Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 12-17-2017, 03:14 AM   #1
New Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Arizona
Posts: 10
Default 2011' Airstream Avenue - Lifted and Locked

We recently purchased a 2011' Airstream Avenue which is built on a Chevrolet 3500 Express van. I plan to use it for my photography trips and quick weekend camping trips with my wife. I was worried about it's lack of clearance and I like getting off on the back roads so I thought a lift was in order. After hours of reading different threads on lifting the Chevy van I decided to go with WeldTec Designs 3" lift spindles, coil spring spacers and Fox shocks. I had the spring shop build new progressive rate spring packs although we still had to use 2" blocks because of interference with the front part of the spring pack where the waste tank wrapped around it. They also installed a forward facing rear stabilizer bar and of course longer brake lines. I had Cooper Discoverer AT3 285/75R-16 tires put on the 16"x7" Alcoa wheels that came on the Airstream. I also had the 4wd shop install 4:10 gears with an ARB air locker with twin compressor with air up kit for airing up tires. During the test drive the Brake/ABS light sensor came on so we decided to order a Bully Dog tuner to dial in the new tire size along with the new rear gear ratio, hopefully that will take care of the brake/ABS light and correct the speedometer. I was very pleased with the way it drove and handled, it actually drives better then stock, IMO! Over all I ended up with 5.5"-6" of added height. I am happy with the added clearance it gave me and I can't wait to try it out on the back roads to see how it drives and handles. I actually wanted a van with 4wd or AWD but decided to drive this for 6-9 months to see if I would really need it, with all the stuff hanging underneath I would need to be careful what type of terrain to drive it on anyways, even with 4wd. Thanks to all that provide info on this forum, it really helps in the decision making!


Stock height
stock-01.jpeg
Lifted height
lifted-01.jpeg
Stock height
stock-02.jpeg
Lifted height
lifted-02.jpeg
Lifted height
lifted-03.jpeg
GpnAZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2017, 12:08 PM   #2
Platinum Member
 
markopolo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: New Brunswick, Canada
Posts: 8,828
Default

Looks good!

Wow, that's a huge list modifications / upgrades
markopolo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2017, 12:27 PM   #3
Platinum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 11,893
Default

What coil spring spacers did you wind up using? Part number on the spindles would be interesting.

You may want to consider a set of wider wheels, as the the 285-75-16 is rated for a minimum wheel width of 7.5". That would also give you a chance to find out from the folks who designed the lift spindle what the optimum wheel center to ground and offset would be so you could get as close to that as possible. Do you know what the offset on the current wheels are?
booster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2017, 04:34 PM   #4
Platinum Member
 
Hondo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Colorado
Posts: 433
Default

Looks great!
Hondo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2017, 06:36 PM   #5
Platinum Member
 
kite_rider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: OR
Posts: 116
Default

Beautiful job! I too was looking for 4WD for my camper van; but there were not a lot of choices.. I've discussed this with several Sportsmobile and Tiger owners and they seem to say that ground clearance was more important than 4WD.

So the route you took to get clearance and add the diff locker make a ton of sense to me. I just wish there were more aftermarket options to do the same for my 2016 RAM Promaster.
__________________
__________________________________________
2017 Carado (Hymer) Axion. 136" HT Promaster V6 Gas.
Previous: 02 VW Eurovan Camper, 99 Eurovan Camper, 86 VW Westfalia Full Camper, 82 VW Westfalia Full Camper (All VW's well used and sold at a PROFIT!)
kite_rider is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2017, 07:26 PM   #6
New Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Arizona
Posts: 10
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by booster View Post
What coil spring spacers did you wind up using? Part number on the spindles would be interesting.

You may want to consider a set of wider wheels, as the the 285-75-16 is rated for a minimum wheel width of 7.5". That would also give you a chance to find out from the folks who designed the lift spindle what the optimum wheel center to ground and offset would be so you could get as close to that as possible. Do you know what the offset on the current wheels are?
I used Weldtec Designs 3" lift spindle - CE-3LS1 and Weldtec Designs 2" Aluminum Leveling Spacers - CE-ALS

I considered wider wheels because I was aware of the minimum wheel size and after talking to my tire pro and from past experience of using larger tire to wheel ratio then recommended, I decided to use these wheels. I am not ruling out getting wider wheels in the future though. I believe the offset on my wheels are 6", I would have to look it up again and I don't have the number of the wheel handy.
GpnAZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2017, 07:54 PM   #7
Platinum Member
 
Hondo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Colorado
Posts: 433
Default

Did you use the stock upper control arms or aftermarket?
Hondo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2017, 08:01 PM   #8
New Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Arizona
Posts: 10
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hondo View Post
Did you use the stock upper control arms or aftermarket?
I used the stock upper control arms.
GpnAZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2017, 08:03 PM   #9
Platinum Member
 
Hondo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Colorado
Posts: 433
Default

OK, thanks.

On my 4 inch lift I had aftermarket uppers installed on the kit and I'm wondering if maybe they have something to do with the occasional odd feeling I see over different transitions.

Waiting to hear back from Boulder Offroad on that.
Hondo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2017, 08:26 PM   #10
Platinum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 11,893
Default

Is there a particular reason you chose to use coil spacers instead of new springs in the front, as the originals are quite overloaded in stock form, as can seen by how low they sit stock?
booster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2017, 09:30 PM   #11
New Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Wa
Posts: 11
Default

Nice job on a nice looking rig.
Buckster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2017, 09:54 PM   #12
New Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Arizona
Posts: 10
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by booster View Post
Is there a particular reason you chose to use coil spacers instead of new springs in the front, as the originals are quite overloaded in stock form, as can seen by how low they sit stock?
I went with Weldtec Design's recommendations for the coil spacers knowing that if they didn't work the way I liked I would change them out with new springs. So far so good but I need to do a lot more driving on different road types to know for sure. Have you had a poor experience with them?
GpnAZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2017, 12:27 AM   #13
Platinum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 11,893
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by GpnAZ View Post
I went with Weldtec Design's recommendations for the coil spacers knowing that if they didn't work the way I liked I would change them out with new springs. So far so good but I need to do a lot more driving on different road types to know for sure. Have you had a poor experience with them?
No, I haven't had any personal experience with them, so no bad for sure

I am going by the fact that the stock springs are loaded enough to run low enough to be on the bump stops for a lot of the time. If you lift the van with spacers, you lose the ability of the beehive style (overload spring so to speak) bump stop to add to the spring rate and limit motion, as it doesn't get hit anymore. It is possible the spring might even be able to go solid on a very large bump, which can bust up stuff quickly. If the rear has be lifted with more spring rate, you could wind up with a large mismatch front to rear which could cause front bouncing or porpoising.
booster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2017, 05:26 PM   #14
Platinum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Virginia
Posts: 764
Default

You have a great looking rig. Ron
__________________
Ron J. Moore
'15 RT210P
Ron J. Moore is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2018, 02:22 PM   #15
New Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Arizona
Posts: 10
Default Off road pictures and comments

I was able to take our AA out to the desert this last weekend and work the suspension and air locker out a little on some mild off road trails. Once I dropped my air pressure a little I was pretty happy with the off road performance of our van. I had one ledge that actually caused some rear tire spin until I locked in the air locker, it was good to try that out. It was a fun and beautiful day, in the 60's!! All in all this van is handling on highway and off road better then I expected!

We had taken it to New Mexico a couple weeks ago and found out it didn't stay too warm once it got in the 20's at night, I guess poor insulation and too many windows. Once we got to an area that was 30-40 degrees at night it was much easier for the furnace to keep the inside comfortable.
Attached Images
File Type: jpeg DSC01409-01.jpeg (575.1 KB, 19 views)
File Type: jpeg DSC01393-01.jpeg (804.6 KB, 23 views)
File Type: jpg DSC01365-01.jpg (233.9 KB, 18 views)
File Type: jpeg DSC01380-01.jpeg (627.0 KB, 17 views)
GpnAZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2018, 03:07 PM   #16
Platinum Member
 
Mat Mobile's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Quebec
Posts: 206
Default

That is awesome!

Thanks for sharing! We don't often get feedback on the off-road capabilities of lifted Class Bs. Even if it's mild off-roading, it's good to know what we're getting into.
Mat Mobile is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-01-2018, 03:24 PM   #17
Platinum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Central Arizona, HiDesert & Mountains
Posts: 295
Default

GP- that is very cool! Who did the lift? DIY? It looks great & works good!
We are having ours done by a small shop in Prescott Valley. Using "Super truck" coil springs in front & "Airlift" bags in rear. Bilstein shocks. Should be finished next week. Anxious to get out & play. It won't be as capable off road as yours, but maybe handle 'washboard' & our rough AZ hiways better.
Great photos too.
Happy Overlanding! Ric.
AZ ADVenturist is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-01-2018, 09:22 PM   #18
Platinum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Arizona, Tempe
Posts: 1,652
Default

It will stay plenty warm if you put reflectix on the windows. We have stayed in 13F total comfort.
Harry
hbn7hj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-10-2018, 08:30 AM   #19
New Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Arizona
Posts: 10
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by hbn7hj View Post
It will stay plenty warm if you put reflectix on the windows. We have stayed in 13F total comfort.
Harry
Thanks, I will certainly have to give that a try!
GpnAZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2018, 06:13 PM   #20
Platinum Member
 
Photog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Gig Harbor, WA
Posts: 372
Default

GpnAZ,
What leaf spring changes did you make to the rear?

Do you have any idea what your front and rear weight is?

Last question: Is your rear axle a semi-float or a full-float design?

You use your van the same way we do, and we still need to finish the rear suspension.
__________________
Brian
2009 Roadtrek 190V, 5" lift - Build Thread
2004 Toyota 4Runner
2014 Honda CR-V
1965 Dodge Coronet 440
Photog is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT. The time now is 08:32 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.