Transit Opinions Appreciated

[zip]

I am now rethinking my 6th, and hopefully last build.

I Just got back from 5 beautiful days in Joshua Tree, and some beautiful camper builds caught my eye.

I had planned on a late model E350 EB V10 UJOR Fiberine build, but after seeing some real nice Transits, I am starting new research.

I saw a couple Plain Jane DIY interior 2wd hightops with ecoboost that the owners were very happy with.
Also there were a few lifted AWD full blown professional builds. A lot more ground clearance then I expected.

I would appreciate any and all constructive input.

 

[Ozarker]

Just IMO, I'd seriously consider one, the AWD with some lift sounds ideal for light travels. Ask @AbleGuy

 

[zip]

Just IMO, I'd seriously consider one, the AWD with some lift sounds ideal for light travels. Ask @AbleGuy

Isn't he a Ram Promaster guy?

 

[ujoint]

I had a 2wd lifted Transit and then an AWD also with a lift. Very little wheel travel with basically no options to improve. Other than that they drove good just weren't special enough for my particular tases.

 

[zip]

I had a 2wd lifted Transit and then an AWD also with a lift. Very little wheel travel with basically no options to improve. Other than that they drove good just weren't special enough for my particular tases.

Since you and your team are the undisputed champions of the E series conversions I can definitely understand and respect your opinion. Any chance in the future of your company doing something with these vehicles?

 

[rruff]

I had planned on a late model E350 EB V10 UJOR Fiberine build

Transits are very much designed for urban delivery, and there is only so much you can do with IFS and AWD to improve offroad capability.

Frankly, think I'd rather have a E350 2wd with a locker, lift, etc.... or the similar GM. Of course a Ujoint 4wd would be very cool for $$$.

 

[b. rock]

I was recently doing the math on the factory crawl ratios of the Sprinters, Transits, and Econolines w/ 4x4 conversions. The Sprinters and 4 speed Econolines are actually pretty close to each other. The 5 speed (and above) Econolines have a good bit higher ratio than the rest. The awd Transits were in dead last. That first gear is not nearly as low as it is in the Sprinters. Worth noting that diff ratios are easiest to change in the Econolines as well and can change the crawl ratio dramatically, and tire size needs to be factored in as well. If I was thinking about a Transit AND actually taking it off road, I'd be trying to find one of the Quigley/Quadvan conversions with a t-case. If you're just dirt roading in it...meh, doesn't matter. The awd center diff/case in both the Transits and Sprinters can also shut off on you if they overheat btw.

I was also surprised that once loaded up/built out, highway mpg out west (say 75-85 mph) between the boosted Transits and Econolines wasn't substantially different.

 

[zip]

"I was also surprised that once loaded up/built out, highway mpg out west (say 75-85 mph) between the boosted Transits and Econolines wasn't substantially different."
That's interesting.
I'm a drive the speed limit type of guy. How do you feel they would compare mpg at 65? Transit Ecoboost with 33's versus Econoline with V10 and 35s?
I was kinda under the impression the transit would be around 16 and the econoline would be around 8 mpg.

 

[rruff]

The 5 speed (and above) Econolines have a good bit higher ratio than the rest. The awd Transits were in dead last.

Transits are actually higher geared in 1st even with 10 speeds?

 

[Raul]

I'm a drive the speed limit type of guy. How do you feel they would compare mpg at 65? Transit Ecoboost with 33's versus Econoline with V10 and 35s?
I was kinda under the impression the transit would be around 16 and the econoline would be around 8 mpg.

I'm a 10+ over the limit kind of driver and I get about 10mpg no matter what. E350 4x4, 5.4, 4.56 gears and 35" tires. I wanted the Transit (modern, better use of interior space,..) but it will not be an offroad machine as my E350 is and I keep getting feedback about mileage and mine is not that bad. Not great either, but I've heard modified Tacomas getting just 14 mpg. It seems that as you put bigger tires, change ratios, and load camper stuff, all the Vodoo (20 mpg) magic fuel economy disappears.

 

[ujoint]

Since you and your team are the undisputed champions of the E series conversions I can definitely understand and respect your opinion. Any chance in the future of your company doing something with these vehicles?

0.0 chance

 

[b. rock]

Transits are actually higher geared in 1st even with 10 speeds?

Their first gear is pretty tall (for not having a t-case). They used the extra gears to reduce gear steps, not necessarily to broaden the spread. Keep in mind higher crawl ratio = better, but 1st gear often get's called a crawl gear in lieu of a low range. Language can be mixed here. Point being, everything in 1st gear, a Transit is moving the fastest. 4.696 1st gear + 3.73 in the diff vs 5.53 first gear and 3.92 in the diff for the Sprinter. That's 17.52:1 vs 21.68:1. As a comparison, an Econoline with a 4r100 or 4r75 2.45 first gear, NV271 2.72 low range, and 3.73 in the diff has a crawl ratio of 24.86:1 (side note: the 7 spd sprinters w/ 1.4:1 center diff matches this). Bumping that up to the 5r110 transmission first gear of 3.10 changes that to 31.45:1. As noted above, the diffs in the Econolines are the easiest to change and can swing this pretty wildly, but tire size is also left out of these #s, and Transits typically use smaller tires in comparison to the other options. Lastly, these don't factor in for torque converters either, which sort of double the ratio, so long as you can deal w/ the prolonged heat somehow.

I didn't look into what t-case the 6 speed transit 4x4 conversions get, but as their first gear is 4.17, so it wouldn't take much for it to be significantly lower than the AWD vans w/ the 10 spd.

 

[b. rock]

"I was also surprised that once loaded up/built out, highway mpg out west (say 75-85 mph) between the boosted Transits and Econolines wasn't substantially different."
That's interesting.
I'm a drive the speed limit type of guy. How do you feel they would compare mpg at 65? Transit Ecoboost with 33's versus Econoline with V10 and 35s?
I was kinda under the impression the transit would be around 16 and the econoline would be around 8 mpg.

To be clear I was looking specifically at the ecoboost options, which get thirsty under boost. The n/a V6 probably does better.

 

[86scotty]

"I was also surprised that once loaded up/built out, highway mpg out west (say 75-85 mph) between the boosted Transits and Econolines wasn't substantially different."
That's interesting.
I'm a drive the speed limit type of guy. How do you feel they would compare mpg at 65? Transit Ecoboost with 33's versus Econoline with V10 and 35s?
I was kinda under the impression the transit would be around 16 and the econoline would be around 8 mpg.

I had a 2016 2wd Ecoboost Transit that I ran expedite/hotshot freight in for a living for awhile. I drove it very fast and usually very loaded. About halfway through it's time with me I put 245/75-16 KO2's on it with an Eaton Truetrac for better offroad-ability. This had no impact on MPG's, maybe 1 mpg literally. It was my weekend camper and my daily work van. It got about 15 mpg lifetime mileage sometimes loaded with sailboat fuel and sometimes loaded with 4k lbs. of machine parts.

My 2011 V10 e-series on 35"s gets 11-13 mpg depending on hills and wind. It has 4:10 gearing and all sorts of overland ornaments hanging off of it but no roof rack, which is in my opinion the biggest efficiency killer.

To be clear I was looking specifically at the ecoboost options, which get thirsty under boost. The n/a V6 probably does better.

They do get thirsty under boost and no one who buys one will drive it like a van because they are so damn fun to drive. Boost is addictive. I have no experience with the n/a V6 Transit but I know they are anemic. I would think, similar to the 5.4 vs V10 conundrum that the n/a V6 would get worse MPG's than one would think because it's working harder. That is to say, I would bet it gets about the same mileage as the Ecoboost.

Every 5.4l I've ever had that was loaded, lifted, popped and modded got hardly any better than any of the V10's I've had, which is to say about 14 mpg lifetime average vs. the 12/13 the V10's get no matter how you drive them or what you do to them.

 

[vintageracer]

My 2001 Chevrolet Express 3500 ATF 4WD Quigley van with 4.10 gears and an 8.1 (496 CI) engine gets 10 MPG at 75-80 MPH and 12 MPG at 65 MPH with 33 inch tall tires all the time no matter how you drive it OR what you are pulling.

Offroad capability and MPG don't mix well.

MPG is what it is with any of these vehicles.

If you can't afford the fuel for your rig you either need another hobby OR another higher MPG smaller/less capable higher vehicle for your offroad fun.