2020 Ford Transit AWD

[dman93]

I agree that the implementation of most swivel seats is pretty poor, but after owning them in a Vanagon 30 years ago, and having the OEM swivels in our month-old Transit, I’d say if you want to have two usable camping seats in a cargo van, you need swivels. And I can swivel the driver seat without opening the door if it’s adjusted just right, but it’s easier to open the door for a second and just do it.

 

[Grassland]

T town

Yes they are very rear. The most of the contractors / fleet here in the NE want fully enclosed vans. You may come across ones with rear windows but it's may not have defrosters, which you need in NE and many other places too.
Anyway cargo Transits right off the dealer's parking lot are usually poorly equipped. IMHO

Christian P.

Yes the crew van surprised me and I felt you are not paying for a metal cell. If don't need the 2nd row seats removing them is like 5 minutes.
In my case It will probably be my dog's seat.



At this moment I don't quite need swivel seats but the rest you mention I would like to have, even just the idea of having them under warranty makes me feel better.
The LSD in my opinion is crucial in Transit vans due to the absence of the proper 4DW system such as 4L, 4H or the central lock.
I am planning to drive my van on the forest roads of Main and the BLM roads of the west, so an LSD in my case is very important. Unfortunately, it's hard to find a van with an LSD.

The salesman told me it would take 6-8 week, sometimes 10 weeks to get an order delivered. I didn't ask how accurate he was so I can't be sure.

Also I am very curies to know what this new RV package brings on the table. It says an HD front suspension, I wonder what it is. I can't find that option in the virtual build option.

Next week I am going to check out a Nissan NV. I like it's HD dna with a bit wired look. I'll report it back here.

I feel like my 2018 is a Ford 9.75" axle. I don't see why an aftermarket LSD or locker couldn't be added.

 

[Christian P.]

We are going to go check out a couple more 2020 AWD Transit tomorrow. This time a middle roof 148" but with the 3.73 axle, LSD and extended fuel tank (31 gallons). No EcoBoost, but I think they have one in stock so I hopefully may be able to try it too. MSRP is about $45k and they are asking $42k.

 

[Christian P.]

Well we are making some progress...we did try another 148 Medium Roof today with the EcoBoost. There is no doubt that the EcoBoost is a lot more fun to drive. Better power for sure, but just felt smoother and more engaging than the 3.7. So much so that my wife and I were fighting about who would be driving it.



The bad news is that we also realized that we really want the high roof, the rear/side windows, the extended fuel tank and the towing package.
That appears to be almost impossible to find in the current inventories.

At this point, we pretty much decided that we are going to wait a bit longer and probably put a special order for the new 2021 Adventure Package with these additional options.

2021 Ford Transit Adventure Prep Package Makes Van Life Easy With AWD, Upgraded Axles

Ford knows we're all tired of being in our houses and made the perfect package for #vanlife accordingly.

www.thedrive.com

 

[Highlander]

@Grassland
This is what I am wondering about too. If that is the same axle as of the F150, why couldn’t one buy the same locker the F150 uses and put in the rear axle? This something the after market RV shops should advertise.
There is a guy on YouTube, he has got an ecoboost Transit with an arb locker in it. I was surprised to see places he drove.
——

As as side note, today I went to check out a Nissan NV.
My overall impression is that it’s extremely well built van with very good driving position and very good seats. The V8 is very good too. My feeling was that it’s an HD truck that happens to look like a van.
However, it’s small and only available in 2wd. There are Nissan shops that will convert it for you using the Titan’s parts.
The other issues is that it will be discontinued in the next year.
If it was a factory 4x4, like the Titan, I would definitely consider, but with these caveats I’ll pass.

@Christian P.

At this point, we pretty much decided that we are going to wait a bit longer and probably put a special order for the new 2021 Adventure Package with these additional options.

yeah this exactly what our conversation was today as well. We’ll wait and when the time comes we’ll put an order.
The aftermarket will go crazy about the Transit. Pretty soon will have options for bumpers, winches And skid plates.

 

[Christian P.]

@Grassland
This is what I am wondering about too. If that is the same axle as of the F150, why couldn’t one buy the same locker the F150 uses and put in the rear axle? This something the after market RV shops should advertise.
There is a guy on YouTube, he has got an ecoboost Transit with an arb locker in it. I was surprised to see places he drove.
——

As as side note, today I went to check out a Nissan NV.
My overall impression is that it’s extremely well built van with very good driving position and very good seats. The V8 is very good too. My feeling was that it’s an HD truck that happens to look like a van.
However, it’s small and only available in 2wd. There are Nissan shops that will convert it for you using the Titan’s parts.
The other issues is that it will be discontinued in the next year.
If it was a factory 4x4, like the Titan, I would definitely consider, but with these caveats I’ll pass.

Yes the Nissan NV is too small I am afraid - at least for us.

 

[Pinnacle Campers]

2020 Transit AWD Crewvan, winter testing in Wyoming.

 

[86scotty]

Good time and place to test it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Highlander]

Pinnacle Campers

I'll be stupid one and ask, what's going on with front and entire windscreen? lamination?

 

[Pinnacle Campers]

@Highlander
Its Carpet masking I used specifically to protect the front during transport and this very situation.
I-80 across Wyoming is a pretty wild ride, can be winter there any time of year.

 

[Highlander]

@Pinnacle Campers
Would you mind to tell us how it drove in snow/ice?
Did you have to engage the snow mode?

 

[Pinnacle Campers]

@Highlander
There was so much wind that the Interstate was fairly free of snow.
I was doing 70 ish on the broken snow floor roads and here and there had to slow to 55 where there was a thicker drifted area. The wind was very persistent but I think its pretty manageble.
The effect of AWD is really not noticable in these situations as there isn't much stopping, accelerating, side side maneuvers. I used "slippery" mode I think.
Off the freeway in Rawlins, there was +/- 6" I was ripping around corners and through parking lots trying to get it to slide around and drift and it just wont.
I did notice some potential driveline hesitations with hooking up, and under some harsh acceleration (trying to get it to spin tires) it felt like there was a little wheel hop in the rear. That said, I was driving more aggressively than normal intentionally.
The dash heat can barely keep up in an empty cargo van at 80 when its 6 degrees out. Brrrrr!

 

[socceronly]

I see people talking about sizes. How much more would it be to get a Unicell or Supreme box on a cutaway version of the Transit?

The advantages of a box with even a small cab over for storage seems worth it, I just can't figure out how much these things cost vs a regular Transit.

JM

 

[Highlander]

The dash heat can barely keep up in an empty cargo van at 80 when its 6 degrees out. Brrrrr!

yeah, isolating a cargo/crew van is must.

 

[Jonnyo]

I see people talking about sizes. How much more would it be to get a Unicell or Supreme box on a cutaway version of the Transit?

The advantages of a box with even a small cab over for storage seems worth it, I just can't figure out how much these things cost vs a regular Transit.

JM

unicell says about 9000$ + chassis. At that price, i think a box made by total composite fully insulated is a better alternative.