ASD Dad

Here is that van. It is not for sale from what I can tell and I havent heard back from that guy when I emailed about it a couple days ago! http://www.kengarffnissanslc.com/custom-nvs.htm

One guy on here had a custom front hitch made for his bikes. Quick search should find it, this site isnt that big! They mounted it to where the massive tow hooks are up front. Nissan has the diesel and a much better new V8. Will they come to the NV? Anybody's guess. There supposedly is a Cummins NV being driven at the Cummins facility as a shuttle van so it most definitely could be done. I highly doubt the motor and tranny would just drop in though and I have no clue where you'd find either since they have been out for one month! Have to search the country for a new XD that got rear-ended and totaled I guess. 4x4 I would guess is demand. These things were designed as commercial vehicles first. We dont have the same dealer network as normal Nissan and we dont have the same Customer Service contacts as normal Nissan. Even if you own the Passenger, you still call Nissan Commercial and you still need to find an NV certified dealer for service work. The thing is, these things are so cheap you can deck one out at Quigley and still be much cheaper than a 'Burb or similar. Even at full retail and top spec NVP SL you're looking at $52,000 for a Quigley with a full warranty. A similar 'Burb would run $60K and still be a half-ton chassis. You cant buy the 2500 'Burb new anymore, only govt agencies can buy it (Law Enforcement, Fire, etc).

I just saw on the autoblog site that the new Armada is getting the new V8 motor with 7spd transmission. 8500 tow rating and a really stout frame body. I havent seen pricing yet but if Chris is right this "should" cost $10 grand more than the outgoing Armada. We'll see! If it isnt, Nissan Commercial is on something loony if they plan on charging $10,000 for the new motor/tranny in the NV. EDIT: Most of the time year to year models dont see a giant surcharge even if there are significant upgrades. It's just the cost of staying competitive. The 5.6 motor we have was just barely competitive when it came out close to a decade ago let alone now. The only reason for the massive upcharge would be if this motor was more or less free at Nissan so we're just paying for the body and chassis and that is why the Nissan is priced a bit lower. However, Ford has their top of the line Ecoboost V6 twin turbo in the Transit and the premium there sure isnt $10K. What Nissan should do is release the new NV with this new V8 at a small upcharge and even offer the Cummins at a larger upcharge but if they can keep the costs competitive they can really make some waves in the industry. The NV is the last vehicle with the current V8 being made. I bet the new V8 gets similar mileage as the current V6 with way more HP and TQ than our current V8 let alone the V6.

What you need to watch for if going wider is rubbing on the sliding door! I never would have thought of that but a few people here have hit the door and one even trimmed out their door panel to clear vs. getting narrower tires! There just isnt much clearance between the door and side of the van/tire. I know several have gone larger and have had no issues but I think the posts are in the other wheel threads even if they are lifted. I plan on upgrading my tires for more traction when camping but even with near 18,000 miles my stock Transforce look brand new.

You really shouldnt sway under normal circumstances if the trailer and tow vehicle are setup right. Sway control is a bandaid and really should only be needed if you are in heavy crosswinds or in an emergency situation. Never hurts to have it there if needed but if you are getting sway check weights and setups (tires, alignment, etc)>

Congrats on the purchase. Post up a pic when you get it!

That Black NVP is great looking! 4x4, lift kit, Aluminess rack (old ladder though), blacked out grill and bumper, LED bar... Wonder what they were asking on that thing. I bet it had to be close to $50K.

I have been averaging 2000 miles a month daily driving my NVP V8 - anything from taking my kids to school to taking 1000+ mile camping trips hauling a 7600 pound camper. No major issues at all. I average about 14 mpg in my day to day driving and 8-9 mpg towing our camper.

Sitting in traffic today I monitored the Temps shown on my BD vs the bars on the dash display. 6 bars is only 150* 5 bars was 145* I know I was higher than 6 towing so maybe I was around 180* which still isn't bad at all.

I have found that I get the normal push from passing semi's and a stiff crosswind. Definitely more than my truck for the crosswind but about the same for passing semis. I can imagine your high top is a lot more sensitive to both. We're basically driving boxes down the road! I think my NVP pulls nicer than my Tundra did other than lack of power. E rated tires and a much stiffer suspension help on the NVP. I think the 5.6 motor is fine for its era but the new Titan motors are where this van needs to head!

I towed in high heat and humidity through the Appalachian mountains with zero issues pulling a 7600 lb loaded camper. The cooler is sitting front and center of our giant grill opening, it's not going to get much cooler than that when moving! I cant recall exactly but my BD tuner was reading around 160 degrees I "think" when I was towing in the mountains during the summer. One thing you want to avoid, which I am sure you are well aware of having towed for years but you dont want gear hunting or lugging the motor. That will heat things up quicker. If I am in hilly terrain I use the manual mode to go ahead and just select 3rd gear early and leave it if needed going up or using it for breaking help going down. Learned when towing with my Tundra that these new-ish motors dont mind spinning high RPM, that is where the meat of the torque is. Sounds a bit harsh when driving but it runs smoother with no lugging or other issues.

No sir, if you have that plug under the dash it truly should be plug and play.

It plugs into the factory harness under the dash. It is located up near the parking brake pedal, close to the firewall/side, the wire is coiled and taped up. You'll see the matching plug for that harness if you look in that spot. Just untape it and plug it in. I'm using a Tekonsha P3. Just make sure you double check all the wires and their functions but yes, it does all just wire right up.

As long as you're regularly running it through the tank E10 is OK for modern cars. Ethanol loves water and will pull any moisture out of the air making a sludgy varnish. It also eats/corrodes anything not made for ethanol like rubber seals, hoses, etc. That is why it reeks havoc on small engines that sit for a while. Many manufacturers will void your warranty if they find ethanol damage - Stihl, Echo, Husq, etc. Ethanol destroys the carbs and fuel lines. We use it since we have so much corn in the US and it was a nice way of stretching fuel supply years ago when gas prices were really high. I think they use it now due to politicians and lobbyists!

Yuck! Ethanol is terrible. The only thing it is good for is lining pockets of corn producers and the processors. Only benefit is the full on E85 gas for highly tuned engines and that is due to it's incredibly high octane rating. A lot of engine guys have been tuning and setting up motors for E85 vs. the old race gas. Other than that it is terrible stuff. I wouldnt run that in my NV. axulsuv - you are in SC, where are you finding ethanol free premium? I can get ethanol free regular a lot of places and do that for all my small motors (mower, trimmer, leaf blower, etc) since ethanol destroys those motors. Just curious more than anything else. I mainly run QT regular which is 10% ethanol on my NV and never had an issue. When I tow up to the mountains I will run either ethanol free regular or premium with ethanol. Even though I have never pinged with ethanol regular it doesnt hurt to have the insurance. I do notice a very slight bump running ethanol free in MPG which is normal.

Mine is strictly a people/dog hauler! My camper is a 30 foot long/7600 pound Toy Hauler we tow. We camp at least 4 to 5 times a year and with 3 boys and two large dogs we needed the space of the NVP.

I've done the ratchet strap through the brackets and also have carabiners that I clip in. Both are good but can still have movement unless you really crank down on the strap. Your design looks solid.

Very cool. Thanks for the extra photos. I'm always looking for new ways to bolt things down in my van and camper!

Thanks for the tip on the piggyback connector, I didnt know they made one! I need to look them up. I dont want it sticking too far down into my shin area, that is my only concern. My tuner flashes the ECU so now it is a fancy scan gauge. It is nice to see what the actual transmission and coolant temps are as well as other features. Please do review the DirecLink. I dont mind swapping parts out if something proves itself better over the long run. Last thing I want is a controller failure while heading down a 8% grade!

That looks really nice! How are they attached to the seat brackets?

My point about posting on RV.net is they have thousands of views per day by people towing vs. here which has maybe a couple dozen owners who tow anything at best. I know RV gets out of hand a lot. I've learned to skim read and just flat out ignore some members. There's plenty of other camper sites and towing sites. I never inferred that bigger equals better. My point was that if there are 20,000 Tekonsha's being used vs. 5000 Curt's you're going to see more reviews and postings about the Tekonsha. Most people also dont post if they're happy, they post when they're pissed off or something is broken to vent frustrations or find a fix. Just look at this forum vs. another brand with larger market share. We have a few posts per day. On the old Tundra forums I was on there were so many posts that hitting the "new posts" button would load several pages per day. The Directlink sounds interesting. I wouldnt be able to use it as I have my Bully Dog plugged in to my OBD port for monitoring purposes bit it sounds like a good idea. I'm guessing that is now the new integrated controllers work from the OEM's like Ford, Dodge, etc. If you buy something new please post a review.

I did search and found a bunch of random complaints but no pattern to them. If they're the top selling controller which according to many sites that sell them, they are, then there are many more out there vs. a small brand or model. Curious what you end up with or find out. I assume you posted this question on RV.net and similar sites. They'll have 100 times the traffic we get.

I've had my P3 for over 5 years and never had a single issue. First used it on a Pop Up and still using it now on my Toy Hauler. What kind of problems were you having? I tow a few thousand miles per year with a new camper and family along so I'm genuinely curious. I haven't seen many complaints on the towing forums but haven't had to look either.

Tekonsha P3. One of the best rated controllers for years. Easy setup with more settings you could hope for. Why are you not wanting to use them? Those are some of top brands out. My in laws use a Curt basic model but they have a super light camper.

More efficiency yields greater results all around. You can get better HP, TQ and MPG with things like direct injection, variable timing, etc. We have an old school engine compared to newer V8's. Just like the old Chevy pushrod 350 small block. Its rock solid but it sure doesnt get great mileage. They have small displacement V6's that have more horsepower and over twice the fuel mileage as the old Viper V10 monster. That V10 was pretty bulletproof for what it was but tech can improve in all areas, not just HP and TQ. The only downside is complexity. It is much harder to work on the newer motors on your own. Many require specialized software and computers. Even more require specialized tools just for that job. I wouldnt be surprised in the least if that new Titan V8 got much better mileage vs. the old 5.6 even though it is in a bigger, heavier truck.