2014 Express AWD cargo van PNW 4 season camper

[jstar89crx]

Hi all, I know the thread starter came from a VW background, I will throw this out to you and any other VW converts:
I would like to know what you miss/ don't miss about the VW.
One concern I have if I go the 1500 with high roof option is what it will be like in the wind on the highway. Do you have to fight it like you do a Vanagon?
How about capacity and staying within the load limits of the van? Are air bags required, do they feel overloaded and wobbly in corners?
Also what is the ride like on the forest service roads? My Syncro is like a magic carpet on the forest roads.
I am also curious about the 2500 and 3500's with a Quigley package. That would solve all of the load and handling issues (if there are any) but for a lightly built camper I think the ride would be too harsh on logging roads.
Thanks for any input!

 

[Travelin _man]

Hi all, I know the thread starter came from a VW background, I will throw this out to you and any other VW converts:
I would like to know what you miss/ don't miss about the VW.
One concern I have if I go the 1500 with high roof option is what it will be like in the wind on the highway. Do you have to fight it like you do a Vanagon?
How about capacity and staying within the load limits of the van? Are air bags required, do they feel overloaded and wobbly in corners?
Also what is the ride like on the forest service roads? My Syncro is like a magic carpet on the forest roads.
I am also curious about the 2500 and 3500's with a Quigley package. That would solve all of the load and handling issues (if there are any) but for a lightly built camper I think the ride would be too harsh on logging roads.
Thanks for any input!

Good Question, but you should start your own thread so you and others can see this instead of posting on someone's build thread. Not trying to be a ******** but its kind of a ******** move to hijack someones build thread.

 

[iridewheelies]

I would like to know what you miss/ don't miss about the VW.

I hadn't checked my thread for a while, sorry for taking so long to reply.

Here's how I feel :

Pros-
More reliable
Way more power, no need to worry about steep hills!
Better mpg
Modern engine
More than twice as much room inside. Way more.
Easy to find parts.
Handles crosswinds way better. No drama on the road.

Cons-
Not as much aftermarket support.
Not as many builds on the internet for ideas
Not a "cool" as a syncro.
Bigger in every way so harder to park and not as nimble off road
No one waves at me anymore.
Hard to find replacement factory parts.

My van time with the syncro seemed like it was 50% repairs and 50% camping. The Chevy is 15% mods and 85% camping.

I'm super happy with the Chevy. I would never go back.

 

[iridewheelies]

Opening weekend at Mt Baker was awesome!

Camped in upper lot. Webasto ran all weekend with no problems. We were nice and toasty while the wind and snow howled all night.

 

[java]

Awesome!!! We where up at whistler, got a huge dumping. Ill keep an eye out for you rig next time I am at baker.

 

[iridewheelies]

Your more likely to see me at White Pass, that's my home mountain. I like to go to Bend for spring break to ski and ride. They have great camping at Mt Bachelor.

 

[java]

Yeah we do bachelor for a week every year. The showers are nice there! Don't get to white often.

 

[iridewheelies]

Update on my lift.

I drove it around for a few months with the 3" blocks in back and the Traxda keys in front. I hated it. The van sat much higher in the back because I couldn't get much lift out of the Traxda key on my driver side. With the driver side adjuster all the way in I only got 1" of lift, the passenger side still had more than half the adjuster bolt sticking out.

I bit the bullet and ordered the Maxxcam keys from Summit racing. They're not cheap but I didn't want to mess around. The Maxxcam keys have the most adjustability because of the two piece design of the cam.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/spx-smx-mc2/overview/

Here is a photo showing the Traxda key and a stock Chevy key. The Traxda is only about one cm different.




The Maxxcam keys are adjustable to where ever you want, it looked like the setting B2 was the same as the Traxda key



according to the included directions with the maxxcam kit the B2 setting gives 1.2" of lift, which seemed about right for how my van was riding.



I put the maxxcam to setting B3 for the driver side and left the Traxda key in the passenger side. I adjusted it to the height I wanted, which was about level in the back, so somewhere around 2.5" - 3" of lift from stock. I got it aligned and it rides great.

I don't have any photos of it right now except in the snow like this:



It's hard to see but there is a good amount of lift and it rides great. It doesn't feel too high and there is no topping out of the suspension.

So now I have two stock keys, one Traxda key and one Maxxcam key sitting on my work bench. I'm tempted to leave the Traxda key in the passenger side and try to sell the remaining Maxxcam key with Traxda key as a kit to someone who had a van with a heavy driver side like me. Or maybe I should put the other Maxxcam key in and sell the Traxda keys as a set. Either way, I don't need all these keys.

Next step is to order new rear springs. Then maybe a sway bar.

 

[jstar89crx]

Thanks for the VW/Chev comparison! I am in Bellingham, cool to see what was going on at Baker while I was down at work

 

[Abitibi]

I don't have any photos of it right now except in the snow like this:



.

That's a nice old ford beside yours, always loved the 2nd gen. Not sure they were as warm as you though!

Cheers
David

 

[real3175]

Looks great covered in snow, jealousy is running through my veins. East Coast mountains traditionally don't allow overnight camping in parking lots - need...to...move...west

 

[86cj]

Glad to hear you got the van leveled out, that is some good info on the torsion keys for everybody...

Have you weighed the van side to side? If it is not way different the torsion bar might be weak or a rear spring is causing the lean, which might let the lean come back, I have had a rear spring or shackle cause the front to lean before on other vehicles. I still have not found what the spring rate on our 54" XS torsion bars (7300lb?) but the next bigger GK bars are 8615lbs, I have never played with torsion bar swapping has anybody else?

BTW: The rear sway bar is nice even after the 3/4 ton suburban spring swap, that little twitch when wind is gusty is gone and the great rack and pinion on center feel is even more solid.

You must have a story about your AWD Van and some crazy snow driving, I have been dealing with 12" of snow on the roads lately and cannot believe these things! A true YETI......Absolutely comfortable in deep snow, no high-lock front end push, just point and shoot!...........

 

[Cletus]

Just read this whole thread over the course of the day, good stuff. Been looking at AWD Express lately and you've added to the push. Good friends Tim and Megan run the Yakima ski club lodge at White Pass, perhaps you know them? Been meaning to get out there and check out the mountain but hard to leave home for another ski hill sometimes.

 

[iridewheelies]

I’m bringing this van build story back from the dead.

I took a few years off to concentrate on my career and earn a degree. College as an adult with a full time job is hard. I’m so glad to be done and have time to build my van out right.

I started over on the interior. The dinette style layout never made me happy. It took too long to set up the van for sleeping and when the bed was out I couldn’t get to any of my stuff. I also needed to have a back seat to carry two passengers once in a while.

Version 2 is about halfway done.

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[iridewheelies]

I’ll get into my interior build soon, I have to take care of a couple mechanical issues first.

I noticed the front right tire is very worn on the outside edge. I suppose I need an alignment and it’s possible some front end parts are worn. I’m expecting the life of the front end to be shorter because of the lift. I’ve seen posts about upper control arms and different ball joints, not sure what to make of all that. I’ll try to find a good alignment shop that knows lifted trucks and hopefully get some good advice.

I’ve been very good about rotating my 5 tires ... until the pandemic. I’m running too long on the current rotation, hoping that isn’t going to wear my tires in a bad way. On the brighter side, if I hadn’t postponed the rotation I might not have noticed the uneven wear.


Another thing I’d like to get done soon is upgrading my alternator to a higher output. I’m considering a mechman 250 amp like this - https://www.mechman.com/high-output...-suburban-tahoe-silverado-escalade-silverado/

My stock alternator seems to be working ok except I don’t get much power to charge my lithium batteries. I’m running a CTEK Dual and smartpass combo, it allows up to 100a charge, I almost never see that much. If I drain my batteries down below 50% it takes several days of driving to get back up to 100%, even with my little 120w solar panel.

Does anyone out there have experience with installing an upgraded alternator?

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