Ford Transit Conversion
Submitted: Sunday, Jan 27, 2019 at 18:24
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Sue N David C
Hi.
My husband and I are looking to covert a van into a camper for travelling. We are after some advice on whether Ford is the way to go or is there better options out there.
Many Thanks
Sue and David
Reply By: Robin Miller - Monday, Jan 28, 2019 at 11:19
Monday, Jan 28, 2019 at 11:19
So many options Sue.
We are doing less real 4wding these days and i have been looking into options.
You need to narrow down on some of specs important to you.
For us we still need some 4wd or at least awd capability (this rules out transit vans).
A second must have for us is to park in many normal car
parking areas This means height no more than 2.4m max.
2.4m means you can get away with mid height VW transporter without a pop up roof which saves a lot on self conversions.
Things like already converted Transporters cost $100,000+ if you get them with all the bits like diff lock etc.
Another thing we wanted was an east west bed and also rotating front seats , these items make a huge difference to internal space
however most small vans can't have this as they are 2 narrow.
AnswerID:
623470
Reply By: mountainman - Monday, Jan 28, 2019 at 19:41
Monday, Jan 28, 2019 at 19:41
My preference would be
Toyota hiace first
Hyundai iload second
Vw last
I would never touch a ford
They are that easy to break into the crims love em
Other thing is
You have and never see a taxi driver in a ford van ?
Nooo
Worked on the odd transit van
Bucket of junk !
Taxi businesses
They buy the toyota and hyundai for a reason
Reliability
Cops use the vw but they dont pay the repair costs
Tax payer does
They also are getting into the hyundai stuff now
Just take a look at who does the big kms
Vehicle escorts are also buying the Hyundai stuff
Its just the toyota has the better dealerships and nation wide coverage
And now 5 year / unlimited km warranty
Toyota or Hyundai is the way to go
AnswerID:
623494
Follow Up By: Bob Y. - Qld - Monday, Jan 28, 2019 at 22:59
Monday, Jan 28, 2019 at 22:59
Had some rellies that punted a Hiace camper around most of Australia for many years, with few if any dramas.
The local works
camp here has a long wheelbase Hiace they use to ferry the ......err, residents, about town doing their community duties etc. It is 4WD or AWD, and would be ideal for conversion to a camper. I do not know if this is a genuine model, or whether it has been retro fitted with the front diff/transfer case. Might be worth looking into?
Bob
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Reply By: swampy - Monday, Jan 28, 2019 at 19:58
Monday, Jan 28, 2019 at 19:58
HI
Try and repair a Mercedes Sprinter and Ford transit. Canbe costly. You need to
check prices of parts service parts filters /brake pads /front discs / rear brake linnings /clutch /radiator /water pump / cooling hose set .
Parts for the above canbe earth shatteringly expensive.
Options would be
4wd
high roof
long wheel base
extra width??
The camper seems popular in the usa .
Goodluck
AnswerID:
623495
Follow Up By: Ron N - Monday, Jan 28, 2019 at 20:31
Monday, Jan 28, 2019 at 20:31
Swampy is right on the mark. Every Ford part I have ever bought has been a right royal ripoff, as regards pricing, for what you're getting.
Ford have a nasty habit of letting beancounters run their business. Those beancounters start to shave the cost of manufacturing every single part of a vehicle, as soon as its launched.
They replace alloy gears with plastic gears, they change suppliers to cheaper suppliers with more cheaply-made parts.
So before long, you find unreliability creeps into your Ford, because of the beancounters work.
Used Ford resale values are poor for a reason.
Cheers, Ron.
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