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UMC Aeromate #1455162
06/18/13 11:33 PM
06/18/13 11:33 PM
Joined: May 2003
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Chicagoland
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Anyone here ever own, or even drive one?



Around 3400lb, 6' tall inside and 9' long, with a very low floor height. (They use a torflex rear suspension) Seriously thinking about getting one to use for furniture delivery and to pick up motorcycles with.

They are based on the Caravan, and come with 2.2/2.5 or 3.3 engines. The one I am currently considering has a 2.2/auto in it. If I could get over 20MpG on the highway, I would be ecstatic.

Re: UMC Aeromate [Re: Cooter] #1455163
09/22/13 05:57 PM
09/22/13 05:57 PM
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Well, picked up a '91. 3.3 powered.

Does anyone know the backspacing on stock Grand Caravan LE wheels? Thinking about swapping some police wheels on.

Re: UMC Aeromate [Re: Cooter] #1455164
09/23/13 09:25 PM
09/23/13 09:25 PM
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Connecticut
Ron_M Offline
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Driven plenty of them 'back in the day lol. Federal Express had a fleet of them and EVERY one got a replacement tranaxle or so it seems. Bread and butter work for the warranty techs. As lot boy, I got to road test and drop em back off to Fedex. Ride was ok, not unlike driving a pinball machine down the street. Not Power Tour material by any means I definitely liked them better than the Sprinters that came later on.

Haven't seen an Aeromate in YEARS! Thought they were extinct!

Memories


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Re: UMC Aeromate [Re: Ron_M] #1455165
09/23/13 11:38 PM
09/23/13 11:38 PM
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Quote:

Driven plenty of them 'back in the day lol. Federal Express had a fleet of them and EVERY one got a replacement tranaxle or so it seems. Bread and butter work for the warranty techs. As lot boy, I got to road test and drop em back off to Fedex. Ride was ok, not unlike driving a pinball machine down the street. Not Power Tour material by any means I definitely liked them better than the Sprinters that came later on.

Haven't seen an Aeromate in YEARS! Thought they were extinct!

Memories




This one is an Ex FedEx, from your neck of the woods, no less.


Transaxle seems fine; I'll check to see if has been swapped.

Re: UMC Aeromate [Re: Cooter] #1455166
09/24/13 01:50 AM
09/24/13 01:50 AM
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hp383 Offline
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I think your going to have issues with the police wheels.

The cop wheel will have a backspace around 3.5" and those front wheel drive are probably close to 5"

I think the cop wheel is going to stick out just far enough to give you issues with fender clearance.

Sort of like putting aftermarket wheels on a 92ish Dakota. They stick way out there, and look funny.


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Re: UMC Aeromate [Re: hp383] #1455167
09/24/13 10:05 AM
09/24/13 10:05 AM
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Thanks! This is kinda uncharted water for me. The wheels are supposed to be stock Grand Caravan spec. I've seen one recently one eBay with what looks like some sot of steelie, but it looks to be a great offset than stock MoPar. May have to run something off of Ranger or late model, which would be a shame, since I have plenty of Police Wheels, 15"rallys, and Slots.


Anyone ever run aftermarket wheels on a second gen Grand Caravan, and if so, what did you like?

Re: UMC Aeromate [Re: Cooter] #1455168
09/24/13 11:22 AM
09/24/13 11:22 AM
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savoy64 Offline
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wheels look more like a dakota wheel--no backspace issues there...

Re: UMC Aeromate [Re: savoy64] #1455169
09/24/13 11:50 AM
09/24/13 11:50 AM
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I've never seen a wheel like this on a first gen Dak before. Usually the featureless blob style wheel like this one-


Re: UMC Aeromate [Re: Cooter] #1455170
09/24/13 12:01 PM
09/24/13 12:01 PM
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Took a while, but finally found the wheel one a Grand Voyager SE-


Re: UMC Aeromate [Re: Cooter] #1455171
09/24/13 04:49 PM
09/24/13 04:49 PM
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hp383 Offline
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Quote:

I've never seen a wheel like this on a first gen Dak before. Usually the featureless blob style wheel like this one-






I never said they were Dakota, wheels. I said they were front wheel drive type wheel.

I just used the Dakota as a reference for how the offset to a "normal" wheel would cause the wheel to stick out from the fender edge. Since the Dakota also uses an deep offset factory wheel.

If you look at the picture of the Dakota you posted, and his van, you will notice that the offset looks close to the same.

Now look at the clearance on his van from wheel to fender edges. This is where I think he may have an issue using a shallow offset, and wider, wheel like the cop wheel.

Re: UMC Aeromate [Re: hp383] #1455172
09/24/13 06:13 PM
09/24/13 06:13 PM
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Actually, the "him" is me.

And if you look above, I wasn't replying to you about the Dakota wheels.







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