have you guys seen this?

[preacherman]

I stumbled across this last night.
http://www.overlandvans.com/0104_gallery.html
Evidently the chevy AWD Astro van can be lifted and the full time single speed transfer case can be replaced with a 2 speed case. They came factory with a 700r4 so the transfer case change is a straight bolt on. You do have to change drive shafts however. Looks kinda cool to me.

 

[Grim Reaper]

My work van is a Savanna AWD. consistently 17mpg I'm digging it and yeah I have looked and putting a a transfer case in with low range looks just as easy as the astro. Just get a push button version and it would be good to go.

 

[ujoint]

Yea, those guys have been around for a while. I'm surprised we don't see more of them on the road.

 

[preacherman]

I have seen one or two but did not realize it at the time. It looks like a good compromise to a full size 4x4 van. It should still get high teens in the MPG and would be great for overlanding. I read somewhere that the astro vans have more cargo room than a suburban.

 

[Lynn]

Member Joaquin Suave pointed me in this direction when I saw a Provan Tiger GT Astro AWD RV on the local craigslist.

I didn't have the money to pursue it, but I do think it woulda made a cool rig.

 

[Nitromethane43]

I read somewhere that the astro vans have more cargo room than a suburban.

You are right, vans have a lot more cargo room over an suv, they are about the same width without rear HVAC, but hight makes the difference, on my suburban the rear cargo area is only 32-36" to the headliner, where a van is around 50"

Those are pretty interesting, it's really unfortunate that GM did not offer any diesel options for the 99-2007 model year full size suv's yet vans have an option for a duramax.

 

[T.Low]

Ya flushed me out

Hello, short time lurker, first time poster here.

Since last spring I've been on a quest for the ultimate mountain bike/kayak shuttle rig, that can poach some river camping off the fire roads, and get me in and out of the river access points. Came up with the idea of building a "Mini-Me Sportsmobile" with my mini-me budget; a lifted AWD Astro van.

Since 90% of my driving would be in and around the small town of Bellingham, Wa, to local mountain bike trailheads and to nearby white water and sea kayaking destinations, I didn't want a full size van. Yet it had to be big enough to change out of wet cold clothes and have the possibility of weekend camping inside. The Astro seems to be big and small at the same time. Perfect size for what I need it for.

I've had the van ('03, 50k miles) for almost two months now and installed the Overlandvans 5" lift kit with Rancho 9000 shocks. Tires need to excell driving over the pass in the rain on the highway: Kelly Pathfinder's on sale.

Its surprised me with its competence off road and in the snow. Suddenly I find myself wanting to drive it off road just for the sake of off road driving. Wasn't expecting that because I'd been there, 4x'ed that, in the past.

Phase I is "Operation Off-Road (lift/tires, 4:11's, etc)". Phase II is "Camperization" (including a pop-top, exterior shower, blah blah blah)).

BTW, awesome site y'all got here. I've enjoyed it immensely and learned a few things about the direction I want to take my van in. Thanks.

 

[craig]

Hey,

Looks like you have a good plan for the van.
I see you are from Bellingham. Have you met Brian, also from B'ham, and his sportsmobile yet? I'm just south of you in Mount Vernon.

Good to see you posting!
Craig

 

[T.Low]

I've met his Sportsmobile

Hey,

Looks like you have a good plan for the van.
I see you are from Bellingham. Have you met Brian, also from B'ham, and his sportsmobile yet? I'm just south of you in Mount Vernon.

Good to see you posting!
Craig

A sign of the times. I haven't met Brian, but he parks his Sportsmobile infront of my shop (we work right next door to each other and his rig is a total distraction!) and I've seen him linked on Badgertrek.com, his posts here, as well as his own work on his Railbat site. Good stuff.

Will soon introduce myself to him as a possible 2nd vehicle for easier local drives etc. Was thinking I may try to get ahold of him for advice on where to go next weekend just for an easy "getting to know you" ride in the new van while the Fiancee is away on business. Vancouver Island, the Olympics, Hood River, I can't decide.

And again, great site you have here.

 

[kcowyo]

A previous thread with some pics of different van concepts and links to various van outfitters -


You've got a unique and sharp looking outfit T.Low. Welcome to Expo - :beer:

 

[T.Low]

A previous thread with some pics of different van concepts and links to various van outfitters -


You've got a unique and sharp looking outfit T.Low. Welcome to Expo - :beer:

Thanks for the warm reception. Nice link, thanks. The Safari Condo Astro conversion with the pop top is actually out of Quebec.

Skroll down this link to check out the interior. As cool as I think it is, the pragmatist in me knows I don't need that interior and would not use the inside plumbing enough to warrant the costs of building it. But ya never know...

http://www.parnado.com/serie_s/sx/indexeng.html



And http://astrosafarivans.org/bb2/viewforum.php?f=21 has been an excellent resource for my Astro project.

Glad you like the van, was hesitant to post on this site since its such a relative light weight off roader. So far, the Astro is exceeding my expectations, actually.

Here's my quick before/after, another of the day I lifted it, and the third one is a guy who gave me some good advice about the lift etc. His is a little more off road oriented than mine and I think it looks great.

 

[ujoint]

One of my buddies in high school had an Astro in the family, that thing ran forever and had a ton of mileage on it. That 4.3 is an excellent motor. It seems to suit you purpose perfectly, keep us up to date on the build!!!

 

[craig]

A sign of the times. I haven't met Brian, but he parks his Sportsmobile infront of my shop (we work right next door to each other and his rig is a total distraction!) and I've seen him linked on Badgertrek.com, his posts here, as well as his own work on his Railbat site. Good stuff.

Will soon introduce myself to him as a possible 2nd vehicle for easier local drives etc. Was thinking I may try to get ahold of him for advice on where to go next weekend just for an easy "getting to know you" ride in the new van while the Fiancee is away on business. Vancouver Island, the Olympics, Hood River, I can't decide.

And again, great site you have here.

If you are looking for places to go in the PNW some good resources are:

http://www.northwestoverlandsociety.org (shameless plug for my website)
http://www.pnwadventures.com (Steven Bisig's site - also an ExPo member)
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/BackroadDrivers/ (Northwest Backroad Drivers Yahoo Group)

Craig

 

[preacherman]

The more I look at these things the more I want to build one. We have a 4 and a 2 year old so every time we go camping we have to take sooooo much stuff, my wife drives a minivan and I have an suv. Several times I have thought what if we could mate the two cars into one. It would be the perfect set up for us right now. And then I saw these vans.....man it has me thinking for sure.

T.Low I love your set up. It seems like a really good truck keep us posted with your build.

With the lift and tires what kind of mpg do you get?
Is yours the AWD?

 

[T.Low]

The more I look at these things the more I want to build one. We have a 4 and a 2 year old so every time we go camping we have to take sooooo much stuff, my wife drives a minivan and I have an suv. Several times I have thought what if we could mate the two cars into one. It would be the perfect set up for us right now. And then I saw these vans.....man it has me thinking for sure.

T.Low I love your set up. It seems like a really good truck keep us posted with your build.

With the lift and tires what kind of mpg do you get?
Is yours the AWD?

Thanks for the compliments, and I had a lot of help from the peeps on the astro forum I linked above. There are a lot of talented and knowlegable van owners on that site and very generous with their expertise and guidance. Dan @ Overlandvans was very helpful and great to work with on the lift kit.

I haven't had it lifted long enough to realize the change in mpg, but I can feel the 4.3 asking me for help in the gearing department, so I'm currently researching my rear end options (i.e., Tru Trac, ARB Locker, etc) to add while I'm in the diff installing the 4:11's. I expect the mpg to actually go back up to 17-19 with the new gear ratio as the engine will will labor a little less, and those who have done it say the same.

I have owned an FJ 40, an F-250, F-150, full size Bronco, Dodge Dakota, Jeep Cherokee, 1 ton Dodge dually Cummins, and a Toyota Tacoma, (all of them 4x4s) and I was really suprised and impressed with the Astro in the mud and ruts and hills and snow that i've been in already in the two months I've owned it. And like I said, its the perfect compromise for all the different things I am asking it to do.

Yes, its AWD.

Thanks for your interest Preacherman, and others.