Custom Van Build - FORD TRANSIT - Air Conditioner? Xtra support rails are a MUST-HAVE in these vans!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
- Then it comes to safely distributing and supporting weight up on the van roof, the Ford Transit has its own set of quirks. This video details how to easily add supports and spread the load across the chassis roof struts.
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#onahumbleroad #customtransitvan #customvanbuild
Love all the free technical knowledge you provide George 😍 Hoping the YT algo rewards you with plenty of traffic to pay you back for everything you give my friend!
Such thoughtful engineering! Invaluable info to DIY folks. So many people are building their own conversions with little or no knowledge of what they’re doing. Videos like this will help them from making huge mistakes. From what I’m observing by watching TH-cam videos is that many, many, DIY builders are relying heavily on lessons learned from TH-cam. You are a master instructor sir👍🏼🙌🏼👏🏼🚐♥️
I have zero technical knowledge and just have to say how much I appreciate your thorough and easy to understand explanations. Your humor (bayhole is ok to say!) is the icing on the cake. Thank you!
Glad to help
Very nice, George! You’re always one step ahead of any possible problem! 👍 ~Jim~
George , very nice as always! You can also use the tape transfer method to locate the holes. Simply run a piece of heavy duty masking tape punch out the centers, and transfer the tape to the angle stock.
Excellent video and solution for the sagging skin of the 2nd bay. Thanks!
The factory roof brings a song to mind 🎼the bare necessities
It will be interesting to see how you adapt your ceiling construction to fit around these roof supports.
Ceiling panels will fly under all this brace work. The Transit is the only platform that will allow this, in practical terms.
@@HumbleRoad The height of the transits is something else.
What an education. Thank you!
Awesome. A few screws through the aluminum angle into the wood spaced evenly will further resist deflection. Maybe just for the Air Conditioner "Bay-hole"
"Bay-hole." As soon as I said it, I knew it would be fun to say!
Love your thorough explanation, George!! Thank you!!
Nice pull up George!
Yea, I just ordered a pull-up/dip station! I need to regain all the muscle I lost!
I like the new outro
Thank you for noticing. It's dynamic, meaning I will change the clips to keep it interesting.
I always learn so much from you! Great information, thanks!
WOW ! Your computer set-up is amazing. Having 1 Apple is great, but 4 is stupendous.
Nice engineering
Thank you
Thank You For Making Greatest Videos Just Got A Ford Transit 2021
PS you must not sleep at night
Another great video George.
Awesome work.
Great tips, thank you!
Hey George, Great video!! I have a Transit 148 MR AWD and I basically did the same thing but I ran 4 pieces of poplar the length of the van and I installed my Dometic Brisk 2 in the back bay and my fan a few bays forward. I also cut a 2x4 to fit the gap and it worked great, very solid!!
The only issue I have with the A/C unit is it gets too cold!! LOL
Love your work!
Kudos!! Nicely done.
Thank you kindly!
It is early, I have not made coffee. I was not ready for "Bayhole". 😹😹
Just to add to your info. The Ford Transit Body and Equipment and Mounting Manual says that if the air conditioner is more than 55 pounds, it must be supported between the roof bows. I have a 2021 Transit Long Wheelbase, not extended so my roof real estate is more limited than yours on the extended van. I had to prioritize between MaxxAir fan, air conditioner, and solar panels. I decided not to have a MaxxAir fan. I will put my A/C unit in what you would call Bay 2. The roof bows are closer together there than in Bay 3 so there won't be as much tendency for the roof to deflect with the weight of the air conditioner. I am planning on putting some Unistrut between the bows to support the roof and A/C unit. I will tie into the same holes with PlusNuts that you are using. I will put some foam between the Unistrut and the roof steel to cushion the roof/Unistrut joint. I am putting in the Dometic RTX2000 which weighs 72 pounds. I'm 6' 4" so I'm trying to conserve head room as much as possible. That's why I decided on using the Unistrut which should fit between the roof bows and not decrease the ceiling height anywhere. I'm following your Transit builds closely because I know that you will recognize all the important details. By the way, I work as an Electrician at the Kansas City Assembly Plant where the Transits are built. I'll be glad when Winter is over so I can get more serious about building my van. The van won't fit in my garage.
Good info, Bob. That Dometic RTX2000 intrudes down into the headspace area quite a bit! I'm surprised you are placing it in Bay 2, or using it at all.
@@HumbleRoad I've thought this through ( I think). The Dometic RTX2000 A/C unit has a 5 inch plenum that goes into the hole in the roof. I thought that it wouldn't work, but Hein at DIYVan makes a roof adapter (1/2 inch thick), a spacer (1 inch thick), and a seal (1/2 inch thick) which will raise the A/C unit 2 inches off the roof. The space between the roof sheet metal and the bottom of the roof bows is 2 inches. So, the A/C unit should only come down into the van about an inch below the roof bows. So, with a height in the center of the bow of 79.625 (your measurement), there will be about 78.5 from the top of the grooves in the floor to the A/C controls. I'm building my floor similar to what you did in Sam's van -- sound deadener and Noico Red in the grooves with 3/4 inch plywood on top of the grooves. So subtracting the 3/4 from 78.5 and the headroom should still be 77.75 inches. I'll just have to keep my finished floor material as thin as possible, maybe vinyl. I'll have to remember to not Yippee! under the A/C unit. Thanks, George for your fastidiousness.
Genius!
Good stuff, thanks.
I woke up early and have been patiently waiting for my “Humble Road Fix” … all is good now 😂
Thank you, may I have another❓👀
Sure thing!
@@HumbleRoad Haha 😂 … I saw # 2 first, so gotta go back and catch #1❗️😎
Have a great day George 👍
I use alum square tube mounted side to side ( bend in a power bender for round pipe) and glue to roof and mount to side rails
Put one of those ‘bolts’ with a center pin (not sure what they call those) into each hole, hold up the angle iron, tap with a hammer, and you will have a little dimple where each hole is to be drilled. Ezzee Pezzee.
Great video! I have a ford transit we're converting and I we installed a Midi Heki skylight. Ours is where you show a red X on your transit. I had a "Heki" of a time getting installed as I had to move one of the roof struts (left of the red X) to get the skylight where we want it. Super glad we made the wteak, but it took some engineering and load path evaluation (as well as having to drill out a lot of spot welds--ugh... I cringe thinking about how many hours THAT took). I displaced the load to the adjacent three struts , but after seeing this I may add some additional angle iron to span further out. Always great content! Keep up the great work!
I, as well as Ford, recommend never cutting the roof crossmembers.
@@HumbleRoad I have say, It's a shame that Ford designed their roof struts spacing where it would be impossible to add a mid to large size skylight to the aft portion of the vehicle (at least in the 148" extended high roof). I think that's where most folks are adding their skylights these days and I know the Midi would have fit in the ProMaster without adjustments. We really wanted the Transit, though.
I've been a subscriber for a while, now, and I have a Transit on order. Thank you for your knowledge and expertise.
Hello George, I really appreciate your attention to detail and innovative ideas in your build’s.
But watching this video and realizing these 3 brands of vans and possibly the Ford being the most popular, I was thinking of a different solution to reinforcing the roof.
Briefly about me, I trained as a Coach builder back in my home country of New Zealand in the early 70’s, a 5 year apprenticeship, I lived in Canada since 79.
The one thing I learned with the company I trained at, was building Mini Buses and modifying vans to comply with all the safety regulations.
Looking at the Cambre of these roofs, it would seem to me you could reinforce the area’s you need by adding another lateral roof beam.
Perhaps you can order from Ford new replacement roof beams and successfully add them to get the structural strength required, by doing so should eliminate the need for Fore and Aft angles.
As an apprentice I spent many hrs hand rolling aluminum side wall frames and cambred roof beams, depending on what we were building.
Anything from Custom 36-40 seat buses to passenger mini buses as mentioned.
Anyway getting new replacement roof beam’s should be relatively easy, as Bodyshops probably do these sort of repairs regularly.
Thank you for all your great videos.
Cheers,
Murray Ashworth
That is a wonderful suggestion, Murray! Thank you!
Wow
I'm gonna have to post videos when I start building my future van, so I can get people like you to give me suggestions!!! ☺️🙏🏽
I’m catching up
We also use the term bay between our frames in aircraft. I've labeled my bays for reference to my electrical run schematics for future maintenance. Would utilizing marine ply with water proof glue be a better fill material for any possible water intrusion? A 4x8 sheet would make a lot of fill pieces when laminated in strips.
Good morning George. I really appreciate your ideas and common sense way of approaching things. So you haven’t found this to be necessary on the pro master?
In a Promaster, the chassis roof supports are spaced close enough together to support the localized weight of the air conditioner. Adding these extra supports would certainly help, but at the expense of interior height clearance. The Ford Transit is the highest and therefore allows this kind of treatment. Which is good news, because it's also the only van that REQUIRES this kind of treatment! Is that circular irony?
@@HumbleRoad understood. I guess we should be grateful they didn’t use plastic. Haha. Thanks again. Have a great day.
Not over kill.
Impeccable thoroughness.
Great job with the sound deadener. I see so many people add way too much and all that gets you is more weight without any better performance.
Very true! I've seen pro builders cover the entire floor with it! 😳
"Bay hole is okay to say." 🤣😂
As usual, George, you have the low down on logical, sound and time saving methods for van building tasks. These ideas will stop the hair pulling, bongo madness, brain drain and save newbies valuable time and effort. Thanks for sharing.
Technically that jig is NOT a parallel plane. Unless you think the roof is flat.
You are correct. However, that section is as close to flat as needed to accomplish my task.
@@HumbleRoad You triggered my OCD.😂😂👍👍👍🤣🤣
I know how that goes, brother! 🤓
That is really some serious thinking done, what a beautiful job! ❤️
That is a lot of headroom to give up. Important to a tall guy.
If the guy was tall enough, then this would not be an option. Maybe move it over the bed or omit the AC all together, possibly consider the undercarriage SC variety? Although I’m not sold in the practicality of those units.
Great video as always! And great insight as we do have a transit on order to convert! One suggestion I would have, is you may want to seal/paint your 2x2 support wood. Overtime, if for some odd reason the A/C comes slightly loose and leaks water in, it will rot the wood a lot quicker… Just a friendly suggestion, as I know you do great work!
Good morning George! Another excellent video with lot of details for DIY builders out there. At the end of your video, I notice a very nice audio switch board sitting on the desk in your studio. From the look of it, I thinks it is just what I been looking for, would you mind to share its model and make. Thank you sir.
Oh that is a sweet mixing board. Very simple for a weekend warrior such as myself. The mic is equally as important. However, the audio controls in Adobe Audition and now, even Premiere Pro are so good, I haven't used that mixer in years!
(Behringer XENYX X1204USB - 12-Input USB Audio Mixer with Effects)
Hi George, two roof beams are enough to surport a/c unit. If you use the beams that are 16” apart all the a/c load are directly transferred with no need for additional surports. I would not want to give up any head room. The plus side in your design is that you can add extra insulation in the most important area
Yes, Paul, true on both counts. But in the bay where this air conditioner has to reside there is a 36" span between crossmembers. The aluminum angle is 1.5 inches down from the bottom of the crossmember. My 3/4 inch foamboard and plywood vinyl encapsulated ceiling panel will fly under that. The Transit is the only platform where you can get away with such a ceiling system.
Other problem is transits roof fall sharply at the front . Your system will reduce the angle and require less of a bend on Finnish ceiling material.
Best of the best van builder, I am looking for one and could I know price range of Sam van you made?
George, what size is the aluminum angle you used for this van? Also, how will this aluminum angle affect what you're doing for a ceiling? Thank you
Stay tuned! 😊
Are you now thinking the Transit is the best chassis for van builds? That height is great.
Too soon to say. Each of the three platforms has it own pros and cons
Ford transit has a history of leaking, does this method prevent it because of lack of support?
All good except winter time aluminium angles will by pass insulation...
Yes, but like the roof struts it's attached to, this support system will be buried above the insulated ceiling panels.
As always George smart thinking 🧐👍
I try 🤓
Hi George,.... I've been a fan of your ingenuity for quite a while now. Thank you for all you do. Question: why use roof mounted A/C's rather than over-the-road-tractor chassis mounted A/C's? Pro-Air?
Thank you for your support. As far as I know, over the road AC units require the engine running. The new crop of DC air conditioners are not yet ready for prime time, IMHO. I don’t want to treat my clients like Guinea Pigs.
George, you could probably standardize those alumunium rails and create a template for making more of them. Either making them manually, or plopping them on the CNC and making a bunch. It also might be time to upgrade your drill press to a mill/drill so that you could create oval slots instead of just holes which would allow for adjustability. Options are good, especially when you need to support appliances in your bayholes! Thank you for your Sunday morning cartoons. 📺
BTW, Aluminum Angle Iron? 🤔
I like that suggestion. I have a milling vise, but a computerized milling machine would be VERY useful.
@@HumbleRoad You have one sir. A CNC router is very capable of cutting aluminum very nicely. You could lay out 10 aluminum angle pieces and cut all of your holes precisely all at once. Just dont use it on steel or ferrous metals (not without some extra effort anyways).
A+ for you in Structures 101 class today
Thank you for your "support." 🤓
Freaking L O V E it....Always the Goldilocks Syndrome.... You Are The Man...Thanks for All the time and energy.
How's the teeth in a jar shelf coming along?
Just took delivery of the 8020 last week. Going to begin construction this week! WOOHOO!
How high is that transit?? You short or?
My transit, I thought I had the biggest one and I have about 2m inside from floor to roof
Would a Maxxair dome fan fit along the side of a transit roof?
Yes. In van #01, I positioned a full sized MaxxAir fan as far outboard as possible. Directly over the shower area. It will impact solar panel and rack placement, though.
If I'm not mistaken, the MaxxAir dome only spins in one direction. I suppose we could make it bi-directional with a polarity switch.
Hi :-) You are a very thoughtful builder. I enjoy the way you explain things and your humor. Would you be able to replicate the aluminum ceiling of the Airstream Atlas? Wood is pretty, but I like the shine mirror factor. Pros? Cons? just curious and you WOOD know ;-/ Mr. Modular G haha
Aluminum sheet is very difficult to work with, and even the pros at Airstream have trouble maintaining a perfect sheet. Dimples at rivet locations, creases, and waviness are the detractors.
What brand or kind of air conditioner do you presently prefer?
I noticed that Coachmen now has a close arrangement with TRUMA and are installing the new TRUMA air conditioner.
I like the Coleman NDQ. IMHO, the crop of 12v DC air conditioners are not yet ready for prime time.
Hello how are you going to do the ceiling in ford transit with the air- cond rails
thanks again
Stay tuned!
Nice details but why not glue your 2 pieces of wood together before installing?
I could glue in the final assembly. What I do for these videos is not always the final install.
@@HumbleRoad I figured you would. Love your attention to detail and explanations.
Does the roof have a slight crown to it? Your jig is more than 90 degrees?
Very slight crowning in the center of the roof. Arc increases outboard.
Are there any fans that can install on the sides? I've been reading about leakage coming from the holes cut out at the top, and I wonder if that potential problem can be avoided altogether. 🤷🏽♀️
After 11 years , the fan in my Pleasure Way is still ok. If the fan is installed properly, and you do yearly maintenance, you should not have any problems.
@@HumbleRoad What would that maintenance include? Removing the caulk and reapplying it?
Those Transit roofs are thin!
Not removing the caulk, but cleaning thoroughly and adding more. And it all is based on using the right kind of adhesive/sealant in the first place. Dicor self leveling or 3M 4000. There's also a Sika flex product, not sure 223 maybe?
@@HumbleRoad I saved those names in my notes! I use DAP around the house for small projects, so I'm familiar with the process. Do you find there's too much caulking built up after a few years? Or does the wear and tear of the elements just thin the caulking with time?
So is tat piece of timber held in place by the bold tightening or are you also glowing it or screwing it in place? And I didn't fully understand how you used that vertical timber inserts in combination to your metal corner to find the precise location of the hole. I did get the first step with the bolds & the corner but the 2nd step less clear.
I've just stripped out a UK ambulance. It's a Boxer which is the same as a Promaster in the USA.
You would be amazed at the full aluminium frame they bolted to the ceiling.
Even with the flat ceiling lowered 5 inches I can still stand upright in the back of the van and I'm 6ft5 and I still have 2 inches above my head.
That's because this ambulance is the H3 version.
Now iv removed the false ceiling in the van I will still have about 4-5 inches above my head once I've insulated and installed ceiling panels and an inch of Kingspan under the floor.
I can't understand why they don't make the Promaster in H3L4 in the USA?
Lead dissimilar to aluminum
Will that rear max air fan cover be hanging off the end of the van?
No, I mentioned that it fits nicely in the video. I took great care in mapping out and measuring the components up there before making any cuts. Can you imagine having to make that phone cal!!!?
@@HumbleRoad I've seen the mistake made by other builders. I wasn't sure if it was a possible compromise made to ensure proper fan spacing. Good to know the van allows for a fan to be mounted in the rear and still be aesthetically pleasing.
No, it fits perfect, like it was designed for the maxxair fan.
@@AJourneyOfYourSoul Really? Didn't know the RV world had that much influence on Ford van design.
Hey George do you use rib nuts to screw the bolts into?
PLUSNUTS
Can you please tell me where I can purchase the “screen doors” you use! Thank you
Rolef in Canada
@@HumbleRoad thank you!
FYI: What you keep calling a "strut" is actually called a crossmember.
Strut: [noun] a structural piece designed to resist pressure in the direction of its length.
Crossmember: A crossmember is a structural section, usually of steel, that is secured across the underside of whatever, to support the weight of whatever you're mounting on top. As in a floor joist vs a column.
CROSSMEMBER...CROSSMEMBER...CROSSMEMBER... OK, I think I got it! I'll have to reassign STRUT in my peabrain. Maybe relate it to how I walk...
@@HumbleRoad That was one of the definitions under strut... "How a man may walk". Ha ha ha... Keep up the great work you're doing.
I'm surprised you didn't do a sponsorship deal to get free tools like chrome did on his vancity vanlife channel's ... he haz a new 'lil workshop.
.
I am beholden to no man
Nope. I’m cutting a hole in my floor for a split level AC condenser. Gonna keep that baby coooool in the blazing Sun.
I've toyed with the idea. My biggest issue would be keeping the cooling fins clean and debris-free. Under the van is the worst place for dirt dust and debris.
I'm confused
If you are going to insist on working in the shop alone and dancing around up on scaffolds and ladders, you should probably have a Medical Alert Alarm of some kind.
I'm going to install cameras around the shop. With internet access, my wife can check in on me throughout the day.