Are you still getting 38 mpg?  And do you have the ecoboost engine?

Can the ladder rack you're going to get handle sheet goods? 

Sorry to pester you, but the ford dealerships down here are useless, and have nothing (and I mean nothing) in stock.

Jon

I have the regular 2.5L, 4 cylinder engine and I'm not getting very good mileage at all, 16.5 mpg with mixed city/highway.   I hope it gets better after the engine is broken in. 

I'd guess 3pedal's 38 mpg was a typo.  The standard engine is rated at 21/29mpg and the Ecoboost is 22/30mpg.

Nice work.  I was skeptical at first when I saw the van but you did a darn efficient job of getting your tools in there and then leaving a solid amount of miscellaneous cargo space.  Bravo, seriously.

My Renault Traffic LWB (much bigger van) is doing on average 30mpg for town running.  High 40's for out of town.  Why is your millage so poor ?  It is a diesel yea ?

And us mpg is different to uk mpg so 16.5 us is more like 20. Still piss poor in a van that size. Diesels rule

Are you still getting 38 mpg?  And do you have the ecoboost engine?

Can the ladder rack you're going to get handle sheet goods? 

Sorry to pester you, but the ford dealerships down here are useless, and have nothing (and I mean nothing) in stock.

Jon

Yup, Sure can; up to 350lbs. Called them again today, possibly may have a first run of racks in two months.

My millage has dropped to around 29-32mpg wit half my tools in there and alot of stop and go. I also drive like a grandpa and never go over 65mph on the freeway and always drive very conservatively. no Ecoboost engine, no point to spend 699 for 1mpg increase 

Quote from: Jon Hilgenberg on March 03, 2014, 08:24 PM

Are you still getting 38 mpg?  And do you have the ecoboost engine?

Can the ladder rack you're going to get handle sheet goods? 

Sorry to pester you, but the ford dealerships down here are useless, and have nothing (and I mean nothing) in stock.

Jon

I have the regular 2.5L, 4 cylinder engine and I'm not getting very good mileage at all, 16.5 mpg with mixed city/highway.   I hope it gets better after the engine is broken in. 

I'd guess 3pedal's 38 mpg was a typo.  The standard engine is rated at 21/29mpg and the Ecoboost is 22/30mpg.

Whoa!!  thats horrible man. how are you driving it? hard? dont get me wrong fords programming of the transmission is absolutely stupid and i think the gearing is totally off. it shouldnt be at 2300 RPM going 65mph..someone missed the ball their in the engineering department.  winter blend fuel is not helping at all either. I have 800 miles on the clock. I have also found that putting it in manumatic mode helps tremendously with the MPG, especially in city driving. For the most part its obedient but there are times it makes me wonder why ford even bother putting a manual mode in there if it doesnt give you 100% control  I soo wish we could of got this in a manual diesel here stateside.

Nice work.  I was skeptical at first when I saw the van but you did a darn efficient job of getting your tools in there and then leaving a solid amount of miscellaneous cargo space.  Bravo, seriously.

Thanks Sean! im pretty happy the way it is turning out, tons of space. There is absolutely no way i could of done this without systainers though. Need to order a few more from you actually to fill the empty shelf's 

I guess they are petrol engines.

Yup, Fuel the government has dictated diesels are to dirty for america and charge (tax) a huge premium on diesel options in the states...funny thing is you guys across the pond have stricter environmental regulations then US and diesels are the same or sometimes cheaper then gasoline engines in europe. 

Alan, these are gas engines.    And right now is the worst time of the year bc the EPA mandates that gas get re formulated for for the winter months.  It supposedly reduces pollution but it also causes the mpg's to take a big hit. 

Ugh, this literally makes zero sense. i average a 15% drop in all my vehicles since they starting forcing winterblend fuel. my jeep has the highest hit of 20%. The thing is and i guess the EPA is so blind by all the propaganda is the fuel that is "supposed" to save the environment by using less green house emissions. yet we are using 15-20% MORE fuel....no way that type of hit is the same or better for the environment with this blend then just using the same ole fuel we use in the summer  And then we also get the HUGE hit we all have taken by the ethonol blend fuel were forced to use.  Makes NO sense, im convinced the EPA is in bed with all the oil companies. 

Quote from: 3PedalMINI on March 04, 2014, 10:38 PM

Yup, Fuel the government has dictated diesels are to dirty for america and charge (tax) a huge premium on diesel options in the states...funny thing is you guys across the pond have stricter environmental regulations then US and diesels are the same or sometimes cheaper then gasoline engines in europe. 

<snip>
I couldn't imagine not driving a diesel vehicle ever again, i love the performance and economy of modern diesels. Diesel for life.

I too am a diesel lover. We have 2 diesel 4x4 trucks, 2 diesel tractors, and a diesel generator. Even my daughter drives a diesel pickup!

Even though I can't believe you guys across the Pond are using petrol vans over diesel!   I can say one benefit petrol has over diesel is when you do a lot of short distances! 

Twice now my engine management has come on since I owned my van because of anti pollution blockage! 

90% of my work is local about 20mins max travel time and usually any more and I try to avoid the job unless I need to work.

My missus car is diesel  and her anti pollution light came on when she was doing couple months of short distance traveling for her work.  Luckily she's back to traveling long enough distances to keep the anti pollution clean.


Little annoying because your engine looses power and I gotta find a day when I don't need my van to take it into the garage.

Jmb

 

Got some progress done this weekend...The bulkhead is completed and installed, there is a piece that removes so i can fit long lumber or 65" TV's in there! lighting was also finished. Still need to carpet the shelf's on the right side and install some hooks and things of that nature around the van for things like my level etc.

The interior cabinet where you see the cable box is meant for more systainers, i havent decided what sizes to get or what to put inside of them. The empty space above the MIDI systainer is for another ICE cable box.

So far i am ecstatic with how it turned out. My carpeting skills are not the best at all but at the end of the day it is only there to help dampen the noise and keep things from rattling and so far it is doing a REALLY good job at it, It is super quiet in there!!! im going to clean it up and get some good pictures. But here are some i took early this evening! so far i have spent a total of $588 on everything you see. Lights, Rails, Wood,Carpet Glue, Carpet etc. I have a TON of hours into this though. You cannot tell in the pictures but there is hours of scribing, planning etc.



I have an extra space for a SYS-3!!!


Here you can see the door panel that lifts out when i need the length


Picture of the lighting and top brackets that are securing the cabinets to the top of the van



Lights


This is at night, it is SUPER BRIGHT in there!!





I did a rail of light at the top of the exterior cabinet so i could see them better at night or in parking garages

Love the interior lights you have used.  Which lights are they and where did you get them from? Also exactly where did you wire them in?

Thanks.

Quote from: Brice Burrell on March 01, 2014, 06:31 PM

Nice, is that some kind of outdoor carpet?  I was hoping to see the lighting done, you better get cracking before the snow hits.

Ha! Too Late  already have flurries. With this weeks work it doesnt look like im finishing this weekend 

The carpet is the stuff they wrap subwoofers and car accessories in. Its automotive "felt" so it can get wet and withstand the temperature swings. Lighting wont be finished until all the cabinets are in.

Quote from: woodguy7 on March 02, 2014, 03:39 AM

You doing anything to stop the Systainers from falling out ?
You say you are going to plywood over the rear windows.  Don't you get the option of no rear windows ?  Also surprised to see no steel bulkhead.  That would be the first thing i install.
Nice looking van though.

The shelving will have lips on them to prevent them from falling out. There is an option for no rear windows but not a single dealer ordered them with that option and i didnt want to wait 4-6 months to order one (i couldnt) the way it is working out im not going to need the plywood on the windows. im just going to order the window screens and black them out.

the steel bulkhead took to much area out of the cargo area. Im building one out of 3/4" plywood with a slidding door so i can still haul 8-10ft lumber between the seats and so i can haul a 65" TV.  all of my cargo is usually low and small so if the worst happened and in an accident it would crack towards the bottom.

I know you can't lay 4x8 plywood sheets flat on the floor due to the length being to short.

But your comment about carrying long lumber between the sheets gave me an idea.

Is it possible to carry 4x8 plywood on edge by letting it stick between the seats?

I believe the transit connect long wb is only 10 or 11 inches shy of an 8 ft sheet behind the seats.