5 am.  Wake up. Pants on. Grab bags. Off to the airport. “Did I forget my phone?”… “Nope. Got it.” My brain doesn’t work this early in the morning. After 3 months of waiting, we finally get to pick up our Ford Transit Van (aka Griffin).

The Plan

Fly to Kansas City to pickup our new 2018 Ford Transit Van at Matt Ford. Then drive 500+ miles back home to Kentucky. Stopping along the way at anything of interest. We were going to just sleep in the van but I had a certificate for a free night at the Marriott, so I might as well use it.

What Really Happened

We managed to wake up on time and get to the airport as planned. Then it got interesting. Our mobile boarding pass with Southwest wouldn’t load in the app so we grabbed the paper boarding pass from the kiosk and hit the security line. Beth’s boarding pass wouldn’t scan so she got sent back to the airline desk while I was shuttled on through security. Then I got pulled aside to have my bag searched. “Do you have any tools in your backpack?” asked the security guard. My response… “No.” He then proceeds to find and extract a crescent wrench from my backpack. What the… oh yeah, I forgot I put that there. Images of being pummeled by a horde of security guards crossed my mind but they simply asked if I wanted to check it or lose it. I’m not gonna argue over a wrench. I said they could have it and I was on my way. Beth managed to finally get through security and we were off. The actual flights (one to chicago and then onto Kansas City) were pretty uneventful.

We finally arrived in Kansas City at 11:30am where we hopped in a car with a guy from the dealership. After a 40 minute ride we lay eyes on our new Ford Transit van. Our overall experience at the dealership was okay, but was not an overwhelmingly exciting event (get the full sales process experience here). Since we had already handled all the pricing and discussions prior to our arrival it was a straight forward transaction. I did a full walk around and inspection on everything I could think to check and then we took it for a test drive. Everything looked goo so we popped in the office signed a few papers, got our keys, and hit the road in search of some Kansas City BBQ.

Kansas City BBQ

We head back into Kansas City and dropped in Q39 for some BBQ on a recommendation from a business colleague. This introduced the first tiny parking lot and parking test. I had to circle the building twice until someone left to find an empty spot (Kansas City Chief fans were in mass at the restaurant) but I was able to successfully back the beast into a space. The van is big — bigger than our previous compact SUV– but not as difficult to manage as you might expect. This went a long way in squashing any future concerns about being able to maneuver the van in day-to-day driving.

The BBQ was great but we were losing light and wanted to grab a few photos and sneak in a quick hike since we had been sitting all day. We managed to find a hike nearby at Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area. After a quick out and back hike we were able to grab a few photos before the sun began to set. Check the gallery below for some of the photos. With daylight gone it was time to buckle in and knock out driving the full width of Missouri to get to St. Louis where our hotel reservation awaited.

In the Final Stretch

Rested and ready for a day of adventure, we set out fresh on Sunday morning with plans to hit the botanical gardens.  The weather had different plans with rain expected the entire day. So, we pivoted and dropped in the IKEA for some oddball van items and some sightseeing as we made our way out of St. Louis. We had 5 hours of driving ahead of us and a time zone change. Unfortunately Beth woke up feeling sick and it only progressively got worse throughout the day. So we predominantly stuck the highway while jamming to some tunes.

We finally got Griffin home well after sundown but couldn’t wait to let our dogs hop aboard to get familiar with their new home on wheels for future adventures. This was a very successful trip (minus Beth getting sick) and are incredibly stoked for the next phase of the van, the BUILD!!

Initial Impressions on the Van

Going on a few short test drives before buying didn’t give us a lot of insight into the vans total comfort or performance. So when we set out on 500+ miles if was an opportunity to get familiar with the van and pick up on the suttle aspects you miss on a quick test drive.

The power of the 3.5 Liter EcoBoost V6 is awesome! Plenty of power to get out of the way or pass a semi on the freeway. It’s hard to not want to floor it all the time until you hit the gas pump. The ride quality is much better then I envisioned a van being but with it being completely empty currently it is a little bouncy in the rear. Time will tell on how that improves as we out weight in it. The steering is a mixed bag. Most of the time it tracks really well and the steering wheel is really easy to turn. However, it is a small steering wheel for such a large rig and has a small degree of error so minor adjustments easily get you drifting lanes. It’s not like the big bus wheels of the past. This is both a pro and con when you have side wind hitting that massive side wall on the highway.

The leather 10-way heated seats are great but are a little stiff. Hopefully in time they will soften up some but with dogs we like the idea that they won’t be packed in fur all the time. Factory stereo is pretty garbage but works okay if you crank the bass to the max to offset highs. Visibility and maneuverability was a concern since I’ll be driving the van as a daily commuter but so far it’s not that bad. Other then being aware of low overhangs and the occasional “compact” parking spaces its just like any large SUV or full-size pickup. The mirrors have great visibility and the backup camera works well in the high elevated position above the doors, a new placement for 2018. Thought the backup screen is tiny (That will be solved with a new stereo).

So far we are impressed and super stoked to get started on the build. We couldn’t be happier with our choice to buy a Ford Transit Van versus some of the other options on the market.

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