The Magic School Bus: 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan Build In Progress

[SouthPawXJ]

NOTE: I will post more pictures as weather allows (its midday here and below zero with a -35F wind chill... I love the forum but not enough for frostbite)... I'm mainly doing this so that I have a starting place for this. Hopefully, I don't forget about it!

MOST RECENT PHOTOS:
Something will be here eventually

The Acquisition:

My wife runs a home daycare. The daycare had grown, and the Liberty CRD was maxed out on space with only the bare necessities for the children. We looked at a number of vehicles, including many Suburbans, Tahoes, and other SUVs. She was alright with getting a monster SUV, but she kept recommending a minivan for the purpose. The stigma of a minivan, of course, is that they are the mommy-mobile. While I was not thrilled with this acquisition, it made the most economic sense. My wife loves Orange, and we were able to get a 2012 Grand Caravan SXT in Copperhead Pearl. We bought it with 22 000 mi on the vehicle (we're up to 30 000 now).

For a minivan, I think its pretty awesome looking. The oldest kid my wife watched during the day started calling it "The Magic School Bus". The name stuck.

Minivan vs. Jeep for us:

I had a "Eureka" moment over the weekend. The minivan has many things going for it as far as self-sufficient travel, even without the off-pavement abilities. Our minivan has:

• Large, Boxy Shape
• Easy entry into the second and third rows (which matters for its day job of shuttling children around)
• You can fit 4'x8' building materials flat in the back. This thing is a champ when you go to Ikea or Lowes.
• SAE Cargo Capacity of 33.3 cu ft with all seats up, 83.3 cu ft with the third row folded, and 143 cu ft with the first and second row folded.
• Stow-N-Go wells have space for other items if the second row seats are up.
• Numerous cubbyholes and pockets
• Decent payload (rated at ~1500 lb)
• Relatively strong 283 HP Pentastar V6
• EPA rated at 17/25 City/Highway MPG. I get 30 MPG on the highway routinely by driving the speed limit though.
• Soaks up highway miles very comfortably.
• Stow-N-Place Roof Rack
• Stow-N-Go Seating... allows for on-the-fly adjustments to the seating arrangement, depending on the goal of the trip.

Why would I build up a minivan, when I have a perfectly good Jeep XJ as well? Well, the Jeep:

• has crappy fuel economy while traveling (EPA of 13/18, and I get roughly 19 when I'm on the highway exclusively)
• is smallish on the interior (nature of the vehicle's actual size)
• rides like a truck
• is "using a sledgehammer to drive a finish nail"

The Jeep has its place and is awesome... but its just not good for 98% of the traveling we do. Even though I don't look like it, we love hiking, geocaching, and exploring the outdoors.

To me, overlanding is self-sufficient travel where the journey is part of the reason for traveling. This thing will probably not see much dirt, but we will be exploring the country on pavement, and finding out all about this weird and awesome country of ours.

Stated Goals for this Project:

1. I would like to make our travels as self-sufficient as possible for me, my wife, possibly two kids (we are adopting at some point), and a dog. There will be a few modifications done to the vehicle over time, but I am still not sure what will be done. A 12V fridge-freezer will be a must (for the babies), and a rooftop tent may happen as well.
2. The modifications must be easily removable so that the vehicle can still serve its primary function as a mommy-mobile and daycare hauler. This will also allow them to be moved to a new vehicle when that time comes.

MODS:

• 12V Fridge-Freezer (in progress)
• Weight Loss (for me) (in progress)
• Engineered by Firefly Coachworks, LTD bumper sticker (complete)
• New Tires (in progress) (thanks mhiscox)
• Toolbox and tools for road fixes (in progress) (thanks mhiscox)
• ... Not sure yet ...

Trips on the Horizon:

1. Texas Brisket Run (Late January-Early February)
2. Southern Indiana Church Campin' (April)
3. UP Pasty Run (August?)
4. Church Camp, Part II (October)
5. West Coast Swing (2015?)

If you have any suggestions for me as far as modifications go, or experiences, please let me know. I don't think I see many minivans on here (other than Astros and Vanagon Syncros, of course). Thanks for reading and your feedback!

 

[mhiscox]

I'll be watching enthusiastically. Your logic makes perfect sense. Be sure to report if you do anything to put on more aggressive tires, etc. I'll also appreciate hearing what tools, if any, you decide to carry to help get you out of a stuck situation. I've been giving thought to outfitting a roof rack with the shovel, ax, Hi-Lift, gas and water cans, and a box full of straps and tools, and then using a ceiling-mounted host to lift the rack on and off the roof. A fast way to turn the van into a tolerable (good weather) off-pavement truck, maybe.

If you've got a receiver on the back, you could also consider putting a modest winch onto a receiver plate and carry it in the back of the van so it can be deployed if you need it. That's been the setup for my 2WD Sprinter vans, and while it won't turn a van into a Jeep, it might give you the confidence to go somewhere you might not go otherwise.

 

[SouthPawXJ]

I'll be watching enthusiastically. Your logic makes perfect sense. Be sure to report if you do anything to put on more aggressive tires, etc. I'll also appreciate hearing what tools, if any, you decide to carry to help get you out of a stuck situation. I've been giving thought to outfitting a roof rack with the shovel, ax, Hi-Lift, gas and water cans, and a box full of straps and tools, and then using a ceiling-mounted host to lift the rack on and off the roof. A fast way to turn the van into a tolerable (good weather) off-pavement truck, maybe.

If you've got a receiver on the back, you could also consider putting a modest winch onto a receiver plate and carry it in the back of the van so it can be deployed if you need it. That's been the setup for my 2WD Sprinter vans, and while it won't turn a van into a Jeep, it might give you the confidence to go somewhere you might not go otherwise.

I knew I would forget something! Actually, one of the first mods will be tires. I'm on the hunt for four new ones in the stock size if possible. I totally blanked on that one though. Another addition will be a shop manual of some sort, and a code reader for when something goes haywire.

The receiver plate winch is an interesting idea... I don't have a tow package on the van currently, but that may be added down the road. Funds are a bit tight right now...

 

[ihatemybike]

FYI, we'll welcome you with open arm in the Camper Vans section.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forums/58-4wd-Camper-Vans

There a couple others playing with a Chrysler minivans on ExPo.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/51674-chrysler-voyager-doing-dumb-stuff

 

[plumber mike]

35's , solid axles. Small block chevy or maybe a 4cyl turbo diesel. Should be easy to cage. 360 degree lighting on a safari style rack. I'm feelin' it:smiley_drive:

Merlin would be proud :ylsmoke:

I didn't check out the newer caravans, as we need awd, but we did test drive a Toyata Sienna. I'd turn in my man card and rock one any day!

I'm in. Can't wait to see what you do with it, and how it treats you. Long live the minivan!

 

[SouthPawXJ]

Thanks for all the replies, y'all. I will have to check out the camper van section for more ideas.

The first (and arguably the most important right now) item of the build is on its way here! It should be here by Monday... I don't know if I'll have time to update the thread then.

I do think a turbo diesel with solid axles is an appropriate build-up for my wife's Caravan.

 

[BCHauler]

Don't forget the snorkel.

 

[cntryislandboy]

I love the idea personally. This is one of the minivans my wife and I are looking at along with the Odyssey. But I think the dodge had a little better ground clearance.

I like the winch plate idea, even if just a smaller winch to help give that extra nudge when needed.

I would think with a good set of all-season or mild all-terrain tire would be fine for most of your described uses. You described thing pretty close to what we are looking to do. I know for me there's the I want to do this, then the actual this is what I'm probably realistically going to do.

And having the ability to have more room for family and gear will be very nice. Could even add roof rack as mentioned or maybe a small utility trailer if really needed. But I'd be willing to be there is more than enough room to take what you need.

Good luck and really looking forward to seeing pics and hearing about the journey.

 

[ihatemybike]

Since you have Stow-n-Go, you have an oddly placed compact spare. While this should be fine for daily running about, for longer travels and unpaved adventures a full size spare would be better, unfortunately they don't fit under the van.

Here's one inside vehicle solution that I've found.
http://www.allpar.com/model/m/spare-tire.html

Could also use a hitch receiver mounted carrier or strap one to the roof.

 

[SouthPawXJ]

Since you have Stow-n-Go, you have an oddly placed compact spare. While this should be fine for daily running about, for longer travels and unpaved adventures a full size spare would be better, unfortunately they don't fit under the van.

Here's one inside vehicle solution that I've found.
http://www.allpar.com/model/m/spare-tire.html

Could also use a hitch receiver mounted carrier or strap one to the roof.

Thanks! That looks really interesting... I had wrestled with what to do about the spare tire. This looks like a good fix for it, or a good concept to fix it with another setup.

 

[SouthPawXJ]

Sorry for being gone for a while... Life has gotten really exciting/busy. I will try to do a more complete write-up of the trip here in the next few days.

 

[redthies]

I would keep the mods limited. Maybe just swap in a 12 valve and 5 speed, a 3/4 ton 4x4 chassis and maybe a '92 era crewcab along the lines of Hacksters build to tie it all together. That's how I would do a mini van!

 

[lhuyviet]

[*] Stow-N-Place Roof Rack

We are about to buy a Grand Caravan SXT with the Towing package. In long term, we are thinking to get a Roof-Top Tent, to replace our tent trailer. According to what I found on Dodge web site the Stow-N-Place Roof Rack can support 150lbs dynamically, which will be enough to support a very lightweight Roof-Top Tent. But, are the cross bars flat? Can they support a static weight of let say 450lbs?

Our type of offroad will be limited to well maintain forest road, The Grand Caravan Ground Clearance is a bit low, I saw a couple of adapted van that have their suspension raise. I couldn't get upclose to see how they did it. Putting a 1 inch spacer in front and in the back look to be possible. Only 1 inch in the front shouldn't be too bad for the CV angle. But the question, will be in the back how the Self leveling shock will react to be raise permanently by 1 inch?

 

[SouthPawXJ]

We are about to buy a Grand Caravan SXT with the Towing package. In long term, we are thinking to get a Roof-Top Tent, to replace our tent trailer. According to what I found on Dodge web site the Stow-N-Place Roof Rack can support 150lbs dynamically, which will be enough to support a very lightweight Roof-Top Tent. But, are the cross bars flat? Can they support a static weight of let say 450lbs?

Our type of offroad will be limited to well maintain forest road, The Grand Caravan Ground Clearance is a bit low, I saw a couple of adapted van that have their suspension raise. I couldn't get upclose to see how they did it. Putting a 1 inch spacer in front and in the back look to be possible. Only 1 inch in the front shouldn't be too bad for the CV angle. But the question, will be in the back how the Self leveling shock will react to be raise permanently by 1 inch?

Sorry for being about 3 months late on this, but... its how life goes sometimes. I will have the much-awaited update soon. BIG stuff going on in my life right now (almost all of it good).

I believe Cascadia Tents has a few minivans on their site that have used the stow-n-place with a RTT.

 

[fuzemagazine]

A year later???? I found this via the search because I'm possibly getting one!