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Hi Everybody! I'm a new member and still figuring out how do do certain things on this Forum. I am waiting for a new Ford Transit high top, extended van to arrive. I have a preliminary layout of the interior that has been evolving for the past several months. I'll eventually upload a PDF to this Forum and give members a chance to provide an evaluation. Here's a description of a couple features that are a little different from what I've seen on other vans:
1) A lift style bed mounted just behind the driver/passenger area. Neither I or my wife are very tall (5' 6" and 5' 2") and I think we can make the bed so that we can both stand under under it when it is raised.
2) A shower pan will be installed on a slightly raised floor in the rear of the van with a gray water tank installed in the spare tire area. A curtain will hang from the ceiling to surround the shower area. We do not want a dedicated shower area.
As soon as I have the PDF of the layout ready I'll upload it so you can have a better idea of what I would like to do and you can comment on things I need to consider or warnings about what may be wrong with the layout and what problems I may encounter. Thanks
Jamie Eilerman 07/10/2024 8:23 am
Hey @twtransit! Welcome to the forum! Congrats on starting up your van builder journey. @neilerman can definitely help. Looking forward to your PDF.
twtransit Topic starter
12/10/2024 6:55 pm
Attached (I hope) is a rough layout of the interior of my Ford Transit. I don't have the van yet so the relative sizes of everything are approximations. Everything shown should be considered to be conceptual placeholders and subject to change. The layout is based 10 years of camping in our Jayco 264BH. We looked at what we liked most about it and are trying to translate that into the van.
One item we love in our camper is the jack knife sofa. It is a comfy spot to relax. The PDF shows it located along the driver side wall of the van but I have also considered placing it directly behind the front seats. The sofa would be in the down position while driving for access to the back of the van.
The first page shows a top view of the interior. Here are some things I'd like to highlight. The bed is positioned near the front of the van on a lift system. The shower will be in the rear and will consist of a floor pan which will drain into a gray tank installed in the spare wheel well. We're currently considering a cassette style toilet. We've been using 5 gallon jugs of water for drinking and cooking for years so we'd like to keep that. A fresh water tank will be installed for showering, toilet flushing and the kitchen sink.
Sheet 2 is looking at the driver side wall. This stick figure is approximately how tall I am. We're considering using three individual refrigerator/freezer units in a stack. The electrical system may be the Battle Born Lithium Power Pack but that may change. The air conditioner will most likely be from CruisenComfortUSA.
Sheet 3 is a view of the passenger sidewall. Not much to discuss here other than we wanted the microwave/convection oven down low because my wife is shorter than me and has a hard time with the microwave in our Jayco being mounted up high.
Sheet 4 is approximately what our van will look like. The only difference is our van will be a dually and there will not be a fan mounted on the top.
Some other specs about the van:
1) Dual alternators
2) 50 amp service. WHY? We've tripped the 30amp pedestal mounted CB several times if we're winter camping with an electric heater running, coffee maker doing its thing, microwave cooking breakfast and someone decides to use the toaster. You can never have too much power available!
3) Solar power is not a concern for us at this time since we usually camp and state parks with electric and water available.
What am I looking for from this group?
Advice on how to install the bed lift system and cut holes for the gray water tank are two tasks that concern me the most. The main concern I have at this time is drilling the hole(s) for the gray water tank. I think I'll also need some guidance on installing the sofa. I found one from RecPro that is going to be a tight squeeze.
Well, that's it for now. I'll be posting more as I have more information to share.
twtransit Topic starter
12/10/2024 6:56 pm
Looks like I may have messed up attaching the PDF. I got a warning that it didn't like the file type. I'll try again.
Let's try adding the PDF this way.
Looks like the PDF still didn't work. Let me see if I can try something else
