Why you cant put a truckmount in the new Ford Transit.

[kingjoelking]

Talked to a Pro Chem rep today. He confirmed that you cannot put a truckmount in a Transit currently without voiding the warranty. The Ford is a Unibody front bumper to rear. The second you drill holes in the floor it voids the warranty. They currently dont have anyone that builds subfloors to put in the Transit.

 

[Mikey P]

Hrmpf.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

A good fabricator would work around that in 30 minutes.

A weee bit of improvising, perhaps a light plate that uses existing seat anchors in the floor.

Justin put a 405 in a Toyota Sienna... we used the seat anchors. (Just to move it home from Dallas).

 

[kingjoelking]

Apparently Prochem doesnt have any of those?

 

[Zee]

Talked to a Pro Chem rep today. He confirmed that you cannot put a truckmount in a Transit currently without voiding the warranty. The Ford is a Unibody front bumper to rear. The second you drill holes in the floor it voids the warranty. They currently dont have anyone that builds subfloors to put in the Transit.

Bs...

All the Euro style vans had been getting all kinds of equipment installed in them for years.

 

[kingjoelking]

The Dodge has a front only Unibody. Its unibody ends at the front seats.

 

[FredC]

what exactly is voided?
Usually for a specific part of a warranty to be voided the damage has to be directly caused by the modification.

 

[Becker]

No worries. Manufactures will figure it out. And it will only cost us $2,000 more at installation.

Like I told a guy at Jondon yesterday asking about fuel taps. Buy a ram.


....

 

[Shawn Forsythe]

The Transit Connect has a similar issue, but it's not just about the holes. The floor itself is structurally insufficient to adequately anchor and attach such a dense, heavy object as a truck-mount with conventional bolt-through-frame means. Sapphire uses/provides a special sub-frame chassis, of their own, in order to distribute the anchor and attachment forces, so that the Transit Connect can accommodate a TM then placed on and bolted to, that auxiliary chassis. It's a matter of engineering and time to do so, the same for the full-size van. What may be unknown is just what kind and size TM can be practically done. It may have some limitations and not all TM manufacturers may invest the resources.

 

[kingjoelking]

Thats a great question.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

The Transit Connect has a similar issue, but it's not just about the holes. The floor itself is structurally insufficient to adequately anchor and attach such a dense, heavy object as a truck-mount with conventional bolt-through-frame means. Sapphire uses/provides a special sub-frame chassis, of their own, in order to distribute the anchor and attachment forces, so that the Transit Connect can accommodate a TM then placed on and bolted to, that auxiliary chassis. It's a matter of engineering and time to do so, the same for the full-size van. What may be unknown is just what kind and size TM can be practically done. It may have some limitations and not all TM manufacturers may invest the resources.

The T Connect is a whole different, smaller, vehicle.
Sapphire quit supporting Transit Connect installations last model year because of problematic changes to the Connect.

 

[dealtimeman]

Guys the whole bumper to bumper warranty cannot just be voided, a certain part or component must fail and then that part must be examined. Upon examinations a call will be made at the dealer level as to if the part will be covered under warranty or not. You can appeal and the manufacturer will send out a warranty rep and he will make the call and specify as to why he made the decision he made.

 

[AshleyMckendree]

A simple metal frame can be constructed and welded up by a novice, Using not only the seat bolts, but the factory supplied anchor bolts.

IMO I like this idea for any van, no climbing undder the van, and a more secure install. + no holes all over the place.

 

[handdi]

why not just buy a chevy?

 

[AshleyMckendree]

why not just buy a chevy?

Outdated "Look" by over a decade ("Wow, is that a 2003 or a 2015?") , Blends in with the other BILLION company's running them, Terrible fuel economy, Less storage.

Just a few reasons

 

[dgardner]

A simple metal frame can be constructed and welded up by a novice

I agree that the welded frame is a great idea, completely disagree that a novice could make proper, strong welds, select the size and thickness of steel, place members for sufficient strength, etc. - especially if I'm the one sitting in front of that waste tank and TM in a crash.

 

[JS41035]

A good fabricator would work around that in 30 minutes.

A weee bit of improvising, perhaps a light plate that uses existing seat anchors in the floor.

Justin put a 405 in a Toyota Sienna... we used the seat anchors. (Just to move it home from Dallas).

That was a lot easier than putting it on a trailer. "We". Argg.

 

[John Olson]

Man you guys are so much smarter then all the legal guys over at the big manufactures that have to deal direct with the vehicle manufactures. Bunch of silly rabbits they should have just asked YOU what the manufacture says they can and cannot do. I am sure your opinion will hold up in court since you all got lawyer degrees and shit..

 

[AshleyMckendree]

John Olson" data-source="post: 4316528" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

Man you guys are so much smarter then all the legal guys over at the big manufactures that have to deal direct with the vehicle manufactures. Bunch of silly rabbits they should have just asked YOU what the manufacture says they can and cannot do. I am sure your opinion will hold up in court since you all got lawyer degrees and shit..

John, what are your thoughts on the metal frame idea? Using the existing tie down bolt holes?

 

[John Olson]

I don't have an opinion as I am not privy to the legalities. Remember I have to play in the absolute world where you can choose to do what you want with your vehicle and your life where I cannot.

 

[dgardner]

Even for the attachment points - the manufacturer lists specific load limits and such. If you were to homebrew your own frame and in the admittedly unlikely event there was an accident, equipment shifted, and someone was injured or killed, ALL the liability would be dumped squarely in YOUR lap.

Just one of the many things to consider when deciding how to proceed....

 

[dealtimeman]

John, what I stated about the warranty is absolute and will hold up just fine in court.

They will have to prove that the modification you did on the van compromised and therefore contributed to the failure of said part that is under consideration for warranty.

Very simple. This happens everyday with sports cars.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

I think the "Pro Chem rep " in the initial post was either blowing smoke or otherwise fos.

I'd note whatever Karcher is already doing in Europe.

 

[dealtimeman]

Burden of proof will be on the manufacturer 100.

 

[Zee]

Those of you believing this nonsense, that you can't install your crap in a cargo van that is being manufactured and sold for these type of specific purposes- need to check yourselves.

Our industry is not the only one that will need to bolt down equipment and all kinds of other things in a cargo van. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Look at what we installed in vans in Europe: my dad's company installed many many offices and equipment loaded back ends in vans that were used for pipe line inspection.
We were the distributor and official service for 3 different manufactures. IBAK Gmbh, Rico Gmbh for example.

Look at some pictures of installed vans and you'll see what I mean.

 

[Zee]

 

[dealtimeman]

Exactly,case, point, done.

 

[Buck1955]

Chevy vans are going to be real hard to find since they transformed the assembly line to Colorado's. If you think you want a new Chevy van you better act quick. Did you know that you can get $1200.00 back from Chevy for your equipment up fit? Not all dealers will tell you this. Ford has upfit $ too, not sure about Ram.

The Transits drive great, there's like 59 different vehicle codes for wheelbase, roof height, engine.

 

[John Olson]

Again I an not privy to the information. I did not talk to Ford. I am certain Prochem and Legend Brands have and if they tell me no then that's the end of it for me. I am not putting my company out on the limb because someone on the internet slept at a holiday in express and is now a specialist in warranty law as well as a structural engineer. But as I said your welcome to do as you please with your vehicle and life wont hurt me one bit

 

[Desk Jockey]

"Holliday Inn"