Ground Effects Kit

[JohnandJoy]

My 2005 190 Popular owners manual tells me the Ground Effects Kit may abe damaged if the side door and front passenger door are opened at the same time. What is a Ground Effects Kit and how does one tell if it's been damaged?

Thanks, John

[markopolo]

My '04 Roadtrek did not have the Ground Effects Kit (at bottom of doors and bumper covers)

[markopolo]

This Roadtrek has the Ground Effects Kit on the doors

[Ron J. Moore]

Right after we bought our '05 RT190P I backed into a fire ring....I still get reminded of that fiasco!!! In looking at the pix here, I might go ahead and remove the front and rear covers....I believe it might improve ground clearance in some situations. Now, what do I do with that stuff...I've removed the rear seating to install two regular matterresses, the night stand in the back, the table and pole from the front (it was way to heavy to fool with). Oh yeah, a few of the shelves in the audio-visual cabinet. At this rate I will need another storage facility just for RT removals - if we ever sell (never) we have everything for the next owner. Ron

[Mike]

Originally Posted by JohnandJoy

My 2005 190 Popular owners manual tells me the Ground Effects Kit may abe damaged if the side door and front passenger door are opened at the same time. What is a Ground Effects Kit and how does one tell if it's been damaged?

Thanks, John

From marko's 2nd picture, if the 60/40 "front" side door is already open, and you try to open
the van's passenger door at the same time, the back edge of the passenger door will collide with
and probably scrape the heck out of the ground effects panel on the 60/40 front half of the side door.
The same would likely happen if you opened the 60/40 front side door and tried to close the (open)
passenger door past it. In either case, the point of contact and damage would be low down on
either door, near the bottom rear edge of the passenger door or the front of the ground effects panel.
The kit is designed to reduce drag on the outside of the body by "smoothing" the silhouette of the van's
sides, making it more aerodynamic. It also purports to increase downward force on the vehicle, by
creating a partial vacuum underneath the van, similar to what you'd see on some types of racing cars,
although I'd question it's usefulness on a large, already quite heavy, van. I think my manual mentions it
too, and I don't have it installed (like marko's first pic) either.