Why this van?

We had no idea how many options we'd have to wade through to build out what we wanted in our van. We ordered a Build Order Buyer (BOB) book from Ed, and once BOB arrived, we studied pages and pages of details, options, packages, tiers of add-ons that required (or voided) other add-ons, etc.

As a base, we decided on an AWD, Eco-Boost, T-350 Transit Cargo Van with Extended Length and High Roof. This gave us the largest hauling and interior space we could get without going to dual rear wheels.

Our reasoning -
  • AWD - we plan on getting out and off paved roads from time to time and want the traction. Ford doesn't offer 4 wheel drive on the Transit.
  • 3.5L EcoBoost V6 - this was a bit of a gamble, as I know there are people who swear by it and others who swear at it. We wanted a little extra oomph when on the highways, merging, and in the mountains. We'll have to update later if this was a good choice.
  • T-350 allows us 9500lb GVWR (weight of the van and what we add) and heavy duty front axle. This will leave us about 4000lbs for the build out - we hope to stay well below that.
  • Cargo (vs crew or passenger van) we eliminated anything "extra" in the van - no extra seats, windows, airbags and no wall/ceiling panels, etc. - just an empty (unsquare) box.
  • Extended length and high roof gives us as much room as we can get to build in our bedroom, "bathroom", kitchen, dining area, office, and garage. High roof also means we can stand in the van with several inches of clearance - we're too old to have to stoop.
So that's the base we started with. For anyone who is curious about the myriad of options available on a cargo van, I'll list more of the options we picked and why in the next post.

Why Ford over Mercedes?

A quick note on why the Ford Transit over the Mercedes Sprinter. Both have their pros and cons. In our research, we found several people talking not just about the cost to own the Mercedes, but also the aggravation of finding someone to service Sprinter vans. Both higher up front cost and cost to maintain/service, plus the limited availability of service stations and parts led us to the Transit. We thought the Transit gave us a good balance of being able to stay nimble and a good amount of space to build out. The "cool" factor of being able to say we have a Sprinter didn't outweigh the other costs of owning a Sprinter. It's not the first, nor the last, time we don't make the cool choice. I'm sure most people reading this already know our lifelong lack of coolness. 😄

Additional differences* between Transit and Sprinter: 

Ford TransitMercedes Sprinter
Overall Length264" (22ft)290" (24.15ft)
Interior Width77"70.4"
Interior Cargo Height81.5"79"
Exterior Height110"107"
Wheelbase148"170"
Fuel Capacity31 gallons24.5 gallons
FuelGasolineDiesel
Cargo Space488 cu ft533 cu ft

 

*The above numbers are for the larger versions of each van, measurements may change with newer models.

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