New to Forum: early stages of new SMB

[Nyawira]

Hi everyone, I just wanted to say hello and get any general pointers you might consider vital as we head down this journey of purchasing our new SMB. We are just about to order a 2017 Ford Transit through Sportsmobile Indiana. High roof, Extnded body. We are a little concerned about ground clearance but we haven't been able to find too many complaints. We won't be four wheeling anywhere, it's just that six and a half inches seems low! We're getting the full navigation system and plan to have sliders windows down both sides. So far, for the interior, we are keeping the passenger side free of cabinetry and putting galley (sink, no stove) behind the driver along with ceiling height cabinet and another 3 foot cabinet for ports potti. We are getting AC (thought?) and a ceiling fan. We plan on a platform bed as sleep is the goddess of life.

Anyway, I look forward to connecting with all of you. We will probably be ordering the van in the next two weeks, so changes are still possible if you have advice!

[rallypanam]

Sounds like you have a decent plan! SMB will definitely help you plan it out, and poke a round here for a ton of pictures of vans... not too many Transits, but a few!

[Nyawira]

I've been trying to find anything on the transit in this forum without luck but I'll keep poking around. The SMB folks in Indiana have been super hopeful and patient with us . So far so good. She did say that there might be a possibility of getting an eb350 instead of transit. I thought they were out of production. I will poke around here to see if there are any comparisons. Thanks for your reply!

[Flux]

From my limited experience, 4x4's seem to hold their value much better than 2WD's. Obviously there is a pretty substantial uptick in new pricing. But if it's not a huge issue for you, it might be something to consider.

[Annie O]

How fortunate to order exactly what you want. I'm on the slow track to a homebuild with a main priority of a comfortable sleep area to stretch out on, so I can relate :-)

[WhitH]

Give some serious consideration to what engine you choose. Depending on where you plan on traveling and how heavy your rig will end up being, the standard V6 in the transit can feel pretty weak in a hurry.

[Nyawira]

Thanks, WhitH, that's good to know. We will look in to that.

[Nyawira]

Yes, the cost may be prohibitive, but we would prefer 4 X 4. It's not looking like that's going to happen though.....

[yelnam]

Make sure to peruse fordtransitusaforum.com. I recommend the EcoBoost engine.

[Nyawira]

We are definitely getting the eco boost engine. We've also decided on the extended body, medium roof and 4x4 conversion with Quigley. Not as much storage area, but we think that will be,okay.