Will The Rightline Gear SUV Tent Work On A Ford Transit Connect?

Written by RightlineG on . Posted in Truck & SUV Tent Tips.

The Ford Transit Connect is an extremely versatile vehicle and Ford’s customers are using the Transit as a mini RV, a family hauler, and a work during the week/play on the weekend vehicle.

First, we tried the Rightline Gear SUV Tent on the Ford Transit Connect with the rear hatch door. The door is much longer than most SUV doors, but the tent still fit great. You will notice that the rear hatch door will extend into the main room of the tent. You want the end of the door to be even with the seam across the roof of the SUV Tent. The strap that connects to each side of the lower sleeve and goes over the rear hatch door can be used to hold the door a little down from its maximum raised height. You can see this strap through the window of the rear hatch door in the photo below.

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Since the Transit Connect does not come standard with a roof rack, you will need to clip the straps from the front of the upper vehicle sleeve to the windshield wipers.

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Our set up went great and otherwise, the SUV Tent worked just like it does on any other SUV, minivan, crossover, or wagon. The side straps even attach in the very same way.

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Second, we tried the tent on the Ford Transit Connect with the rear barn doors. The barn doors will stay within the upper vehicle sleeve at their top, but extend into the tent at their bottom. Once again, it is important to tighten the strap that connects to each side of the lower vehicle sleeve (seen in the photo below above the doors). If anyone is sleeping on the floor of the SUV Tent, they will probably want to point their feet towards the vehicle. This positioning will help eliminate a bang on the head from one of the doors in the middle of the night.

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This Transit Connect has plenty of interior room. The SUV Tent attaches to the inside of the Transit using the (3) orange straps.

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The outside looked perfect when finished.

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We are slightly concerned that in a heavy rain storm, water may pool on the upper vehicle sleeve between the (2) barn doors (depending on how much tension exists on the upper sleeve fabric). As a precaution, we would recommend placing a piece of plywood (or other hard material) over top of the two doors. The wood would keep the water flowing off of the vehicle sleeve under even the heaviest of rains.

So, after the use of some great vehicles from EGOLF Ford in Brevard, NC, we were able to determine that the Ford Transit Connect works wonderfully with the Rightline Gear SUV Tent!!

*We would not recommend the SUV Tent for use with the regular Ford Transit Vans. They are much taller and wider than the Connect at approximately 96″ H x 77″ W.

 

Comments (31)

  • Brian

    The barn style doors can be folded all the way back against the side of the van. (No need to worry about bumping your head in the middle of the night). Is that an option or do they need to be directly pointed out into the tent for support?

    • RightlineG

      Hi Brian. Thanks for writing into our blog! We found that the doors not folded all the way against the sides of the van is best, the doors do help support the upper sleeve of the SUV Tent. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to give us a call at 888.851.3905.

  • Debbie O.

    Hi, would this work with a 2000 Tahoe with barn doors? We take this old 4wd out camping and thinking this would be great. I like the idea of having wood atop the barn doors like suggested with the sprinter. I’m thinking that could even be modified by adding supports that keep the doors from moving as well. If it works, where do I order it? Thanks!

    • RightlineG

      Hi Debbie. Thanks for writing into our blog. Excellent to hear you are interested in the SUV Tent! We have had customers use the SUV Tent on the older Tahoe model with barn doors before. We have heard that using the wood atop the doors is a good idea. You will just need to take extra care when setting up to ensure the wood does not damage the tent. We always recommend to test fit the SUV Tent before your trip too so that you are ready to go when you roll up to your first camp site. If you have any additional questions please feel free to give us a call at 888.685.GEAR.

    • RightlineG

      Hi Mike. Yes, the tent unhooks from your vehicle and functions as a standalone tent while you drive around site seeing.

    • RightlineG

      Hi Mike. Thanks for writing into our blog. Yes, the SUV Tent fits the Transit Connect models, but not the larger Transit. It is only available in the colorway shown. If you have any additional questions please give us a call at 888.685.GEAR.

    • RightlineG

      Hi Jesse. Thanks for writing in. We have heard customer success stories of fitting the SUV Tent to a van like the Chevy Express or Ford Econoline. The main challenge is that these vans have barn doors instead of an SUV hatch. The advice in this article for the Transit with barn doors will apply to the Express as well. If you have any further questions please feel free to give us a call at 888.685.GEAR.

  • Carolin

    Hi…do you think this tent will work with my 2020 Nissan NV200? It is similar to the transit connect except the barn doors are asymmetrical, with one being 34” and the other 22.5” wide. The top height is 73”. Thanks.

    • RightlineG

      Hi Carolin. Thanks for writing in. We’re excited to hear you’re interested in the SUV Tent! We feel confident you could get the SUV Tent to work with your NV200. It is similar enough to the Transit that the fitment should be similar. But, you may need to play with the adjustment of the straps to get the vehicle sleeves to fit right. We feel confident it can work. If you have any additional questions please feel free to give us a call at 888.685.GEAR.

    • admin

      Hello. While we have not tested the SUV Tent fitting to a Fiat 500 L we have designed the tent to be a universal fit. We have customers who fit the SUV Tent to vehicles like the Toyota Prius, and we feel confident that you can get the tent to fit your Fiat. For any additional questions please contact us at 888.685.GEAR.

  • Samuel Atkinson

    Your tent is not double walled is it? How is it going to hold up in Oregon? Or Heavy EU downpours? I like the Connect with this tent. This tent has not listed rain resistance like EU tents guaranteeing rain repellency. If the materials don’t hold water out what sell it?

    • admin

      Hello. Our tents feature a 2000mm PU waterproof coating. This will keep the campers dry inside the SUV Tent in any downpour.

  • Mike Freeland

    Looking for info about using Rightline Gear with a Transit Connect . Great article. I have a 2013 Transit Connect with the higher top and Barn doors so about 791/2 inches High versus the aprox 73 inches of newer connect models . What is a max height the Rightline can work with ?

    Thanks

    • admin

      Hi Mike. The SUV Tent is designed to be very universal to fit many different types of vehicles. It is difficult for us state a maximum height that the tent will work with as all vehicles are different shapes and sizes. The SUV Tent should fit your 2013 Transit Connect. The slightly taller height shouldn’t be a problem. The photos in the article should give you a good idea as to how the tent will work with your barn doors. The only Ford Transit we can’t recommend the tent for is the Transit Van. This is a much taller vehicle. To give you some additional scale, you can see the SUV Tent setup on a truck with a cap here: http://rightlinegear.com/blog/truck-tent-tips/rightline-gear-suv-tent-on-trucks-with-caps/. We used a Chevy work truck that was quite tall. The tent fit great!

    • admin

      Hi Dan. Yes, the SUV Tent is designed to standalone when you drive away to leave your campsite. The clips attaching it to your vehicle are easy to disconnect, and the upper and lower sleeve of the tent both roll up nicely when you drive away. The setup guide describes this here: http://rightlinegear.com/suv-tents-setup.html

  • Gary

    Hey Dan, I have a Sportsmobile 4×4 RV Ford E350 van. I’m expecting my tent to arrive soon and I’ll post pics of the happy or sad day. I think it might work but could need tweaking to fit. I’ll let you know. Thx. Gary

    • admin

      Thanks for giving us a call about fitting our SUV Tent to your Sportsmobile. We are looking forward to getting your feedback and seeing how it performs! Please let us know if you have any further questions.

  • dan

    hi all — i’ve been in contact with some very cooperative people at this company. very responsive! i and my friends have full size conversion vans (dodge tradesman, ford, chevy’s). am close to finishing my latest camper (swb dodge ’99). has anyone used one of these tents on the side or back of a full size ram tradesman (or similar) with barn doors? would love to order two of these when my van is finished but want to be sure the tent will cover the doors when opened and will be large enough to actually cover the opening and the under portion of the van. thanks.

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