offroading a van or minivan

[steveh2112]

great. i do have a bit of experience off roading for work. i've build a few houses that required driving through tropical jungle 'roads' in the monsoon season, loaded with bags of cement and rebar in my 4x4 hilux vigo. pretty scary sometimes on a 30deg slope with a river running down it, but always made it in one piece.

i'd prefer stock wherever possible to customizing so i like the advise on this thread a lot.

one plus is i have my wife with me at all times so on a really rocky road, i can send her out ahead to clear the worst of the big stuff.

 

[TucsonAZ]

HDR affirmed what I was saying and I fully agree. Do not get a body lift or do a shackle lift, there are some things that are far too much compromise and those are two of them. Have a done a body lift using doubled up hockey pucks and added huge shackles along with welding my spider gears in the rear, ahhhh, yeah but! That truck never left my property and was just to be silly with and ruin. To keep things simple I would say:

1) The largest tires you can fit (this lifts the axle too which a suspension lift doesn't do).
2) Find something with LSD and service it ($150 and make sure you use the LSD gear oil)
3) Winch ($450)
4) Experience, this one would shock you how much of a difference it makes.

That'll keep you 99% where you want for the highway and normal driving and still give you a 50% gain off road which is the goal.

 

[David]

Wow some of these replies.  This is how I look for a vehicle. I will pick several that I like and would own. Then I will save my money. Then search for the best deal i could find. The narrower you make your choices, the more you are going to pay.
That being said, your most capable off road van will be a full size with 4x4. The problem is no american full size van made a 4x4 from the factory. (I do not consider an Astro full size or 4x4). There are many conversion kits made for 4x4 vans and you can find them used, but they are expensive and you will need a good mechanic if things go wrong because the 4x4 contains custom parts or parts from other vehicles.
  Mini vans are cars. They are built like cars and although some have AWD, it is mostly for wet or icy roads more than off roading. You will ground out very easily.
   I think a domestic van 2x4 with a 3'' lift and a winch would be overall the best way to go. Maybe you should consider a truck with a camper if 4x4 is important.
 One more van to consider is the VW Syncro, an 4x4 version of the Vanagan.  It will go anywhere. I have seen videos of this thing and its crazy. The problem is the engine breaks alot, water cooled VWs suck in the 80s, but have seen them with Suburu, or Ford motor kits for up to $30k. Very pricey to do it right.

The Astro and the Chevy Express vans are not like cars.. They have full frames and both can be converted using a transfercase to to actual 4wd with a low gear.  They aren't bad in their stock AWD configuration and would suite most people whom want to go "off road" with a little bit of lift and better tires. No they aren't going to go doing crazy rock climbing or plow through 3 ft of mud, but they are not bad for anything you should likely be trying in a van which you live in.

I do tend to get a bit of amusement when seeing so many of those high dollar 4x4 vans and seeing them on dirt roads as if they needed all that just to drive on a dirt or gravel road. Likely 95% of people with those vans never put them in a situation in which all that lift and 4wd was ever needed. I bet I've taken my old 2wd Westy more places than half the guys with sportmobiles and so forth take theirs.

 

[David]

The Astro and the Chevy Express vans are not like cars.. They have full frames and both can be converted using a transfercase to to actual 4wd with a low gear.  They aren't bad in their stock AWD configuration and would suite most people whom want to go "off road" with a little bit of lift and better tires. No they aren't going to go doing crazy rock climbing or plow through 3 ft of mud, but they are not bad for anything you should likely be trying in a van which you live in.

I do tend to get a bit of amusement when seeing so many of those high dollar 4x4 vans and seeing them on dirt roads as if they needed all that just to drive on a dirt or gravel road. Likely 95% of people with those vans never put them in a situation in which all that lift and 4wd was ever needed. I bet I've taken my old 2wd Westy more places than half the guys with sportmobiles and so forth take theirs. Most are just glorified highway queens.

 

[Willy]

 Here: Lunchbox locker ..Willy.

 

[Canine]

As far as lift kits go, they raise the body so you are approach and depart steeper hills without digging your bumpers into the ground. The center of the van is higher, too, but that matters very little. Lift kits do nothing for the height of the axles. That's where I've mostly been stuck on- dragging the axles while going through ruts or deep snow. Larger tires will raise everything, but you may need a slight lift to fit larger tires.

With smaller vans load-range-C tires are harder to find; the smallest size I know of is 215 75R 15. I've had super good luck with load range C. I've had horrible luck with anything less. So much so that I will not purchase a vehicle that won't accept at least a load range C.

A modest increase in tire size will be ok for your driveline, brakes, tranny, handling, etc. That's only from personal experience, though. Ask HighDesertRanger to know for sure. I like the info he shares.

 

[akrvbob]

By far the best bang for your buck is a 12 volt air compressor and air down your tires. Just airing down your tires to 10 pounds will get you unstuck an amazing amount of times. It should be number one on your list for taking your van in rough country.

The best bang for your buck for an air compressor is an MV 30 or MV 50. I have one of each in my van and give them my highest endorsement.
http://www.amazon.com/Industries-MV50-SuperFlow-12-Volt-Compressor/dp/B000BM8RT8/

#2 on your list should be a 4 ton come-along. In the few cases where airing down doesn't get you out a come along will and it won't cost $500 bucks and add a bunch of weight to your van.
http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-5547-4-Ton-Power-Puller/dp/B000NPPBHO/

That's $100 for the two of them really well spent and probably work as well for most of us as $2000 on a locker, winch and body lift!

Here's a post I did covering all of this:
http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/getting-stuck-avoid-happens/
Bob

 

[jimindenver]

We have a MV 50, great little compressor. There is a night and day difference between it and all of the other 12v compressors I have had for 30 years.

A handymans helper would be number 3 in my book if you are going to get that serious.

 

[TucsonAZ]

There is a lot of good advice here and a lot that doesn't apply to what the OP seems to be wanting, he seems to be looking for modest gains and if he pushes it too far getting unstuck would be a great option.

Bob, not to fully disagree as I think last resort and stuck/in need of traction you're completely right but I would use that as an emergency only (at 10psi) without a bead locker. High teens seems fine (I never had issues and it helped a lot) without adding a risk of losing a bead but I wouldn't feel comfortable in a loaded up van at 10psi. That's just my comfort zone with airing down and I have done some really, really, really tough trails over the years.

 

[desert bruce]

We have a MV 50, great little compressor. There is a night and day difference between it and all of the other 12v compressors I have had for 30 years.

A handymans helper would be number 3 in my book if you are going to get that serious.

had a 76 e200 quadravan with a 460, new process 205, dana 60s, c6,etc.  thing rocked and had no issues with running gear, put a ton of $ refurbishing it because I liked it, only to have it stolen.  know your limitations, walk it befor you drive it.  had a compresser/tank underneath for quick air.  If possible, stick is better.

 

[steveh2112]

There is a lot of good advice here and a lot that doesn't apply to what the OP seems to be wanting, he seems to be looking for modest gains and if he pushes it too far getting unstuck would be a great option.  

actually i think i got my answer, stick with a simple, unmodified 2WD van (except maybe some big tires) then put a decent winch on the front to get out of a fix. plus i'll send the missus ahead to clear anything that looks like it might ding up the underside if necessary.

 

[TucsonAZ]

actually i think i got my answer, stick with a simple, unmodified 2WD van (except maybe some big tires) then put a decent winch on the front to get out of a fix. plus i'll send the missus ahead to clear anything that looks like it might ding up the underside if necessary.

Perfect and if you can find an LSD stock that would be an added bonus!  As a side note, there was a lapse in patents for some well known winch awhile back and Mile Marker cloned it, there may be better now, ask around in ih8mud or something but you can get a quality winch at a good price (under $400) and make sure to mount it well, very, very well and watch youtube on how to safely use it.

 

[highdesertranger]

just a heads up, in the deserts out west here, where you are most likely to get a 2wd stuck is in a sandy wash and you will have nothing to anchor a winch to. they make sand anchors. just be aware. highdesertranger

 

[steveh2112]

is the limited slip diff something that comes standard with some vans? or an after market kit or something?. i know nothing about it

 

[highdesertranger]

on vans some do come with limited slip, but it is more common on trucks. there are several after market kits available. if you are interested in an after market we can give you a run down of what's available. highdesertranger

 

[akrvbob]

If you're going with a winch, I recommend a receiver hitch front and rear and putting the winch on a plate that lets you move it front to rear or leave it at home if you don't need it.

Smittybilt is a good winch at a great price.

If you have the money, I'd give serious thought to a locker. They'll get you very near to 4x4 traction.
Bob

 

[highdesertranger]

good advice from bob. if you get stuck and murphy shows up it's good to have the option of pulling either front or rear. highdesertranger

 

[karl]

X2 on the mobile winch- Usually, if I've gone too far, the last thing I want to do is pull myself further in....
Weather and road grime don't do a winch any good- nice to be able to stash it for protection...from crooks too.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

OK, I'll play devils advocate here.

1:  The Smittybilt winch weighs 86 pounds.  The mounting bracket for the receiver hitch weighs 21 pounds.  You're going to have to bend over and lift 105 pounds and support it while you maneuver it into the receiver hitch.

2:  Receiver mounted winches are not popular with hard-core off roaders because:

a:  They increase both the arrival and departure angles of your vehicle if you leave them mounted.
b:  While they work ok if your pull is more or less straight, if your anchor point is off at any significant angle, the mounting bracket, which is only attached at a single point, has been known to bend under the load.

3:  You are going to have to run some heavy electrical cables from your battery back to your rear bumper to power the winch.  I mean like 4/0 heavy, and 20 feet or more.  Given the price of copper these days, expect to spend several hundred dollars on this.

Regards
John
 

 

[steveh2112]

lots to think about, i wonder if something like this is better
http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-5547-4...ie=UTF8&qid=1426385099&sr=8-11&keywords=winch
or a beefier version of it
certainly a lot cheaper and easy to store

12' pull isn't very far but i guess you get some chain or tow ropes as well to extend the range a bit