Toyota Sienna AWD Sportsmobile

[carringb]

Lifting the rear of a Sienna can and has been done. All of the Mobility Sienna's have a lifted rear end. I think it would be difficult, if not impossible, to lift the front end and maintain driveshaft angles.

Sienna's do have a spare option. It is midship under the van, behind the passenger seat. But a full size spare won't fit there without dragging on just about everything.

I have seen pictures of the interior of a GTRV Sienna conversion. it looked really nice. But I have also known enough Sienna owners to know that fuel economy is not one of their strong point.

[my3kids]

Correct. AWD Siennas do not have spares, not even a compact spare. A full size spare will fit however in the rear cargo area on the driver's side. The full size spare will lay flat. Look at any Sienna and you will notice that the driver's side cargo area is curved to match that of a full size spare. Toyota actually has a very seldom seen spare tire cover option.

Once the full size spare is in place part of the 3rd row seat cannot be folded/tucked into the cargo hold. The 3rd row seat on the passenger side can still be folded/tucked into the cargo hold.

I know this because we have a 2004 Sienna XLE Limited. I cannot stand vehicles without fullsize spares until I accidently discovered the Sienna spare tire cover on eBay. A quick trip to the dealer the next day with a tape measure and then I noticed the curved area and then I knew I could store a full size spare there. A quick hunt on eBay and a I located a pristine OEM alloy rim then a quick trip to America's Tire Co. for a tire and I'm all good. I still have the compact spare in its original location.

If you do get a full size spare for an AWD Sienna it cannot be a 16in rim. It has to be 17in or greater.

Hope this helps™,
Ray

[Ultrasport12]

Hi JoeJoe,

I numbered a few things from one of your posts so I could get back to them.

NUMBER 1 I was hoping that someone knows something about the Sienna that I don't. Just like the lift ability of the Astros which I didn't know prior to running across info on this or a similar site.

NUMBER 2 Most importantly - A a discontinued beat up Chevy van doesn't compare to a shiny new Sienna when you are selling the idea of an "adventure" minivan to your wife. The last Astro we looked at smelled like an animal died in it. That didn't help my used van purchasing prospects.

NUMBER 3 I think that an Astro with small lift and minor inside work would be perfect! Very economical, easy to park, somewhat reasonable fuel economy. Too bad I can't find one that's less than 5 years old.


Here are my thoughts about what you are looking for or want to do.
First Toyota Siennas are much more car like than truck or van like.
The Toyotas are a front wheel drive Camery drive line with avalable All Wheel Drive, they will last for years but are not that tough even for mild off roading really. Lifting them would require major work and well its just not something people do.
The reason people lift the Astro and Safari vans is they are more truck like thus much easier to lift.
They are conventional rear wheel drive with All Wheel Drive optional but even they are not Four Wheel Drive.
You never saw any lifted Ford Windstars or Dodge Caravans because again these are more car like drive lines.

Your point Number 1: While we welcome any and all vans here most of us only know about full sized vans and mostly Fords from 1992 - 2012 at that. There are some guys on here have older vans and some have Dodges and GM vans. There are a few Sprinter vans and even a few VW and Astro and Safari guys but I personally have not seen any posts with a Sienna.
Thats not to say someone on here might know what you could do but you might need to design something yourself if you want to lift it. That said your wife might not like her new van tied up while you figure out what to do to lift it. Maybe a Sienna forum might have ideas.

Your point Number 2: The one and only thing a used van can offer over a new one is a lower price. So if you want to sell her on an older Astro or Safari van you need to find a nice clean one and possibly go look at it without her to be sure she might like it. They are out there you just may have to travel to find the right one. Think about all the work you could do and how nice an older van could be for the same money a new Mini van would cost. You could buy and rebuild an older van so that it was almiost as good as new. Here are some All Wheel Drive Safaris and Astros from Autotrader.com tonight.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale ... 7882&Log=0

Your point Number 3: You will never find an Astro or Safari newer than 2005 because thats the last year they made them.

I wish you luck on whatever you decide to do and please stick around and tell us so maybe if someone else comes along we can say. Hey that guy whats his name yeah JoeJoe he had one of those and he did this to it.

Oh and I also think only GTRV does poptops for the Toyota.

...Jamie

[dhally]

Isn't a Sienna but is is a Toyota...

[dhally]

On a more serious note, there are lots of examples of trucks, SUV's, vans, and even station wagons used for camping at expeditionportal.com.

[jage]

Originally Posted by dhally

Isn't a Sienna but is is a Toyota...

With the clearance of a Lambo, which I don't think helps...

#1 I'd settle for a light van, such as the E150. Tell her it's smaller- see attached.
#2 I'd look at one of the commonly modified minivans, Astro, MPV etc, unless you're dying to have a Sienna there is no reason to blaze new ground.
#3 Body trim and larger tires require no lifting for clearance. How possible is that on a Sienna? I have no idea, the finished product probably wouldn't go over well with the ms. anyway.
#4 Reevaluate where you need to drive (and or go until you get the Sienna really, really stuck and say- see this is why we need _______ )

Keep in mind you can bolt anything to an old K5 frame.

[carringb]

Originally Posted by jage

Keep in mind you can bolt anything to an old K5 frame.

Bwahahaha





One word of caution:
Before you get the idea you could take the missus into driving a lifted Astro van.... Be sure to drive one first. Not even a lifted one. Any Astro van. The Astros were never updated since their intro in the 80's, and you can tell. Ride is terribly squishy, brakes barely stop the thing, and engines make more noise than power, and they aren't even all that maneuverable. The full-size vans beat the Astro vans in every driving category. An E150 or Express 1500 will even match it for fuel economy.

[carringb]

BTW - If you want a minivan with some ground clearance, maybe the new Explorer would work?

[youtube:2s9z8byf]

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by carringb

One word of caution:
Before you get the idea you could take the missus into driving a lifted Astro van.... Be sure to drive one first. Not even a lifted one. Any Astro van. The Astros were never updated since their intro in the 80's, and you can tell. Ride is terribly squishy, brakes barely stop the thing, and engines make more noise than power, and they aren't even all that maneuverable. The full-size vans beat the Astro vans in every driving category. An E150 or Express 1500 will even match it for fuel economy.

I don't know CarringB, work gave me a shiny new Astro AWD back a few years ago. It was awesome for a rural delivery vehicle and very capable, for about 3 months til the first transfer case went out. Then the second, then third, then the entire transmission, etc.
The 4.3 motor was great!
And that is all.

[cygvan]

not sure if this was mentioned and not sure if the op stated a preference or aversion but....

my friend has a new sienna van...he mounted a hitch to it and tows a jayco popup camper (one of the larger ones).

the van tows it very well. i recently vacationed with them in cape may nj, following them. i could tell right away that the van and trailer combo behaved very well. we averaged 65+ on the garden state parkway.

i asked him about it and he says the van tows it like its not even there and he needed to remind himself that he was towing a trailer a few times.

certainly not 4x4 or pop top but i thought i would throw this out there in case you were wondering if a trailer might be the way to go.

this is his third sienna. first one he traded in for newer because that what he likes to do...the second was demolished in a crash where a lady ran a stop sign in a tundra which my friends wife t-boned at 35. the tundra was sent barrel rolling down the street as it was hit perfectly midship. no one in either vehicle was hurt. not even a bruise.

i personally am not in the market for that type of vehicle but i have to say that my friend is overly convinced that they are excellent vehicles and feels like he and his family are well protected.