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Foes Racing lifts the Van Life with 2″ Ford Transit lift kit & accessories

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Brent Foes is a man who loves to make things. A recent Mountain Bike Hall of Fame inductee, it was his skills and expertise in building off-road race trucks that would eventually lead him to design and build the first 6″ travel mountain bike in the early 90’s. Since then, Foes Racing USA has been making bikes in the United States blending Brent’s off-road racing knowledge with meticulous craftsmanship. And while bikes are and will continue to be the focus for Foes, Brent can’t help himself from trying to make other things better.

Foes Racing lifts the Van Life with 2" lift kit & accessories for Ford Transit
Lifted Transits

Ford Transit Lift Kit

Things like their Ford Transit van. Like many bike companies out there, Foes originally purchased the Transit as a method of getting gear to the races and to transport their raw frames to the powder coating facility. Brent says that he liked a lot of things about the Transit – they’re less expensive than Sprinters, easier to work on, and fairly well built. However, he couldn’t help but feel that it would benefit from bigger tires. But to get there, the van would need a lift.

After looking around for aftermarket parts and finding nothing available, he did what he always does – Brent made the parts himself. Since the first kit was made, another company has come out with a lift kit, but according to Brent the Foes Ford Transit Lift Kit is simpler, easier to install, and actually provides better ground clearance rather than just a body lift.

Brent mentioned that lifting the back of the vehicle was easy, but once you mess with the front suspension there’s no way to adjust the camber. To compensate, the lift kit includes new factory lower control arms that have been modified to adjust the camber back to the stock settings once the front has been lifted by 2″. Installation of the front lift is relatively straight forward requiring removal of the lower control arms and the front strut, adding a 2″ billet aluminum spacer, and reinstalling the strut, the new control arm, and finally adjusting the toe alignment. Because this isn’t a body lift like the competition, there is no need for a steering shaft extension or steering rack shims making it easier to install, and easier to put back to stock if you need to. The rear lift is accomplished by simply adding a 2″ lift block spacer and new U-Bolts.

Foes Racing lifts the Van Life with 2" lift kit & accessories for Ford Transit

The result is a 2″ lift all around which provides clearance for 245/75r16 tires without any major trimming. That’s about 2″ taller than the stock tires again providing more ground clearance and the ability to run slightly more aggressive tread if off roading is in your van’s future. Brent also mentioned that they worked with the Ultra Wheel Company to get a compatible wheel for the Transit in their Ultra 450 Toil 5 Lug. According to Brent, the wheel offers an additional 1/2″ offset which provides more room clearance between the tire and the spring.

Initially just a pet project for their own van, as these things usually go, people started asking about where they got the lift kit. Naturally, that led to the idea that maybe they should sell them, so Foes put together an official 2″ lift kit with everything needed for $1,400. We’re told the kit is compatible with vans that are model year 2015 or newer.

Foes Racing lifts the Van Life with 2" lift kit & accessories for Ford Transit

Other Accessories

Of course, Brent couldn’t stop there. After installing the lift kit, he noticed that it was a bit more difficult to get into the back of the van. So he whipped up a couple grab bars that bolt into existing holes in the door frame on the inside. These will sell for $120 a pair. There’s also a light bar mount that allows you to mount a 20″ KC LED Light bar which runs $250 each or $500 for the mount + light combo.

And those are just the products available now. Brent says he has plans for a gas tank door protector which will prevent the door from being ripped off (which is apparently a common issue with the Transit), plus rear bumper options with steps, or built in trailer hitch and LED back up lights. All of these are simply accessories that Brent wants for his own van, but he figures if they make his life easier – other people will want them as well.

In the end Brent made it very clear that he doesn’t want this to take away from his bicycle business saying, “Bicycles are my passion, and I love making those. But I like making other things too.”

To order any of the parts above give Foes Fabrication a call at 909-971-3774, or send them an email.

foesracing.com

transitoffroad.foesracing.com

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16 Comments
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Patrik Zuet
Patrik Zuet
6 years ago

Damn! I want one for my transit connect! that smaller version needs more ground clearance, and i could finally have some Foes parts after drooling over them for years!

Douglas McSaladbath
Douglas McSaladbath
6 years ago

foodtruck.com came out with a lifted food truck that has a rotating salad bar too!

Mike Franke
Mike Franke
6 years ago

Before you get torn to shreds by the inevitable “vans aren’t bikes, man”, I just wanted to say that it’s refreshing to see news on items that are related to cycling. Plus I know, deep down, you guys have a real van obsession.

AC
AC
6 years ago

Not bikes, but hey, I haul my bikes in my Ford Transit. Van coverage is 1000x better than ebike coverage.

Dude
Dude
6 years ago
Reply to  AC

^– this.

D-con
D-con
6 years ago
Reply to  AC

That’s cause vans aren’t pretending to be something they’re not and endangering trail access while they’re at it.

Vans are rad.

GlazedHam
GlazedHam
6 years ago

Best thing I’ve read all day

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
6 years ago

I drive one(random one of our fleet of 8) for work every day. They’re as unreliable as a Jaguar. I wouldn’t want to put a penny into anything for this van beyond all the repair costs.

Tom
Tom
6 years ago

not bikes, but I love the fact that a bike guy is not afraid to get his hands dirty and build something smart for a car. Way too many people would start a session of hand wringing over the “subtleties” or “complexities” of something like this, when in fact it comes down to knowledge of mechanical principles and a willingness to tackle it. Cool!

Paul S.
Paul S.
6 years ago

I love the the #vanlife stories. And, it looks like the domain name vanrumor.com is available…

dustytires
6 years ago

I would be more interested in checking out vanrumor everyday than ebike blather.

the biz
the biz
6 years ago

I can’t stand to see people enjoying ebikes, but spending $50,000 on a van gets me all lathered up

Jon
Jon
6 years ago

I researched this a few weeks ago – as far as I could tell transits are not available w/ 4WD – sprinters are.

Katherin Towner
6 years ago

For over 26 years Foes Racing has been in the mountain biking game handcrafting aluminum frames and has always had strong ties to the off-road racing industry

Sam
Sam
5 years ago

How does an article about a van lift kit turn the comment section into bitching about ebikes??

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