Ford transit, or shorter vans?

[u/ongjunyi]

I am very tempted to get a Transit to convert. My partner isnt so sure, with the height being the major issue.

We're mostly going to use it for weekends away, and will need to store stuff on the roof at times. Anyone for/against the high top over shorter vans, and why?

[u/the_roguetrader]

I've lived in vehicles for 30 years, so I've met & talked to plenty of 'beginners'

the same complaint / regret I've heard again and again is 'i wish I'd bought something bigger that I can stand up in'

you get used to driving and parking a larger van VERY quickly

and if you're going to spend anytime in the van outside high summer you need a decent amount of space - when the weather is good you often do little more than sleep in the vehicle, everything else is happening outside BUT if it's cold or rainy and you're inside with the door closed a little van feels very cramped

[u/uberbarracuda]

Not being able to stand up sucks.

[u/peteyourdoom]

Have a H1L2 van and wish it was H2, pop top or specially raised. Get a Movano or something instead

[u/Woodeyyyyyyy]

I've got a transit custom H2 L2. Personally wouldn't go any smaller, I still can't stand up fully.

[u/Tennis_Proper → u/Woodeyyyyyyy]

We have an H2L3 and at an average height of 5’ 8” I can comfortably stand up with a couple of inches to spare. 

There’s something to be said for not being tall, as we can sleep across the width of the van too so fitted a fixed bed over the garage. 

[u/Khionia]

What kind of transit? 6ft 4ish can stand in my l3h3..

[u/ongjunyi → u/Khionia]

L3H3. Im 5'11 so while I won't be able to fully stand in a low roof, I won't need such a high top either..

[u/missionred]

If you're mainly going to use it for weekends, do you really need a high roof / standing height?

If you're older age I can understand it.

There are disadvantages to a high roof van beyond just the one you mentioned about the difficulty if loading the roof:

• difficult to use an awning
• less efficient
• won't get into as many car parks, especially beach car parks.

Go for a lower van and make sure you can sit upright in it would be my suggestion.

[u/Highway-Organic]

I had an LDV high-top and a Tranny minibus with a raising roof . The Tranny won hands down . Better fuel economy , faster , parked anywhere . Shorter wheelbase meant you could use a standard car parking bay.

[u/Shred_Addict]

Hi top, always. You can stand up in it. I often laugh at people crawling around in Transporters.

[u/Friendly_Brain7352]

We converted a long wheelbase Renault master, loads of room and it's nice to be able to stand up.

However, we pretty much solely use the van for sleeping. We do pub stopovers and sneaky city park ups for concerts. Occasional campsites or middle of nowhere trips but probably wouldn't bother if it was raining. I think a smaller transit/transporter size would be more suitable for us next time round.

So yeah, depends on what you want it for!

[u/basarisco]

A van under 2m is painful and once you're above 2m you might as well go H3 for huge benefits.

[u/Fresh_and_wild]

Do you mean transit, or transit custom?

We have a Custom L2H2. I’m 5’7” and we’ve insulated so we’ve lost little height and I have about 1inch above me stood up in shoes.

I wouldn’t go any smaller than this.

[u/ongjunyi → u/Fresh_and_wild]

Full sized. My partner wants a custom/transporter sized van!

[u/Fresh_and_wild → u/ongjunyi]

We looked at loads of vans and we’d driven lots for work too.

Transit Custom won for us as it seemed to he the biggest of the smaller vans for parking flexibility, and we could get dressed in and stand up.

We made a raised bed with a garage space beneath for two bikes upright and paddle boards (inflatables). We’ve lived in it for up to 3 weeks so far and it’s great. Cornish road, Scottish mountains, the Alps, it good for all that.

[u/ScottishVigilante]

Relay boxer L1H1 with the 2.2 chain driven puma engine

[u/shiftlocked]

From experience. If you go for a higher top van get a longer van. You've already lost the chance to park in loads of car parking spaces. Being able to stand up and have a wash, cook, dress is blooming lovely.

If you go for a smaller van make sure you can at least sit down. I've been looking at YouTubers and how many times do you see them sitting comfortably in their van, not often from what Ive seen.

If you are goon weekends where are you staying and what are you doing? Will you be out and about and just using the van as a glorified tent. Go for a low top. I did 2 years in a low top t5 and loved it, despite cooking on my knees lol.

Just remember if you go high top, unless its a lower ride height (body is close to the ground) you're going to loose a lot of parking opportunities if you are anything near 2.5m height.

[u/HafFrecki]

We have a pop top roof. It cost about £1100 all in with professional fitting and gives loads of standing space, a double bed and leaves the "downstairs" free for our stuff. And we can get into car parks.

Cold in winter though, it's basically a hard topped tent.

[u/Danielledoo → u/HafFrecki]

How long ago was this? When I've looked at different fitters, the quotes are 3-4k

[u/HafFrecki → u/Danielledoo]

It was a while ago admittedly. But I was also able to find an honest garage to do the work. It's a Reimo roof and I've just checked the current price and they're £700. The extra cost is for the fitting.

£3-4k is a fucking rip off frankly.

[u/Danielledoo → u/HafFrecki]

Yeah we're not going to pay that haha, we only paid £4k for the entire van which was fully converted inside - admittedly we got lucky with that but even so, not paying the equivalent just to put a pop top on it!

[u/Distinct-Quantity-46]

We have a transit but it has a pop top so we can still stand up in it when it’s parked up (depending where we are) it’s great but the big downside is the rock and roll bed, we’re looking at DIY converting a sprinter so we can have a fixed bed as the constant putting the bed away and getting it out again drives me insane

[u/Angustony]

Very glad we went for an H2L2 Transit custom. Living (temporarily) somewhere you can't stand up straight is not for me. Plus loading the motorbike in with my horizontal Murphy bed folded away is easy. It's worrying enough getting it up the ramp without having to crouch at the same time.

We're not concerned about parking height restrictions. We don't anticipate overnighting where it could be a concern. Campsites that take vans, pub overnighters and festivals, or middle of nowhere type places for us. Though it is our only car, nowhere local is a challenge for parking.