transit connect

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I pulled the trigger today on a Transit Connect. It's a second service truck. What does everyone think about just installing the floor drawers for material and leaving the rest open for lager things?
 
esox39 said:
I pulled the trigger today on a Transit Connect. It's a second service truck. What does everyone think about just installing the floor drawers for material and leaving the rest open for lager things?
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we have side bins but I want to find a drawer that would fit between the sliding doors for additional small parts. Gas went up 30 cents last week.
 
kwired said:
If everyone drove the same vehicle.... you wouldn't be taller than anyone else:happyyes:
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Yes you are right , But I like the high up ride,There is no need to have the entire fleet low to the ground like that.

I like to jump out of a vehicle,Not need a ladder to climb out of one..:)
 
esox39 said:
I pulled the trigger today on a Transit Connect. It's a second service truck. What does everyone think about just installing the floor drawers for material and leaving the rest open for lager things?
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I can't imagine that will be enough storage. I'd like to get a floor slider in addition to all the shelves and bins I already have...
 
esox39 said:
I pulled the trigger today on a Transit Connect. It's a second service truck. What does everyone think about just installing the floor drawers for material and leaving the rest open for lager things?
Click to expand...
Only you can know the answer to that. It all depends on what type of service you do and what parts you normally stock. It wouldn't work for me, but neither would other guy's setups. What I have is still being tweaked, but I planned my shelving and layout out before I made my purchase. My dealership took care of the upfit and when I signed the papers it was ready for work.
 
I run into too much snow, mud, or other off road conditions as well as pull heavy trailers quite often to consider such a vehicle for what I do most of the time. Looks like it would be an OK vehicle for someone that does a lot of service calls in cities - especially for residential or light commercial customers.
 
For anyone that already owns a Transit Connect, do you have pipe racks on your van? If you do what type, size and how are the setup on the van? I'm struggling with how I should approach this.
 
drspec said:
For anyone that already owns a Transit Connect, do you have pipe racks on your van? If you do what type, size and how are the setup on the van? I'm struggling with how I should approach this.
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I have one of those bent ladder racks (drop down one side) and have a piece of 4" PVC mounted under it for pipe. I can carry 30 feet of 1/2" EMT, 30 of 3/4" EMT, 30' of 1/2" PVC and 20' of 3/4" PVC (IIRC...). If I need more/larger pipe for a job or wiremold or 8' tracks etc., it gets strapped directly to the rack. Ground rods fit inside over the bulkhead onto the front shelf along the side of the vehicle. In that respect, it's not a whole lot different than a regular E series van with a bulkhead that doesn't have a hinged door - you can't get pipe flat in the back of one of them either.
 
PetrosA said:
I have one of those bent ladder racks (drop down one side) and have a piece of 4" PVC mounted under it for pipe. I can carry 30 feet of 1/2" EMT, 30 of 3/4" EMT, 30' of 1/2" PVC and 20' of 3/4" PVC (IIRC...). If I need more/larger pipe for a job or wiremold or 8' tracks etc., it gets strapped directly to the rack. Ground rods fit inside over the bulkhead onto the front shelf along the side of the vehicle. In that respect, it's not a whole lot different than a regular E series van with a bulkhead that doesn't have a hinged door - you can't get pipe flat in the back of one of them either.
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What if you need 1000' of 4 inch RMC?:lol:
 
I was thinking about a Transit. What I would do is install shelving the entire way from front to back on each side. This would allow me to open each side door and have access to the shelving where I would put the most commonly used material and small tools. From the back door I could reach the rear part of the shelving as well as the larger tools and material that I slide down the center of the vehicle. Having one of those sliding draw things down the center would be great too.

The only downside is that the shelving would block the side doors completely, but I think it would be ok since you could still access the center from the back door. I just wouldn't put any commonly used items far forward.
 
Fulthrotl said:
i usually keep 100' of 4" grc on the van for those quick jobs....
i never need anything larger for service calls... if i need 6" grc,
i call the wholesale house and get it delivered....

the real problem is threading and bending... the equipment
takes up a lot of room.....
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I'd like to see if the roof of that van would support the weight of 100' of 4" GRC, if it does take it down the road and over a few bumps and see if it still supports it:cool:

The motor for threading and bending equipment may have more HP output than the motor powering the van
 
kwired said:
I'd like to see if the roof of that van would support the weight of 100' of 4" GRC, if it does take it down the road and over a few bumps and see if it still supports it:cool:

The motor for threading and bending equipment may have more HP output than the motor powering the van
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according to the table, it's 972 lbs per 100'...
so the surfboard racks might be a bit strained,
not to mention loading it..... unloading it would
be easy, however... especially on turns.

that same table lists 6" GRC at 1,745 per 100'. ow.

i've only had the thrill of running 6" twice... the
threader was a relic newberry electric had left over
from the dawn of time, and was mounted on a 2 axle
16' flatbed trailer, along with the bender, in it's footlockers.
and that wasn't something a transit would move
around well at all. a chinook might be better.

now that we've finally gotten the thread changed off
of little vans to big manly pipe, everyone can chime in
about the times they've ran big rigid, than about the
times they have driven a transit.....
 
Ever put a 30' extension ladder on top....That's a sight to behold :lol: How she's loaded prior to job specific materials. Everyone seems to love the TC but I must have gotten a lemon. :?
 
RLyons said:
Ever put a 30' extension ladder on top....That's a sight to behold :lol: How she's loaded prior to job specific materials. Everyone seems to love the TC but I must have gotten a lemon. :?
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I had a job recently where I had to bring out 50+ wraparound fixtures, 10 ceiling fans, all the switches, receptacles, plates, plus ladders, a table (that comes in very handy vs. putting fans and fixtures together on the floor) and other misc. items needed to finish up this place. All that would never have made it in one trip in that thing, but my trailer was only maybe half full.

I think that van will possibly fit into my trailer.:cool:

I forgot I also had 5 or 6 cases of 4 foot lamps, and several emergency lights and exit signs also.
 
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I'm getting way more into mine than some of the other guys here, but that could also be why I need some leafs added at just 55,000 miles ;) Aside from the Ranger kit (which is way more organized than some of the other solutions I'm seeing here, and definitely worth the extra cash), I use a layered storage approach - I now have my 4' ladder up on the face of the passenger side shelving unit on hooks and the extend-a-climb is strapped to the left side cabinets. That leaves me much more room on the floor. Least often used stuff goes under the cabinets. Drops are on the floor, with wire, boxes of stuff, trash can and vac on top. Like I said, my plan is to climb in as rarely as possible and have everything accessible from back or side doors and no unused space on the floor. If I have to pay to drive empty floor around, I'm doing something wrong.
 
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