Azrich3, glad you like it IRL! It wouldn't really be any extra work to take it an inch higher than the inch that I raised it. I followed 4x4Cal's approach who lifted his his 2":
https://www.siennachat.com/forum/69-mods-projects-gen-3/49833-2-inch-lift-my-2018-xle-awd.html

There's also kit available that provided 3.5" of lift:
https://www.siennachat.com/forum/69-mods-projects-gen-3/55986-3-5-lift-kit-journey-offroad-awd-gen-3-a.html

However, I already have rubbing with my tire size, so I don't know how much larger tires you can realistically go.

 

Azrich3, glad you like it IRL! It wouldn't really be any extra work to take it an inch higher than the inch that I raised it. I followed 4x4Cal's approach who lifted his his 2":
https://www.siennachat.com/forum/69-mods-projects-gen-3/49833-2-inch-lift-my-2018-xle-awd.html

There's also kit available that provided 3.5" of lift:
https://www.siennachat.com/forum/69...orum/69-mods-projects-gen-3/55986-3-5-lift-kit-journey-offroad-awd-gen-3-a.html

However, I already have rubbing with my tire size, so I don't know how much larger tires you can realistically go.

That 3.5" kit is exactly what I was looking for! Thanks! Now I gotta find an AWD van somewhere and see if I can part with the 4Runner.

 

"Now I gotta find an AWD van somewhere" - I wish you luck, they're tough to find in Phoenix. It took me over a year to find one.

 

This Sienna looks so rad. You should put some off road videos up on YouTube.

I can't see Toyota ever offering anything like this from the factory, but Subaru should do it. My 2wd XLE would be gone so fast.

 

that rally lights is the bomb, looking into it.

 

What about Airbags? Etrailer has them to support the sienna under heavy loads. Would be great to have on demand lift.
https://www.etrailer.com/vm/Toyota/Sienna/susp

B

 

looks really nice awesome

 

Very cool AWD, be careful of those Joshua trees they hurt

 

HI Odd,
Your Sienna has been inspirational for my project as well. 2013 Silver XLE. I will be providing "before and afters" when the project is complete. I like yours quite a bit. Therefore, I am doing the following:

Journeys Off Road lift kit, replaced the stock wheels and tires with Vision 398 Manx wheels (17" x 8") and Nokian Rotiiva AT tires, black Rhinolining type spray-on rocker panel and fender protection, customer decals (yours looked so good I stole your vision for those), Rockford Fosgate Speakers throughout, Yakima Offgrid with large extension roof rack, installing a 2" receiver hitch with 4-pin trailer wiring, Husky floor mats throughout, Spyder Chrome/Smoke LED DRL projector headlamps, and projector fog lamps from CARiD.

That is what is definitely happening, but I have more on the long off horizon. BTW, although this is my first post, I have been following many mods that have been put up here. These mods were my muse for selling my much beloved 2010 Tacoma (modded up as well) for a more comfortable, user-friendly, surfing/hunting/mountain biking weapon. Thank you all for paving the way.

 

Awesome, I look forward to seeing your progress! It's fun, and you definitely get lots of people inquiring about it.

 

Looking forward to your build pics!

 

I'll be curious to see how the build works out.

 

Well, as I eluded too in my earlier post, with some small modifications on your design I basically copied you Odd. I hope you take mimicry as flattery because that's all I essentially did. There are some mods yet to happen and some stuff that you can't see in pictures though that were different. Such as the massive upgrade of the DVD head unit and speakers, rust proofing inside all of the door panels, the bug out kit I installed in the "8th" seat spot, and Yakima Offgrid roof rack with extension and Yakima Rail bars. I like what I did with my tailgate, but your decals, the wheels color match, the dual exhaust, and the grill lights look bangin'. Does it sound like I'm jealous? I am a little bit ?
Below is what I've done so far. Thank you being such an inspiration. You are a trend setter!!!

 

I love that roof rack, are you still able to open the sunroof or do you not have one?

Thanks!

 

Dude, that's awesome! I don't mind, I do take it as flattery. I'm all for getting people to realize how awesome vans are, and they can crossover just as well as any CUV.

Your van looks great! I like how you took the basic template and then made it your own. Nice job on the vinyl, it looks like it took a lot of work. And those wheels look really good.

I see Michigan plates, is that lake Michigan in the background?

BTW, that front view pic isn't loading, I think it's too big.

 

For those of you who've done this sort of mod.....a couple questions. Do the up sized tires fit pre lift? (A bit of rubbing backing up at full lock is fitting in my book) Are spacers or rims with more offset needed to make it work? (Will my factory rims with no spacers be ok?)
Have you had any work done in a shop that should have been warranty, but were told it wasn't because of your mods? Thanks for your info.

 

I put on the wheels and tires before the lift, and I don't think the lift changed the tire rubbing issue much. My wheels are 8" wide with the same offset, so they protrude 1/2" both ways. But then I put on some of the widest tires available. So I'm probably 1" offset either way.

The rubbing I experienced on the back tires against the shock shroud, but I think that's been eliminated with the 15 mm spacers I put on the back. However, the 5 mm spacers on the front are probably hurting the front tire rub, since it is the outside edge of the tire rubbing against the rear wall of the wheel well liner. The further the wheels are extended out, when turned, the further back they extend.

Your factory rims will probably be OK, unless you go with a tire that is as wide as mine. And I bought the van with 112K miles, so there is no warranty to void.

 

I put on the wheels and tires before the lift, and I don't think the lift changed the tire rubbing issue much. My wheels are 8" wide with the same offset, so they protrude 1/2" both ways. But then I put on some of the widest tires available. So I'm probably 1" offset either way.

The rubbing I experienced on the back tires against the shock shroud, but I think that's been eliminated with the 15 mm spacers I put on the back. However, the 5 mm spacers on the front are probably hurting the front tire rub, since it is the outside edge of the tire rubbing against the rear wall of the wheel well liner. The further the wheels are extended out, when turned, the further back they extend.

Your factory rims will probably be OK, unless you go with a tire that is as wide as mine. And I bought the van with 112K miles, so there is no warranty to void.

Hi Odd,
Previously, you posted some photos of your van before it had a lift. It had the 255-55r18 Contenentals installed, but no lift. I can't seem to find those photos. Could you re-post the photos please? Curious to know more about your impressions prior to lift. How did the lift improve and/or impair things?

Thank you.

 

I did the lift and the tire/wheels at the same time and I, too, experienced some rubbing. My wheels are offset +25mm and my tires are also wide, but I had a body shop look at it and they discovered that there was room in the front wheel wells to push back the body a fraction. Now, no rubbing. I have no rubbing in the back at all.

The only real issue that I have is that I have a bad electromagnetic coupler control. That isn't cheap and I have a sneaking suspicion that I am out of luck as far a warranty goes because of the mods. I will find out tomorrow when I call the dealer. It normally would be under the powertrain warranty because it has 53k right now.

 

Odd, did you ever get the front photos to work? If not, try this one.

Also, you are right about the Michigan plates. That is Lake Superior in the background (potentially, the greatest lake on the globe!) Avid surfing spot.

 

Yep, got that last one to work - very nice! I actually went to college in the U.P., so I've spent a good amount of time around Lake Superior.

Question to you both that have done the conversion - how are you managing the spare tire/flat tire issue?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

I got an aluminum Mustang donut rim and had a donut tire put on that has a matching diameter to the full size tires. When we go on road trips we throw it in the back with the rest of the cargo. Here's a pick with it setting in the hitch rack.

Questions regarding your bike rack and cargo tray combo. How did yo end up having a bike rack and the cargo tray on the bottom?
What brand of rack and tray is this?
I need a set up like yours to carry 4 bikes but also put stuff on the bottom tray .
Please share the brand and set up
Thanks

As you can see in the above photo, it is a StowAway SwingAway Bike Gear Rack:

I ended up wiring it with trailer lights also. It is a very nice unit - very robust and quality feeling. It is quite heavy though, and even with my custom 33% uprated rear springs the rear end sags, even when empty. With four bikes on there and any cargo, the van become rather twitchy. That's probably not specific to this unit, but something to consider putting any weight that far out behind the rear axle. And one other thing - when assembled, it is virtually impossible to move around with one person. And unless you disassemble the bike rack from the cargo basket, it takes up a lot of space in the garage.

 

Question to you both that have done the conversion - how are you managing the spare tire/flat tire issue?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

Questions regarding your bike rack and cargo tray combo. How did yo end up having a bike rack and the cargo tray on the bottom?
What brand of rack and tray is this?
I need a set up like yours to carry 4 bikes but also put stuff on the bottom tray .
Please share the brand and set up
Thanks

 

Interesting regarding how the car drives when the rear rack is loaded. I thought the Sienna was good to 3500lb for towing and that one typically puts 10% as tongue weight -so around 350lbs. I realize that the weight is further aft and it is not a weight distribution hitch. Maybe that's why?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

I may have missed it reading through the post, but we’re the wheel spacers used for clearance or for looks? Do you know what the ideal wheel offset would be without spacers?

 

The wheel spacers are just for looks. And they're probably contributing to some of the rubbing of front, since it is the outer edge of the tire rubbing against the well when fully turned.

 

Hey odd, did you end up altering the top of your strut topper? I've been wanting to lift but lost motivation on the Journey Kit due to the lowering of the rear ?transfer case? with my AWD system. I'd like that to be lifted a long with the rest of the body. I've been tempted to go with this traxda product but I'm a bit concerned about it not having the ring on top. Do you still think that is what caused your clunk? It seems pretty common for trucks to just have this flat top so a bit surprised it wouldn't work right.

Traxda Kit #906010 - 2011-2019 Toyota Sienna - 2" Level Kit

<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Part number: </strong><strong>906010</strong></span></p> <p><a title="Sienna Instructions" href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zZCGiscdWMho1BzVNz4burPOlYGtfadg/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><span st

traxda.com

If I used this I'd this with custom coil springs, Godspeed (SB-TR-130-12) adjustable sway bar link, and Four 90105-17015 bolts. I'd work with a shop who could fabricate rear shock extensions and brake line extensions if needed. Any thoughts? Anything I'd be missing?

 

Wow, I wish I'd have known about that kit, I would have just done that. I don't see an actual image of the part for the Sienna, so I can't comment of how well I think it might work. All I did for my strut topper was pound out the studs and weld in longer bolts to go through my 1" spacer.

Your plan sounds right on. It looks like you can buy shock extenders already made. I didn't bother with any since I only added an 1".

Good luck! I look forward to seeing how it comes out.

 

I have the 3.5-inch lift kit on my 05 XLE AWD. Purchased in early March this year and had the kit installed by my mechanic March 20th. Definitely improved my ground clearance. I pretty regularly drive Forest Service, BLM and farm roads. With the lift I can get many places that I would not be able to otherwise. The kit is very solid and quite well made. One could put the kit on at home with some serious jacks and jackstands. It would take a full day, maybe more.

JourneysOffRoad was very willing to answer all my questions during my pre-purchase investigation. I am very satisfied with their kit and their customer service.

I put Yokohama Geolander 235/65 R17's on my stock rims. This is my first set. They seem fine so far. I haven't experienced a traction problem. I wanted to run Bridgestone Duelers after the kit was installed. I have them on my Tundra 4x4 and really like them: good off-road traction, quiet on the highway and they last about 80,000 miles. Unfortunately the smallest Dueler size rubs the spring collar on the front suspension. Thus the switch to the Geolanders.

I have driven a bit over 14,000 miles with the lift and the tires. I am quite pleased with the setup. The van handles fine both on and off the pavement. It corners well, brakes fine, and doesn’t feel "tippy" at all. The added height was a notable change when getting in and out at first, but I adjusted quickly.

The only drawback is the scratched paint from driving down Forest Service roads that are overgrown with brush.

A couple of pics: north of Dettah Northwest Territories and south of Fort Simpson Northwest Territories.

 

awesome! Congrats on this. looks amazing.