concerns me most about the extended Transit is the long rear overhang. The center of pressure to crosswinds is moved back quite a bit, making it much further back relative to wheelbase than Sprinters or just about any other van. A strong crosswind will therefore place more side load on rear tires. And if the tire's slip angle is different between front and rear due to this lateral loading then the van will feel like it's steering itself away from a straight line.

I appreciate the above reports because it confirms my fear. I've driven many Class C motorhomes with long rear overhangs that drove poorly in crosswinds, and I don't want the same from a Class B camper van.

PeterR

· #14 · Oct 12, 2014

You raise good points, Chance. I guess I was picturing not only the high roof van's "sail" -- but also a heavy temporary load to be added close to the floor (far below the center of lateral wind force from the fixed-shape sail). It is hard to generalize without knowing more about the actual van and its load distribution.

In any event, it would be worthwhile (and low cost) for Bigt420 to add a temporary heavy load close to the floor, per my suggestion, and see what effect it would have if any. [sand/gravel/concrete blocks/etc. which could be used later for something else] Would not the distance of this increased load well below the fixed center of lateral wind force tend to dampen the force of the cross-winds centered higher up?

Since the exact physics of this are beyond my abilities, I draw my brakes . . .

star gazer

· #15 · Oct 12, 2014

Tag axle option next??

Bigt420

Discussion Starter · #16 · Oct 13, 2014

nyc sprinters said:
Wider tires will help with wind thats what i did to my SPRINTER and the wind problem was gone!!!

Great Idea, since I would only need 4 that might be a practical way to fix this.

Bigt420

Discussion Starter · #17 · Oct 13, 2014

bbird said:
what is your gearing

3.31

Bigt420

Discussion Starter · #18 · Oct 13, 2014

PeterR said:
Thanks for the detailed write up, very helpful.

In my opinion, your van will behave much differently when you complete the interior work you have mentioned in other threads, and have heavy material loaded on the floor. This will not only increase the van's gross weight, but it will also lower your center of gravity to be much closer to the ground.

Right now, with the high roof van having a high center of wind resistance (looking at the side of the van), and with the unloaded van's center of gravity/weight being the highest it is ever going to be (and higher than your van's engineered design for loaded use), you are asking a lot for this "sail" NOT to react to lateral wind loads. There is no "sailboat keel" to keep the thing grounded, in a sense.

When you load the van with its designed weight, placed closer to the floor, I think you will find that side winds have much less of an impact than during your recent trip.

To test this out, take whatever heavy material you want to use temporarily, and load up the van with 1-2,000 pounds of material held low to the floor. I think you will find quite a change.

All the Econoline vans I have owned required loading up (if empty of regular loads) to act right, including temporary sand in the rear to help with traction during the winter snows. It made a big difference . . .

Good luck, and thanks again for the review.

Peter

PS -- Did you ever order the interior paneling you mentioned?

http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/interior/3450-long-walls.html#post44610[/QUOTE

I have not ordered a wall kit yet. I like one I have found from a company called Fleet legends or something like that, shipping and all is around 3000 grand. I found several sites that put in a fully carpeted wall and ceiling liner in the econolines but have not made the kit for the Transit yet. Cost was a lot less and would suit my tastes better. Still waiting at this point. I installed my etrack for now.

My van does not have a trailer hitch and I may have someone weld a piece of railroad rail underneath to mount the hitch and add weight. This is an older way of adding weight to a pickup for stability and may fix the problems I have as well. thanks for your insight!

Bigt420

Discussion Starter · #19 · Oct 13, 2014

Bigt420 said:
PeterR said:

Thanks for the detailed write up, very helpful.

In my opinion, your van will behave much differently when you complete the interior work you have mentioned in other threads, and have heavy material loaded on the floor. This will not only increase the van's gross weight, but it will also lower your center of gravity to be much closer to the ground.

Right now, with the high roof van having a high center of wind resistance (looking at the side of the van), and with the unloaded van's center of gravity/weight being the highest it is ever going to be (and higher than your van's engineered design for loaded use), you are asking a lot for this "sail" NOT to react to lateral wind loads. There is no "sailboat keel" to keep the thing grounded, in a sense.

When you load the van with its designed weight, placed closer to the floor, I think you will find that side winds have much less of an impact than during your recent trip.

To test this out, take whatever heavy material you want to use temporarily, and load up the van with 1-2,000 pounds of material held low to the floor. I think you will find quite a change.

All the Econoline vans I have owned required loading up (if empty of regular loads) to act right, including temporary sand in the rear to help with traction during the winter snows. It made a big difference . . .

Good luck, and thanks again for the review.

Peter

PS -- Did you ever order the interior paneling you mentioned?

http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/interior/3450-long-walls.html#post44610[/QUOTE

I have not ordered a wall kit yet. I like one I have found from a company called Fleet legends or something like that, shipping and all is around 3000 grand. I found several sites that put in a fully carpeted wall and ceiling liner in the econolines but have not made the kit for the Transit yet. Cost was a lot less and would suit my tastes better. Still waiting at this point. I installed my etrack for now.

My van does not have a trailer hitch and I may have someone weld a piece of railroad rail underneath to mount the hitch and add weight. This is an older way of adding weight to a pickup for stability and may fix the problems I have as well. thanks for your insight!

Click to expand...

3 grand!

Bigt420

Discussion Starter · #20 · Oct 13, 2014

hammerdown said:
What gear ratio are you running? Was your idling time accumulative over the entire trip?

3.31 and yes the idel time was for the whole trip

1 - 20 of 33 Posts

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