The Ford Transit Custom has become a highly versatile vehicle that can fill a lot of roles, especially with aftermarket or third-party modifications to the vehicle’s overall structure and design. Of course, this also means that there are a lot of variants out there for sale, and not all of them will be what you are looking for.
If you are looking to buy a Ford Transit Custom, then it is important to find the right kind of van design to suit your needs best. However, this can often mean looking into the finer details surrounding the added modifications and features – something that can be time-consuming until you know how to narrow your options down.
What Kind of Accessories Are There?
One of the biggest roadblocks in your search for a new van is the modifications themselves. Many people misunderstand what kind of modifications are available or do not really know what differences some of them will make – but each one changes something about the vehicle.
Even something as small as aesthetics-focused styling accessories could have an impact on the vehicle’s handling and size, and your personal style preferences also matter if you are using it as a personal vehicle. Knowing some of the more common accessories can be a good way to understand what you should be expecting.
Remember that not all modifications are going to be equal. Some will be small detail changes or have a minor practical use, while others will significantly alter how you use the vehicle or even change the amount of storage space the van has.
Small Modifications
Some small modifications can be added to a Ford Transit Custom to offer new functions or features, usually without changing much about the vehicle itself. For example:
Roof Racks
Roof racks provide more storage for anything that your car can carry, ensuring that you are able to transport larger objects easily. There is a range of different roof rack options, all coming in slightly different designs and styles to suit particular Ford Transit Custom models or roles.
These can be used to transport a variety of cargo types, making this a versatile option for anybody who wants to use their Ford Transit Custom as a proper transport vehicle.
Ladders
Rear-door-mounted ladders can be installed along with roof racks to allow for easy handling of the items you are transporting on the rack, enabling you to climb up easily. Having a ladder available makes removing roof rack cargo a lot easier and can also provide some extra utility for contractors working on the outside of homes.
Wind Deflectors
Wind deflectors are small additions to the windows of your Ford Transit Custom that help reduce the noise from wind and rain when your windows are down. This is a minor change, but it can make long drives a lot more comfortable while still letting you get some fresh air.
Seat Covers
Seat covers can be used either for aesthetics or for comfort, giving seats a new surface texture and added layer of softness. They can also be used to add more grip. Many people change seat covers purely for aesthetics, but they can have a lot of practical value as well.
Styling Modifications
Styling is more important than you might think. Having a vehicle that youare proud of is always good, but many business owners also rely on their vehicles to represent their business. Styling can be a good way to change how a vehicle looks, even if it is just due to personal preference.
Custom Lighting
Custom lighting can add some extra flair to your Ford Transit Custom. These could be unique brake lights, fog lights, or a range of other modifications that all change the way your vehicle’s built-in lights work without violating any traffic or vehicle laws.
Remember that most lighting options are going to be limited in specific ways. There are rules about how lights can be handled in road-worthy vehicles, so you can’t affix a high-powered spotlight to the top of your Ford Transit Custom or turn all of the lights purple without checking the legality of doing so.
Interior Styling
Interior styling can come in a massive range of options, far too many to break down in a single article. This covers everything from curtains to dashboard overhauls, either as standalone additions or entire kits that are designed to completely replace an existing part of the vehicle.
Many of these changes are going to include things like a completely new dashboard kit in a different material type or even a new steering wheel designed to fit with a certain aesthetic. There are also changes to less practical parts of the vehicle, like cab curtains or rear window blackouts.
Some interior styling options, such as changes to the gearstick and wheel, can also have a direct impact on how you handle the vehicle. This allows for some customizing to suit your personal tastes and driving style, even if the overall layout of the Ford Transit Custom remains the same.
Exterior Styling
Exterior styling is just as varied as interior styling, with dozens of different major categories consisting of hundreds of individual options. This could be anything from a completely new front styling – which changes the look of the entire vehicle – as well as simple side-styling details that add only the smallest visual changes.
This allows you to choose how in-depth you want the modifications to be. You can install corner bars and rear door spoilers for minor adjustments to the vehicle’s handling and design or significantly alter how the front of the vehicle looks with something like a bumper splitter or custom grille.
All of these modifications will have a slight impact on performance, even if it is just because of the slight weight they add. However, they are mostly meant as cosmetic upgrades, something that you can add to personalize your Ford Transit Custom and make it fit better into a certain role.
Major Modifications
Some modifications are much more significant than others, offering direct practical changes to how the vehicle works and handles. Choosing these requires some more forethought and planning since you can’t always just remove the modifications if you do not like how they turned out – they might be semi-permanent.
Seating
The addition of new rear seating is one of the most common modifications made to a Ford Transit Custom, exchanging some of the storage space for a custom seating setup that can be tailored to your needs. This could mean a single row of seating, conversion into a people carrier, or even a full modification into a mobile office – complete with a meeting table.
Seating can be highly customizable, and there are a lot of different ways to install it. Some are movable, others are fixed, and all of them can be used for various different reasons depending on what role the vehicle needs to fill.
Seating is always going to be one of the most important modifications that you can make, and many people focus on that as the core of their heavily-modified Custom configurations. Seating effectively forms the basis of how the vehicle will be used going forward, so you want to think about what you are going to use your Transit Custom for.
Suspension
Suspension changes can have a huge impact on how your vehicle handles. There are a lot of different suspension kits and modification options that might change how your suspension works, allowing for even more flexibility in adapting your own Ford Transit Custom.
Changing your suspension should not be done lightly, especially if you are not sure what to expect. Having a modified custom specialist on hand to guide you through the process can be incredibly useful, especially if your modifications are going to be near-permanent and hard to remove if something goes wrong.
Choosing Your Modifications
Ford does not always make it easy to reliably see what kind of official options are available, and there are plenty of unofficial third-party modifications that you can make to a typical Ford Transit Custom as well. This means that it can take a while to choose the modifications that you want.
Always think about what you need and what kind of role you want the vehicle to fill. While it can be tempting to install seats into your Ford Transit Custom, you might also be using the vehicle for transporting cargo rather than people, which would just mean that more room is being taken up with seating.
On the other hand, some modifications are best for multi-role use. A Ford Transit Custom with added seating can prove to be a very versatile vehicle since having that seating can let it fill transport roles that a Transit Custom without extra seating could not.
Look into the kind of modifications that you think you need, and make sure that you understand exactly what you are looking for. It would be best if you never bought Ford Transit Custom modifications without knowing what they do and how they impact your vehicle since some can take a while to remove – or might even cause permanent changes to your vehicle.
