Chevy & GMC Vans

I like your idea of bracing the frame with side rails. I used some fairly substantial WOOD to brace my big square box body conversion, but seeing how you did it with steel might give me ideas for the next build.

PS:
I made it from Washington State all the way to La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico, with my fuel pump whining, screaming, humming, and occasionally sulking in silence. I have a brand new "EL CHEAPO" EBAY fuel pump ready to install, and am running the fuel down low to make the swap easier. Mexican labor rates are about $ 25 / hr vs $100 / hr in Tuscon, so I thought the gamble was worth it.

The 6500 lb AWD SAFARI VAN Micro Motorhome is running amazingly well. The BILSTEIN shocks and 700 lb ADD A LEAF HD REAR SPRINGS, plus the 235/75/R15 DURATRAC A/T tires are proving to be the best choice for my rig and driving conditions . I cruised at 80 mph in Arizona on a stright/ flat stretch, and the rig rolls straight and stable, even with the massive 7' high side walls. AND, hitting those sneaky, unmarkerd Mexican "speed HUMPS" at night is annoying, but no parts have fallen off yet.
(;-{)

I asked about this way back when,,,
You can still back half the frame but it won't be as easy.
2"x3", 1/4" wall steel tube all the way back, a few cross members, maybe 36" overlap with the current subframe, fab a bolt up connection there.
Fab mounts for the spring perches and body mounts.

Considering the work you put into this one it would be worth the effort to do it right.

Hi,

I posted my sub frame extension in about November 2015 on this site. With photos.
Basic idea is to add hanger plates at leaf spring shackle. Then I used 69" length of 2x2" steel channel. The correct Uni strut steel fittings can be found in the Uni strut.com catalog. The Uni strut pieces are $8 to $15 each but no welding required.

AP

Not to divert traffic here. But astrophysics posted some pics on a thread I made recently as well. Here is the link to ease the search.

http://astrosafarivans.org/bb2/viewtopi ... 21&t=10503

Hi Everyone,

The sub-frame extension idea is a lot of work.
I used 1/8" wall 2"x2" steel box tubing. 1/4" wall would of course be stronger but it could be over kill since most of the Astro sub frames and cradles are thin wall anyway.
But, 1/4" is about the thickness of the Uni Strut or Super Strut or B-Line wing fittings and corner braces and L brackets which do come with 9/16" holes ready to accept nice grade 8 bolts.

1/4" thick would be very heavy also.

Good luck.

AP