I found little in the archives or on the web so I just went ahead &
did this:  Have installed Gabriel HiJacker air shocks on a 2WD 84
Vanagon.

These shocks (as you may know) allow adjustment of ride height by
changing the air pressure in the shock.  As I understand it, the air
bladder is independent of the shock itself so changes in the
pressure/height do not alter the dampening effect.

The advantage, of course, is the ability to adjust ride height when
the van is fully laden with camping gear and also to adjust
left-to-right when the tanks and closets are full.

Seems to work just fine.  Since the word 'handling' and 'vanagon'
don't regularly crop up in the same sentence I don't have much to say
about it -- it still handles like a Vanagon, which is all I ask.

They are kinda fat but they fitted just fine (lisiting said they were
for 86+ Vanagons) though I did grind a little bit of extra clearance
for them.  I could see daylight between the shock and the frame but
gave them a little extra room just in case.

To be sure, Gabriel makes budget shocks -- these were only $53 for the
pair -- so time will tell how they hold up.  I figured it was worth a
try as the rear shocks are such an easy R&R and the price was not
much.

We have a longish trip (5 - 6K miles) planned for later this month so
when we get home I'll have a better idea as to their suitability.
More then.

Geo