DonB Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Has anybody heard of any pros and cons about the new Transit as a base for a coachbuilt motorhome? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muswell Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 No, but I asked someone sitting in his at Corley services what he thought of it and he told me it was the best van he had ever owned, and he seemed to have tried them all. I like my Transit :-D ...and there are lots of dealers for servicing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 At the risk of sounding crass - ask again when they have been around a bit longer and any inbuilt faults have come to light! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmold Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 I've seen two being put onto recovery trucks in the last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joe90 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Was one of them down Calpe neck of the woods. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 One of my customers bought one in September. He had an accident in it in November and it is still waiting for repairs. It needs about £1500 worth of parts and no date can be given for when they might be available. He is not happy. He had told me that it was a great drive and very refined but that he was not getting anything like the fuel economy that was claimed, and certainly much worse than he gets out of his Ducato's. He also said that the seats were a lot less comfortable than his previous Transits. The bodies of the panel vans are a very odd shape. The decent volume vans are narrow and not particularly long; they are tall though but I doubt that is much use to most people and the lack of width would be a problem for converters. I doubt you will see many PVC's. Nothing else to add to that though, we don't 'do' Ford here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 More info here....... http://fordtransit.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=64 Looks like the new Tranny styling has earned it the nickname.......Pig :D .... I wonder if the horn goes.............Oink Oink (lol)........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Joe90 - 2015-02-03 6:59 PM Was one of them down Calpe neck of the woods. :D 2 pitches away is a Ford Deauville ;-) .............That's a Mk 2 Tranny.......which means Horace is no longer the oldest camper on the site :D ............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 DonB - 2015-02-03 5:36 PM Has anybody heard of any pros and cons about the new Transit as a base for a coachbuilt motorhome? There’s a dedicated ‘motorhome’ section on the Ford Commercial Vehicles website that may be of interest. http://www.ford.co.uk/CommercialVehicles/Transit-Motor-Caravan#primaryTabs For FWD coachbuilt motorhome conversion Ford offers a specialised wide rear-track ladder-frame chassis-cab (similar in concept to the Ducato ‘camping-car’ chassis) with 3 wheelbases (3.3m, 3.75m or 3.95m) and (for 3.75m and 3.95m wheelbase versions) a gross vehicle weight of 3500kg or 4100kg. There’s only one engine size (2.2litre) with three output options (100PS, 125PS or 155PS) all with a 6-speed manual transmission (no automatic option). No Al-Ko chassis is available, hence a ‘proper’ double floor is out. As far as I’m aware only Chausson/Challenger and Benimar have so far chosen to produce coachbuilt models based on the special FWD Transit Mk 8 chassis, and there’s no indication other motohome converters will follow suit. RWD and AWD chassis are available, but no coachbuilt designs have been marketed on these. As the motors and transmission fitted to the Transit Mk 8 are very similar to those used in the Mk 7, reliability OUGHT not to be any worse. The snag for someone in the market for a new motorhome is that there’s a huge choice of Fiat/Peugeot X290-based FWD coachbuilt models, in all sizes and shapes and with 2.3litre or 3.0litre motors and manual or ‘automatic’ transmission, but very little choice when it comes to Transit Mk 8-based vehicles. The frontal appearance of the Transit Mk 8 can hardly be called pretty, but I think it’s no worse than the X250’s 'startled frog’ appearance. It’s not something that would concern me and other recently-introduced Ford models (eg “Ecosport”) share the look. The dashboard design is way ahead of the X290’s and the steering-wheel now has reach and rake adjustability (though not a great deal of it). I’ve not driven a Mk 8, but I’ve sat in the driving seat of a couple of Mk 8-based motorhomes and thought the seat was little different to that of my Transit Mk 6 (too short in the cushion). Cab seats are set lower than those of the Transit Mk 6/Mk 7, which is a plus when they have swivels fitted. If I had to choose between a Chausson coachbuilt motorhome based on a Ducato X290 with 2.3litre motor and manual gearbox and the same Chausson model but based on an equivalent-power Transit Mk 8, I’d choose the latter. This would not be because I like Fords, more because I don’t like Fiats (nor cam-belts). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the general Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Ford transit / custom PVC, do anyone know if the new tranny has a cambelt / drive chain fitted? Some people, like myself ( having 3 transit over the years) I welcome the new transit, well house are doing great business and from what I can gather a full order book, Murvi doing MWB/LWB , IH and DEVON all quality builds are all using the new tranny long may it continue . There are still some people like myself can't get my head round sevel vans.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 The 2.2litre motor used in the Transit Mk 8 and (smaller) Transit “Custom” has a timing-chain driving its twin oeverhead camshafts. It’s an evolution of the 2.2litre motor fitted to FWD Transit Mk 7s. The 2.4litre powerplant that was fitted to RWD Transit Mk 6s and Mk 7s has been dropped from the Mk 8 line-up. RWD Mk 8s also get the 2.2litre motor, though mounted ‘longways’ in the vehicle rather than ‘crossways’ as in FWD Transits. You can download brochures from here http://www.ford.co.uk/SBE/Brochures/BrochuresandPricelistsVan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonB Posted February 6, 2015 Author Share Posted February 6, 2015 Thank you everybody, food for thought...We are thinking along the lines of a Chausson 717GA on the Ford. DonB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Cup Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 PVC-wise, the high top looks very tall and narrow and high off the ground, so difficult for side access. It looks quite ungainly. I don't know the internal height of the medium roof version and if that would be usable, but I personally don't think I'll go for the high top for my next PVC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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