Your Guide to Ordering a Transit Trail™ for a Camper Van Conversion
We have done 2 DIY camper van conversions on standard Ford Transit cargo vans. And now, in 2024, we have ordered our first Transit Trail™. This is the first guide in a series of many on the process of doing a DIY camper van conversion on a Ford Transit Trail™. We are glad you are here! Let’s begin!
In this guide we specifically address:
** Disclaimer: This blog post contains various affiliate links that provide a small kickback to us, at no additional cost to you. We truly appreciate your support if you choose to purchase through these! **
What is the Transit Trail?™
The Transit Trail™ is an upgrade package that you can add to medium, or high roof, standard Transit cargo vans. The Transit Trail™ package (detailed below) aims to make Ford’s standard cargo van more van life ready and specifically more “upfit ready”. It is essentially Ford’s nod to van life; which is pretty rad!
Transit Trail™ Package Cost
As of writing this guide in 2024, the Transit Trail™ package costs $12,620. This price is specific to our order which was for a High Roof 148 WB and did not include the optional MaxxAir fan install (more on that below).
Which Ford Transit cargo vans can get the Transit Trail™ package?
The Transit Trail™ package can be added to any medium or high roof Transits of standard (148) or extended lengths.
What is part of the Transit Trail™ package?
The Transit Trail™ includes the following body upgrades:
- 3.5″ body lift compared to standard Transit cargo van
- 2.75″ increase in front and rear track width for greater stability
- 30.5″ All-Terrain tires compared to Standard Transit 28″ tires
- 16″ Matte Black Alloy Wheels
- AWD
The Transit Trail™ has the following non-body related upgrades:
- Driver + Passenger Swivel Seats
- Rock Slider Style Side Steps (Driver & Passenger sides)
- Extended Fuel Tank (31 gal)
- Transit Trail™ Grille with integrated marker lamps
- Black HID Headlamps
- Transit Trail™ Splash Guards and Wheel Arch Cladding
- Front Wheel Arch Liners
- Skid Plate Style Front Bumper
- Front Fog Lamps
- HD Trailer Tow Package
- SYNC4 (Car Play!)
- Power Outlet – 110V/400W
- Auxiliary Fuse Panel
- Blind Spot Assist 1.0
- Reverse Sensing System
- Side Sensing System
- Privacy Glass on Rear Windows
- Fixed Rear and Passenger Side Glass
- Illuminated Sun Visors
- Front Overhead Shelf
- B-Pillar Assist Handle
- Dual 70ah AGM Batteries
- Keyless Entry Keypad
Transit Trail™ vs. Standard Transit Cargo Price Comparison
- 3.5″ body lift* – Quigley QLift 2″: ~$3,995
- 2.75″ increase in front and rear track width – Not possible upon writing this guide
- 30.5″ All-Terrain Tires* – Goodyear Workhorse $1,000
- 16″ Matte Black Alloy Wheels – $1,050
- Extended Fuel Tank (31 gal) – $285
- Driver + Passenger Swivel Seats* – The Swivel Shop $800 or $1,385 from Ford factory
- Rock Slider Style Side Steps (Driver and Passenger sides)* – APS $325 or FVC $1495
- Transit Trail™ Grille with integrated marker lamps – Not possible upon writing this guide
- Black HID Headlamps – $455
- Transit Trail™ Splash Guards and Wheel Arch Cladding – Not possible upon writing this guide
- Front Wheel Arch Liners – $295
- Skid Plate Style Front Bumper – $250
- Front Fog Lamps – $105
- HD Trailer Tow Package – $485
- SYNC4 (Car Play!) + High Def Camera – $1,165
- Power Outlet – 110V/400W – $215
- Auxiliary Fuse Panel – $385
- Blind Spot Assist 1.0 – $595
- Reverse Sensing System – included ^
- Front Sensing System – included ^
- Side Sensing System – $480
- Privacy Glass – $125
- Fixed Rear and Passenger Side Glass – $425
- Illuminated Sun Visors – $75
- Front Overhead Shelf – $75
- B-Pillar Assist Handle – $25
- Dual 70ah AGM Batteries – $285
- Keyless Entry Keypad – $95
- Adaptive Cruise Control – $625
A Note on the Optional MaxxAir Fan
One of the more prominent features of the Transit Trail™ is that you can optionally install a MaxxAir fan during the factory build. While this sounds great, we generally do not recommend this as you can only install it straight in the middle of the van roof. Air flow is key in camper vans, so we recommend that you install 2 fans: one in the front, and one in the back. If this is not possible, the next best option is to have a fan in the back OR front, and a window in the other spot.
Additionally, placing a fan in the middle of your roof will make installs such as solar panels and roof decks rather difficult.
** At this time, we do not know the cost of the optional MaxxAir fan addition – if you know, please share it in the comments so we can update this guide!
What are the most useful features of the Transit Trail™ for Van Life?
If you have been around here for some time, you might notice that our 2nd DIY camper van conversion looks a lot like a Transit Trail™. We did a lot of the above body work aftermarket to our rig before we knew the Trail™ was in the works. So, while some of the more aesthetic features listed above aren’t necessary, we do think Ford nailed a lot of the functional features on the Transit Trail™.
Specifically, we think the below upgrades are exceptionally beneficial for van life:
- 3.5″ Body Lift
- Clearance is KEY for forest roads and Alaska.
- 2.75″ Increase in Track Width
- When you increase height of your camper van, stability decreases. The increased track width helps that.
- When you increase height of your camper van, stability decreases. The increased track width helps that.
- 30.5″ AT Tires
- Bigger, all-terrain tires will improve your ride and make off-roading more comfortable.
- B-Pillar Assist Handle
- Getting into a big van that is raised an additional 3.5″ is difficult.
- Slider Side Step
- Was anyone around when I needed staples in my head because of pulling myself up into the van with the massive lift? A step would have solved that!
- HID headlamps + fog lamps
- Seeing campsites at night is HARD.
- Sync 4
- A massive screen with CarPlay is much appreciated when you drive as much as you do as a van lifer
- Blind Spot Assist + Sensing Systems
- Driving a large rig with no rear view mirror is quite difficult. We LOVE having this system.
- Front Overhead Shelf
- Free storage! This storage can be doubled with the Vancillary shelf that can only be installed if you have this factory shelf from Ford.
- Extended Fuel Tank
- Long road trips are a weekly occurrence when you are a van lifer. Plus, if you want to do Van Life in Alaska, extended fuel range will be important for the drive through Canada.
Our Experience Ordering a 2024 Transit Trail
The Transit Trail™ is new to the Ford line in 2023. This comes with a few caveats around getting your hands on one:
- They must be ordered through a dealer
- You cannot “custom build” them online unless orders are open and they are not frequently open (hopefully this pricing guide helps you!)
- Timelines van vary greatly and often span 6+ months from placing an order to getting your vehicle delivered.
Here is the timeline we experienced with our 2024 Transit Trail™ order:
- Ordered at dealership: December 2023
- Received “vehicle build date” in February 2024 for April 2024
- Vehicle built: still waiting
- Vehicle delivered: still waiting
Who should opt for a Transit Trail™ for van life?
The Transit Trail™ is by far the most van life capable rig “out of the factory” of the three most common van makers: Ford, Mercedes, and Ram. However, this of course comes at a price, and a wait time.
Keeping that in mind, we would recommend opting for a Transit Trail™ if you want a base van that can natively handle off road adventures while being completely ready for your interior customization. Because, while you can do a majority of these upgrades after market, they do take time and effort. However, we also recommend looking at the package details above and making sure that a majority of them are features that you would pay for individually.
What other vans are good for camper van conversions?
During our 3 years on the road as van lifers, we saw an endless amount of vehicles turned tiny homes on wheels. Truly, you can make anything work. However, the top three most common vans that are converted to camper vans are:
- Ford Transit (Cargo or Trail)
- Mercedes Sprinter
- Ram ProMaster
Transit Trail™ Camper Van Conversion Build Guides
Our Transit Trail™ will be our 3rd DIY camper van conversion. We plan to begin Summer 2024 and will keep our blog, and Instagram fully up to date with progress!
If there is anything specific you are looking for, don’t hesitate to drop a comment on this guide! Thanks for being here and we are beyond stoked to begin this camper van buildout!
Thanks for being here! Happy building!
Eric + Colby
✉️ Join our mailing list for more content!
🙏🏽 If you are looking for more 1:1 van build help, we are here to help via Consulting or Travel Van Building.
[Start Here] Beginner Guides:
Comments 4
We ordered our Transit 23 cargo in March of 23 at the local Vermont dealer. Sept 23 we were told that they were no longer making our 23 and we could cancel or upgrade to a 24 at additional cost and 8-10 months lead time. Needless to say we went shopping on our own for a used and found a 23 with almost as much as we desired on the original order. 740 miles on it. Not happy with how the sales staff did not go to bat for us or suggest any other options for preowned. They seemed quite happy to sit back and preach the company line. We hope that you have a good aggressive dealer that is willing to do a bit of extra work. Good luck…..BTW our build in currently at our local builder with hopes of mid summer able to do some field testing….
Author
Ugh sorry to hear that, we have definitely had our run around with dealers doing similar things… It is a bummer! Exciting that you have one in the works though, mid summer is coming up!
Just picked mine up yesterday!
Author
Woohoo! We can’t wait to get ours!