Ford Transit Moto Camper Van Build

[Yinzer Moto]

I forgot to update the bed build.

Looking from the back.

Looking at the back. The front of the bikes will tuck under here. You can see the factory tie down point at the bottom, being used as an anchor point.

Looking down the passenger side from the front. The closer L bracket got a chunk of wood and all tied into the cabinet base.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

A new RivNut tool came in the mail today. This allowed me to proceed with ceiling work.

The thinsulate insulation also showed up.

I pulled the drivers compartment headliner down and as I suspected, no insulation. The first piece is cut and stuffed in there.

Then I drilled holes for rivnuts, above the headliner. This is to mount that twisty board I cut yesterday. I used blue painters tape to catch the metal shavings. Then the bare metal was painted. Finally, Rivnuts were installed.

This allowed me to install that board

Dome lights were going to be in the way, so they get removed.

Cool heat sink.

Then the plywood strips are installed. I soaked the ends in a trash can of water to make them more bendy.

These strips will give me a good surface to attach the ceiling to.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

The fasteners are confusing me a bit. The factory tie down points are 7/16” fine thread. The smaller threaded fittings above seem like they are 5/16” file thread. I say “seem” because, they don’t thread easily, but there is paint in them. I thought it was metric also. I am using 1/4-20 RivNuts because the holes that are already drilled in the body fit a 1/4-20 RivNut without drilling, so I don’t have metal shavings to deal with, or touch up paint.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

Getting back after it.

The plywood strips needed a place to terminate at the back of the van. So another custom cut piece of wood. This one was a little less complicated than the first. I cut this last night. If you look closely, it is glued in place with hopes and dreams (actually I used the rest of the tube of 3m window weld). It had the night to cure and I just tried to rip it from the ceiling and it appears to be permanent.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

Insulation going in. This is a night and day temperature difference already.

FYI: the 5’ width of the thinsulate insulation is absolutely perfect width. I am just tucking each one in the little gap between the roof and wall.

I think I might run a second layer front to back and staple to the plywood strips.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

14 degree difference with a single layer

 

[Yinzer Moto]

Does anyone have any input on tire chains? I would be looking for something easy to put on. Typically they would be used to get out of a grassy parking area where I may have already gotten stuck.

These look like they are fairly easy to put on but the vehicle might have to be mobile.

https://www.amazon.com/Security-Cha...ins+235/65r16&qid=1562769033&s=gateway&sr=8-1

I am going to look for some traction mat type things too. @Boom Boom, you showed me some nice compact traction aids recently. Do you know what they are called?

There will also be a 30' tow strap on board

 

[Yinzer Moto]

Today was some painful work

It started with having to modify the middle set of dome lights.

Fucking fuck.

Sorry

WTF type of torture device did this ford engineer think up? I needed to pull down the covering over the wire loom that runs along the drivers wall. I read about it before hand and thought I knew what I was doing, I started to pull, just slightly. SNAP, followed by 5 more snaps in rapid succession. In a moment, I shattered 6 of the clips holding this cover in place. Barely any effort. I think the worst part of all of it was the sound of all the little pieces of plastic flying everywhere and falling into places where they will never be retrieved.

The black cover in this photo is the offending unit.

I’ll have to figure out the part number on these and order a case of spares.

I needed a few more inches of wire to relocate the dome lights. If you happen to need to do this, it appear that this black wire with green tracer is not hooked to anything. This wire is what was holding me back from gaining the extra length in wire that I needed. I did not want to just cut the wire, in case it is actually needed. I made the decision to try and release the clip. After about an hour of fighting with it, I finally tried one leg of a pair of tweezers.

I recently acquired these tweezers when I sliced my hand open and needed some stitches. I think the nurse sensed that I was looking, longingly, at her selection of stainless tools. She gave them all to me when she was done. Score!

Well, the tweezers worked perfectly! I taped it all up and moved on to the next item.

I installed the upper bulkhead between the garage and living space. If you look close on the left, you can see a gray plug. Normally that plug is hidden behind the black cover. I was able to relocate it and gain the length needed.

When cutting the bulkhead (as well as other panels), I tried to keep the, as close as possible to the sheet metal but not actually touch it. If there is contact, a squeak could result in the future. The only place things contact sheet metal are in paces where they are bolted to it. You can also see I picked up the factory wheel well covers and installed them.

Now onto the really painful part of the day. Insulation in all the small spaces. I might have gotten 1/4 of the small space insulation done.

I started with a small chimney sweep and pushing the insulation down the channels but that was not working well.

I ended up breaking the insulation up into cotton ball size pieces and pushing though the holes in the interior. Painfully slow. A air hose blower would coax the insulation down the channel.

Sally got a bit of work done on the pressure relief venting. The transit has vents at the rear that relive pressure when a door is slammed. They also help the HVAC. When fitting wall panels or a bulkhead, one needs to pay attention to airflow. She cut a sheet of plastic and made ductwork from the rear of the van to the front. I’ll make sure the wall panels are vented to this ductwork.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

I got a package from the crack dealer today!

 

[Yinzer Moto]

I am still stuffing insulation in all the little voids. Sally helped a bit this morning.

I looked at the sliding door light switch for a few min and came up with this:

I unplugged it from the OEM switch that is triggered by the door and used a couple splice connectors to wire it into a toggle. Switched to the left is off. To the right is on. It is most likely to get bumped into the off position. Even if it gets left on, the lights automatically turn off after 30 min or so.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

Anyone have any thoughts on securing the thinsulate batts to the walls? It seems that many people have used spray contact adhesive. I used a little Tyvek tape to hold edges in place till I can come back and do something else. The tape seems to be pretty strong and I am wondering if I can just tape the panels in place.

Will using a DuPont product on a 3m product cause a thermonuclear meltdown?

 

[Yinzer Moto]

Sally and I got a lot of work done today.

First interesting thing I discovered is that the radio on the van can always be turned on. No keys required. Second, because the side door swings around, it has outdoor speakers. Pretty sweet.

Next we got the rest of the insulation put up. Sally picked up some 3M 90 spray adhesive and we stuck the insulation up with that. It is solid. That is a easy to work with product.

Next we installed the ceiling. Sally salvaged some old barn wood and pallets. She spent all week cleaning it up and whitewashing it. Then we installed it on the ceiling.

Just kidding, it is paneling from Home Depot. $20 a sheet.

The factory dome lights look sweet in there.

Laying out the cuts for the front half. I used almost an entire roll of painters tape.

The insulation is really working well not that the ceiling is up and the walls are done. 95 degrees to 125 degrees is a big difference. Then high 80’s on the bed. Not bad for being parked in direct sun.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

We are heading out for the first weekend of camping this weekend. This will be the first test to see how the space and arrangement works for us.

I worked on throwing together a “kitchen” setup together. I had ripped this out of the School Bus, then just drilled a couple holes in it and bolted it in the van. It should work ok as a temporary setup.

Then I worked on the storage in the garage area. I picked up a Harbor Freight tri fold loading ramp. It is assembled with aluminum rivets and they drill out easily.

Then I trimmed the length with a circular saw.

I bolted some perforated angle up to the factory mounting points on the side of the van. This made the first shelf. It is sized around the 27gallon totes that are widely available at Home Depot. I use them for all my riding gear. One is for dirtbiking, one for trials, etc. This shelf is screwed into place.

The other shelves are not secured and just sit on the bracket. They are kept as loading ramps. Right now, they fit a little too perfectly, I need to trim them a bit and then I will design a cam lock to latch them into place.

Then Sally installed perforated vinyl on the rear windows. This product really reduces the amount of heat that gets inside. It also obscures what can be seen inside when the light outside is brighter than the inside. In hindsight, we should have just used the solid vinyl wrap, instead of perforated but this will work.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

The first night in the van was good. The bed space works well. It is a game of inches. We both think we need narrower pillows. We sleep on the edge of our pillows, so that leaves like 6” above our head. So that takes 6” out of the length of the bed. My feet were touching the opposite wall most of the time. It was not uncomfortable though.

Covered the side door in a large piece of loose screen material and held it in place with magnets.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

It has been a while since I did an update and @alvincullumyork just reminded me of that.

We camped in the van last weekend for the first time. It was really hot, like well over 100 with humidity. The insulation and fan worked great. I go to bed early, like right after sunset, so the van never had a chance to cool off after sitting in the sun, it was a little uncomfortable for the first hour but cooled off nicely. We ran the fan most of the night.

Once back I got an electrical panel installed. 2 usb outlets, 1 12v power outlet, and a voltmeter. This is switched off of switch 2 on the upfitter switchpack.

Then we began working on upholstery. There are no straight lines in this boxy van.

I cut the panels out and sally covered them in headliner fabric.

I built a little shelf. It hangs from motorcycle chain. The shelf is a perfect spot for our water container. I installed an analog GPS on the wall.

Finally I installed some graphics on the outside, to set it apart from other contractor vans. I did not want much of anything that was moto related on the outside but something to set it apart. I think this does the trick.

Oh, and the Adco windshield cover in the last photos works great to keep the heat out and add some privacy at night. It goes on and comes off in less than a minute.

Lastly, a little trick for marking the holes to bolt the panels up. Just sharpen a couple bolts, they leave an impression on the back of the boards, after a tap with a mallet.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

Was asked about the 3.7 vs 3.5 turbo


A buddy asked me that last night. The power is just fine around here. We are leaving for New Mexico today, so we will hit a little elevation. Check back in a day or two. The power output is roughly the same as my work van. The work van is loaded with nearly a ton of tools. It is a bit slow at times but the power is fine. My issue with the work van is the 6 speed transmission always wants to be in 6th. At elevation, it does not have the power to pull the hills, the problem is that it holds 6th too long and needs to drop to 4th or even 3rd to regain speed from holding that gear for too long. It is a violent shift.

I am hopeful for the transit because of the shifter features it has, without putting the shifter into manual mode. I can lock out 6th, or 5th (actually all the way down to 1st if needed). I think this will make going up and down the mountains much more pleasurable. This can even be done in cruise control.

I am impressed with the 3.7 power and how it will shift into a pretty high gear and it just pulls that gear. I am also not a true Merican, I don’t mind an anemic motor and working within its limits. I ride a 250cc dual sport motorcycle and it gets me around just fine.

Lastly, I am not a fan of turbos and the potential for increased maintenance. If a turbo dies, it can take out the whole motor. If you are only own the vehicle for as long as the warranty period, go for it. The 3.5 would be really fun. I know the 3.5 is a very popular motor and have been proven to be very reliable. The handful of turbo failures on it that I have heard about it made the decision for me. The level of power that 3.5 would deliver would be fun. I recently drove a friends Hemi on a road trip, that puts out similar power numbers. When we would jump on it, on an on ramp, that truck would jump.

I’ll report back after our cross country drive. We are loaded down with about 900# of motorcycles. I’d guess about 400-450# of camper build out. 300# of misc cargo. So round up and call it a ton of stuff.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

Loading up last night.

I put 2 bikes in and started to worry if my measurements were correct.

You can see the world wide analog GPS in the back. There are also shoe pockets on the doors for misc bike tools and spare parts.

They fit! 6’4” of width and 7’6” of length.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

This seems like a cool device. I have been trying to find out availability and pricing. I know it will be more than a standard low voltage disconnect but I was hoping it would be plug and play.

I have been scouring the internet for more info but am coming up empty.

I contacted Ford Special Vehicle Engineering, the group who published the image above. The engineer I spoke to said he has never sold one of these units and might have to have it made.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

We are on the road. I feel the extra weight in the back with all of the stuff. We spent the last hour and half battling traffic out of the city. We just pulled over for dinner. No real open road driving yet. The road will open up soon and I should get a feel for how it is going to handle the load.

 

[Yinzer Moto]

Aug 2nd 2019

The 3.7 is proving to be perfectly fine. We are not at altitude yet but so far so good. The transmission is really great compared to the transmission in my work van. This one will downshift when needed, it does not try to needlessly hold onto the gear it is in. It is pulling most rolling hills in 6th gear but when it does shift down, it is smooth.

One complaint is cup holders, they are all so far away that I need to move in my seat to get a drink. There are a lot of them and the big pockets will hold a 32oz gatoraid just fine.

The 250 chassis is handling this load just fine. I don’t think I need the airbags or stiffer sway bars. It corners well. The wind coming off the back of semi trucks causes a bit of sway, I just hang out behind semi trucks.