ASD Dad

Dash removal. I'm guessing it will be similar. Buy the right tools and take your time and it goes fine. http://nissannvforum.com/topic/671-how-to-remove-dash-panels-to-access-radio-or-pockets/

Those photos look great! Congrats on a very nice NVP

Easy mods for performance? Free airbox mod or Airaid intake and BullyDog GT tuner. I have reviews and install threads for all three. Visual mods - LED interior lights, DRL delete, off-road bumpers, new grills, etc. Crazy mods - Stillen supercharger and header back exhaust. Both require work to use and one guy who has the SC popped his transmission due to bad programming. My best mods in order - BullyDog, airbox, HIDs, tint and DRL delete. The BDGT totally transforms the vans power delivery, airbox was free and flows almost as much as the Airaid, I hate the headlights on our vans so any improvement is a must for me, tint since I live in SC and I don't like DRLs that use the headlight at low power....

Sounds like the one on Garffs site but they had a LED bar mounted already. Where did you get it? I assume Advanced did the 4x4 conversion. Post up some photos! Should be easy to mount any LED bar you want on the Aluminess rack. Wonder why they used the older rear mount vs. the new side mount ladder. I love the looks of the side mount and it seems sturdier. Those racks are top quality but you pay for it!

It shouldnt be all speeds, it should be a ratio or curve. Faster you go the more off it is. All factory speedos read fast and have as long as I have measured them. They are WAY off on motorcycles! Some older speedos were only off 1-2mph though. When I am going an indicated 70mph on the speedo my GPS is reading around 66-67 with the NV. I think it is an industry standard honestly. Keeps you from getting more tickets or you think vehicle is faster than it is...

Gman - I have used those adapters in the past, have you verified it works with the NV steering wheel controls? My radio sound came back on over the weekend but was out a couple days. Dealer still plans on replacing since I take a video whenever something intermittent happens so they can diagnose easier.

I have had the Kensun H13, 4300K for a few months and just took them off but may reinstall them... To start with it took 5 bulbs in total to get two that had perfectly matching color and beam patterns. Kensun service was fantastic and they had zero issues in helping me out, it just took a while to get things straight. Once I got that set the low beam pattern is very good to excellent. They are very bright with minimal light scatter if aimed correctly. I have only even been flashed if I hit a bump that made it look like I was flashing them. Reason I took them off is the high beam pattern was terrible. H13 lo/hi kits use a magnet to pull the bulb back about an 1/8" to mimic the second filament in a halogen bulb. It is triggered off a relay that comes with the kit. The actual functioning works perfectly every time but the pattern is very diffused with no throw at all. It is VERY wide, it is almost like turning on two flood lights. It just doesnt shine down the road very far at all. Most of South Carolina doesnt believe in street lights and I live out by a lot of farms so it is pitch black and we have lots of wildlife - deer, coyote, foxes, etc that I want to be able to see! I went back to my standby H13 bulbs which are Phillips XtremeVision which are the highest rated halogen made in an H13 size. The difference is shocking on low beams with how dull they look vs. the HID. The high beams are much better but I dont know if the trade-off on lows is worth it. I am thinking of not using the relay to trigger the high beam function on the HID's and using a LED spot beam pattern bar for the highs.

Well spoke to two techs at Crutchfield and Axxess. They arent sure if their steering wheel control box will work with the NV or not, they havent tested it. I hate losing steering wheel controls. They also told me that there is no way to adapt the factory backup camera into a new head unit, they dont sell adapters. I havent taken the radio out to see what the connector is to see if something could be made up or not. I dont want to wire a new camera in when I have one!

So my first radio died quickly and they gave me a new one a few months ago. Well now the new one is wigging out! Lights like to flash on and off at night which is distracting to say the least and today it is totally mute. No sound period from any source - radio, nav, phone, satellite. Already called dealer and he said they can swap it out again but this is getting annoying. Anybody switch to a nice aftermarket unit? Since I have the Tech Pkg I would want to keep the steering wheel controls and bluetooth controls. I HAVE to keep the backup camera, the rearward visibility in these is horrible and I am always hooking up to our camper. I've done audio upgrades for decades including competition level stuff but these days I want to just keep it simple.

If you are a by a dealer that has one in stock I would definitely look at one. I think comfort wise you need the extended wheelbase Transit if you wanted something more modern. Those cant tow anything though even with the big Ecoboost V6 in it (only around 4400 lbs). If you need lots of seats plus towing you're correct that the Chevy/GMC or Ford E350 would be your best bet. I drove a brand new E350 prior to the NV. It may have been new but it felt very old school. Vague steering, terrible ride, noisy, bad ergonomics, etc... The NV feels more like a well put together large SUV. It's solid, handles well, brakes well, has decent power and is quite comfortable. You dont feel like you're driving a big box. Forgot you asked about MPG - it's what you'd expect from a box with an older tech V8. I average 14-15 mixed driving and when towing get 8-9. Only issue when towing is the small gas tank. 180 miles and I want to find a station. Thankfully with small kids they dont mind stopping that often or they need to by then! Our camper is 7600 lbs loaded across a CAT scale.

That is EXACTLY what all people towing should be doing unless they are way under the limits of the vehicle. Thanks for doing that. It is quick, easy and pretty cheap and you'll know exactly what you can tow safely. That being said, the NV still wont have the payload of your 3500 van if you plan on towing with it full of people. They may rate these vans as 1 tons (the 3500 HD) but vs, a true one ton vehicle they dont spec out as well. I only have 3 kids (all in car seats - 2 boosters and one 3-n-1) and two large dogs that weigh more than my oldest kid! I agree with above that it would be very tight for you with that many car seats. It would be snug without car seats! I think you could get it to work but may not be happy with the results.

Thats no fun! Get it into a dealer, it's brand new... If you dont have a close one then take some pics and make sure the simple stuff is OK like caps are on tight, no gaskets look pinched, etc.

There is no way you can pull a triple slide, large trailer AND carry your whole family and not be over payload in the van. The tow rating companies give their vehicles is when that vehicle is empty or at most a 150# passenger along with the driver. Every pound inside the van reduces the tow rating, doesnt matter if it is people, animals or just "stuff" you have tucked away in bins, cup holders, or packed. People do it all the time and many never ever have an issue. There is safety margin built in from the manufacturer. Just depends on how far you want to push your luck and if your luck does run out what are the consequences worth to you? Can the NV pull it? Sure. A properly setup car could tow many trailers. Should you? Up to you. Dont want to be a kill joy but I have personally seen overloaded vehicles break things or have nasty wrecks. I'm friends with a guy who pulled a "half ton" towable fifth wheel camper with his Tundra. He would always brag it towed the Space Shuttle! It had a 10,000# rating! Blah blah. Well this half ton towable fifth wheel had a pin weight higher than his whole payload let alone after the heavy hitch installed and everything else. That was empty. He towed it just fine (with airbags since the backend was sitting on the spring stops) for over a year and said he couldnt even tell it was back there. Two years in his transmission went out on a trip and both rear wheel bearings were so shot they scored his axle. Toyota saw the hitch and denied warranty. He tried fighting it with the area rep and they asked for the camper specs and found some photos he posted on FB and the forums. Guess what? He lost again. Several thousand dollars in repairs. People like to always bring up tow specs are conservative and say to look how beefy the axle and frames are on their vehicles. Dont you think the company would love to brag their vehicle can out tow the competition? Happens all the time with the 3 domestics and their pick-ups. Up until recently there were no guidelines and they could brag what they wanted! I can two 10,000... well I can tow 10,500... etc. There is a Reason companies give out those ratings.

There are a few similar threads with a simple search. Mine is in my signature line. Paid $38K OTD

Wow, that looks fantastic! Really nice work.

Ah. The only time I have seen that happen is when the condenser is freezing up for one reason or another. As in it builds up a layer of ice on it and it cant heat exchange as well. It doesnt happen or cycle as fast as what you have going on though! Hopefully others will chime in. We have a Nissan tech on the boards and quite a few mechanics. I assume you've called the dealer already since your van is brand new... A NV tech at the dealer will be faster and can actually fix it (hopefully).

You mean like this? http://nissannvforum.com/topic/896-nv-3500-heat-sensor-issue-unresolved/

We're heading down to FL in March as well! (St Augustine). We used to go to HHI yearly but with the kids we decided camping was more fun so stopped heading down there. We havent been in over 6 years now but it is a really nice area with tons to do and a very nice beach. If you're into fresh seafood find The Seashack. It is a hole in the wall place that is located back in an industrial park like area. Used to be a locals place until sites like Tripadvisor and Yelp pushed them up the rankings. They used to be one of the best places to get local seafood but be prepared for a long line and little seating unless you go at an off hour. Menu changes depending on what is brought in by the fisherman and once sold out it gets erased off the blackboard. If you order, make sure it is something that is local and in season and not brought in to fill the menu. We usually stayed along the main strip for the beach (N and S Forest Road) but one time stayed back in a Plantation hotel. You used to be able to snag awesome deals on Hotwire for a beachfront resort. We got to stay at the Westin and Grand Marriott a few times that way but those deals done pop up much anymore. Enjoy the van. We have silver as well and it definitely hides the dirt well.

Welcome to the forum! Our second vehicle is a Sienna. We love both vans quite a bit. Our needs are different vs. a big family though, we have 3 small kids and two big dogs but we needed the room for camping. We outgrew pickups and we refuse to take two vehicles on trips so had to find something beefy enough to tow a good sizes camper while also hauling us in comfort. Where in SC are you heading? I would guess the coast - Myrtle, Charleston, Hilton Head, etc. We live up in the Piedmont foothills area so we're about 3-1/2 hours from Charleston. The V6 should be fine with just the family loaded. You may not be passing everybody up the steeper grades but you'll do fine.

If they release the new V8 or even the Cummins I'd strongly consider trading mine in already!

If demands was that high they could expand or run an extra shift (unless those are 2 @ 12 hours). I live very close to the BMW plant and they run 24/7 to keep up and have expanded 3 times in the 11 years I have been here. These are not small expansions either, they are multi million dollar huge expansions bringing in hundreds of jobs. Since owning mine I still have seen ONE other NVP local to me (30+ miles in any direction) and he bought his after seeing mine. There are 3 NVP's being used for company shuttles and two for hotel shuttles. I am seeing more and more Cargos. When I take mine in for service the dealer usually has one or two NVP's available if not more at all times. They had a blue one for so long that the dealership ended up buying it for a shuttle!

Like Chris said, it's been used for years on offroad trucks and other vehicles. Stuff is pretty bulletproof. I've seen whole trucks covered in Line X but that adds a LOT of weight!

I finally heard back from the dealer with the black 4x4 decked out NVP. It wasnt cheap! 4x4 installed was $11,300 ,3" lift $900,$2550 rack and ladder combo,$2500 wheels and tires,Black out grill and bumpers,side rail steps $895 this is all done at Advanced 4x4 in Utah so his 4x4 is a 4 low and 4 high not like Quigley. This is $18,000 in upgrades!

Brand new motor, most likely a winter blend gasoline and very cold temps. Check your tire pressures since it is so cold as well, they could be down 10psi or more. The MPG should go up from that but not by much in normal driving. You're driving an old tech, big V8 inside a heavy, big, rolling box! Some guys eek out 20mpg on the highway with the V8 but I've never been able too.

Wow, you get some of the best MPG I have seen logged for the V8. I average around 15-15.5 on the highway with the cruise set around 72mph. I average 15 pretty much no matter what I do! Best I ever got was around 17-18 driving 55mph with cruise or a really light foot.