Lowering a van...?

[surfncam]

Could anyone tell me if you can lower (leafsprings under axle apposed to on top) your van legally and can low profile tyres be used to further lower it?.
The reason for this is I will be storing my van in the back yard and am currently at the drawingboard for a new double carport out front (drive through to back yard) and I think height will be an issue.
Thank in advance.
Cam...

[Roehm3108]

Hi Cam
My first suggestion is - build a higher carport ;D ;D ;D What better time to do it than when it's on the drawing board!
No reason why you couldn't move the axle above the springs to drop it further, but then the question is - how low do you go before you hit every single gutter you drive over and rip the bum out of the van? As well, how low can you go for the rig to sit level? That would have to be the deciding factor. Might pay to register the van BEFORE you make any further alterations, just to be sure. Don't know of any restrictions in Qld as far a low profile tyres go either.
Ray

[surfncam]

Bum drag would definatley be a problem as would sitting level, my tow car will be lowered (nothing to silly), It's actually the standard height of a double roller door that is concerning me. I think maybe throw a couple of extra bricks into the carport plans.
Thanks Ray.
Cam...

[scootman]

Hey surf, I have the same problem. I just let the tyres down push it in (with great effort) them pump em back up again

[Deleted]

Hi Cam
Like most have already stated .
The only time you will find the lowering of your van convenient is when you are putting it in the shed and getting it out.

The rest of the time when you are actually towing the van you will need to be concious of the van dragging its butt on driveways etc. I was going to suggest smaller rims but by the look of it your van is already running 13" rims.

My Bondy "Matilda " had 16" ford pilot wheels on it when i bought it.

i towed it to Morgan S.A last year and she wandered around all over the place and sat up in the breeze like a big wind sox. Luckily i was towing it with a large 4wd otherwise it would have been a miserable slow trip.
I ended up blowing a 16 X 650 tyre last year on the tour and had all sorts of dramas finding a replacement. These sort of dramas are the price we pay for "originality"



I Ended up selling the 16s to FB Mad and fitting 15" daihatsu rocky wheels with lower profile tyres.


End result .. a van that sits about 100mm lower. sits level behind the car instead of "Nose down", doesnt sway about near as much, and creates less wind drag.


I raised the header of the right side door on my shed and managed to lift it about 150mm to get a jacked up 80 series landcruiser in and out of the shed.

I thought it would have been enough to get a normal full sized van in and out but the average hieght of most old vans is around 2400mm ( 8ft) + the hatch .. another 50mm at least

I ended up building a skillion roofed carport behind the shed to house the Bondy and the TD.


front is about 3300mm sloping to the back at 3000mm. The plan is to eventually enclose 3 sides and have a slide across canvas curtain at the front to protect the old darlings. The carport doubles as a party zone as well.... its all good.




Reddo.... "Praise the Lowered"

[will]

gidday surfncam
you can lower a van by going to the trailers spares and purchasing 2 early stud pattern 13 inch rims which they all stock with early holden and falcon stud patterns put 185 x 13 inch tyres on them and should lower your van by around 2 to 3 inches
cost with secondhand tyres around 50% tread should all up be $180.00
thats what it cost me to lower the kennedy

Will

[surfncam]

Reddo,
My dog sooooo wants to meet your dog and cat, I didn't think anyone elses pets partied as hard as mine.

Thanks for the info Will , I'm off to a c'van place to pick their brains. Worse comes to worse I'll dig 2 trenches 300mm deep in the crusher dust that lines the current carport and worry about it when the new ones up. It worked to get my last splitscreen kombi on a trailer into the backyard.
Cam...

[Roehm3108]

Hi Cam
Just a thought - can you get enough clearance with an old set of rims with old tyres you can leave flat - just HATE the thought of digging trenches. I have seen these tyreless rims on ebay, but they're quite pricey.
Ray

[minicamper]

Hi Cam,

Being the owner of what once a stupidly tall vintage bus, I resorted to digging out tracks for the wheels to run in. Now being vintage, i had heaps of under body clearance, but I reckon you could do two things.
Either set a lowered recess in the slab for it to drive in, or easier and much cheaper, but lowering blocks.
Commonly these were used to lowere all sorts of cars. They fit in between the springs and axle with longer u bolts.

These are available for lots of older cars, BUT, won't help clearance.

Cheers
Chris

[Deleted]

Hi Cam

Obviuosly the best solution to the storage problem is to build a shed with enough clearance to accept your van.

Just tow in .. tow out .... sssswwwwwweeeeeettttt

There is a couple of other ideas that i have seen used to get vans through doorways.
I picked up an old van from the central coast a while back. The old bloke that owned it had simply took to a couple of old tyres fitted to 13" rims with an angle grinder.
He cut through the side walls of the tyre about half way between the rim and the tread of the tyre . This left about 50mm of the sidewalls still firmly fixed to the rim . Sort of like a set of flapper white walls without the tyre

He use to fit these wheels to the van before reversing it into the shed. The sidewalls folded out and protected the concrete floor from being scratched / gouged by the steel rims .

Second idea is "Shed Skates" available at most autoparts places. But again you would need to take the wheels off and sit the van spring /axle plates on the skates. They are great for spinning things around 360 degrees on the spot etc and would lower your van heaps but............. if you havent got a dead smooth surface outside of the shed door then you will get "Bogged" really easy with "Skates" . small wheels and soft ground just dont get on together.

A bit of fiddling around but a cheap alternative to shed mods.

Oh and before i go .... Dont forget to deflate the tyres before attacking them with a grinder

Reddo... from the shed of invention

"Useless and ill concieved ideas are my specialty" ;D