have you guys seen this?

[spencyg]

It's all about perspective right? :ylsmoke:

Frankly, I think a machine like yours, with all its capabilities, is far more practical than a hulk of a machine like mine. Yours can serve as a DD in addition to the weekend playing, while mine stays parked until the weekend. That alone says a ton. I'll keep my rig forever and love it to pieces, but I can definitely appreciate where other styles of vehicles might be a bit better...

Spence

 

[T.Low]

always a compromise

It's all about perspective right? :ylsmoke:

Frankly, I think a machine like yours, with all its capabilities, is far more practical than a hulk of a machine like mine. Yours can serve as a DD in addition to the weekend playing, while mine stays parked until the weekend. That alone says a ton. I'll keep my rig forever and love it to pieces, but I can definitely appreciate where other styles of vehicles might be a bit better...

Spence

Thanks again spencyg, thats always nice to hear.
Its always a compromise: where do you want your rig to excel and where are you willing accept its compromises.

Mine does do a lot, but nothing really well.

Hey preacherman, you may be interested in this. This guy is the anchor of the off road section of the astro safari forum, and he's selling his wheeler. Its a heckuva lotta Astro van for the money. If you wanted to build a serious Astro Expedition Wheeler, you would be thousands of dollars ahead if you started with this one. Procure a VW Pop top from a salvage yard and install yourself and its time to build the interior.

http://astrosafarivans.org/bb2/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2312

 

[preacherman]

that thing is a beast!!!

 

[77blazerchalet]

I could lean in this direction if I decide my Chalet is just too ungainly to drive around. Just spotted this ad http://burlington.craigslist.org/rvs/663604483.html as an example of almost the whole concept, I'd want a 2-speed transfer case and a bit more ground clearance for off road driving.

But my brother is kicking around the idea of selling his rwd Astro Provan Tiger GT http://expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13280&d=1198112065 for a good price. Is it more trouble than it's worth to convert a rwd Astro to 4wd, if one needs to mod an awd anyway? (Probably I should join the astrosafarivans.org forum to ask this question...)

 

[rusty_tlc]

Okay.


I started my trip with a fuel fill up, and a trip meter reset to zero.

At the end of my trip, the odometer read 580 miles. But I knew that was high and would need to be adjusted.

This trip was actually the break in 500 miles for the new gears. (Just changed the diff fluid today.)

With my fresh 4:10 gears (from stock 3:42) and 30" tires (huge for an Astro van), my speedometer said 70mph, while Brian's Sportsmobile speedo and scan gauge both said 62.

Feel free to double check my math.

62/70=88.57%

88.57%x580=513.71 miles

513.71 miles/34gallons=15.1mpg



That includes driving up and over the 4500ft North Cascades pass following Brian roughly at posted speed limits, then a lot of off pavement driving including some small climbs and creek crossings and miles of two trackers, then driving home (not following Brian) at speeds that are not necessarily legal.

I don't really think 15.1 is anything to brag about, even if I was basically driving around with a fully made bed.

WOW! I would have expected more. I averaged 15.5 with my V8 UZJ100, fully loaded, on our trip to Moab last week. I think I can live with the extra work of setting up a tent etc. given the performance gain I get on and off road over the van.

Don't take this wrong, I'm disappointed, I was already cruising CL looking at Astros.

 

[T.Low]

mpg

WOW! I would have expected more. I averaged 15.5 with my V8 UZJ100, fully loaded, on our trip to Moab last week. I think I can live with the extra work of setting up a tent etc. given the performance gain I get on and off road over the van.

Don't take this wrong, I'm disappointed, I was already cruising CL looking at Astros.

Hey, no worries. It is what it is. Its all about your priorities; where you want your rig to excel, and where you are willing to accept its compromises. I'm not trying to impress or bragg, just record the data to help others in thier research. Some guys are claiming 20mpg with similar lift and tires. While I don't doubt them, I'm certainly not there. If I really cared that much I would do 62 mph on the freeway instead of 70-80.

And please don't get me wrong either. Astros are not everyone's answer to overlanding. IMHO, once modified, they can do a lot of different things, which in turn means it will not do any particular one of them really well. I researched for a good shuttle rig, an awd duffle bag, the scope of which includes light off roading, some "on the go" camping, without getting too big and burly for smaller river access points and loading kayaks on top. Decided on an Astro van, knowing that I'd have to modify it just to bring it up to SUV capabilities.

Having said all that, its working better than I expected for all of the above.

I wish I got 20+ to the gallon, but so far its been around 15.5. Keep in mind its more of a midsized van, complete with all the aerodynamics of a garden shed with kayaks on top being driven thru the mountains.

We just returned late last night from a tour of Northern California (1800 miles). Will calculate mileage later.

In case anyone is interested, here's a link to some minor camping mods I did for the Owyhee River Canyon trip Memorial Day weekend that have worked well for the trip as well as the California trip.

http://astrosafarivans.org/bb2/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2355&p=23836#p23836

http://astrosafarivans.org/bb2/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2405&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

 

[T.Low]

Just installed an NP233C 2 spd transfercase last night in the Astro van. Went pretty easy. Here's a link (the first page is a bit of BS, pics and process on page 2).

http://astrosafarivans.org/bb2/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=2586