andrew.halls2309gma Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Hi all My son is thinking of doing a van conversion and has been offered a good deal on a 2017 Transit L3H3 2 litre 105 bhp van and I was wondering if this would make a good base, has anybody done one? Are there any known problems or pit falls? Is the engine big enough? Any advise gratefully received Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 I can't help directly, but suggest you look at: https://www.diymotorhome.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 sbmcc.co.uk is also another good source of information on all aspects of self conversions David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 The 105PS motor should be adequate for a van conversion - though your son should not expect ''ball of fire’ performance if the conversion adds a lot of weight. Problems with the 2.0litre Euro 6 motor used in Transit have been reported https://tinyurl.com/y6effpa3 so you might want to ask for advice on that subject on the Ford Transit forum https://fordtransit.org/forum/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Surely the engine will cope - as someone pointed out to me with the VW I had converted, it's a van! designed to carry a load! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Yes but for most vans not fully loaded to its limit ALL of the time. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 There’s an advert for a 2017 Ford Transit 2.0TDCi 350 L3H3 van here https://www.cargurus.co.uk/Cars/l-Used-2017-Ford-Transit-350-L3H3-ev128200#listing=142871509 (This is the rear-wheel-drive version and the vehicle advertised has the 130PS version of the 2.0litre EcoBlue motor.) It’s not the capacity of the motor that’s a significant issue nowadays, it’s the motor’s performance (particularly, for a motorhome, the motor’s torque). As I said above, the 105PS motor should be ‘adequate’, but the 130PS motor would be preferable. (My 2005 Ford Transit-based Hobby coachbuilt motorhome had a 2.0litre 125PS motor, but the vehicle’s 5-speed manual transmission, high 1st-gear ratio and stall-proneness made it tricky to drive and I was glad to see the back of it. A 2017 Transit with 6-speed transmission should be much better even with the 105PS powerplant.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muswell Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 I have a 2011 SWB Transit with the 140ps engine and it goes well. I don't think the 105 would suit me because I do a lot of driving on roads where you need enough grunt to overtake and also not hold people up on hills without flogging it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew.halls2309gma Posted November 13, 2020 Author Share Posted November 13, 2020 Thanks for all the replies, unfortunately someone beat him to it so he's still looking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsJ Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 When we looked around to buy a van for conversion in 2013 we almost bought a Transit as we used them at work but they are too narrow for a transverse bed which was what we wanted. So we bought a Relay which is just over 6' wide. Also in retrospect we should have ordered one without a bulkhead which would have come with the nice factory trim around the back of the cab instead of the raw edges where the bulkhead finished, which required a lot of thought and work to make tidy. Also we joined the self build forum as above which is well worth it. Just a thought which may help you. MrsJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 MrsJ - 2020-11-13 5:15 PM When we looked around to buy a van for conversion in 2013 we almost bought a Transit as we used them at work but they are too narrow for a transverse bed which was what we wanted. So we bought a Relay which is just over 6' wide. Also in retrospect we should have ordered one without a bulkhead which would have come with the nice factory trim around the back of the cab instead of the raw edges where the bulkhead finished, which required a lot of thought and work to make tidy. Also we joined the self build forum as above which is well worth it. Just a thought which may help you. MrsJ. Some good advice in there Andrew especially on the choice of base vehicle - most converters didn’t use the Transit initially as it is narrower than the Ducato/Boxer/Jumper variations and to make things worse it gets much narrower near the roofline. Hopefully your son will find a suitable vehicle but, in the meantime, he could always join the forums mentioned to get a head start in planning his purchase and conversion. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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