ASD Dad

There is a complaint about every other day on the FB forums about it falling out. It can be brand new or 5 years old with 100 miles or 100,000 miles. People shift and it pops out onto the floor. It got nicknamed the "baby tooth" and it has turned into a running joke when it happens. Some dealers dont even know what it is until people tell them.

Nice write up! I see this complaint all the time on the FB groups. Nice to know it is that easy to fix vs. a long visit at the dealer. I am pinning this to the top of the forum for future reference. I plan on linking back to it from the FB forums.

Welcome to the forum. We have a few builds going on or have been done. Feel free to search around and post photos of your build!

After looking at the raw numbers we made almost a full months worth of electricity extra that got banked as credit. Spring and Fall are the big months to bank power as the AC/Heat (we have heat pumps) are not running as much. Definitely happy so far.

Got our new bill today - $0 in power used. Just owe the connection fee of $9. Made more than we used so building up credits too.

My van sits a week to a month at a time now, we mainly use it for towing our camper and when going out with extended family. Turned on my AC and crazy racket came from blower motor and blower stopped (blew fuse). Took to dealer since I couldnt see anything when to took the cabin filter cover off down in the fan cage. Snake!! About 18" long, looked to be a small Rat snake. All the mechanics were taking photos, I was the first snake they have removed (normally a mouse, chipmunk, etc). When the racket started my wife about jumped into the back of the van. Funny thing was an older guy was there for the same problem but he had a mouse that died in his Titan blower motor. We were chatting in the waiting room. Normally this only happens in the winter, not when it is 80* out.

Classifieds have been glitchy since day one. Sometimes they work but it is normally as you describe of just the most recent posts open. Not sure what is going on, that is a programming/site admin side of things. I will send a note to admin again.

T Slot material is cool stuff. I have seen racks on YouTube built from the material and it looks like a nice setup and easy to work with.If you make something post up build photos! I think the OP's rack cost more or the same as the Aluminess. It looks pretty beefy even without the lights.

Should be in FS only but this site sees so little traffic lately this is fine.

Over my 60K plus miles I still get right around 12.5 combined. That is with a big roof rack and AT tires. That is the main reason I am driving our old Sienna vs. the NV unless we need the extra room or have to tow something.

That is interesting. Looks like it sits up quite high. No way I could fit or several of my relatives! Could probably physically fit due to the high headliner but would feel awkward sitting up that tall.

We have some companies that offer solar leases where they install the panels but you dont own them, they do. You get a reduced rate on your electric bill. After the lease is up they come get the system or you buy it out. Duke is fighting both the net metering to get credits back and the rebates. They are also looking at hiking the min service charge from $9 to $30 due to so many solar systems going up lately. We have at least a dozen around us in the past year. They also wanted to hike rates 17%. it is a total scam but Duke has always gotten their increases in the past so we were not taking chances. We have a State bill that just passed unanimously to extend the net metering for now along with the rebates but we'll see how long it lasts.

Approx 7 years after the tax credits are applied to the loan. House is 2500 sq ft, 2 story farmhouse. Open concept top and bottom. We built it about 2 years ago. Electric heat pumps for heat and AC. Pretty energy efficient other than our pool. We did things like added a lot more insulation, thermal barrier roof sheeting, etc. Whole house is LED lights. Pool does have a VS pump to help bring that cost down but its a big 24,000 gallon pool.

We've been debating going solar a long time. Old house wasnt really setup for it with many tall trees covering the south roof with shade. New home is wide open for home and garage. With the tax credits going away soon and net metering possibly expiring here in SC unless locked in we decided to take the plunge. Installed 38 panels on our detached garage (15kWh system). This was a month and a half ago. SC has had record rainfall all 2019. Last I looked we were 12" above normal for the year already. Lots of clouds, lots of rain. But - it is spring time so we are not using our AC yet and no longer really need the heat pumps either so usage is down. We just got our first bill from Duke today. $8.95 which is 100% admin fees! We actually made more than we used even with all the clouds so that goes into our credit bank at Duke for when we do use more power. Charged for $0 for electricity. Also got both our Fed and State tax credits approved by our CPA so that will cover 55% of our system costs. So far I am very happy we made the decision!

Spam his FB posts on the FB NV Family page. He still posts over there about "deals" and I post when I see them. So happy I walked away from that dealership!

What Mark said is true. I was trying to keep things short and simple. Honestly - dont go over 16,000 lbs combined and you should be OK unless for some weird reason all your weight is over the rear axle, too heavy or light tongue on trailer, etc. The ONLY way to know your weight is... to go weigh it. Seriously. Just do it. It is cheap, fast and painless. Any CAT scale at truck stops everywhere can do it. A lot of stone yards also have scales you can call about using. Even some larger farm and fleet type stores have scales. There are many sites that will explain exactly how to measure the weights needed (you need 3 separate weights on the scale). This will also tell you how well your weight is loaded and how well your WDH hitch is set up.

Are you new to towing? Maxing out specs is not a great way to introduce yourself to towing anything. You need to look at combined weight of Camper and NV - cant be over 16,000 lbs for both. Can the NV tow that camper? Yes. Provided you dont overload anything - rear axle, total weight, payoad of NV, etc... It all depends on your NV honestly. We dont know anything about you, your family or what it will be loaded with. Do you have no kids? 9 kids? Lots of "stuff" or pets? I assume you at least a couple kids looking at a bunkhouse camper. Every pound you add to the NV takes away that much towing capacity for the camper. If you have 500 lbs of kids then remove 500 lbs from your towing capacity. If you travel light and dont load the camper up too much (most people pack around 1000 lbs of "stuff" in a camper, it adds up quickly!), get a really good WDH hitch and brake controller AND set them both up properly (dont rely on dealer to do it right) then - Yes - you should be really close to being able to tow that camper.

Welcome to the site!

Welcome to the site. Feel free to search around and see what others have done. Sky is the limit as long as your credit limit is high enough!

Enjoy towing with your NV. We love it other than the tiny gas tank. My kids are normally ready to stop when we get low but if you are in remote areas it can get a little dicey watching that needle drop in the middle of nowhere!

The new Goodyear Endurance tires are rated the best "trailer" tire out right now. They are made here in the USA, have reinforced sidewalls and are made just for towing. I think they are rated over 90 mph which is plenty! They're relatively new so not a lot of long term reports but so far so good from people who own them. I have been running LT truck tires on my campers for years since there were no tires like the Endurance available. Currently have Goodyear Wrangler HT truck tires. It is a load E tire with a highway tread for trucks and delivery vans. I was more restricted due to a smaller tire size vs. most Load E commercial tires. When I had larger rims I ran Firestone highway Load E tires similar to the factory tire on our NV's. You do not want "lugs" on your trailer tires. They will chunk out when turning since you are basically dragging the tire sideways, especially when in a tight spot. You want continuous ribs like a highway tire or trailer tires on semis. I dont tow "fast" but I tend to stay with traffic in the right or middle lanes. Many highways that can mean a steady 70 or so. Stock trailer tires are normally not rated for that speed and can overheat and then boom.

Dont want to be the safety nanny but make sure your camper tires are up to 70mph towing. Most if not all stock tires are NOT rated for anything over 60-65mph max. Stupid move but it saves pennies so companies do it, even on $100K campers. Believe me, you dont want to blow a tire. Had two blow out over the years and it is no fun. First thing done when I get a new camper now is upgrade the tires even if they have 0 miles on them. Havent had a blow out since over thousands of miles towing.

Oh man, I was wondering if it was them after I saw your van! I had a bad experience with Tyler Slade who I think is a big manager/partner there. Totally unprofessional and getting answers was like pulling teeth with pliers. I gave up after trying for a few days. He was advertising some big specials on FB and thought about getting a newer NV with the new engine/transmission combo. Had to ask the same questions over and over, could not get straight answers and he wouldnt hand me off to someone else if he was too busy or just didnt care. Wasnt worth the aggravation.

https://www.powernationtv.com/episode/XO2016-20/nissan-nv-diesel-engine Not sure if that was posted before. Shows the swap and other vids show the 4x4 install. $8300 for just the motor!!

What dealer? Would be nice to know. Nice looking van so I hope they sort things out for you!