Van & Bus launched the SWB Stealth Ford Transit Custom (FTC) super low profile pop top as seen in the picture above back in the spring of 2022. The design utilised the same patented operating mechanism as of that which was developed for the Stealth B2 roofs on the Volkswagen Transporter range.
Designed in accordance with the Ford BEMS (Fords technical specification requirements document) the SWB Stealth FTC offers what we believe to be the best looking (albeit it, it’s hard to notice it when it’s closed), easiest to operate pop top on the market, whilst also incorporating significant reinforcing structure to the vehicle (the product has a stainless steel fabricated cross member between the ‘B pillars’ in addition to a one piece composite subframe), making the installed product extremely robust.
The design for the Ford Transit Custom LWB followed, which was basically an extended version of the SWB design. It was originally hoped that the LWB would be ready for production by the Spring of the following year, however due to an unprecedented demand for parts on our UK based manufacturing partner, the production of the tooling was unfortunately pushed back on more than one occasion. This did however give the design team the opportunity to roll in a few tweaks, which in truth make little or no difference to the end user but do help improve the manufacturing times, which in turn helps reduce the overall cost of the product… something which can therefore be passed on to our customers.
Tooling for the FTC LWB finally began in the last week of January 2024, with the first pattern parts being cut using the 4 axis CNC milling machine. It is anticipated that the patterns for the pop top roof panel, and the composite sub frame should be completed by the beginning of March 2024, followed by the manufacture of the moulds with the first pre-production development parts ready by the end of March early April 2024.
Once the development parts have had a full shake down on our test vehicle (we don’t anticipate any issues due to its commonality with the FTC SWB variant), the LWB Stealth FTC will be officially launched. We are taking bookings for installations of this exciting new product from the second week in May 2024 onwards.
As always, we will keep you updated as and when we get more specific dates. For any more information on the Stealth FTC or for any of our other products, please feel free to get in touch with the team at Van & Bus or keep an eye on our social media platforms for regular updates.
To read more about the FTC & Stealth B2 pop tops get in touch with the team.
