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New Van for 2014


Simon Paine

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Hey Justin Ross,

I don't really get the " lol " comment. If memory serves correctly, the one and only time you picked up a piece of gear from me you got your shitbox car stuck in front of my house and I had to push you out of a big snowbank or you would have been stuck there for a month of Sunday's. I hope you mix better than you drive.

PS. The VW would have breezed right through that one like nuthin'!!

HAHAHAHA! I totally remember that. And I still have that shit box. It is on it's last legs. Car shopping will begin next year :)

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Ha! No the cart will remain the same for another year or until I finish my new design I have in mind. My cart is 22 1/2 in wide and 4 ft tall as of now and the new one will be about the same but I could go taller w the Promaster. My follow cart will become a larger unit than it is now though. Almost the size of the main cart. One cart for me and one for Marydixie or whatever kid is booming for me.  The van is fun to drive and has great visibility and the turning radius is insanely tight. It is tall but it fits in my garage so I'm good to go. I ordered it on Oct 14th and they said 3 1/2 months so by February something I'm hoping to get it. Who knows how long it will take me to finish in interior but I'm not going to rush it. Hopefully this is the van I'll ride out my career with. It should last me 8 years when I turn 70. Most likely the van will make it, just hope I do. 

CrewC

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Thanks for all the info, Crew. The more I read about and researched the ProMaster, the more I liked it. In fact, I was about 100% sold until I realized that it is a few inches too tall for my garage. Unfortunately, that is a deal breaker, but what an awesome, flexible vehicle. Seems like a big leap forward for that segment.

More good news is that the redesigned 2014 Transit Connect is out soon and addresses the main concern that prevented me from buying one a couple of years ago: underpowered, IMO. Still no diesel, but both engine options are a big improvement. Nowhere near the capacity of the ProMaster, of course, but will work great for me. There are a bunch of improvements for the TC for 2014 that will make it a much more pleasurable daily driver. The Nissan NV200 is a worthy competitor (And I know how much we all love competition between manufacturers...), but I think I'll go for the Ford. Sadly, raising the roof height of the garage is not an option.

-Paul

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I hear ya Paul. The 8'3" Sprinter's height was the deal breaker for me. At 7'5" the Promaster fits into my 8' garage just fine. The 2014 TC from ford looks like a winner to me for many folks but it is almost as big interior as my VW so I'd be dealing with the same size as before. It looks better than the current version to my eye. Ford makes a fine product and I'm sure it will be a winner. I drove the Nissan NV200 and I liked it to a degree but the doors weren't big enough and it was underpowered for my needs. Who knows what is coming our way? I heard Chevy has a new van in the works. Happy 2014.

CrewC

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Thanks for this thread! :)

 

Caused me to look at the 2014 TC only to find its interior height 49.something", less than the 51.something" I currently enjoy, that allows my fully-built main cart inside. Would have to re-work the antenna masts to make it work. Doable, but...

 

Certainly a more friendly interior and many more standard creature comforts.

 

Also like that it's been factory-certified to tow up to 2000#, which earlier models were not.

 

Just about to search for a hood bra since it really takes road rocks and bugs badly.

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3M paint protection film.

My dealer offered it to me for my xB, I think it was only a few hundred $$.

Thanks for this thread! :)

Caused me to look at the 2014 TC only to find its interior height 49.something", less than the 51.something" I currently enjoy, that allows my fully-built main cart inside. Would have to re-work the antenna masts to make it work. Doable, but...

Certainly a more friendly interior and many more standard creature comforts.

Also like that it's been factory-certified to tow up to 2000#, which earlier models were not.

Just about to search for a hood bra since it really takes road rocks and bugs badly.

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Thanks for this thread! :)

 

Caused me to look at the 2014 TC only to find its interior height 49.something", less than the 51.something" I currently enjoy, that allows my fully-built main cart inside. Would have to re-work the antenna masts to make it work. Doable, but...

 

...

Even a bit shorter, Jan. Interior height is is 49.6", but rear door opening height is 44". Side door is 48.3", so that's a bit better.

It has a choice of two wheelbase lengths now. Must be a little less boxy or have a slightly longer hood, because the longer version has essentially same cargo capacity as previous model even though the exterior is 9" longer.

 

Paul

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This might sound crazy, but a chum of mine had a similar problm, that he solved by lowering the floor of his garage. he literally dug the floor out, plus a bit more, and poured concrete back on at a lower level. He added a 3-4 inch strip of metal to the bottom of the garage door, and a plastic/rubber strip below that to help make the seal. It worked brilliantly, and even though he sold that house some years ago, I pass it regularly and it is still there!!

Kindest, regards,

Simon B

Sadly, raising the roof height of the garage is not an option.

-Paul

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Nice job, Jace5. That Ram VO guy always cracks me up, tho'.

I loved the comments about lowering the grage floor, but that would be verrry expensive in my case. My neighbor told me the guy who had the house before me repoured the driveway twice because it was too steep for his sports cars. But then again, he lost the house and went to prison for embezzlement. No Ferrarris here now!!

I'm going to start a new thread about tax strategies that addresses the "Hummer loophole", so maybe you guys have something to say about that too. Kind of relates to this thread, of course.

Paul

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I'm glad for the height of my FTC (old style) when I have to get up in it, when I have to carry a big stack of stuff for a big job and when I need to put in a folded magliner vertically to save floor space.  On small jobs downtown I'm kind of less glad about the height, since some garages in the Financial District have gotten snooty about tall vehicles.  2 vehicles would be nice (the FTC and a Smart Car maybe) but kind of not doable financially these days.

 

philp

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  • 3 months later...

I wrote this a few weeks ago, but never posted it, so I'm doing so now. I've had some thoughts since I wrote it, but I'll paste this first and then write a little more below.

At long last the 2014 Transit Connect has finally arrived in the dealerships. I've checked them out side by side with the previous generation and thought I'd share a few thoughts. I'll keep it brief, since most of what you need to know can be gleaned elsewhere online. I've done so much research on all the options out there, I could write pages about it.

The redesigned van is much more appealing as a daily driver, with better engine options and more car-like amenities available. To my eye, it is much nicer looking, too. The one thing I want to share that might not be obvious just reading about it is that the interior height is significantly reduced from the old model. The rear door height is now 44" and it used to be 52". The interior height once inside is now 49.7" vs. 59", so over 10" shorter inside. The side door on the current model is listed as being 48", but there is a step up right inside, so it is effectively no higher than the rear door. However, with the new long wheelbase option ($1000 more than the short wheelbase), it is a LOT longer inside now; over 9 1/2 feet and the old one only 6 feet 9 inches. You can also get a lift gate for the rear door (like a SUV) instead of swing-out doors. I like this option. Nice for loading or unloading in the rain, for one thing. Basically, if you can live with it being shorter, it is a great vehicle. My biggest issue with the old one was that it was severely underpowered. This is better now. No diesel, but the well-proven 2.5 liter Duratec is standard. There is the option of the 1.6-liter EcoBoost for $795 which gains you a little more horsepower and torque and 1-2 more MPG. The reliability is questionable, in my opinion. Certainly not as proven as the Duratec.

So, that's what I wrote. Since the height was one of the main advantages of the old Transit Connect (us sound mixers like to roll our carts in without dismantling them), I'm not sure this is an improvement for many of us. Only 4 inches higher door than a Dodge C/V, which is the cargo version of the Caravan. I'm also not sure this new TC will hold its value, because I expect them to improve the engine options next year. There will also be more competition with new Chevy coming soon. Okay, all for now. Buying a used van in the next week or two. Will minimize depreciation and upgrade in a year or two when I like the options more.

Paul

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The old FTCs have Duratec gas engines.  I thought they were putting something more modern in the new one?  The old FTC interior height is a good thing most of the time (minus the snooty old parking garages)--the thing I mentioned about being able to put in a folded magliner vertically (or my Yamaha console in its case on its end) to save floor space is a big deal on my bigger jobs, can't do this in the new FTC.  But the small wheelbase makes transpo captains happy with me (a good thing)--they are always bitching about all the sprinters etc they have to find room for…   Anyhow, lots of pretty good options compared to just a couple of years ago--too bad my old Dodge van didn't hang on until 2014!

 

A note in passing: my 2010 FTC turned over 100k miles between locations #1 and #2 on the job today!

 

philp

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