ASD Dad

Exactly. You want to risk yourself or family that is on you 100%. You put MY family at risk for your stupidity then we have problems! I called out several on that page and none have answers. Ignorance is not an excuse. These same people will be the ones suing the tire company or camper company after they total their NV and end up in the hospital. I would definitely be suing them if they take me out on the road!

So I have been a member of the FB NV page for a while now and to be honest I am shocked how many people tow campers that have Zero clue about towing, safety, etc. Many people on there brag about towing 70+ mph with 8000# DRY campers. These same people have 5+ kids along with husband/wife driving in the NV. I can say with 99.9% certainty that they have never been to any type of scale and they are absolutely overweight for the van's specs. I will also say that with the vast majority they are most likely on the cheap OEM camper tires that love to blow up at normal speeds let alone 20% over rated capacity like these families. One insisted they were safe with their 6 kids, 34' dual slide bunkhouse that I think was over 8000 pounds empty from the factory and said they didnt see the point in towing 55 mph so they regularly went 70-75 and got 6 mpg so they wanted a bigger gas tank. "We can tow 8900 pounds so we are fine". Idiots. Seriously?!? I wonder if they would be so arrogant at 75 mph when their tire blows up into 100 pieces and either mangles their trailer or worse causes them to wreck. I've experienced tires blowing up and I have seen the damage they can cause on other campers. I had a TPMS system that alerted me so we got off lucky. Many are not. I bet I pass at least one camper per trip that is sidelined with a blown tire when we take our long trips. I'm not going to be one that says you need a dually to tow a decent sized camper but learn the limits and ask yourself if going over is worth the danger to your family. All those idiots with giant families are pushing their luck hard. The tow rating on our vans does NOT include a half dozen kids and all the stuff to go along with a family that size! <rant off>

Tex - Many U-Haul stores sell brake controllers and the hitch you will need to hook up your camper but they are usually not the best priced or selection. Do you have a Camping World near by? Or any RV dealer? Both will also have the parts you need and will be able to assist with installing if required. Again, their price may be higher than getting them online. If going online etrailer is a very common and huge source for anything towing related. They offer videos to help install as well. YouTube has a ton of videos on installation and setup. There are also a ton of towing and camping forums with help (Rv.net or your brand campers forum, Forest River has a huge forum for example). You will need an electronic brake controller. No way around that! P3 is very popular (I have one) but there are many good ones out there from basic to ones that use GPS to detect trailer sway and stop it. Best thing for you is to read read and read again. Some are very complicated, some are a simple dial to set it up. Some are very picky about placement, others dont care. Again - read reviews and specs. Make sure you read the manual and get familiar with it. Mark is right that many companies will make a vehicle specific harness so you do not have to splice wires. Tekonsha does make one for the P3 and Nissan NV. You will also need a decent hitch. Not sure how long your camper is but you will most likely want one with sway control. The cheap two round bar weight distribution hitches with the separate sway control do work and they are cheap. Eaz Lift and Curt are two brands. Just requires more work since you have to hook up two bars and the sway control separately. Next up the price chain is a hitch with built in sway control - equalizer, blue ox, reese, etc. all make them. All have pros and cons - read reviews and specs. Some are very noisy, some require you to disconnect parts before backing, some are really messy (lots of grease), some are crazy complicated, etc... Once you settle on one read the manual and how to set it up properly. Most dealers do Not set them up correctly and just want you out the door. Check tires religiously on the camper (and van). Many blow outs are due to error or cheap tires. Make sure they are inflated properly (usually max old pressure on sidewall) and wearing evenly. If they are cheap no-name tires do not go too fast on the highway or tow too heavy. 60-65 mph max is the normal towing tire max speed, over that they can overheat and blow up - literally. They will also overheat if under inflated. Google trailer tire blowouts and you will find many years of woe. That is a whole long subject. Finally - I would take that camper out for some test tows before you go on trip. Make sure you have brake controller setup correctly, the van handles right, there is no trailer sway, etc. Practice making turns and backing it up. Watch the tail swing when turning in tight areas, you would be surprised how far it will swing. Towing is not "hard". Just be smart and you will be fine. I started towing boats for work years ago. Then little trailers for home stuff like mulch. Had a small pop up camper. Have a 30ft camper now and we tow several times a year upwards of a 1000+ miles per trip. Going into the mountains of CO you will absolutely want to make sure your brake controller is working right. Going uphill you'll be fine but you will not be setting any speed records and most likely be in 3rd gear at high RPM. Going down make sure you use the engine to help brake and dont cook your van brakes. All trailer brake controllers have a manual over-ride you can push, slide, etc. to get them working stronger if needed (but dont cook those either!).

^^^^ This times 1000 again. Not sure why people think they can simply change structure of a building and not worry about consequences. It may work now. It may work years from now. You want to chance the header cracking and falling it? You'll be in for thousands more than a brick redo... If you were to sell the house the garage would not pass inspection and it would need fixed. The only thing you can trim would be cosmetic trim boards. That wide header is there for a reason.

It appears that the company Aluminess just joined our ranks. There is a new photo account by that name with their racks and 4x4 vans. I did not know they did 4x4 conversions but their photos list otherwise. They make arguably the best rack and ladder system for our vans. Not cheap but very well made. Hopefully they actually say hello in the forums besides just posting photos.

Appreciate the update!!

As stated above, there is a TSB for the engine/transmission issue where the ECU needs to get flashed. Are you taking it to a Commercial NV Dealer or just any Nissan dealer? It needs to be at a Commercial dealer.

What dont you like about it? My next project is taking out the carpet in the back and putting down a rubber mat or van rug. I am not placing anything on the carpet, I am taking it out. 3 boys and two dogs are making it tough to keep the carpet clean especially when we camp.

Welcome to the site. I am sure radinson and other will chime in soon. They all have camper conversions or other mods that include windows.

Mine measured 7'2" stock (86") as have a bunch on the other NV group. That's why many dont fit in a stock garage, they just barely dont clear. Our local hospital has a 7' max bar hanging down to warn you and I thought we were 7'. I hit that bar! I barely brushed it since I was going so slow since I figured we could hit it and it left long yellow streaks on my roof (bar was a PVC pipe painted yellow hanging down). Yellow came off with rubbing compound but I never attempted any 7' clearances again.

This ^^ Seriously. Check building codes and construction rules. We just built a home and I got really familiar with tons of both! My father-in-law is also a lead contractor for Habitat for Humanity and I've learned a ton from him on projects around both our homes. Last thing you want is a structural failure! You may be able to shore it back up with a LVL beam but seriously dont do anything like that without research.

There is a service bulletin that has been out for a while now on your van. Get to the dealer and have them flash the ECU with the fix.

That is a much better solution but I think he wants to avoid taking his dash apart and the cost of this is probably prohibitive. The LC7i is the best option if you want to keep your factory head unit and hook up amps but its not a nice simple solution like he wants.

Awesome, thanks again for the info!

Thanks for all that info! Where did you get the parts for the storage tray, dealer? The seat storage is cheaper there than other places I looked. It is $115 at Opticsplanet and around $125 elsewhere. I dont hunt but it would be nice to carry misc gear when camping.

Nice work! I like that bag and need to look it up. Everything looks neat and clean. The dual battery tray you made looks very nice as does the rail. I may also need to add that under seat storage for my wife, my side is packed of all my extras and there's no more room.

It's never happened on my 2015 towing a heavier camper through the NC and TN mountains up some steep grades. I am in 3rd gear at high rpm but that is normal for a gas motor. If there is no obvious fluid leaks or issues I would take it in for an inspection at the dealer. If the smell is sweet that is coolant. Burning or acrid smell is oil.

Appreciate the update!

Welcome to the site! Be sure your seat covers allow for the seat airbag to deploy. Last thing you want in an accident is your airbag to not go off correctly! Most NV seat covers that are made for our vans have a slit or special pocket designed just for the airbag.

There is around $8k markup in that price vs. getting all that done yourself but Rad is right. Dealership has to deal with warranty issues and you can just take it right to them vs. dealing with multiple vendors. That price is still ten grand or more cheaper than any domestic that is comparable (and there isnt really one). Look at the price of similarly equipped Suburban! NV has better warranty, seats more, tows more, etc. If I was in the market for a new 4x4 I would seriously look at that NV you found. Only thing to ask is if it had the ECU update already that fixes the transmission issues some are having.

The Penthouse top is what makes it so cool!

City? V6 I would guess. Transmission wont matter in city, you'll be idling a lot and tons of stop and go. Would also depend on how hard you are on the gas pedal every time the light turns green. That will have more to do with MPG then anything else.

This site just doesnt get the exposure or took off. There are way more members on the FB page and most are active. Not sure if they just like FB better or maybe they dont know about this site. There are always questions and other various info being posted vs. fluff FB posts. Problem is they get buried and its impossible to find info then. Oh well. I post there way more than here these days. There is nothing to post here!

Is this site dead lately or what?? I think we get 1 or 2 posts a day lately with maybe a few more on the weekend. Hate to say it but go check out the NV Family page on FB. They have a lot of daily posts with a lot of feedback per post. Problems, questions, statements, doesnt matter - people read and respond quickly. You dont have the camper conversions which are more popular here and you cant do something like a build thread but if you have a general question I would honestly go ask there if you dont see an answer here.

That is really weird! Please post back if you get it figured out, I would love to know what is causing that!