The 5 Best Ford Transit Connect Van Build Decisions I Made
I'm going to be talking about the five best Ford Transit Connect van build decisions I made. You see a big difference between the usual van builds: the Ford Connects, the Sprinters, and the ProMasters. Because in a tiny van, you do have to think in miniature.
For instance, when I was in the Dodge, it was a no-build build. That means you just kind of put things in. You don't have to overthink it much. I had that mentality in mind when I came to my Transit Connect.
I don't have many skills for building, so I needed to figure out what I could do with that. I also thought I would be in a tiny space, so how could I help this space feel much bigger?
1. Cabinet replacement
One of the best decisions I think I made in this van build is this cabinet. I had seen some Transit Connect builds, and I always wondered whether they would still put regular 24-inch cabinets in a space way smaller than the bigger Ford Transits Sprinters and ProMasters.
So, what would happen if I found a smaller cabinet that fit the scale I was working with? In my mind, and it's not necessarily this cabinet per se, you can find any cabinet that is 13 inches wide because that's what this is. It was 46 inches long, which perfectly fits this van's side.
One of the things that I did was measure everything inside of it. I had this camp stove and measured if it would fit in this kind of space, which it does perfectly. It's that thinking that I could have more space on this side if I was okay with working with the space that I had on this cabinet.
The other thing about this cabinet is that I don't have the overhead storage cabinets, which gives me much more room to work with.
2. Over-cab-shelf
Another great decision was the over-the-cab shelf I built. One of the things that I love about my shelf is that it doesn't have doors.
Now, that might surprise you because you often see people agonizing over how to get doors up on top of their cabinets.
Once I decided to use those bins that could slide in and out and keep that space looking organized up there without the doors, it made a lot more sense and didn't cut into the driving space.
3. Not having a gray water tank
I had watched many videos with people, even with RVs and bigger rigs, who complained a lot about the smell of the gray and black tanks, particularly the gray tanks, because that's where the food and the water for all that goes.
You are potentially carrying around as much in your gray tank as in your regular water tank because you need at least that much space when you don't empty it regularly.
The decision not to have a gray tank also allows me to carry gallons of water in here that is usable for me.
I can be out boondocking for quite a long time with that.
4. Not having solar on my roof
I know that those who have it love it and it's very useful for them. That is wonderful if you have the space for it and if you have the knowledge to be able to even do that kind of thing.
At the time, I lacked both of those. So, I decided very early on to try to make the decisions that would make my life easy and not have to worry too much about how to do some of those things because, again, I was doing it by myself and because I didn't have that knowledge.
A lot of people were talking about the Renogy and Jackery battery packs.
I went with the one that seemed to have been around for a while and that many people were talking about, the Jackery.
So far, I started with a 160 and still have it as a backup. Then, I graduated in this tiny van with a Jackery 500. For my needs, that works just fine.
5. Not having insulation
This is my fifth best van build decision, and this might seem counterintuitive to some of you, but it is no insulation. I saw Bob Walls talk about insulation and how he had lived in Alaska with little more than carpeting on his floor. So that got me thinking: Do I need insulation? Especially since I don't know the first thing about how to install it.
I did have the advantage that this van comes with the manufactured ceiling board or headboard, and it's somewhat insulated. It is doing its job. I know that you don't have problems with water coming down from your roof in a car, so I figured I wouldn't mess with what was already here.
Then, it was a cargo van with no windows, which can be an advantage and a disadvantage. It turned out to be an advantage because I didn't have to mess with windows back here. I had to figure out how to keep cold air out and heat out when needed. So far, it's worked.
I have an area rug for my feet, and that is all I've ever needed. The advantage of having a smaller space is that you can quickly heat and cool it off.
When I open my doors and put on the fans, it cools off pretty quickly.
In the cold, I use my little defroster heater to heat it up here when it is that cold, and then I just turn it off once it's a nice temperature, and I'm good until the morning. However, I don't prefer to be in cold weather, so I haven't had to test that to the limits.
Ford transit connect van build
I hope these Ford Transit Connect van build suggestions can help you.
What have been the best van build decisions you have made? Share in the comments below.
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