What's in my driveway?
After 14 long months, our big Ford Transit van is finally in our driveway! YAY!!
Big Beth is a 2023 high roof, extended length cargo van with matte black aluminum wheels.
She is just a bare bones 2-seater cargo van right now, but if you follow along with us you will see a fabulous transformation in the next few months!
The ordering process
My husband and I first ordered a 2022 Ford Transit van in January of 2022. Special ordering a vehicle was something we had never experienced and every tiny little detail must be decided on!
We spent countless hours planning out exactly what we wanted in our future adventure van, dreaming about the places we would go and the exciting memories we would make!
Expressway Ford in Mt. Vernon, IN was our preferred dealership and worked with us all through the process. Cory and Preston were incredibly helpful and we could not have done this without their diligence and hard work! https://www.expresswayfordmountvernon.com/?utm_source=gmbsls&utm_medium=social&mcmid=gmbsls
In August of 2022, we were notified by Ford that our order was cancelled and would not be built. We were devastated even though we had seen many other people go through the same process with the same result.
Supply chain issues were such a problem and there has been such a high demand for these vehicles within the past few years!
At this point, we had a decision to make. Should we place an order for a 2023, at an increase of $6,000, and take the chance of another cancelled order? Rethink our plans and go a different route with a different vehicle?
This was a frustrating time for us because we were just having trouble seeing ourselves living the dream we so much wanted to be a reality!
Decision time
One afternoon in August as we were packing and preparing for a bucket list hiking trip out West, we received a call from Preston at Expressway Ford.
He had been notified that the order bank for 2023 Ford Transits was closing in TWO days. If we wanted that van, we HAD to place the order or the chance would disappear.
I can’t really say we debated the issue. Basically we looked at each other and my husband said, “Is this what we want to do? Do we want to convert a van, travel, and have these amazing experiences we’ve been dreaming of?”
“YES!!! A thousand times yes!!” I’m pretty sure that’s what I said. Absolutely!
Early retirement was feeling pretty great and the future was wide open for us! We both committed ourselves to this dream and hoped for the best!
And now we wait....
Several months passed by without any updates from Ford. About once a week, my husband would check on the status of our order and report “nothing new!”
We happened to be in New York City the first week of December and were getting ready for that evening’s Broadway performance of Phantom of the Opera. He checked his email in the hotel and I heard him yell “You’re not going to believe this! We have a build date for our van!”
So exciting!! We felt like it was less of an imaginary van and more like an actual possibility!
Our build date was scheduled for the week of January 16. Once again, we knew from watching Ford Transit forums that our date could be rescheduled and pushed back multiple times. We tried our best not to focus on that date, but I would be lying if I said we didn’t.
Price protection
Reading these forums led us to some incredibly helpful information.
Some people had been given a $6,000 customer satisfaction offer if they had ordered a 2022 Transit that was subsequently cancelled.
Obviously, we wanted to be given that offer as well! My husband spent probably hundreds of hours researching, calling, emailing, and stressing about what was missing to prevent us from qualifying.
It seemed like every time he got new information, it led to a dead end. He was so very frustrated!
My husband is an incredibly smart man, especially when it comes to numbers and finances. He also will work on something until he gets the outcome he feels is the right one!
Cory and Preston were helpful during this time as well, but ultimately it was my husband’s unrelenting pursuit and diligence that led to the answer we were looking for!
Just one week before we took delivery of our van, we were notified that we qualified for the offer and got the confirmation number!
Bringing her home!
Just last week we got the long-anticipated call that our van was in the lot at Expressway Ford and ready to be picked up!
Finally seeing this giant in person was almost surreal! We had thought of her as imaginary for SO long, but now here she was and just as awesome as we had hoped!
The conversion
In May, we will be taking Big Beth down to Birmingham to Craig at Gearbox Adventure Rentals for the full conversion. https://www.gearboxrentals.com/
Craig has been so helpful in the design process and we are confident that the final product will be everything we’ve dreamed of and more!
We will be using Adventure Wagon products for the majority of the build. The quality of their products is unparalleled and the versatility is a big attraction as well. https://adventurewagon.com/
Please follow along on our journey as we add in the final pieces to making this dream of ours a reality! We cannot wait to get out on the road, have BIG adventures, and make some fabulous memories!