Mcarpenito89
Adventurer
Read your thread today, awesome man!
Was this the kit you used in the before pictures......before the 2" body lift ?
2014 Express AWD cargo van PNW 4 season camper
- Thread starter iridewheelies
- Start date
Read your thread today, awesome man!
Was this the kit you used in the before pictures......before the 2" body lift ?
Mcarpenito89
Adventurer
If you don't mind me asking how was your ride before and after this lift ? I assume before you added the body lift and bilstein stocks you were riding on stock suspension ?
I really didn't notice a big difference in the ride with the lift (stock suspension before). At first I had the stock shocks with spacers up front, which rode well but bottomed out on big bumps. The rear has KYB shocks for a 3/4 ton van. The bilsteins up front solved the bottoming out, but I feel they are slightly under valved for a weighted down van. When I am done adding weight to the van I will likely revisit the shocks and maybe the rear springs.
iridewheelies
Adventurer
I just got off the phone with Traxda technical support.
I told him I wasn't getting the lift I expected from the front keys. He told me that I might have it up as high as it should go and to check to make sure I had at least 1/4" between the upper control arm and the bump stop. I see the lower bumpstop for the lower control arm but I don't see one for the upper arm, am I missing something?
Right now with only a 1/2 tank of gas the van is sitting pretty level.
Driver side lower bumpstop:
Passenger side lower bumpstop:
He made an interesting suggestion to me. He told me to swap the passenger and driver side torsion bars to see if they are the same spring rate. If the passenger side is stiffer it should give me more lift.
I don't know if it matters but they have different part numbers like maybe they are not the same part and they're designed to be on a specific side.
Any thoughts?
I told him I wasn't getting the lift I expected from the front keys. He told me that I might have it up as high as it should go and to check to make sure I had at least 1/4" between the upper control arm and the bump stop. I see the lower bumpstop for the lower control arm but I don't see one for the upper arm, am I missing something?
Right now with only a 1/2 tank of gas the van is sitting pretty level.
Driver side lower bumpstop:
Passenger side lower bumpstop:
He made an interesting suggestion to me. He told me to swap the passenger and driver side torsion bars to see if they are the same spring rate. If the passenger side is stiffer it should give me more lift.
I don't know if it matters but they have different part numbers like maybe they are not the same part and they're designed to be on a specific side.
Any thoughts?
I believe he is referring to the droop stop on the upper control arm. If you look at the top of the bump stop mount you can see where the upper control arm would hit at full droop. It is visible in your pictures, looks like you have a lot more than a 1/4". Mine are around 3/8-1/2".
justcuz
Explorer
I would think van torsion bars would be heavier than a truck or Suburban to account for the driver and passenger being farther forward than in other vehicles and van weight bias front of the vehicle centerline. Most all GM torsion bars are 54" long so if you find thicker bars in the wrecking yard you could swap them in. Ford truck and Expedition torsion bar keys are usually used to raise a 1/2 ton truck or Suburban. For the rear springs I think 99 3/4 ton springs would be what you want, but newer truck 2500 or 3500 springs or leaves can be added to your spring pack to stiffen the rear. 88-2016 Chevy truck springs are all 64" long and 2.5" wide. You can mix and match leaves and build your own springs or just use the entire bigger leaf spring.
Really like these AWD Chevy vans and what you guys are doing to them.
Really like these AWD Chevy vans and what you guys are doing to them.
iridewheelies
Adventurer
The light bar is a Vision X http://www.visionxusa.com/shop/xmitter-low-pro-xtreme/
They're expensive, not an eBay special. I didn't mind paying for quality, this light is very well made and I expect it to last indefinitely. I got the 40 degree flood light pattern because I spend a lot of time in dense forest and I wanted to be able to see all around the road for animals or low hanging branches. I try not to use it on the road too much, I'm pretty sure it's not legal to use on the public roads.
I have a three way switch for it. On-Off-On with headlight high beams. I like to have it switch on and off with my high beams so when I see oncoming traffic I can shut it down quickly.
I highly recommend adding campsite lights to any camper van. It makes life so much better when you can walk around your camp at night with no flashlight. Outdoor cooking is really nice when you don't have a headlamp or a maglight in your mouth!
Mcarpenito89
Adventurer
I think I'm going to go ahead and order the $154 lift from Amazon over the Traxda.
I got the bilstein front part number for your build , but isn't there a bilstein shock for a 3/4 van if I didn't want to use the KYBs you used?
Bilstein 4600 HD #24-221948
I used a 5100 series front shock, you could also use a 4600 HD *#24-186643, if matching the back matters to you.
86cj
Explorer
The 92-99 Suburban rear leaves are 60" so the 64" truck springs won't work on a GM Van, but you can mix single leaves all you want. The 2000 and up Suburban springs are 60" but have the wrong bushing on one end, so they don't bolt in.
fire_strom
Adventurer
Are these rear springs 30" eye to eye??
-G
-G
86cj
Explorer
Eye to center pin......Some springs don't have the center pin in the center so the dimensions are called out, instead of total length. Some people could refer to the 60" spring as a 30" spring as slang..........
fire_strom
Adventurer
Ah. I see now, thanks.
-G
-G
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