More info re: New West Liberte on Ford Transit

[markopolo]

New West has more info on their site about their new Ford Transit based Class B model named Liberte.
See this link: https://www.new-west.com/our-new-west-liberte.html

Pricing is in Canadian dollars. Using today's exchange rate it would convert to around USD $78,200 for comparison to other brands.

[gerrym51]

I;m confused-is this the same ford transit built here?. the North american transit i thought was like the promaster. styled like european versions but using different north american underpining? just wondering

[stanw909]

Yes. That is the Ford Transit built here.

[markopolo]

I'm not sure I understand it either. Is it that the Transit design/idea etc. was imported from Europe or did they actually import this van from Europe?

They mention:

5-year/100,000 km Roadside Assistance in Canada and continental U.S.
3-year/60,000 km New Vehicle Warranty
5-year/100,000 km Gas Engine Powertrain Limited Warranty
5-year/160,000 km Diesel Engine Powertrain Limited Warranty
5-year/unlimited distance Corrosion Perforation Warranty

That makes me think it would be a North American van.

edit: missed Stan's post

[bobojay]

They need to do some updating & proofreading on their website info. I believe they mean the design was imported from Europe, not the vans themselves. The North American Transit is assembled in Kansas City, MO.
Also their prices for the 2 optional engines are right at $1k over the retail price that Ford charges in USA. Humm....maybe Canadian price difference?

Edit: just realized this is on a medium roof. I don't think anyone over 5'9" or so could stand up straight. Maybe wrong on that

[rectalogic]

Originally Posted by bobojay

Edit: just realized this is on a medium roof. I don't think anyone over 5'9" or so could stand up straight. Maybe wrong on that

Yeah medium roof has 5'11" interior height in the bare-metal van. New-West shows high roof as a $2000 option, which is 6'8" interior height.

They list "Ford front swivel seat", but swivel seats are not an option from Ford on the US Transit. So maybe they mean non-Ford aftermarket swivel seat? Or else they really did import this from Europe

Interesting that it comes with only a single 70Ah AGM battery and has no propane - alcohol stove and gasoline furnace.

Looks like a Thetford Curve Porta-Potti. "stationary toilet" is a $1500 option as of "Mai 2015", but they will have limited payload building on the Transit 250 instead of 350.

[mlts22]

I saw that on another forum. I had high hopes for that "B" until I saw the pictures of it. For me, if it doesn't have a black tank toilet, an internal shower, and a LP gas stove, with everything working when all doors are closed, I consider it more of a campervan than a true class "B" motorhome.

I really wish one of the big names would make a "B" on the Transit chassis, preferably the EB gasser. If they wanted room for people to sleep transversely, I've seen European Transit upfits with bump-outs or pods available.

[BobB]

Alcohol stove? Older boats used to have them - takes much longer to boil water than propane.

One forum post summed it up "If you are really spooked by the explosive nature of propane, then alcohol has a place. If you like to cook, then alcohol is next to worthless. Just doesn't produce enough heat."

BTUs/gallon of Propane - 91,000; alcohol is around 65,000.

Boaters are rightly worried about propane given the heavier-than-air nature of propane and boat hulls that are watertight and can contain leaking propane. But that is not something I would worry about in an RV on the cooking side of things. (still prefer compressor fridges)

[mlts22]

Sometimes something made for one application makes no sense somewhere else. For example, a throttle knob makes perfect sense in a plane, but one would not want to replace a car's accelerator pedal with one.

Alcohol stoves are fine for emergencies, as alcohol can store for long periods of time. However, on a non-marine application where propane will just disperse on the ground, rather than accumulate in a bilge, propane is an effective heat source, next to going with a Webasto diesel stove.

If I were worried about propane and wanted to ditch it as a fuel, I'd do one of two things. I'd either go the e-Trek route, have everything completely electrical, with an EMS and second alternator. Or, I'd go with diesel appliances like a diesel furnace, water heater, and stove (the Webasto stove exhausts to the outside, so it doesn't add combustion gases inside.) I like dealing with as few fuel types as possible. Gasoline/diesel and propane? Fine. Once one starts getting into 3+ different fuel types needed to chase down every trip, it no longer gets fun.

[wincrasher]

The boating community must be over their concern with propane, as almost every new boat is set up to use it for cooking. Even sailing boats. Water heaters generally are on shore power or engine heat, with no provisions for a gas burner.

[Davydd]

Etreks and Advanced RVs can be all electrical but not in heat in a practical manner. In theory, maybe in mild heating cases but don't count on it when camping at 0 deg. F as we have. On shore power heat and hot water can be electric. You still need diesel heat with a diesel engine or propane with a gas engine. You can cook though all electric with an induction cooktop. With induction cooktop ease, efficiency and precise temperature control I would go with it over alcohol, diesel or propane cooking if one has the battery capacity.