Astro camping: 5 days of enduro riding and overlanding

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astrozam
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Re: Astro camping: 5 days of enduro riding and overlanding

Post by astrozam »

How the heck did i miss this thread? ](*,)

Cool stuff Tom... :supz:
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Vanjoe
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Re: Astro camping: 5 days of enduro riding and overlanding

Post by Vanjoe »

raSafari wrote:
T.Low wrote:I welded an extra reciever ontop of the moto tray for the mountain bike tray to fit into. This way, i don't have to keep switching back and forth all the time, I can just add or subtract the mtn bike tray.

Hey Tom,

Just curious... with the bicycles and moto on the back, do you feel a lot of bounce when driving? Also, what shocks are you using in the back.... doesn't seem like you have much sag. I just bought a Kawasaki 250 and before I get a moto rack for the van I wanted to do some research. Now that I've seen you do it, it'd probably throw my mountain bikes on as well. =D> Advice before I start? Thanks!

-dp
Thought to jump in and add my 2 cents. I run air shocks on my rwd Astro. The bike and carrier seen in my ativar tends to cantilever weight off the back. And, I like to fill the shocks to the max when I tow my 5k camper. Lots of guys don't do air shocks but I love the adjustability for whatever I find myself doing with my Astro!! Running empty and low air in the shocks sure beats running empty with heavy duty springs! Also, I picked up my dirtbike carrier at Harbor Freight.. cheap and cheap. Took an hour or so to beef it up . I also added angle iron that goes up under my hitch to lessen the twisting of the carrier in the receiver.
Joe
1998 Astro. Sterling Hi-top Conversion. 1st Second gen owned.
Former ....
90 Astro shorty conversion,$500 short term driver
91 ext Astro bad body,bad motor $325, became a 350/4bl cruiser with all under hood acces working.TOTALED..my fault
88 Astro shorty conversion 177k-270k,threw rod. $2500
85 Astro mint body ...totaled 9 days later...not my fault. Paid $1k, insurance gave me $2k
86 Astro shorty 147k-242k, $2500. sold running!

raSafari
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Re: Astro camping: 5 days of enduro riding and overlanding

Post by raSafari »

Vanjoe wrote: Thought to jump in and add my 2 cents. I run air shocks on my rwd Astro.
Is your Astro lifted? I wonder (without having searched the forums) who is running air shocks with a 4+ lift on an AWD and if they recommend it for the heavier loads. Thanks for the change Vanjoe :partyman:
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Vanjoe
I get chills without my van.
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Re: Astro camping: 5 days of enduro riding and overlanding

Post by Vanjoe »

Definitely not lifted!! Stock? metal leafs in rear. And the extra weight of the added conversion.
1998 Astro. Sterling Hi-top Conversion. 1st Second gen owned.
Former ....
90 Astro shorty conversion,$500 short term driver
91 ext Astro bad body,bad motor $325, became a 350/4bl cruiser with all under hood acces working.TOTALED..my fault
88 Astro shorty conversion 177k-270k,threw rod. $2500
85 Astro mint body ...totaled 9 days later...not my fault. Paid $1k, insurance gave me $2k
86 Astro shorty 147k-242k, $2500. sold running!

LiftedAWDAstro
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Re: Astro camping: 5 days of enduro riding and overlanding

Post by LiftedAWDAstro »

raSafari wrote:I wonder (without having searched the forums) who is running air shocks with a 4+ lift on an AWD and if they recommend it for the heavier loads.
I did on my old 98 AWD and they worked perfectly fine when wheeling. I needed the added support due to all the spare parts. tools, supplies and camping gear/coolers we carried.
Current rides:
2013 Toyota Tundra DC 4x4
2008 Dodge Nitro 4x4
2005 Nissan Sentra 1.8S Special Edition

Mileage spreadsheet

Vans owned:
1986 Safari 2.5L 4 speed manual - scrapped
1995 Astro 2WD conversion 4.11 posi, shift kit, DHC rock rails - sold to Skippy
1998 Astro 4x4 D44, D60, NP231, full hydraulic system with 9k# Milemarker winch and snow plow - sold to Lockdoc
2003 Astro AWD all stock - traded for a 3/4 ton truck
2005 AWD, 4.10's - sold to skippy
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