oh no, another minivan

[axcxnj]

I picked up a 2010 Grand caravan a few months ago to replace my 2001 ford ranger for daily driver and camping duty. My wife and I do alot of weekend trips where we end up sleeping in the car at one trailhead or another. Living in the northeast, our driving is on roads and we are never very far away from somewhere to resupply, so i didnt need a platform that i could do many modifications to.

I also adventure race, which involves loading up to 4 people with bikes and gear, and transporting us to races. To save money, i wanted to be alble to have the car setup for sleeping so i dont need to shell out cash for a hotel.

the stow and go seating was really great to start off with. all of the rear seats fold into the floor and make an enormous cargo space where we can setup a bed for sleeping. The only problem i was having, is when we would sleep, we would have to shuffle all of our gear to the front seats in order to setup the bed. This got annoying when i would arrive somewhere at midnight on friday and then have to spend the next 20 minutes getting the bed setup.

I decided to build a sleeping platform setup. but i had a few specific constraints i wanted to design and build it to.

1. it had to be one piece and easily removable
2. it had to allow for use of the middle seats while still installed in the van
3. it had to have a table surface for food prep/map work
4. it had to allow for the maximum amount of cargo volume
5. it had to install into the van, without requiring any permanent modification to the van


fastforward through my brainstorming and design sessions, i had already fully removed the rearmost seat from the van. that opened up alot more cargo space, and i never planned on having more than 4 people in the car anyway. What this also did, was open up 4 hard mounting points into the floor of the van where something could be anchored down. nice.

here is what i came up with

Ill be trying the setup out this weekend with a trip to the adirondacks. with me and my wife laying on it..it has some flex, but seemed solid enough. its constructed with 3/4 inch plywood.

thanks for stopping by!

 

[ihatemybike]

That looks kinda similar to what I've been running in the back of my Astros.

 

[85burbanator]

We are about to do the same thing in our 2009 town and country. Took it up north on the 4th of July and again to sleeping bear dunes and my grandpas not far from there. Slept in it for 2 days with 2 kids. Like you, all our stuff went up front. Totally stealing you idea for the front portion. I'm making mine alittle lower though in hopes of getting a hammock to hang for my oldest (4). Will use under bed boxes for the storage.

Did you buy the butcher block top or make it? Look forward to more ideas.

 

[axcxnj]

Aaron, what does your setup look like?

for the rear table, i bought this from lowes and stained/finished it -

http://www.lowes.com/pd_21786-99899..._product_qty_sales_dollar|1&page=1&facetInfo=

I was very hesitant about buying and driving a minivan at first...but the whole stigma is really unwarranted...they are great utility vehicles with alot of upsides.

i know its only 2wd, but i think it would look cool with some AT tires in there. there seems to be room in the wheel wells for a little more rubber.

 

[ihatemybike]

All my vans have been basic passenger vans with standard benches that the seat back fold forward on. I've left the second row in the van and built a platform behind it that is level with the folded seat back. For bedding I use a full size futon mattress as it's flexible enough to stuff the part that lays on the seat back between the platform and the seat when the seat back is up. The space under the platform is huge and tall enough that I can use fairly large storage containers.

There have been a few other Caravans and related on ExPo. Search and find them with mild lifts and All Terrain tires.

Selecting an AT with a less aggressive edge tread allows you to go with slightly bigger tires. I have a set of 31" Starfire SF 510 ATs (Cooper sub-brand made in Mexico) on my stock height Blazer without rubbing. Every site I looked at said I needed at least 2" of lift to run 31s with no rubbing.

 

[bdog1]

Easy to lift front subframe on the Caravan. Most wheelchair vans lift like this. Rear is just leaf spring blocks.

 

[axcxnj]

ive been seeing alot of the wheelchair caravans around and wondering what they did to get the lift. the only thing i can find with a google search is an airbag lift. thanks!

 

[Herbie]

ive been seeing alot of the wheelchair caravans around and wondering what they did to get the lift. the only thing i can find with a google search is an airbag lift. thanks!

The other thing to consider with wheelchair minivans is that they also tend to drop the floor. Doesn't affect what you can do with a non-wheelchair van, but it's worth considering the context - they lift at the subframe so they can strategically chop the floor down to gain headroom without raising the roof line as high.

 

[ober27]

Axcxnj,
I'm curious about the finished size of the bed. Also what did you end up with for headroom, and under bed storage height?
Thanks

 

[axcxnj]

the height at the center of the platform (between the base and the top) is 17 inches i think? i dont remember my exact dimensions. I built it to fit my rubbermade bins underneath. at the front and rear though there is a bit more room due to the well and the change in floor height.

the bed is 75 inches long and 48 inches wide. so its the length of a full size mattress, and the width of a 4x8 sheet of plywood, which was nice that i could do less cutting


I knew that the wheelchair vans dropped the floor. I should just stop the next time i see one and take a look. it seems like they have at least 3 or 4 inches of additional wheel gap. at that point, the length of the wheel arches are the limiting factor for tire diameter without trimming.

 

[ober27]

Thanks for sharing those numbers. You essentially have a space the size of the average teardrop, with out the hassles. Have you had a chance to use it enough to know if there's anything you'd do differently?

 

[axcxnj]

yeah ive spent 3 nights in it so far. one with me and the wife, and another with my brother for a race last weekend. my brother and I are both 6'2+ and almost 400 lbs combined, there was a bit of flex in the center of the platform, but not too bad. I guess flex is the nature of the wood though.. if it was a full metal frame it would be more solid i suppose.

I do need to get a more permanent mattress setup. Im thinking 4" memory foam. Right now, im using 2 inflatable backpacking mattresses with 2" memory foam on top of that. the air mattresses on the carpet slide around a bit through the night which is annoying.

as of now though, i cant think of anything i would do differently. its great for sleeping, not for hanging out inside the van. but it was never intended as living space, only sleeping space, so thats fine by me.

I dug up the CAD file of my original design. I changed a few things, like going to full 3/4 inch plywood all around, and for the rear, i kept the full wood on the sides, while in the front i didnt split the leaf support. but the basic dimensions stayed the same

 

[lhuyviet]

ive been seeing alot of the wheelchair caravans around and wondering what they did to get the lift. the only thing i can find with a google search is an airbag lift. thanks!

After travelling for 2 months in a Grand Caravan, it was a great, plenty of space and Fuel Economy is good

But Ground clearance was sometime an issue, we manage without any damage but would have been easier with a mild lift.

I did a research on how wheelchair caravan where lifted and found some FTA/DOT document:

"Engine/Transmission/Front Suspension Assembly Modifications": disconnection from the vehicle and removed, but with the engine lines and hoses left attached. Modifications are made to the engine/transmission/front suspension assembly, such as adding various types of spacing brackets, custom steering shaft extension, and two engine cradle safety bracket tube extensions. The engine/transmission/front suspension assembly is then reinstalled.

"Rear Axle & Suspension Re-Engineering & Modifications": removal, modifications done to the sway bar mounting, and coil spring mounts, addition of a kneel chain bracket, and reinstallation of the rear axle.

And they are responsible for inspecting, testing, and certifying the vehicle.

I don't know if any of the new parts are welded or everything is bolt on, would need to see one upclose. In any case, this may not be a cheap kit.

Still combine with a popup roof, it will be a nice overland vehicle for a small family.