I own a 2013 E150 5.4 gas 7 passenger. It only has 13K on it and it rides horrible! I've talked to a company that offers progressive front coils, 4 shocks and a replacement short leaf for the rear. The coils will lift the front about 1.5 inches. The leaf will offer a little more travel for the rear. He claims this setup will keep me from cursing every time I go over a bump. It's not cheap but I can't ride in it anymore with my back issues. Yes, I've done everything except visit the Mayo Clinic!!

I'm wondering if there is anyone who has done this setup. Yes, I've already experimented with the tire pressure.

Thank you for your time.

 

As a guy who has had his share of back issues the best thing i ever did was replace the front seats of my van. I got a set of hummer h2 seats ,made some mounts and installed them . Ibeams and leaf springs just dont ride well, softer shocks ,springs and lower tire pressure will help but ford van seats at best are just OK.

more cush under your tush might be the best route . good luck you have my empathy.

 

I was thinking seats too.

 

Does anyone make an air ride seat or something with a built in suspension of its own? Big trucks use such seats for driver comfort but those are air powered which is easy enough to plum into which might make that type somewhat impractical for an every day van---not to mention their physical size would be an issue too.

Someone somewhere has to make a seat or base only for this sort of use?

 

My van was the only vehicle I could tolerate driving in the months before I had a triple spinal fusion in 2011, but mine is an old "light duty" E150 with P rated tires at 41 lbs of pressure. In 2007, the E150 really became an E250 with high pressure LT tires.

Over the years I have changed out seats in a few vehicles to suit my back, and have had to get rid of cars that I found made my back miserable. My current van (bought new in 2003) started as a conversion with non-factory seats. I hated the conversion front seats and bought a pair of take-out Ford cloth captain's chairs from a converter on Ebay. I love these seats and they have a fair amount of "cush".

I had an FJ40 Land Crusher a number of years ago and put a pair of low end Recaro seats in that to make it tolerable for me. That vehicle was miserably hard riding and although the Recaros were not "soft" per se they supported my butt and my back really well and bumps were far easier to take. (When I sold the FJ40 I kept the Recaros and mounted them in an '86 GMC van for 100k miles.)

So I would research seats before making suspension changes. Sometimes the softest seats are worse for a bad back because they offer no support. And what my back needs is not what anyone else's back needs. What other vehicles do you drive that are truly comfortable for you? Also, seat position sometimes makes more difference than you might think. Do you have a power seat or are your seats manual? If they are manual, you can change angles using washer stacks and even that can make a diff in terms of thigh support and back comfort. Have you tried a memory foam seat cushion/cover? Those will add not only some cush but also conform to your back better.

If the new suspension proposal offers 4 shocks for the front end, I am thinking that it will necessarily end up being pretty stiff.

Best of luck; I have 8 screws and 3 rods in my back and when I consider a new vehicle, I need extended test drives because what seems comfortable in a showroom might start making my back miserable after an hour's drive.

George

 

Prior to purchasing my van I drove every vehicle Ford makes. The van was the only vehicle my back could tolerate. Three months later my back completely gave out. I'm 14 months post-op and still can't drive and hate riding in any vehicle. When we go out as a family (which isn't often) I lay down on the rear bench. Even then I have to be medicated.
Last month I left the house four times. Each time was for doctor appointments. My wife drives me because sitting is too painful. I don't own a couch or a chair I can sit in for more than 10 minutes. Like I stated in my first post, I've done everything that can be done for my back except going to the Mayo Clinic.
I have three other vehicles. 01 Lexus LS430 with 76K, 03 Lexus ES300 with 130K, and a 04 Mercury minivan. Depending on which doctor we are going to we take the LS430 or the minivan.
My doctors do believe I will someday get better. I'm not sure if they say that because they really think that or because they to continue taking my money! If I didn't have long term disability benefits I probably would have checked out already.
I'd like to take a road trip this summer with the family. So improving the ride is very important.
I will explore the idea of changing the front seats and maybe adding a bed in the back. I might be able to change the foam.
To answer some questions.....
The current seats are power multi adjustable leather.
If I were to change the suspension, it would only have one shock per wheel. The brand he supplies with suspension improvement kit is Fox.

 

Given the extreme pain you are feeling, I somehow don't think that adding a bit of cush to a van suspension is gonna make a lot of difference for you. I would suggest you step up your physical therapy and strengthen the core muscles supporting your spine to help you return to more normal function.

One problem with a van is that you are sitting close to the front wheels and taking bumps more directly than if you were in, say, an Expedition EL with a similar wheelbase. I'm looking to replace my E150 and an Expy is one vehicle I am comfortable in physically but the cost is pretty stiff...

My back has been bad since I was 14 (2 vertebrae out of alignment), sciatica since I was 25, and I put off surgery till 2011 when I was 59 years old. 3 of my discs collapsed and I now have 8 screws and 3 rods in a huge L2-L5 fusion. In the 3 months before surgery and after the disc collapse, I could not think about driving a stick (left leg would spasm) and getting in/out of a low vehicle was a huge pain.

I wish you the best and would encourage you to remain active in whatever way you can and build your core, make blood flow, and keep your heart healthy. I sat bolt upright on an Airdyne exercise bike while wearing a back brace and pedaled legs-only to keep from turning into a vegetable. And walked a few miles a day. As president of a large bicycle club, I can point to many people who have done amazing things after serious injuries or surgeries. I am also the manager of the Disabilities Division of the Detroit Marathon and work with the Achilles Freedom team athletes and others who don't let massive injuries stop them from living and competing. It also puts my own physical problems into perspective...

And if it takes the Mayo clinic, do it. You have one body and without it, you've got nothing.

Best wishes,
George

 

There's something not right about our Caravan driver seat. Although my back is generally good, it can't take long rides in the Caravan without something like this -



It works well enough that when I repadded the seat of an old Mercedes I similarly notched the padding to keep my spine off the seat. Heaven!

I don't know whether soft or controlled is better for your situation. Check if older E150s are more suitable to you. Certainly easier to get into than an E350 or upgraded late E150. Our '93 rides like a '63 Lincoln with enough wallow to make you seasick but it couldn't send a shock through your spine if you drove over a railroad tie. Remember that Lexus commercial?

Sixto
93 E150 Chateau 5.8 194K miles

 

HMMM....kinda looks like this...

 

I love my bed, but so does my dog
Three different sheets of foam i scavenged for free plus a 4" inch thick down filled mattress pad gave me 12" of padding and it's very plush and comfy, you kinda sink into it

 

I've tried several different cushions. Nothing so far has worked. I can only control the pain if I'm laying down.
No amount of PT can help damaged nerves. They just need time to heal. Believe me I've tried everything.
I want to keep the van! It just needs to ride better. I've found several shops on the west coast, just nothing in Houston Texas yet.

 

I can relate to your pain, a careless driver on the cellphone drove over the top of me while riding my motorcycle and among lot's of other things it broke my back, severed my spinal cord and took both legs right above the knee, I've had oxycodone morphine fentanyl and the only thing i use now is medical marijuana, it puts a smile on my face and makes it much easier to manage the pain and that's what it's all about, you can't lose the pain but you can manage it and learn how to turn it into something else, like laughter which i do a lot of but that's a side effect of marijuana, it makes you happy and helps you smile through the pain, i was injured in 2006 and by 2008 i had moved to Oregon and got my medical marijuana license and shorty afterwards acquired a grower and don't pay a dime for meds, 2 ounces of Oregon's finest delivered to my door once a month, no charge..
When you buy marijuana from a store you want strains that are high in CBD and low in THC, the CBD is what manages the pain and THC is what gets you high but i am perfectly normal functioning pothead that goes to church on sunday and do my own shopping and feel great when i medicate and to be honest with you, it's the best thing i ever did for myself, period..
It's very much worth it to you to relocate to a state where it's legal such as Oregon where any consenting adult can purchase and possess and use, any MMJ patient like me will tell you that marijuana is a miracle drug and it truly is good stuff, try it and you might like it and they also make edibles which you can eat if you don't want to smoke or vape, good luck to you !!

 

Holy smokes!

 

praise the lord

 

Badback, I feel really bad for you but in terms of where you are now, it seems like you would need to be able to sit in any seat for an hour or two at a time if you plan to travel, and it does not sound like you are there at this point.

Doing anything to the suspension in your van right now seems like it is a bit premature. When you can go and sit in your van seat for an hour in your garage or driveway, it would seem that you should then work on the suspension if you really believe that will make a big difference for you.

I just looked at the Fox site and they have nothing listed for Ford vans. If they do have a van suspension that I'm missing, it would probably be optimized for off-road use. Current approach is to increase travel (or not reduce it) *maybe* with softer springs, but to add mucho shock control.

If you will always travel with a light load, you could try some P-rated tires for the van (maybe 255/70 or 245/75x16" which will have a good bit of air volume and load capacities of ~2400 lbs per tire), and it seems like you could almost "downgrade" your suspension to "old" 5-lug E150 specifications, maybe with longer front springs or spacers under a set of old-style 150 springs to keep the ride height where your current van sits. Adding a leaf to the rear end seems like there is no way it could improve the ride there; longer travel is of no use unless you are hitting the bump stops. Maybe removing a leaf from your existing springs would make more sense. Old 5-lug E150 leaf springs are narrower, however (2.5" instead of 3").

Again, you would be reducing the cargo and towing capacity of your van with these changes, but if your priority is just to make the van comfy for you, this level of modification might be worth it. I have always had 5-lug vans (since 1986) and don't like the harshness of the 8-lug vans with LT tires at 60+ lbs of air. But I don't load heavy or tow.

Best wishes to you,
George