2015 Ford Transits, anyone using one yet?

[iwire]

Having that well stocked van has saved my butt many times.

Of course, but there is a huge gap between carrying 3,000' of pipe and a well stocked van.

In general I think a 9,500~ GVWR vehicle is appropriate for service work.

 

[sparkyrick]

Of course, but there is a huge gap between carrying 3,000' of pipe and a well stocked van.

In general I think a 9,500~ GVWR vehicle is appropriate for service work.

That 3000' of pipe only happens when I start a project.

 

[iwire]

I’ve only driven transits for 40 years so just ignore me as usual.

Oh, 40 years driving vehicles, I guess that makes you much more of expert then the rest of us who have been driving vehicles for as many years.

Tony, I know you think I am picking on you but to my mind you present things here as rock solid facts when they are simply your opinions. That is just my own opinion and it could be right, wrong or somewhere in between.

They are work horses, flog or overload them they die as any van/pickup does.

Work horses (in my opinion) take a flogging and keep going. That has been how American trucks were built, you could overload the heck out them and they would keep going. I am not claiming they were better trucks, just overbuilt and durable. But as PertosA mentioned those features made the trucks heavy gas hogs. They also tended to be rough riding.

The stops are to protect the suspension not aid it.

I can't comment on the trucks you drove and I have no idea if your trucks are the same as the 2015 American Transit.

However, regarding the Transit I am driving I will not believe the bump stops on it are not active suspension components when approaching full load.

Presently I would guess the Transit is at about 50% payload limit, I have not had it long enough to finish filling it with junk.

Now look at the pictures I have included, the Transit has very little travel left with this 50% load, the bump stop is huge and the leaf spring pack very small (just two leaves each side). I would be very surprised if it is not sitting on these bump stops at full load.

Now compare that to the American truck with its small bump stop (black rubber circled in red) and its huge spring pack. Both trucks have roughly the same payload rating.

The Transit is not even close to being as rugged.

 

[sparkyrick]

Not much left here either.

Springs are nearly straight too.

 

[sparkyrick]

Oh, 40 years driving vehicles, I guess that makes you much more of expert then the rest of us who have been driving vehicles for as many years.

Tony, I know you think I am picking on you but to my mind you present things here as rock solid facts when they are simply your opinions. That is just my own opinion and it could be right, wrong or somewhere in between.



Work horses (in my opinion) take a flogging and keep going. That has been how American trucks were built, you could overload the heck out them and they would keep going. I am not claiming they were better trucks, just overbuilt and durable. But as PertosA mentioned those features made the trucks heavy gas hogs. They also tended to be rough riding.



I can't comment on the trucks you drove and I have no idea if your trucks are the same as the 2015 American Transit.

However, regarding the Transit I am driving I will not believe the bump stops on it are not active suspension components when approaching full load.

Presently I would guess the Transit is at about 50% payload limit, I have not had it long enough to finish filling it with junk.

Now look at the pictures I have included, the Transit has very little travel left with this 50% load, the bump stop is huge and the leaf spring pack very small (just two leaves each side). I would be very surprised if it is not sitting on these bump stops at full load.

Now compare that to the American truck with its small bump stop (black rubber circled in red) and its huge spring pack. Both trucks have roughly the same payload rating.

The Transit is not even close to being as rugged.

I bet if you look at the left side, the bump stop is even closer.

 

[iwire]

I bet if you look at the left side, the bump stop is even closer.

HEY! Are you calling me fat? :lol:

 

[iwire]

So the pictures I posted at the start of this thread were not my actully vehicle, just examples from the internet.

The company bought the vans, had them outfitted with all new shelving, ladder racks, ladders, tools and stock. Really nice set up.

Here are a couple of shots.

They decided to try something different for us, 16 plastic cases loaded with small parts. The cases fit into slots in the shelving on the passenger side. So far I like them. I have ton of well organized small parts and still a ton of open shelf space on the drivers side.

 

[peter d]

HEY! Are you calling me fat? :lol:

:lol:

 

[sparkyrick]

HEY! Are you calling me fat? :lol:

No! LOL But you have no storage where the sliding door is, so the right side tends to sit up a little bit higher.

 

[goldstar]

So the pictures I posted at the start of this thread were not my actully vehicle, just examples from the internet.

The company bought the vans, had them outfitted with all new shelving, ladder racks, ladders, tools and stock. Really nice set up.

Here are a couple of shots.

They decided to try something different for us, 16 plastic cases loaded with small parts. The cases fit into slots in the shelving on the passenger side. So far I like them. I have ton of well organized small parts and still a ton of open shelf space on the drivers side.

Nice looking interior. Except for the height it looks like my new GMC set-up. I have to bungie-band everything (like the ladders or anything on the floor) otherwise it travels all over the place. Good luck.

 

[mivey]

LOL, she wouldn't hurt a fly!

She's a pretty girl.

 

[Tony S]

From a friend on another forum, he’s just bought a Toyota HiAce



Just a few niggles though.

There are no pools of various fluids underneath it after parking for more than 10 minutes. Normally no pools of any particular fluid means it has run out.
I actually have to open the bonnet to check levels now.

The engine is a bit tame. I.E. it doesn't try to escape when idling and I can actually hear the radio when driving.

The passenger door opens from the outside, serious security risk there, although this is offset by the central locking working as it should.
Similar problem with the drivers door opening by just using the handle, no having to push the door in a bit first.

I can't seem to adjust the wing mirrors by braking and accelerating, but again this is offset by some kind of electronic wizzardry and can be done by a button.

I think I'm going to have to wash the inside of the van manually as there are no holes in the roof to let in the rain.

It is over heating. The temperature guage does sit at 0 when starting but then it rises to about halfway after a while.

The in built speed limiter on hills does not work, I can accelerate uphill.

The lever behind the gearstick is no longer a stress toy, on this van it stops the van from moving.

The brakes are shocking TBH, they no longer just operate the red lights but actually stop the vehicle. This will take some getting used to.

Most worrying is the fact that there is no rust anywhere, my mechanic told me it was the only reason more bits didn't fall off the last one.

It is also a much worse investment than my last van.

The transit used to double in value every time I filled it up. On the plus side it depreciates slower.

But I shall persevere with it.

If it doesn't work out I can always buy another Transit.

 

[Tony S]

I still like transits but I’ve driven his old van. To say it was past its best would be an understatement.

 

[sparkyrick]

The cabinet installers were checking out my new ride. The FIRST thing they said...two leaf springs per side aint gonna cut it for a work van. The noticed that mine were pretty much bottomed out already. I concur.

 

[sparkyrick]

Here's a good one. I get home today and parked the van, as usual. After supper, I go out to grab my lunch cooler and water jug and the van is locked, with the key in the ignition. Mind you, I never hit ANY lock button when I got out of the van. Somehow, it locked itself. What really shocked me, I was able to take a piece of #12 wire down into the door and break-in in less than 30 seconds. Nice and secure Ford, NOT! As for the self locking doors, I'll be taking the stupid key with me from now on.

 

[iwire]

Here's a good one. I get home today and parked the van, as usual. After supper, I go out to grab my lunch cooler and water jug and the van is locked, with the key in the ignition. Mind you, I never hit ANY lock button when I got out of the van. Somehow, it locked itself. What really shocked me, I was able to take a piece of #12 wire down into the door and break-in in less than 30 seconds. Nice and secure Ford, NOT! As for the self locking doors, I'll be taking the stupid key with me from now on.

Yeah, the self locking doors drive me nuts.

Have not locked myself out yet, got a spare $80 key that will open the doors.

Going to tie wrap it under the truck somewhere.

 

[kwired]

My Dodge truck will not operate the electric lock devices if door is open and if key is in the ignition switch and doesn't matter if engine is running or not. If you want to manually press mechanical lock operators to lock yourself out you still can though.

I discovered this one day when I did want to lock it but didn't realize the key was in the ignition switch.

 

[GoldDigger]

With the keyless access and ignition on the Prius you cannot operate the pushbutton locking or inside manual locking while the key is in the car and the engine is running.
But you can close the driver's door and lock it from the outside using the mechanical key stored inside the phob.

 

[kwired]

15-20 years ago, we had a 1991 Mercury Cougar. Electric locks, no wireless or external keypads (don't know those were even an option until at least late 90's). We had three sets of keys for that car. My wife somehow managed to lock all three sets inside the car, on top of that it was parked inside the garage and didn't really need to be locked, but the lock button was easily hit by accident on that car and probably what did happen. But still was a little embarrassing to call someone for help and explain all three sets of keys were inside the car.

 

[LEO2854]

So the company I work for just bought some new service trucks.

This is what I started driving last Tuesday

So far very impressed, yeah its an ugly box but I can stand upright in it and with the straight sides it provides much better room for shelving placement.


It is a '350' with a 10,000 LB GVWR but it only has a 3.7L with a six speed auto transmission. It shifts a lot trying to maintain speed and I am no where near loaded up yet.

Seems to me they have made many mistakes with this, from undersized breaks and tires to the small engine that belongs in a sedan, they have a 120 year track record of making the best trucks, too bad they are going in this rought....:happysad: