I also have an Iveco details of which I posted earlier. It is a MWB (6 meters). My wife and I decided to get a LWB (7 meters) for more space, however after it was finished she became ill and she can no longer travel. I've decided to keep the Iveco now because she doesn't mind if I wander off alone from time to time. I'm listing the Transit for sale. It's a great unit with only 89700 km and we've never used it.  Such is life. I thought you might be interested in how I had it fitted out. Some photos below...

I'm afraid I'm not a master craftsman. It was professionally fitted out by AHA Motorhomes in Launceston, Tasmania. They did my previous Van, the Iveco and I was extremely happy with the workmanship and price that I had them do this one as well...

I'd like a bigger van but I was wondering how the Ivecos, Transits and Sprinters compare. I need an auto.

jetj wrote:

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I'd like a bigger van but I was wondering how the Ivecos, Transits and Sprinters compare. I need an auto.

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A lot of my friends have smaller vans and most Ive seen are very very well laid out and comfortable. However I prefer the larger Van and I guess by now Im spoilt. A larger Motorhome is of a size where you can walk inside standing up straight, with all the modern conveniences, solar power, shower, toilet, TV/DVD, hot water etc, and walk thru from the driving cabin to the living area.

My first Motorhome was an Iveco. You are asking about comparisons. The Iveco is a great Van. Downside, they are one of the most expensive to buy and service. Parts are expensive. Oil is $20.00 a liter and the diesel engines holds 5 liters. Service cost is about $800.00 to $900.00.  But they drive beautifully and give little trouble. I wanted something a bit cheaper to run and service.

I bought a brand new Mercedes 280SE Sedan in 1968. I was very impressed with it, but again, service was around $200.00 each time. That was a lot of money in 1968. I eventually sold it for that reason. When I was looking around for a Van to have a Motorhome built, I looked at Mercedes. Once again, expensive to buy and service.  I also heard, and I cant say this is correct, that there were a lot of mechanical problems with either the engine or transmission. I cant recall which.  Maybe another GN with a Mercedes could shed some light on that point.

Stories I heard about the Ford Transit were not encouraging, however I have a good friend who has several of them in his Courier business. I had a few beers with him one night and he convinced me the Transit was a good and reliable work horse, inexpensive to operate and service. He convinced me and I bought one. If it is a good work horse, it must be good for conversion to a Motorhome. The only service I had was 90,000 at a Ford Dealer here in Launceston. Cost $400.00 Mine has only done 89700 km but as I have  decided to sell, I had it checked over by the Ford Dealer and a 90,000 km service completed.

Most Vans have a Drivers seat and a dual passenger seat, holding 3 people. As I wanted a walk thru, I had the dual seat removed and I bought a new Drivers seat. So it has 2 drivers seats. There are two seats behind the two driving cabin seats and they can be made into a bed. Ive attached a couple of photos below. Regarding internal dimensions, most makes of vans are very similar in measurements and cubic area. My Ford is a LWB and is 7 meters long.

Finally you say you want an automatic transmission. Most vans give you 2 choices, manual or Sequential Manual Auto Clutch. In laymans terms, an automatic or it can be driven manually. It has a push button auto drive.  If you want to drive it in Manual, you simply press a button to change from auto to manual and change gears by pressing another button. There is no clutch.

I had intended to keep this Post brief, but I hope I have given you something to think about if you ever decide to upgrade to a larger vehicle.

Thanks BG,

I appreciated your very informative post. I think your Transit looks great.

Hi BG,

Where did you buy your second drivers seat from ? Where they able to be converted to swivel bases ?

Love the interior !

Thanks,

Julie

I purchased it from a wrecking yard in Launceston Tasmania.  Bit far away for you. Even if they had another, the freight would be a killer. Suggest you try the wrecking yards in your area, also check out E-Bay. I recently sold the Ford Transit, now I have the Iveco. I bought a single driver's seat for the Iveco thru E-Bay.  You could have them converted to swivel bases, but I chose not to.

BG,

I'm toying between an Iveco, Coaster and just keeping the Hiace. I think the Iveco would go pretty well, but service costs are my concern.

I had a look at a 2008 Ford Transit today BG, 3.5 Turbo Diesel with only 75,000 kms on it.

Although it was a homemade fit out, it was done reasonably well, had two single beds at rear, and at a reasonable level, microwave, fridge, sink and bench so no bending.   Also good cupboard space, one with pull out wire baskets.  Had been fully lined.  I would have liked to have seen an aircon in it but it had none, but for the price it seemed a good buy even if it had to be fitted later.  Also had a roll out awning.

The price is shown on this link is $34,990, now reduced to $29,990.  Salesman said owner (being sold on consignment) was selling as he needs the money as he has just bought a small business.

Would a 3.5 diesel be heavy on fuel consumption, or is the bigger motor a plus for a motorhome weight etc?

 http://www.actionrvcentre.com.au/RVdetail.aspx?ID=698 

Edit:  Looked like a nice clean unit, has a window in the sliding door on the passenger side.  Only ever used as an RV with two previous owners, the first did the fit out.

Hi Duh,

Just a quick question tonight - the Transit you looked at with the two single beds in the back, are you able to explain the setup at all ?  For example, did the run down each side of the van or were they bunks ?  I clicked on the link but there is only the one picture of the van and it doesn't show the interior.  I'm curious because the smallest inner spring SB  mattress size I can find is 93cm wide, and I can't fit two of them in my van like the photos below, which was the sort of setup I was hoping to build in my van.  The only option I can see to have something similar, is to get foam mattresses cut to a size that would fit, but I am concerned they may be too thin to sleep on comfortably. My plan was to have the mattress up higher than in the photograph, to utilise the area underneath for storage. 

Otherwise I am going to build a bunk bed setup.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,

:)

Julie

Hi Julie, yes that was the only pic available and I didn't take any myself.

The two beds were on either side of the van from the back forward and had foam matresses on them about 4 inches thick, I would imagine you would need to place something on top of them.  They had a wood surround on the wooden base beds about 2 inches wide to prevent the matress from slipping off.   The beds were fairly high with a wooden enclosed base, but I couldn't see any cupboards, base couldn't be lifted and no doors on the aisle side of the beds, except the rear third of the beds had a wooden bridge across them, blanked off in the aisle, this was for rear storage area accessed when you opened the rear doors, but they did not seem to extend for the full length of the bed.

As you stepped into the side door of the van (caravan step needed, very high) there was a sink with hand pump and cupboard underneath,  on the left also a water tank underneath and filler outside, drainage and inlet hoses going from the sink to somewhere under the vehicle.

Standing in the side doorway looking in, on the opposite wall, there were a couple of cupboards with good storage and a small Engle 12V/240V fridge (20 litre?) above one of the cupboards about waist high, one of the high cupboards had metal slide out baskets from top to bottom, enclosed by a door.  There was also a microwave set about waist high above a cupboard.  Now that I think about it I can't recall seeing a stove, so not sure whether the owner may have used a portable gas cannister one.

All of the cupboards, fridge and microwave had a wide laminex bench with a rolled edge over the top of them at a high level so you didn't have to bend.    I got the impression that the original owner must have been tall and didn't want to have to bend down to things.  I tried one of the single beds and it seemed wide enough and was certainly long enough for my 6 foot length.

A porta potti was stored behind the drivers seat, although one of the cupboards looked like it could accommodate it.  There was a storage area over the drivers cabin that was enclosed and had doors on it.  There was also an auxillary battery.

May I suggest you contact the dealer and ask them to provide pictures of the inside, especially the beds and storage under from the rear, they are able to photo their RV's etc, see enquire about this RV on this link; http://www.actionrvcentre.com.au/RVdetail.aspx?ID=698 

I am sorry I can't be more specific.  It did not have any A/C fitted. One leg of the roll out awning had to be unclipped at the bottom to give access to the fuel filler. 

I've had both, A Ford Transit which I recently sold and now I have the Iveco. Mine is a MWB, 6 meters long. After my next trip starting this month, I plan to sell it and buy a LWB, 7 meters long. The MWB is excellent for one person, such as myself, or even 2 persons, but I just want that extra meter to carry all the junk we seem to accumulate.

I have no Coaster experience, but my sister had a late model and sold it after a short period of time, to buy something else. I don't know what that means, she didn't tell me why she changed.

The Iveco is magnificent. Easy to drive, comfortable, never let me down except for a battery (engine) terminal that I replaced.  If you get an Iveco agent to service the Van, it is expensive. The oil, imported from Europe, is almost $20.00 a liter but time between oil changes is 40,000km. I now get mine serviced by a local mechanic and buy generic parts instead of Iveco originals. The best Penrite oil is around $8.00 a liter and I will now change it at 20,000 km. Generic parts and oil do the same job and I save a lot of money.

Duh, I think the Transit with 75,000 km would be worth a good hard look. I looked at the link but no photos of the interior. You could be up for some expenditure there, especially with solar installation. If you could get it for $25,000 to $28,000. it could be a good deal.

-- Edited by Big Gorilla on Saturday 9th of March 2013 07:20:51 AM

Hi Duh,

Thanks for all the information, I really appreciate it. I will contact the dealer today and see if they will send me some photos of the interior.

I've attached a photo of my van, waiting for a fine weekend so I can give her a long overdue wash, we've had so much rain here.

:)

Julie

-- Edited by Where To Next on Saturday 9th of March 2013 11:35:00 AM

Thanks BG, that makes sense.....just contemplating at the moment, not too sure which direction I'm headed.

Very nice van Julie, we passed on yesterday that must have misjudged their height, all crushed in at the top, something anyone would have to be very wary off I would say.

I don't know if you get Clark Rubber where you are, but they stock a lot of matresses of different sizes including the narrow one, with outer lining (cover) on them, can also cut foam etc to length including the "egg crate" type of stuff.

Thanks BG, what are your thoughts on the motor being 3.5 Diesel as opposed to the smaller engine?

Duh wrote:

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Thanks BG, what are your thoughts on the motor being 3.5 Diesel as opposed to the smaller engine?

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 My Iveco is a 2.3 Diesel and it really gets along. I can't recall the Ford Transit performance as I hardly used it.  But I think it was a 2.3 also. I always felt the Transit for some reason, was under powered. Possibly because it was the Jumbo, high roof, 7 meters long. The 3.5 will give you extra power which you sometimes need in an emergency especially if the one you are considering is the MWB at 6 meters.. It will of course use a bit more fuel. If I had a choice I'd go for the 3.5.

jetj wrote:

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Duh wrote:

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Snip......I had a look at a 2008 Ford Transit today BG, 3.5 Turbo Diesel with only 75,000 kms on it.

The price is shown on this link is $34,990, now reduced to $29,990. 

 http://www.actionrvcentre.com.au/RVdetail.aspx?ID=698

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 That Transit looks too cheap, unless imported, I hadn't heard of a 3.5 litre in Oz.

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 There is something that doesn't seem right about it, I searched for used Transits today (van only, not campervans) and for that year around the same kms (75,000) they were priced around 27 - 29,000 for Hi Tops, but all with the 2.4 (2.5?) motor.   I couldn't find a 3.5 motor for sale.   Were some Transits imported and if so from where?

This seems to suggest they came from North America;

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=36266 

This is a Transit Forum, but I haven't had the time to search it;

http://fordtransit.org/forum/index.php 

Jetj, if you get those photo's sent to you could you post them here please,

Thanks

Vic

I've never heard of a 3.5 motor in Australia, definitely something strange there. Only 2.4 litre and 2.5 litre older vans. For that sort of price would be pretty ordinary conversion I would think, or an import. I've never heard of imported Transits but who knows?

Duh wrote:

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I had a look at a 2008 Ford Transit today BG, 3.5 Turbo Diesel with only 75,000 kms on it.

Although it was a homemade fit out, it was done reasonably well, had two single beds at rear, and at a reasonable level, microwave, fridge, sink and bench so no bending.   Also good cupboard space, one with pull out wire baskets.  Had been fully lined.  I would have liked to have seen an aircon in it but it had none, but for the price it seemed a good buy even if it had to be fitted later.  Also had a roll out awning.

The price is shown on this link is $34,990, now reduced to $29,990.  Salesman said owner (being sold on consignment) was selling as he needs the money as he has just bought a small business.

Would a 3.5 diesel be heavy on fuel consumption, or is the bigger motor a plus for a motorhome weight etc?

 http://www.actionrvcentre.com.au/RVdetail.aspx?ID=698 

Edit:  Looked like a nice clean unit, has a window in the sliding door on the passenger side.  Only ever used as an RV with two previous owners, the first did the fit out.

 

 

-- Edited by Duh on Friday 8th of March 2013 10:31:27 PM

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 That Transit looks too cheap, unless imported, I hadn't heard of a 3.5 litre in Oz.

I reckon their addy shows a typo jetj and it is a 2.5, not a 3.5.

They had a new manager and an assistant manager recently and I think they are a bit disorganised at the moment.

I asked if it was a 3.5 when I was there and the salesman said yes, but I don't think he really knew, he didn't seem to know too much about the vehicle in general. 

I've just done some research and found that current model specs. are:

You'll note the engine size is 2.2 liter.

Mine was a 2006 model and these specs. below indicate this model is 2.8 liter and made in China, but mine was made in Italy and is a 2.3 liter.

All very confusing !!!

I can't find any reference to a 3.5 liter. My Iveco is a 2.3 liter and the LWB, which I am intending to buy later this year,  comes with a 3.5 liter diesel.

Thanks BG, See the 2014 models below;

http://www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/transit/2014/features/#page=FeatureCategory3 

It does appear that the USA and Canada had 3.5 diesel models. I am amazed at the number of countries who make or have made these over time, including China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Transit 

These are the 2013 models selling in Perth presently plus prices, I wonder if they are made in China;

http://www.johnhughesford.com.au/list.php/ford/2429201,2429202,2429203,2429204,2429211,2429213,2429214/CPC82/?gclid=COOh5N6B8bUCFUdNpgodf0AAOQ 

I checked with the dealer, and they said the 3.5 was a typo mistake on the ad etc.

It seems more likely it is a 2008 2.4l Turbo Diesel (made in the UK) see details below;

 http://www.eurodb.com.au/used-car-Specification/FORD/TRANSIT/HIGH-(LWB)/2008/HYH08C/ 

The controls on the vehicle being sold have the blinkers on the left of the steering wheel and the wipers on the right, this is because it was designed for Europe apparently.....

Some inside photo's of said Transit;

msg wrote:

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Yep my 2008 Transit has indicator controls on left. Its labled 2.4TD on the back. I know should go out and get the manual. It runs well, seems to have plenty of go, 6 speed gearbox. Get around 9-10ltrs/100

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 Thanks msg, is that fuel consumption around the city or country cycle, or are both the same due to profile (high roof) etc?

I have negotiated a price of $27,000 with them, subject to tying up a couple of loose ends.  Has no stove, but does have microwave, small Engel fridge, Porta Pottie, Tow bar and TV Antenna.   Has a spot on top of sink area and side door where portable gas stove could be used. I would have liked some overhead lockers, but they can be fitted later, but plenty of other storage.  No rear airconditioning, supply and fit with a local campervan converter quoted about $2,600, have to think about the price if I go ahead and get this.

I've never had a turbo diesel before, do you have any hints for how to drive them etc (meaning is there much difference between driving them and petrol).   Due for a 75,000 Service, (or 12 months which is about September). 

I couldn't see anything about 2.4TD on the back (see photo), not too sure what is written underneath Transit on the back door.  See photo;

Thanks Janette,

Yes the conversion is definitely a home made job, but it must have passed the pits after conversion which is required in WA and before it can be registered as a mobile caravan (MOBCVN) which is shown on the rego papers.

This is just to make sure any electrical (12V/240V) and gas fittings if any are done properly by a qualified person.  I had to do this when I had a Toyota Coaster converted to get the new classification on the rego.

The price is about average for a 2008 LWB Hi Roof Transit van with no conversion, the same year etc, see this link for prices etc;

http://www.eurodb.com.au/car-valuations/FORD/TRANSIT/2008/HYH08C/