ford transit

[Rewire]

The dealer has five on the lot with just over two months left in the year I want one but I think I will wait to see what the price is closer to years end.

 

[Fulthrotl]

Since these are aluminum ladders, do you take any additional precautions to reduce the chances of getting shocked? Like setting the ladder on a rubber mat or some other insulator? I'm sure you try to work on things de-energized, but stuff happens... I like the design of this series of ladders...I'm just kinda scared to use anything but fiberglass.

they have rubber feet on them. i tossed a piece of sheetmetal on the floor, and meggered them.
they hold 1,000 VDC at something above 2.2 G, so i'm ok with that.....

however, there are stipulations in many places that aluminum ladders are NOT
to be used for any electrical work. i would never provide them for an employee.

 

[iwire]

We have Fiberglas little giants. Heavy as hell but when you need them they are great.

 

[PetrosA]

We have Fiberglas little giants. Heavy as hell but when you need them they are great.

Ouch. With a 5'7" storage height and weighing 56 lbs. that's a beast of a ladder to be carrying around and setting up. It weighs as much as my 28' extension ladder Depending on which bulkhead he gets in the Transit Connect, it may not fit inside and I can't imagine it would be possible to store it on the roof rack safely - you'd have to use a step ladder and put it on/take it off from the side of the truck rather than try and slide it on from the back, at least with the span between supports on my racks. I have a drop down on one side and the other side is for step ladders (they don't fit right on the extension ladder stops for the drop down side), so if I need a larger ladder that's where it goes. I've carried up to a 12' step ladder, but that's about the largest you can get on the angled ladder rack I have. For a 16' you need a flat "cargo carrier" type ladder rack to fit the base of the ladder on it safely.

 

[tx2step]

they have rubber feet on them. i tossed a piece of sheetmetal on the floor, and meggered them.
they hold 1,000 VDC at something above 2.2 G, so i'm ok with that.....

Hmmmmmm... Now that gives me something more to think about... Thanks for the info!

 

[zog]

It's built on one of their small ford 4 cylinder car frames. It's probably okay for service. I don't think a six ft ladder will fit unless you let it extend in between the seats.
Of course you can install a ladder rack and conduit holder on top.
The one I looked at the top inside had carpet on it like a passenger van. The salesman said taxes are so high to send a commercial van here. They put seats in it then send it here as a passenger van. Take the seats out, send them back overseas to be used the same way again.

Sounds like you are talking about the smaller Transit connect

 

[ActionDave]

We have Fiberglas little giants. Heavy as hell but when you need them they are great.

Same here. Hate to load it on the rack, hate to take it off, but when the time is right there is nothing better.

 

[Besoeker]

FWIW, the Transit is the van of choice over here and usually driven by "white van man" who thinks he is invincible and drives accordingly.

 

[PetrosA]

Transit vans are not yet available in the US. Supposedly they'll be available 2nd quarter of 2013. For now the only available model is the Transit Connect, which many people refer to as the Transit. That'll stop when they start selling the full size vans

 

[Besoeker]

Transit vans are not yet available in the US. Supposedly they'll be available 2nd quarter of 2013. For now the only available model is the Transit Connect, which many people refer to as the Transit. That'll stop when they start selling the full size vans

The Connect is also sold in the UK and I see a few of them around but the Transit proper has been around for over forty years in man guises from plain panel vans, pick-up trucks, mini-vans, ice-cream vans, camper vans, to ambulances and police vans to pick up the drunken trouble makers at pub closing time. Ubiquitous it has been.

It made the UK news today for all the wrong reasons. The Transit van factory in Southampton which has been making transit vans for 40 tears is scheduled to close next summer with the main production moving to Turkey. Obviously production jobs will be lost at the production plant but far greater numbers in the supply chains will take a hit. Sad news.

 

[PetrosA]

The Connect is also sold in the UK and I see a few of them around but the Transit proper has been around for over forty years in man guises from plain panel vans, pick-up trucks, mini-vans, ice-cream vans, camper vans, to ambulances and police vans to pick up the drunken trouble makers at pub closing time. Ubiquitous it has been.

It made the UK news today for all the wrong reasons. The Transit van factory in Southampton which has been making transit vans for 40 tears is scheduled to close next summer with the main production moving to Turkey. Obviously production jobs will be lost at the production plant but far greater numbers in the supply chains will take a hit. Sad news.

Oh man, that completely ruins my business plan. I was going to open a Transit dealership and call it "Colonel Blimp's Transit Emporium" but where would the authenticity be now? Somehow "Turkish Transit Delight" doesn't have that same ring... Joking aside, that is sad news considering the fact that the Transit is really a British vehicle through and through. It would be like Mercedes announcing the end of C and E class production in Germany.

I just happened to ask the other day at the Ford dealer about the Transit. They've been undergoing road testing here for over a year now, so they should be close to ready for releasing them. As far as I know, once they start selling them they're going to phase out the E series vans. It will be a tough adjustment for a lot of Americans, but I think ultimately a Ford is a Ford.

 

[Fulthrotl]

I just happened to ask the other day at the Ford dealer about the Transit. They've been undergoing road testing here for over a year now, so they should be close to ready for releasing them. As far as I know, once they start selling them they're going to phase out the E series vans. It will be a tough adjustment for a lot of Americans, but I think ultimately a Ford is a Ford.

the E series is done as a standalone van... i don't know about the cutaways for ambulance and ginormous utility walk in bodies.

40 years they have been making it, and it's the industry leader for full size vans.....
and.... P00F! all done. i think it has to do with the potential lawsuits from the 15 passenger
model doing the roll over taking the kids back from sunday school.... :blink:

 

[PetrosA]

Making any small bus type vehicle on a frame base is less than wise for how high the center of gravity tends to be. IIRC, the euro style full size vans don't have frames (lowered floors) which gives them a little more inherent safety in that regard.

 

[Besoeker]

Oh man, that completely ruins my business plan. I was going to open a Transit dealership and call it "Colonel Blimp's Transit Emporium" but where would the authenticity be now? Somehow "Turkish Transit Delight" doesn't have that same ring... Joking aside, that is sad news considering the fact that the Transit is really a British vehicle through and through.

I don't know about it being British. Like many other Ford vehicles, it is manufactured in a number of countries.
The first we had in UK was in 1965. It had a V4 petrol (gasoline) engine which was rough as a badger's arse.
I had a 1970 Ford Corsair 2000E which had the 2.0L version. It was a nice car and well-equipped for it's day but that bl00dy engine......:roll:

 

[Fulthrotl]

Making any small bus type vehicle on a frame base is less than wise for how high the center of gravity tends to be. IIRC, the euro style full size vans don't have frames (lowered floors) which gives them a little more inherent safety in that regard.

yeah, a lot depends on the usage.... unibody vans get wrinkly and sad after a while with
heavy loads carried.... things just sorta creep out of alignment, like door fit and such.

the reality is, if you are an idjit in how you drive an wad the thing up in a ball, in my
case, my tin box is a 5 ton self compacting burial urn.

stupid hurts. i am a cautious driver when driving a heavily loaded van.
and i'm not timid on wheels... fastest i've ever been on a bike was 195 on
a salt bike on edwards dry lake.... at the bottom of fifth gear....

so when i say how cautious i am driving, that should mean something in
light of my other behaviors.