Thanks, that makes sense. I haven't touched the torsion bars.

Curious if anyone has added some type of AC unit to their vans? Some places I'd like to visit in the south that might be pretty warm at night. An AC option would be nice. Something I could run on a 2000 watt generator or a parks power. Considered window unit (saw someone here had one mounted in a bo...

I see where a few people have mounted the ball joint under the A arm. What's the benefit of this? Doesn't too difficult. Just wondering if it would serve any benefit for a van with only a 2" lift?

Thanks for that info. The added height would be more a benefit than a problem. My wife is 5'4" and always complains about sitting too low. I'll only be doing the passanger seat.

The swivel on the link I've heard has some fit issues. Maybe it was made for earlier vans? May still be better than starting from scratch. Has anyone used one of these on a later model (04)??

Any seat swivel base that actually works under the passanger seat of an 04 Astro? Making my van more camper friendly, it sure would be nice to have a swivel seat base for the passanger seat. Wife is short so raising the seat a few inches would be a good thing.

Well, visiting this old post I was reflecting on the van vs casita usage last year. It seems about even. Wife and casita or me and van. I did a lot of solo trips last year in the van as wife was tied up with other duties. This year I expect to see a shift towards more Casita use and longer trips as ...

What did the 4.10s do for your mileage? Also what is the S10 front disconnect? Sounds like a worthy addition. I think the 4.10s would be a big improvement for my van. It has the 3.73s but with taller tires it seems to struggle a little.

Sure looks like a fun place to visit. Thanks for posting all the pics.

I'm almost embarrased to call my outings "adventures".. Pale when compared to other places.. Guadalupe Mountains just south of Carlsbad NM http://www.pbase.com/arlon/image/147424111/large.jpg http://www.pbase.com/arlon/image/147424112/large.jpg http://www.pbase.com/arlon/image/147420319/or...

I've heard those are really nice kayaks for relatively calm water. Have you had it out yet?

I'd love to try a swap with a 3.9 isuzu motor. Just can't justify the effort when my van only has 50k on the original.. An AWD Asro with some range, economy and pulling power would be a cool ride for sure. Good luck on your swap, I'll be keeping an eye on it.

I had a ton of plans to do all kinds of stuff to my van but in the end keeping it really simple has worked out pretty good. I took out the middle seat when I got the van and haven't seen a need to put it back in yet. I made a storage box and extionsion that makes a great double bed. Added a porta po...

If the trailer has a rear bumper, I think I'd have gotten a $30 bumper mount and put the bikes back there. What I did for my travel trailer..

I like that roof rack. Is that commercial or home made?

Yours is the perfect height Arlon; perfect! Do you do much highway driving with those tires? They sure look perdy... I live in West Texas... It's at least three hrs of 80mph highway to get anywhere. The 2" lift still fits under my garage door, anything more wouldn't without removing the luggag...