2013 ford transit connect or "our minimalist camper"
- Thread starter lqhikers
- Start date
washington taco
Explorer
Loving this ride/build maybe one in my future! I thought they made a AWD version, am I wrong?
lqhikers
Adventurer
let us eat ice cream!
after our trip to the mountains,1st trip in a long time without
our engel frig/freezer which meant no ice cream i had to find a way to add
our engel 45 so as to not be left without our deserts!
so thanks to amazon (and ups) a 100 watt solar panel was dropped off.
as i already had a basic roof rack,transit comes with pre existing mounting
points so making rack was a no brainer.
to add solar panel i only had to make cross bars and bolt on panel.
as i already had second battery mounted it was just a matter of running wire to
solar controller then to battery,done!
frig was another matter first the engel 45 would not fit to tall,i tried for awhile to trade for a m35
which would fit under platform but no response so had to figure out another way.
what i ended up with was to modify the platform so that the engel would be level with the rest of
platform just a little cutting and welding and i was good to go.
drilled a few holes in the rear storage compartment doors for air flow and that completed the install.
now we have ice for the scotch,and ice cream for our souls!
Les,lqhikers
after our trip to the mountains,1st trip in a long time without
our engel frig/freezer which meant no ice cream i had to find a way to add
our engel 45 so as to not be left without our deserts!
so thanks to amazon (and ups) a 100 watt solar panel was dropped off.
as i already had a basic roof rack,transit comes with pre existing mounting
points so making rack was a no brainer.
to add solar panel i only had to make cross bars and bolt on panel.
as i already had second battery mounted it was just a matter of running wire to
solar controller then to battery,done!
frig was another matter first the engel 45 would not fit to tall,i tried for awhile to trade for a m35
which would fit under platform but no response so had to figure out another way.
what i ended up with was to modify the platform so that the engel would be level with the rest of
platform just a little cutting and welding and i was good to go.
drilled a few holes in the rear storage compartment doors for air flow and that completed the install.
now we have ice for the scotch,and ice cream for our souls!
Les,lqhikers
Attachments
:wings: NOw i am awake .. Has anyone found the Hawaiin Transit camper online yet??
The only thing you are missing
http://innovakayak.com/
You have a lake , a camper, ice , leds.
So alls left is a boat !!!!!
http://innovakayak.com/
You have a lake , a camper, ice , leds.
So alls left is a boat !!!!!
lqhikers
Adventurer
up date on transit
the "minimalist" camper is living up to our expectations.
have taken a few longer trips (up through northern calif,oregon,and back)
lots of back roads,gravel,dirt forest roads,no 4wd stuff.
with the short wheel base and no long over hang clearance is good,had some early
worries about this but not anymore as i am learning the limits of where i can drive.
if you are familiar with So. Ca. areas we have been up the mountain forest road to Toro peak
no problem with road up,plus we were the only ones there for 3 days at the yellow post camp site!
so far am happy with road manners with 1 dislike and that is transmission searching on steep
up hills,have found that if you lock out over drive on these climbs you can live with it,one trade off
for being able to so far to maintain 28 mpg average for all miles driven,fair trade off.
have done a couple of more mods will post pictures and up date when we get back from next trip.
Les,lqhikers
the "minimalist" camper is living up to our expectations.
have taken a few longer trips (up through northern calif,oregon,and back)
lots of back roads,gravel,dirt forest roads,no 4wd stuff.
with the short wheel base and no long over hang clearance is good,had some early
worries about this but not anymore as i am learning the limits of where i can drive.
if you are familiar with So. Ca. areas we have been up the mountain forest road to Toro peak
no problem with road up,plus we were the only ones there for 3 days at the yellow post camp site!
so far am happy with road manners with 1 dislike and that is transmission searching on steep
up hills,have found that if you lock out over drive on these climbs you can live with it,one trade off
for being able to so far to maintain 28 mpg average for all miles driven,fair trade off.
have done a couple of more mods will post pictures and up date when we get back from next trip.
Les,lqhikers
ttravis5446
Adventurer
I really really like this build. You have me rethinking all the plans I had on building vehicles.
Thanks for all the detail on your build, Les. You've got me thinking about purchasing a Transit Connect as an economical camper/cruiser for on road travels to replace my GMC Canyon.
But I do have a question regarding the bed. Since it's mounted up fairly high, how/where do you get into/onto the bed? Are you able to reach the interior door handles with the bed in place so that you can exit the bed from a door? Is there enough headroom so that you can sit up on the bed and not whack your head on the ceiling?
Thx!
Bob - Warren, MI
But I do have a question regarding the bed. Since it's mounted up fairly high, how/where do you get into/onto the bed? Are you able to reach the interior door handles with the bed in place so that you can exit the bed from a door? Is there enough headroom so that you can sit up on the bed and not whack your head on the ceiling?
Thx!
Bob - Warren, MI
lqhikers
Adventurer
answer for rfross (Bob)
the transit is tall enough that we can set up in bed,one of the reasons
we went this way.
i'm 6'1" and do not hit roof when setting up.
if you look at pictures you will notice where the porta potty sets,when the bed is made this area
in between the p.p. and passenger seat is open,so it gives you space to move.
and yes you can open both the side and rear doors when bed is made.
remember the transit has 2 side doors. we do not use the drivers side door as we
made it so when we camp we can leave it open so the ruling member of family
( "Bella" our cat) can lounge and look out her screened window!.
hope this answers some of your questions.
Les,lqhikers
the transit is tall enough that we can set up in bed,one of the reasons
we went this way.
i'm 6'1" and do not hit roof when setting up.
if you look at pictures you will notice where the porta potty sets,when the bed is made this area
in between the p.p. and passenger seat is open,so it gives you space to move.
and yes you can open both the side and rear doors when bed is made.
remember the transit has 2 side doors. we do not use the drivers side door as we
made it so when we camp we can leave it open so the ruling member of family
( "Bella" our cat) can lounge and look out her screened window!.
hope this answers some of your questions.
Les,lqhikers
Yes it does. Thanks for the details. Still trying to decide what to purchase - I don't want to buy more than I need or can practically use but I don't want something too small, either. I keep going back to vans of one form or another. The new short wheelbase RAM ProMaster with a diesel might be a good fit but it's pretty low to the ground and I'd like to be able to frequently drive on two-tracks. The soon to be released Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon twins in a crew cab with the rumored to be released diesel is also on my list. I guess I'll be pondering this for awhile...