That reminds me - DONT order any radio at all. Go with an aftermarket double DIN head end it will be much higher quality and far more useful. Simply buy a good backup camera and wire it into your new head end unit. You will see more, pay less and in the end be further ahead. The GPS in the uconnect5 is a piece of rubbish, forget it do yourself a favor and either get a stand alone GPS or a BT unit that will integrate with your head unit.
Agreed! The Tom Tom based Nav is simply useless and screen is too small. The stereo sounds like crap. The only good thing is the phone interface is quite good.
Regarding cameras, I actually don't mind the factory rear view camera, but it requires the factory upgraded radio, so I would go another route. In my van I have the factory camera and I added a full time rearview camera and replaced the rearview mirror with a 7" LCD unit. I love this set up, and combined with the rear parking sensors (a must have option in my opinion), and the great mirrors I find driving this van to be a pleasure.... and I have the 3500 extended with the only windows being on the passenger slider.
So to summarize, here's what I would order:
Interior Convenience Package (upper shelf is very handy)
Premium Appearance Package (Chrome grill is nice, fog lights seem to help on poorly lit dirt roads)
Factory Swivels (please note this excludes heated seats, to my surprise)
No radio
Leather wheel (cheap option, adds a nice look and feel)
Factory hitch. It's a good deal and saves you one less thing to deal with during your build
Park sensors
Upfit connector (I haven't used mine yet but it will be important later)
Power heated and folding mirrors (not the giant ones)
No windows (easy and cheap to add them later)
Mudflaps (really help to keep the van a little cleaner)
Steel wheels (I like the look)
Aftermarket:
Good stereo, Nav unit
Double rearview camera (one fulltime, one reverse) with rearview mirror LCD screen
Keep in mind, my van is fully loaded as it was a dealer demo. I'm actually happy I had the factory wood floor as I could use it as a template when insulating the floor. You might want to consider the rubber floor mat for the same purpose. Mine has the LED cargo lights which are great for the building process but I will end up re-purposing them. I picked up the front walkthrough slushmat, which is nice. I also have the lower cargo panels, which serve as a good template for wall finishing, but not worth it for that purpose alone. Mine has the rear heat and ac prep, which even though I'm adding a coolant based water heater, may not be a benefit afterall. I know you are looking at the 136", but the 159 non extended would be a joy to drive. This thing has a very small turning circle.
Good luck. Oh yeah don't get black (poor paint quality and is going to be hot). I would rather have white, but silver would be my first choice.
Shaun
