Ford Transit Van

The Transit at 22' long in its maximum size is closer in size to the 21'-11" T1N 5 cylinder engine Sprinter of 2002-2006 sold in the US for Class Bs through about 2007. The newer Sprinters on the 170" wheelbase are 22'-9" and 24'-1" long and they have about a 600 lb. payload advantage.

Will the transit van accommodate the same length as the sprinter

If they come out with the ecoboost and I can get 15mpg I would be happy

I would prefer to have the extra power when I need it and possibly tow

Sportsmobile tanks are likely small because they would have to charge a hefty sum in order to have them custom rotocast like RT's, or would have to have to sell in volume like Winnebago. Since they are a custom shop, one-off-ing tanks would be expensive.

It just might be time to go visit their shop again... I know they can do some cool stuff with the high roof Transit. What I'm curious about is the high roof Transit coupled with a Danhard A/C unit. This means no roof mounted A/C, so overall the van may be lower in height than a standard "B" with the A/C unit on top.

Of course, the EB engine will make the hills a nice drive, due to less power loss at altitude.

Thank you FORD, now we can all dump out Sprinters.

Here's another happy customer, wasting 10 days for parts on a NEW SPRINTER.

Sprinter FAIL

Thank you Stan

I like Sportsmobile, but the tanks will inevitably be too small.I don't know why but that's just what they do.Right now they are using the short Sprinter floor plans if you want to check it out.To make this more on topic I will add that Sportsmobile will make Transits based on the short and long high top Sprinter designs.

cjscotty wrote:
Hope they make more floorplans for the Travato, love the European designs.

Please don't take my thread off topic, it's about the Ford Transit Van. If you want to talk about Travato's start your own thread!

Thank you

cjscotty wrote:
... I still don't understand how they can't design more here on the ProMaster regardless. I like the European designs better. I think there is a BIG market here, us being one ;o), and I think they are simply underestimating that market. I guess that's going to depend on how well the Travato does. But we like it. ;o)

Why not design one with Sportsmobile to suit your requirements? They are currently doing a prototype, according to their website.

Sportsmobile re ProMaster

They can and they will. There is still alot of room under the van. Remember, a black tank on a van is largely above the floor and is that box underneath the commode.

I've seen cassette toilets in truck campers and expedition vehicle. It does offer some flexibility, as well as a moveable, rotating toilet that can make a small space much more comfortable.

The Euro designs usually have more skylights than US vans because they don't have the AC unit up top. So you could still have AC, but you'd loose a skylight.

If you search youtube, you'll see alot of interesting designs. I highly recommend the channels for Practical Motorhome and Motorhome Campervan as a good starting place/repository of van reviews.

mlts22 wrote:
Apples and oranges. European campers don't really translate to the US. The main two things that are different are the generator and roof A/C (since there are only a few weeks each year that an air conditioner would be needed), and the cassette toilet versus the US black tank/gray tank system.

European rigs have more flexibility in design. A cassette toilet only needs an opening to the outside somewhere, and this could be accessed via the rear doors (as on the official Mercedes class "B" that was shown at the Düsseldorf show last year,) or a cut in the wall. The US system requires the toilet to either be located on top of the waste tank, or an expensive macerator/ejector system be used. Then it takes some plumbing to get both tanks to drain through one exit, and on the Travato, that means using a macerator pump to get the gray water out of the tank.

Generators and A/Cs are another issue, and require ground clearance.

The Ducato and ProMaster also have differences. In Europe, one can buy a 4WD Ducato, RWD Ducato, or a FWD Ducato. Here in the US, we only have FWD versions with a fraction of the options European models have. (European models get multiple Multijet engine choices, for example.) Aussie models come with a higher ground clearance. Ducatos also offer a lot more roof heights and lengths abroad than here.

In Europe, Transits are not as popular. However, the van markets in the US and Europe have differences. European urban areas, it isn't about expressways, it is going down narrow cobblestone alleys, so an engine with high MPG and low horsepower is acceptable there as the van may never get past 60 kph in a day's work. In the US, a van can go from 10-20 mph to 70-80 MPH, and require more horsepower to do so safely.

A Transit suits US needs better than a ProMaster. It ships in a higher roof and longer configuration, has two engine choices that are well suited for higher altitudes, has a much larger dealer network, and has a lot more usable configurations. This isn't to say that the PM is a bad vehicle... it has an excellent cost per mile. However, the Transit seems well suited for the US market.

Thanks for all that info, very informative, BUT I still don't understand how they can't design more here on the ProMaster regardless. I like the European designs better. I think there is a BIG market here, us being one ;o), and I think they are simply underestimating that market. I guess that's going to depend on how well the Travato does. But we like it. ;o)