Quest for the ultimate kayak/mountain bike shuttle rig

[dunedog]

and now she's "the wife"

[WVKayaker]

Heartbreak! Noting like being single....the wheel dude did you wrong for sure....
great write up!

[astrozam]

I have only seen 1 other van ( i think ) that put a lift on and went to a larger wheel 17" i believe but that van never left pavement, anyhow you seem to do alot of backwoods trail type driving so I was curious for why you were going that route as opposed to more rubber which would be a little more practical for that style of driving.

p.s Ottawa sucks,go Wings! should be a good game.

[T.Low]

I have only seen 1 other van ( i think ) that put a lift on and went to a larger wheel 17" i believe but that van never left pavement, anyhow you seem to do alot of backwoods trail type driving so I was curious for why you were going that route as opposed to more rubber which would be a little more practical for that style of driving.

p.s Ottawa sucks,go Wings! should be a good game.

Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I think you're right.
Yeah, I've kinda been reconsidering that 18" wheel, from the moment the deal fell through. I really like the 17" Durango R/T wheel/tire set up I had on my 4x4 Dakota, but it could take a little taller tire than the Astro. I like the 18" factory wheels on our Nissan Murano, but that sees very light trail head parking and the occassional two tracker or mountain road. My F-150 certainly rides worlds better since I've taken off the factory 20's with the Pirelli's and put on the FX4 18" with stock all terrains for the winter.


I like the idea of the 18's and think they're a great looking wheel, but the math doesn't add up, does it. The size of the Astro, its wheel well clearence, amount of side wall needed for the type of drivng the van will do. I'll wait until its lifted. Maybe find some used off road temps. Or buy studded snows for the rest of the winter (legal here until April 15), that will give me time to figure out what will work best overall. I can't help it, I'm too picky about wheels. My name is T.Low, and I have a wheel fetish.

Well, gotta get that furniture unloaded.

[T.Low]

and now she's "the wife"

Haaah, you caught that! yeah, when we're cute and cozy, she's on the pedastool as "Fiancee"; when I loose a little patience, then of course she's demoted to "the wife".

Want to trade a great slightly used 3 peice living room set for a Prerunner front bumper with off road driving lights?

[potskie]

"
I think the first lifted Astro I saw was a green one on the internet. 4 or 5" lift with stock wheels. Dude even put a snow plow on it. I was stopped dead in my tracks, jaw dropped, I knew right then and there its exactly what I'd been looking for. Perfect height, perfect stance. Was that yours?

That's funny you say that cause when I started researching and found Dean's van in the gallery section, it made my decision to lift my van, I hadn't even bought it. Dean is the master of fabrication , he knows what is going on!

LOL same. The absolute moment I saw the SPB (dean's (LiftedAWD's) van) My jaw hit my knee caps and I knew what I wanted to do with my van

Ya know this keeps up and we are gunna be hearing about door and drivers side roof mods to the SPB as his head won't fit in the van any more..........Kinda like peter's

[peter]

I resent that completely accurate statement

I was too chicken-$hit to do a lift until Deano lifted that puke-green abomination of his. I looked at him, then looked at myself in the mirror (yet again) and realized that if he could do it, so could an orangutan

Seriously, Deano was the one at the forefront of modding an awd who "I" knew of. And he keeps coming up with more amazing stuff every coupla months. He's got my vote for fabricator and I agree with most of his choices (Lynne NOT being one of them )

[dunedog]

You're gonna pay heavy for that one Petey!

SPB was my 1st connection to this group
Looked on web for 'Astro snowplow' to see if it was doable for my rig and up popped Dean's rig.
(Before the metamorphose)

Petey.....well Petey is just one of those interesting byproducts of site evolution

[peter]

And you mean that in a nice way, no doubt! Right? Huh?
Huh, Jimbo? In a nice way, right? Huh?

[Fire Cakes]

He's got my vote for fabricator and I agree with most of his choices (Lynne NOT being one of them )

Even though you don't agree with the choice of gaining me in life .............it was the best thing he ever did. Of course he never had to fabricate me.

[Fire Cakes]

Ya know this keeps up and we are gunna be hearing about door and drivers side roof mods to the SPB as his head won't fit in the van any more..........Kinda like peter's

Actually you are not too far off in your thoughts there Potskie.................Dean has talked of taking the roof off and windows out and fitting the SPB with a full roll cage and using canvas for the roof ( like a soft top). LMAO

[potskie]

Ya know this keeps up and we are gunna be hearing about door and drivers side roof mods to the SPB as his head won't fit in the van any more..........Kinda like peter's

Actually you are not too far off in your thoughts there Potskie.................Dean has talked of taking the roof off and windows out and fitting the SPB with a full roll cage and using canvas for the roof ( like a soft top). LMAO

Probably won't now. Because if he did he would probably get compared to peter again and NOBODY wants or likes that. I mean there's only so much room in a persons head for their ego and comparison to peter would probably cause a severe migrain/cranial explosion due to instant ego over expansion.

Hmmmm I was trying to razz peter in that but somehow I think I ended up complimenting him....... Oh well even peter needs a compliment once in a while. I do promise to try my best to not do it again tho.

[phr1$k37]

Wow! I missed this post!?
Hi and welcome (late but better than never) - cant wait to see what you will be doing to your ride Have you decided with what tire size you are going? I take it take you wont have under ground parking lots to deal with I do so right now my max tire size are LT235/75/15. Lots of rubber and makes the Safari ride much more square.

Again welcome!
(where are you located? I am a bit confused on that ... I am Vancouver BC Canada which is why I am asking, I saw you mentioned a few places included 1 1/2 hours away from Seattle.)

[T.Low]

I'm actually located in Bellingham, 20 minutes south of White Rock. Awesome place to live. Moved here from Michigan mainly for the white water kayaking. Great living between Seattle and Vancouver.

Not sure about tires/wheels yet. In fact, the van ownere is working in Everett today, so I am tasking a Greyhound bus doen to Everett (1hr by car) to get the van. Wil send pics tommorrow.
Cheers

[phr1$k37]

Yahoo!!! Cant wait for the photos! Oh and video would be nice as well!
Yes yes that is close to us - heck when we do Vancouver meet ups you should come as well Hmm on note of that where is my passport.