ElizaDolittle
New member
Second owner, no rust (has always been in the West). 117k on original engine and transmission. Silver color, navy interior.
Location: Oregon, Willamette Valley.
Great camping rig! I put a bed and a fridge in the back, and went on several long trips, up and down the west coast. Very cozy and comfortable, and very stealthy. It drives like a car, looks like a work or soccer vehicle, and will go anywhere.
I got 25 MPG on the highway, fully loaded with 3/4 ton of camping gear, through mountain passes.
Famously sturdy Vortec engine has never given me a lick of trouble, and has more power than I could ever want.
Upgrades:
Custom leaf springs (for heavy cargo and about 3" lift)
Helwig sway bar
Tru-Cool trans cooler (changed the ATF, so you will never have to)
BFG TA KO LT tires (about 3000 miles on them)
Full-sized spare, plus factory donut for a 2nd spare
Hitch
Wiring for utility and travel trailers
Coil-over shocks
Custom interior switch for rear hatch
Other recent maintenance:
Flushed radiator
New brakes
New windshield
Original features:
Rear heat and AC
Cruise control
Roof rack
Power windows and door locks
Keyless entry
Overhead console with primitive computer that tells you things like moment-to-moment MPG, outside temperature, etc.
Notes:
The suspension upgrades (springs, shocks, sway bar, LT tires) provide great stability when the van is carrying its rated load of 3/4 ton. I like rock steady handling! They mean a very stiff ride when unloaded, though. If you like softer, you could change the shocks and/or tires.
I have the original rear seats, which fold down flat, in storage and can dig them out if you want them, but I figure a buyer is most likely to want this van as an expedition rig. They are in great shape. This site has good pictures of the type of seats: https://www.morehawes.co.uk/camper-...or-measurements-for-minivan-camper-conversion
Rear and rear-side windows are tinted. I replaced the middle-side windows with clear ones, more suitable for the PNW. I do have the original tinted side windows if you want them. All windows tilt to open. I used clear silicone to adhere some small magnets to the side windows, to hold privacy curtains. Easy to remove if you don't like.
Imperfections:
Hood paint is showing some sun damage. Not peeling or anything but kind of orange skin looking. (I took some of these photos in dappled shade, so if you see light and dark patches in the paint, that is just the sunlight. Not a paint problem.)
7" wide dent on passenger side front corner, repaired and repainted, but not to perfection. Hard to get it to show up in a picture, but you can definitely see it in person if you look.
Scratches on the front bumper cover are inexpertly painted. The paint matches, but is sloppy. Some tiny scratches elsewhere patched more neatly. There are probably other tiny scratches and dimples in various places, consistent with use. I have a picture of a dimple on the hood which is probably the worst one.
The hood is sometimes fiddly to open.
Travel cat clawed the carpet on the inside of the sliding door. Don't worry, he did not ever pee in the van!
1 rear shoulder belt doesn't want to unroll. Another one is frayed.
Missing the trim that goes under the steering wheel, above your knees. I had a knee injury (unrelated to the van), and had a temporary hand control installed. The installer threw out that piece of trim. (This was years ago and the hand control is no longer there.)
Missing a tiny piece of trim from the inside of the passenger door, and one of the rear AC vent covers. I suspect I have both of these in my house somewhere, and will keep looking for them.
One of the side tilt windows has tan latches instead of navy. I think they look fine.
it is a great van. I looked at every AWD Astro that came up for sale, for a year, before I chose this one -- and that was back when there were a lot of them around. Then I made it better
More info as I get time. Feel free to ask questions!
Comes with original owners manual, plus a set of 1999 shop manuals I got used on eBay. Also a little matching touch up paint, pro grade, in a dented can. Oops!
The only comps I could find in the west are a dealer near here, who has two stock AWD Astros of similar age and mileage, asking $13,000 for one and $15,000 for the other. $12,000/ offer for this one.
(A note on prices: I'm open to discussion of price if you can find other AWD Astros on the west coast. The only ones I have found are listed above. FWD ones out west sell for about 8,000. And of course, east of the Rockies, where rust happens, they sell for less!)
Location: Oregon, Willamette Valley.
Great camping rig! I put a bed and a fridge in the back, and went on several long trips, up and down the west coast. Very cozy and comfortable, and very stealthy. It drives like a car, looks like a work or soccer vehicle, and will go anywhere.
I got 25 MPG on the highway, fully loaded with 3/4 ton of camping gear, through mountain passes.
Famously sturdy Vortec engine has never given me a lick of trouble, and has more power than I could ever want.
Upgrades:
Custom leaf springs (for heavy cargo and about 3" lift)
Helwig sway bar
Tru-Cool trans cooler (changed the ATF, so you will never have to)
BFG TA KO LT tires (about 3000 miles on them)
Full-sized spare, plus factory donut for a 2nd spare
Hitch
Wiring for utility and travel trailers
Coil-over shocks
Custom interior switch for rear hatch
Other recent maintenance:
Flushed radiator
New brakes
New windshield
Original features:
Rear heat and AC
Cruise control
Roof rack
Power windows and door locks
Keyless entry
Overhead console with primitive computer that tells you things like moment-to-moment MPG, outside temperature, etc.
Notes:
The suspension upgrades (springs, shocks, sway bar, LT tires) provide great stability when the van is carrying its rated load of 3/4 ton. I like rock steady handling! They mean a very stiff ride when unloaded, though. If you like softer, you could change the shocks and/or tires.
I have the original rear seats, which fold down flat, in storage and can dig them out if you want them, but I figure a buyer is most likely to want this van as an expedition rig. They are in great shape. This site has good pictures of the type of seats: https://www.morehawes.co.uk/camper-...or-measurements-for-minivan-camper-conversion
Rear and rear-side windows are tinted. I replaced the middle-side windows with clear ones, more suitable for the PNW. I do have the original tinted side windows if you want them. All windows tilt to open. I used clear silicone to adhere some small magnets to the side windows, to hold privacy curtains. Easy to remove if you don't like.
Imperfections:
Hood paint is showing some sun damage. Not peeling or anything but kind of orange skin looking. (I took some of these photos in dappled shade, so if you see light and dark patches in the paint, that is just the sunlight. Not a paint problem.)
7" wide dent on passenger side front corner, repaired and repainted, but not to perfection. Hard to get it to show up in a picture, but you can definitely see it in person if you look.
Scratches on the front bumper cover are inexpertly painted. The paint matches, but is sloppy. Some tiny scratches elsewhere patched more neatly. There are probably other tiny scratches and dimples in various places, consistent with use. I have a picture of a dimple on the hood which is probably the worst one.
The hood is sometimes fiddly to open.
Travel cat clawed the carpet on the inside of the sliding door. Don't worry, he did not ever pee in the van!
1 rear shoulder belt doesn't want to unroll. Another one is frayed.
Missing the trim that goes under the steering wheel, above your knees. I had a knee injury (unrelated to the van), and had a temporary hand control installed. The installer threw out that piece of trim. (This was years ago and the hand control is no longer there.)
Missing a tiny piece of trim from the inside of the passenger door, and one of the rear AC vent covers. I suspect I have both of these in my house somewhere, and will keep looking for them.
One of the side tilt windows has tan latches instead of navy. I think they look fine.
it is a great van. I looked at every AWD Astro that came up for sale, for a year, before I chose this one -- and that was back when there were a lot of them around. Then I made it better
More info as I get time. Feel free to ask questions!
Comes with original owners manual, plus a set of 1999 shop manuals I got used on eBay. Also a little matching touch up paint, pro grade, in a dented can. Oops!
The only comps I could find in the west are a dealer near here, who has two stock AWD Astros of similar age and mileage, asking $13,000 for one and $15,000 for the other. $12,000/ offer for this one.
(A note on prices: I'm open to discussion of price if you can find other AWD Astros on the west coast. The only ones I have found are listed above. FWD ones out west sell for about 8,000. And of course, east of the Rockies, where rust happens, they sell for less!)
Attachments
Last edited:
