> Riddle me this: if the spacer were 12" thick would it compress the
> spring? I think it would. Therefore, it stands to reason that a 1"
> thick spacer would, in fact, compress the spring by some amount, IN
> SPITE OF THE WEIGHT BEING THE SAME!

well Riddler, of course a 12" spacer would compress the spring cause you
would have topped out the shock at about 3-4" (or whatever the sag is)
and the suspension would have become rigid and any additional spacer
length would compress the spring.  A 1" spacer will just raise the the
van body/frame combination.  If you stand on a bathroom scale and your
weight reads at 170 (which, by the way reflects the amount a calibrated
spring has been compressed) and then  you put a phone book under the
scale you are standing on, will the reading of your weight
change????????  I hope not.  In that analogy your body is the van
body/frame and the scale is the spring and the phone book is the spacer.
>
> This riddle is not intended to offend or contradict anyone in anyway.
> Rather, I think there is a lot of annectdotal evidence/reasoning being
> thrown around by everyone. The wholey ignorant "I" tends to believe
> there is some validity in what Steve says. And clearly, Derek has more
> experience than anyone else on the list -- but even he could be
> mistaken in some of his beliefs.
>
nor is this tended to offend, but if you can prove why inserting a short
spacer (like the ones Steve and Derek are using), all else being equal,
should compress the spring then show me the money!