ASD Dad

Great looking TH! We love our new Toyhauler so far. Yes, I have the 40417. It is the 49 state legal model and is a lot less money vs. the CA legal model. They had to jump through a lot of hoops to get it certified for use in CA so that is the reason for the higher price on the other model. I bought mine on Amazon. If you watch it constantly on there you will see it fluctuate in price quite a bit. I've seen as low as $325 to as high as $425. I picked up mine for $335. Installation/flashing was easy as was the actual mounting installation. The first install took a while due to the new file needing to be modified by Bully Dog and sent back to me. I would not be surprised at all if you will need to do the same but at least they have the 2015 file on hand now! The first install took about 15-20 minutes I would guess as it has to scan the entire ECU the first time it is installed to make sure it is compatible. After that changing tunes only takes 10 minutes max. Just follow the directions and it should go smoothly. Feel free to ask me any questions on settings or install! Warranty - yes and no. My local NV dealer actually recommended the BD to me. He told me most of their Titan owners that were contractors had them for towing their trailers. They cant void the warranty for just having the tuner installed. They need to prove that if something does go wrong it was the fault of the tuner. That being said, you must ALWAYS flash the ECU back to stock when taking your van in for service. The reason is that there could be a small change, update or recall done that requires flashing the ECU while at the dealer. They will have no issue at all doing that BUT when you try to use the BD again it will no longer recognize the ECU and it will not work unless you get the BD reflashed. That costs I think $250! They do it so you cant share the BD with others, the BD basically locks itself to your ECU from when it first scanned it. If anything changes it thinks there is a new ECU and locks itself. You can reinstall it after a flash from the dealer if it was stock, it locks to your VIN# that it scans. That was long winded but basically - YES on that model. NO it shouldnt void your warranty unless you do something silly (like tow with 85 octane while in Extreme mode).

Quick update - no MPG changes with the tuner. At least not for me. Some tanks are a bit better but then one will go back down. I wouldnt buy it for MPG unless you really wanted to tweak it and follow the "Driving Coach" to the letter. The Coach just basically tells you when you are speeding up or slowing down too aggressively so it's common sense it just graphed out for you! I would still recommend it if you want some more power from your NV and what I feel is a much nicer driving experience. I didnt drop any MPG at all but yet I have 100% better throttle response and measurable power gains. For me it is completely worth it with no regrets. I even tuned it back to totally stock for a day to see if I would notice a difference and I hated it! I didnt make it longer than that day before I retuned it...

Breto - I had them on my Tundra but they are all essentially the same thing. Heavy duty, hollow, rubber "springs". When not loaded they dont touch, there is about an inch or so gap of airspace so the ride when unloaded is factory. Once loaded the frame sits on them like helper springs and the ride isnt bad at all, just firmer with less oscillation. Supersprings are true helper springs and need maintenance to keep from squeaking and they will always be under load. They can raise up the rear a bit and the ride will be a bit stiffer. Roadmaster - same things. Airbags work very well but cost is higher and then you need to worry about possible line leaks and would need to air them up with loaded and air down when unloaded. If aired up all the time it defeats the purpose and you will have a stiff ride with a higher rear! People criticize Timbrens as glorified bump stops and in a way they are, but they are progressive in stiffness and they just plain work with no maintenance. You cant adjust them like Airbags or the Roadmaster setup but they're cheap and effective.

Congrats on the new ride!

Tuner only right now. I had the Airaid MXP intake prior and I have a review on that as well. I also have a DIY on how to mod the stock airbox to open it up better. These are all Titan/Armada mods and parts. Some fit exact, some need slight mods to make it fit (like the intake). Intake was nice but too loud when towing. That is also why I wont be doing headers or exhaust work. I've got little ones and we do 10+ hour towing trips so need it somewhat quiet!

Congrats. If you need some helper type springs in the back I have had really good luck with Timbrens. Cheap, out of the way when not needed, bulletproof reliability and they plain work. They're also quiet and maintenance free.

Just made a poll in a new thread. Vote if you want results!

Self explanatory. Various priople have had issues but there's not much traffic on the site. At least we'll get an idea from members here if they vote. If you do vote feel free to post year and model of your NV.

Nice camper! What model,is that? Looks similar to ours but no slide on yours.

Mine has a larger gap at the wheel well so it tilts up. I thought it was a factory defect until I looked at others on the lot. All the same! No clue why it is like that on purpose, doesnt look right and I noticed it when picking the van up.

Never looked, phone worked perfectly since van was new until a few days ago!

Been messing with it today and it is worse! I will need to find the time to get it into the dealer. Now if and when I can get it to pair, notifications arent being pushed to the radio. Texts just come to the phone even with the text setting turned on with the radio. One out of 3 test calls into the phone only came through the radio. 2 out of 3 calls out worked. Zero texts worked out of dozens in testing. I had to take the dash apart to mount my brake controller for the camper. I dont want them messing with the wiring! I have it all nice and neat back there and things mounted the way I want. There is no way to get to the radio without taking that trim piece off so we'll see how it goes.

Carrie - the SV is definitely available with a V8. You can get either motor with that trim level. You are correct about the rest of it. I cant believe they dont know what is going on, it is also odd that you have had two in a row that do it. I know there are a few complaints on here but you would think we would all be complaining if it was as bad as your video shows! Mine just do a single or possible double beep now and then. If mine were beeping like yours they would have been ripped out long ago...

With 1500 pounds you are going to be pushing things. 1000 pounds is over the rated capacity of the tongue weight for the 3500 SL with the tow package. I believe the factory rating is just under 900 pounds. It will pull your camper fine with a WDH on the van and camper. You wont have a ton of power with that weight but it will definitely tow it, see my signature below for my setup. Do you have the two package? Do you have access to some scales (CAT, stone, truck scales, etc)? I'd have the setup in the van as you would be travelling and then go find a scale and weigh the front and rear axles. It's cheap and quick to do so. After that look at how much weight you have left to put on your rear axle before maxing out the rating. The rating is on the sticker in the drivers door jamb. If you have 1500 pounds left you'll be OK if you have a hitch on the van rated for 1000 of free weight. There are several spring helper options for the NV. Airbags, Timbrens and SuperSprings all make something for the rear to help with any sag encountered. NONE of those will increase the axle rating, it will just make the ride better if you are parked on the rear bump stops and I am guessing you will be with 1500 loaded. Lastly, and you should be OK, make sure your tires are up to the load. They should be OK at their max cold PSI but check to make sure. Hopefully others will chime in. There are guys on here towing more weight than I am (I am at around 7700 loaded for the trailer). I am most likely maxing out the factory hitch weight and even a good bit over but I have a really good WDH. There are others with the NV Cargo that haul a lot of weight inside the van as well.

Anybody run into the issue with their phone just not pairing all of a sudden? Started two days ago and it is still acting up. My LG always pairs as soon as I start the van up and has worked great until now. I noticed a call come in and it didnt come through the radio as normal. Went into the phone menu and it asked if I want to connect to a current device. Said yes and it failed multiple times to pair. Deleted the phone from the radio and paired it again from scratch and it worked. Once. Next time I started the van it wouldnt pair again but does show in the saved devices still. Right now it wont pair automatically ever. If I force pair it will do so maybe 1 out of 10 tries. Rebooted the phone and did a reboot of the radio (hold down power button until it reboots). Nothing helps. Anyone else?

Mine beeps but nowhere near that bad. Did it a few times today but it's just a few times a day and nothing like those vids. What's wrong with the engine sensors?

I gave up trying to see out the back! I angled my mirror down so I can see the kids faces easily and dont bother trying to see much out back. Even with all of the headrests out the visibility wasnt the best. I just use my side mirrors and when backing the mirrors and camera.

I'll be doing more MPG testing soon, especially since school is starting back up for my boys. My wife takes two to her school now and I'll take our little guy to his new school. Between that and their therapy sessions I will have a very routine drive daily to really see if MPG changes. There were Titan and Armada owners who saw increases but they also had other mods done - intake, exhaust and even headers. The return on investment would never pay out if you jumped in that deep! For me the BD is worth it just for the way it drives now, I like it so much better over stock.

By your right shin. Maybe a foot over from where you looked.

That's really nice looking. I think I like those windows over my factory glass! They slide open, right? I don't like that mine can't really open.

So we are back from the trip and I have tried a few Bully Dog tunes and settings and I am ready for the initial review and data. First off - I will just lay this out there right now. If you want more power, especially off the line from a dead stop, dont bother reading any more and just BUY IT NOW! Yes, it makes that huge of a difference. It's not even remotely close between stock vs. the BD hooked up. Want some numbers, of course you do! (side note, I live around a ton of farms and no man's land with a 60mph speed limit which is where I did all testing. I can drive off the main road to many long and straight side roads with nothing in sight) The Bully Dog has an array of testing built in you can do. 0-100kph, full performance tests, even a drag racing tree for timing if you like. I did the standard "performance test" which does most everything in one swoop. All runs were a 5 run average with 89 octane gas and settings shown. Each run had about a 10 minute cool down as that is how long it takes to change the tune once you stop and change settings and flash the ECU. Stock: 0-60 - 9.1 average (online shows 9.3 for a '15 SL V8 so BD seems fairly accurate) 1/4 Mile - 17.3 seconds (dead on to online) BD tune - Regular, Throttle Restriction OFF, Performance Throttle setting, 2 degree timing advance (most popular Titan settings) 0-60 - 7.7 average!! 1/4 Mile - 16.0 second average BD tune - Performance, Restriction Off, Performance throttle, 2* timing 0-60 - 7.6 average 1/4 Mile - 16 seconds BD tune - Regular, Off, Stock throttle setting, 2* 0-60 - 7.7 1//4 - 16 sec The biggest change between all of those is how the van "feels" when driving it. The Performance throttle setting seems to dip into the throttle more aggressively, but it is not jumpy at all. Stock throttle feels more linear. The Performance Tune settings shifts harder and wants to hold the gear a bit longer. You are supposed to run 89-93 octane on the Performance Tune. You should also run good 87 at min if advancing the timing to avoid pinging. From many Titan tests most guys saw no difference in actual performance on the track between tunes which shows in my tests as well. It does feel different. Oh - on the Performance Tune I can actually chirp the tires at launch with this big van. There is an "Extreme" setting that I havent tried yet... Most users say that is just for fun and not really meant for day to day driving. So there are the hard numbers, it knocks nearly 1.5 seconds off the 0-60 which is absurd if you have ever tuned cars or trucks in the past. Normally that takes a lot of work and money. I will fully admit 90% of that is the removal of the throttle restriction off the line but that still makes the BD worth it just for that removal! For a big beast of a van the BD truly transforms it into something that shouldnt pull quite as hard as it does from a stop. As for towing my camper - that long grade where I dropped from 65 down to 55? Not happening. Easily maintained 65 the whole way up. On the big 7% gorge section I actually accelerated up the other side passing a semi who was going about 50. Is it effortless? Not really, it is still dropping to 3rd on the big hills and spinning hard but it now actually moves vs. just making more noise. I also noticed on smaller hills it will stay in 4th vs. dropping to 3rd and just sort of lug up the hill. It isnt bogging but it feels like you're really dipping into the throttle. The BD has a full array of gauges from MPG (instant and average), timing, air flow, temps for everything, throttle position, etc... It will also clear CEL's after telling you what they are for if you get one. A lot buy the BD just for the gauge display and diagnostics. MPG is supposed to increase slightly but I've only had it towing for the most part. I do plan on monitoring it but I am not expecting much if anything. I did get 9mpg on the way home which is the highest ever for me towing. Going up I had the normal 8.5 or so. So there you have it. Feel free to ask any questions and I will be sure to try and get an answer for you. Installation is pretty painless, took about an hour routing the wires but you dont need to mount it, you can flash the ECU and then stick it in your glove box. You lose all the great gauges though!

Have they even released pricing for the Cummins Titan? I am curious what the premium will be. Between that, higher fuel costs and much higher maintenance costs it will be a tough choice but one that I plan on visiting if it happens!

So this type of thread is usually popular on other forums so I thought I would start one here (searched and didnt see one). This along with employment and all sorts of other goofy topics can get fun depending on participation. So what does your username mean? Some are pretty obvious - Chris! Rick! BuyinganNVP... Others not so much. Mine: ASD Dad - I am a dad of 3 boys, 2 of which are on the Autism Spectrum. It so happens that I am also on the Autism Spectrum (found out after my boys were diagnosed but my wife and mother were not shocked!). So you have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Dad. Anybody else want to chime in? BTW, my old name on forums used to be CHD Dad - my oldest boy who is Not on the Spectrum happens to have a Congenital Heart Defect. Who knew kids could be such fun in the health department?? I changed my name after the 3 of us were diagnosed.

How small are your kids? Mine youngest is 3 and on the small side and can climb in and out with no issues. Of course they used to climb in and out of my Toyota Tundra truck (with step bars)! I think the stool would get very annoying after a while. There is no harm in trying if you have one but I think you'll learn to live without or buy the running boards in short order!

Hopefully they chime in but I think a couple users on here use coolers and they just move them out of the way when they need to get in the back or are not needed. My wife actually thought of doing that to my SL but I like the big center console! Found one thread - http://nissannvforum.com/topic/333-center-console/?hl=cooler&do=findComment&comment=1510