Van suspension lifts

[Zeke]

The 'offroading in a van or minivan' thread had some comments that really caught my eye.

I'm not interested in crawling over rocks, just want to be able to get down some poorly maintained dirt roads and handle some mud if I need to. Posts here and on some other forums have made a case for having a locker. OK, sounds good to me. But I was surprised to see the criticism of suspension lifts. On expeditionportal.com there were some favorable comments for the kit offered by actionvansuspension.com, and I thought it was a reasonable way to increase both clearance and potential tire size. But if there's little value to it, I'd much rather save the cash. Would someone comment in a little more detail on the negatives, or positives for that matter, of these lifts?

 

[MikeRuth]

MY initial thought is your raising the center of gravity on the van, and losing some handling, not that there sports cars but you get the idea.
I suppose with a beefed up spring set this might be offset a little bit, but still a higher CG.

My next thought would be just how much are you going to gain versus what type of terrain are you going to be up against.
I'm thinking that unless you have a 4WD version and suitable off roading tires and wheels you may not gain a lot.
Will 2", 4" of increased ground clearance be worth it? Those are questions I'd be asking myself. And I don't think on my 2WD version it would be.

I had the occasion last year to drive back 4.5 miles on a non maintained fire road to go to a flying site. I had a lot of stuff in the van and most secured and steady, LOL, that wasn't the case when I arrived and I tell ya I literally crawled along this road and even then almost got tossed out of my seat.

Ground clearance wasn't a factor that day, but it sure woke me up about how much the vehicle got tossed about.
I did a ton of 4 Wheeling in a FJ55 Land Cruiser for years, I don't remember things getting tossed about like they did on the van.

 

[LeeRevell]

I look at the forest roads here in northern Florida, and the roads on my hunting lease. There are places my minivan simply cannot go. The E150 has more ground clearence but I still do plan to lift it a minimum 2" all around, and stiffen the springs a bit. My choice.

 

[highdesertranger]

ok here we go again. on an independent suspension vehicle which, all 2wd's are and most 4x4's except ford and dodge's larger trucks. you have many moving parts get under and look. when you raise it you put all these moving components under a huge strain. instead of being in the middle of their travel range(sweet spot) the are all forced to the upper limit. parts like ball joints and tie rods only can travel a certain number of degrees in an arch, if you are at the end of the arch any further movement will do damage. a-arm bushings are also put under a huge strain, from the added tension of heavier springs or torsion bars. keep in mine on all types of lift kits the steering box stays in it's stock location on the frame, so now the whole geometry of the steering system has been changed. this must be corrected on all lift kits, if it is not the vehicle becomes inherently dangerous(besides it will not steer right). if you want to lift an independent suspension put the tallest tire on that will not rub this will give you a little, and you can put a 1" body lift on. I listed that backwards, do the bodylift first then the larger tires. beware always have some one that knows how to install a bodylift do it. you must adjust several things with a body lift, forget one thing and bad things will happen. please don't take hockey pucks drill a hole in them for a body lift. I am a member over at expedition portal. I have gotten some good ideas over there but you have to remember that most who post over there are weekenders and have other vehicles to fall back on. in other words their lifted vehicle is not their daily driver. I have lifted every type of vehicle, I always advise against lifting independents. highdesertranger

 

[minimotos95]

When a lift is not done right you are looking at increased wear and potentially bad geometry causing dangerous bump steer. It costs a lot more to lift an IFS rig safely than a solid axle.
Without replacing a majority of the parts on a IFS rig all that's normally advised is about 1"-1.5" via a torsion bar crank then doing an alignment. Not ideal but you are still within the factory range of motion and still using all OEM parts.

Depending on the vehicle a SAS(solid axle swap) might be as easy as buying an off the shelf kit and having the brackets welded or bolted to the frame then dedicating a weekend to installing the new front end

Whether or not a lift will benefit you enough to make it worth it off-road it depends on your driving style, terrain, etc. I am only doing a mild lift so I have a little more piece of mind on rocky terrain where my low hanging trans could make contact.

 

[akrvbob]

The only thing I would consider on a 2wd van is a 2 inch body lift. That means there are no changes to any of the steering geometry, and few problems with the lift itself. Center of gravity shouldn't be an issue if you make an effort to keep everything loaded low.

Put a locker on the rear, aggressive tires on back, air compressor to air the tires after dropping them and you can go an amazing number of places in a van.
Bob

 

[LeeRevell]

The nice thing in a moderate lift is that it gives you a bit more space under the floor along the frame rails for tanks/batteries. Even better in an E350, with it's taller 8" frame rails. But I have only the E150 to work with.

 

[highdesertranger]

so a body lift does indeed change the steering. on a factory vehicle the angle from the steering shaft to the steering gear has been engineered so the steering doesn't bind, is smooth though the entire range of the circle on which the wheel turns and the flex points are not beyond their design limits. when you install a body lift these limits must be observed. so lets say you install a 2" body lift, that means your whole steering column must be lowered, how much, depends each vehicle is different. if you lower it 2 inches you should be fine. because you lowered it the same as you raised it. however most people try to skimp here, they do not want their column 2 inches closer to their legs and so the problems begin. this is one of the many reasons I say 1 inch max on body lifts. btw a body lift also means your trans shifter, emergency brake cable, hydraulic brake lines, radiator hose and fan shroud, heater and ac hoses, throttle cable, air intake, fuel filler hose, bumpers, fuel delivery hoses and return lines, ground and positive battery cables, all the wiring that that goes between the chassis and the body, etc. etc. must be modified. body lifts installed by inexperience people are dangerous, body lifts of more than 1" require extensive modifications of factory designed components, even 1" body lifts require modification. however these mods are within reason. any more and you better have extensive knowledge or be an engineer. I don't know how to impress this anymore. I am stressing this for everyone on this forum safety and for the safety of everyone on the road. body lifts must be done right, 100% right or not done at all. highdesertranger

 

[TucsonAZ]

The other thing not mentioned is that IFS is weak, I would struggle to take it seriously as an actual 4x4 for that reason, you toss 35s on IFS and you're going to snap a front axle without much effort. Even with 33s you're going to run into trouble if you're really stuck and applying much gas. While that mostly applies to 4x4 as a rule I wouldn't do much modification to IFS and with a van, well you're kinda so far from ideal I would keep things very simple. A life will help with high centering but with a wheelbase that long an inch or even two won't help you all that much and good driving and knowing how to pick a line will do more for you. Going from a 31 to a 33 will give you an inch of lift where you need it most.

It's a fine line and listing y our desired goals and what you're willing to give up to meet them would help, eg being too high, comfort driving at speed, noise, braking. There is no free lunch so anything you do will impact something else.

 

[MK7]

That's a lot of weight to have a ton of vandwelling, household stuff inside a lifted van. Then there's the worse MPG from the crazy height. Sometimes my hightop van feels like it's going to tip over due to heavy wind. Can't imaging lifting it.

If I were to do suspension work, I'd get some Koni Yellow struts & shocks (if they make it for my van) for around $500. Then some stiff springs, poly mounts, and subframe connectors ($500-700). Then 4 off road/all terrain tires ($600). Then there's labor if you can't do it all yourself ($700-1000). I bet this will be much better off road than a lifted suspension.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

what about air shocks? would they work for the occasional need, pump them up when you want more height let them back down for normal driving.

 

[Bandit2]

When we were in Az. in 2009 , with our 2000 Dodge 3500 Maxi Van running load range " E " Michelin LTX/AT's, we had no trouble ( after a member looked under the van and said we had plenty of clearance , go for it ) traveling from the Havasu Gold Seekers base camp to there claims and joining the other members in there 4 X 4's , UTV's and ATV's .

While enjoying a St. Paddy's Day dinner at the Black Canyon City VFW , the local prospectors we were sitting with gave us some roads to explore .
When pulled over eating lunch off the Maggie Mine Road , we had a Off Road Jeep Tour w/4 jeeps go by , the drivers glared and the passengers waved and shouted hello's .
Note , The views were awesome

Bandit
Ps
I do want to add a locker before our next trip out west .

 

[Bdog1]

There's no free lunch: bottom line. You have to decide if the cons are worth it to achieve your goals.

Back when I purchased my van I calculated a Quadravan 4x4 would be ideal for "my" needs, despite a very limited front suspension travel. I run conservative 32" tires.