Hi all,
I love vans of all kinds and currently have a 12 passenger E350 Ford that suits my needs very well. I take it down FSR's all the time and it has about 12" of ground clearance at its lowest point, a LSD and all terrains, but it's not 4WD.
I could convert it, but our mini van is on it's last legs and that has me thinking about a Delica to replace it instead. I'm keeping the Econoline forever.
To get to my point......I sat in both the 300 and the 400 and found them really cramped. My right knee was jammed between the steering wheel and the door and I actually had to ask the salesman to open the door from the outside for me. I'm 6'4" with a 36" inseam and size 15 shoe. So it seems the biggest hurdle is getting me behind the wheel so that I can actually operate the van safely. Are there any big guys out there that have overcome this problem?
Big guy & potential noobie.
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Onesweetvan
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Sat May 07, 2011 12:12 pm
- Member's Photo Album: http://www.delica.ca/Photos/
- Vehicle: E350
- Location: Fraser Valley
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jessef
- Posts: 6459
- Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:27 pm
- Vehicle: JDM flavour of the month
- Location: Vancouver
- Location: Vancouver, BC
Re: Big guy & potential noobie.
I replied to your post on expo as well.
Two friends, one 6'2 (L300 owner) and the other 6'6 (L400 owner) and both love them.
But both are skinny guys for their height and their body width is no different than mine (I'm a shorty).
If you really need someone to open the door for you from the outside, then perhaps it's not quite the fit for you.
For both L300 and L400, there is not much you can do for extra side room. You can reskin the doors and do away with the 1/2" protruding plastic existing skin and put something thinner along with ditching the arm rest completely and relocating the power window (on the L400) controls further up and back to avoid your knees.
If they are cool with it, have one of the sellers pop off the plastic door cover and then sit in there. If you are comfortable, then you can make do with a thin skin as above.
If you still feel cramped, then short of taking the doors off and getting some 24/7 fresh air inside, you're out of luck.
Hope that helps a bit.
Two friends, one 6'2 (L300 owner) and the other 6'6 (L400 owner) and both love them.
But both are skinny guys for their height and their body width is no different than mine (I'm a shorty).
If you really need someone to open the door for you from the outside, then perhaps it's not quite the fit for you.
For both L300 and L400, there is not much you can do for extra side room. You can reskin the doors and do away with the 1/2" protruding plastic existing skin and put something thinner along with ditching the arm rest completely and relocating the power window (on the L400) controls further up and back to avoid your knees.
If they are cool with it, have one of the sellers pop off the plastic door cover and then sit in there. If you are comfortable, then you can make do with a thin skin as above.
If you still feel cramped, then short of taking the doors off and getting some 24/7 fresh air inside, you're out of luck.
Hope that helps a bit.