I am building a LOW ROOF with pop-top. On the one hand I understand the draw of the tall roof vans like Sprinter and the mid and tall roof transit BUT my neighborhood association will fine me for leaving my cars on the street or driveway. My 8 foot garage will hold a 2 inch lifted poptop low roof van and thus allow me to avoid association fines. Sportsmobile Texas told me that they will not put a poptop on a mid roof or tall roof Transit. Here are the other advantages of a low roof WITH pop-top vs mid or tall roof without a poptop.
1. Tall roof vans are ugly monstrosities that look silly. Low roof vans are better looking.
2. Low roof vans fit garages more often than tall roof.
3. With a pop-top you get a 2nd floor to store stuff, to sleep, and thus frees up space below.
4. Better fuel mileage due to less wind resistance.
5. Can stow bikes, luggage on roof etc and get to them easier.
6. Because it allows sleeping upstairs you can spend your space below on non-sleeping space.
OK, we were up at SMB North Monday getting a few things done on the van and noticed they had a Quigley Transit 4x4 on the lot waiting to be converted. Here are a couple of pictures. It was 20 degrees, so I didn't spend much time on the ground getting pics, but it looks like they did a pretty good job getting the transfer case up off the ground. The wheels and tires look pretty small though.
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2008 Ford E-350 Quigley 4x4 V10 - 164,000 miles
RB50, PH Top, Dual AGM Group 27 Deka, 2000 Tripplite Inv., No Propane or Water Systems
Van Weight 8,100 pounds, added one rear leaf spring, BFG AT KO LT265/70R17 E Tire press 50psi.
Lots of Quigley transit owners on FordTransitUSAForum.com have shifted from stock 235/65R16 to 245/75R16. Helps a lot, but not near as big as you can go with the E series vans.