Mazinbenny

JBH, Thank You, appreciate your time on this! Took a little time to rename but greatly appreciated.

 

Jerry

black and white is good for non-color

Susan, who's face is that in the Ice Leaves?

Actually, you don't want to rename the files, except maybe the "FWD" (Forward) section...  If you open the FWD file (which includes the table-of-contents), and click on a section in the list, it will open the appropriately 2/3-letter-named file for that section automatically.

That's me! Glad you like it!

As promised, I've uploaded a short video describing how I turned the 2nd row of my 2015 NV Passenger Van (SL) to be rear-facing.  This should work in all years, trims of the passenger van.  (You can see a pic in the gallery under "Colorado Crew"

Let me know if you have any questions.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/3NmZ0z3isJI

Yeah, a little sticker shock until you remember they are 89" long. ;)  Those are actually some of the cheaper options...  I looked around quite a bit....  Even my 2yo was (kinda) managing, but it is SIGNIFICANTLY easier now that we have the boards on.  A worthwhile investment in my book.  The only downside: drilling holes in my brand new van. :( 

Some questions -

1.  Can the seats be put in the reverse position like in a limo?

2.  Does taking out the headrests matter for safety?  Does it help with visibility out of the rear view? (we have 2 kids in car seats and 2 kids in boosters and 2 sit normally).

3.  I read on a thread in one of the forums that Nissan is paying attention to consumers - do you think they will ever catch on that the seats need to have a little recline in the back (like an airline seat) or that you can fold them down in half?  Mini-Vans do that...and yes, I know these are built on a commercial platform.  

I'll answer a couple of these:

1. Yes. You can turn the second row around (and you could do the third as well if you wanted), but you have to use the farther-back/extended-legroom position.  Also, because of the offset of the seat legs versus the seat itself, you'll only be able to reverse the 2-pod seat, and not the single.  Or, I suppose you may be able to reverse _only_ the single, but I'm not sure how useful that would be?  I used a C-clamp to pinch the front hook on the seats a little closer together just to make it slide into-and-outta the mounting bracket on the floor a little easier (the rear mounts are slightly skinnier than the front mounts, but they _will_ fit backwards).  See my pic in the gallery.

2. Headrests certainly help for whiplash in an accident...  but like you, most of my kids are too short and/or in a carseat and their head is against the main seatback.  I do have headrests in the positions where my older kids sit, tho...  but on the edges of the rows...  which allows me to have _some_ visibility out the back, but really the rear door frames down the center block most of it anyways.  Learn to love your curved blind-spot mirrors.

3. SO MUCH THIS.  Wish the seats could recline or fold.  Would increase the comfort and usability 10,000%.

I got the same running boards and roof rack as user "likeskites" as seen in the "Alberta NV" photo gallery, here: http://nissannvforum.com/gallery/album/45-alberta-nv/ The rack is a little lower to the roof than the yakima towers, and it was just over 200 (with discount code), as opposed to about 350 for the yakima towers/bars that I priced out on amazon.  It is the "H3 Style Aluminum 2 Bar Rack" from eurocampers, here: http://www.eurocampers.com/H3-Style-Aluminum-2-Bar-Roof-Rack-System-w-end-caps-for-Nissan-NV-Full-Size_p_1345.html

In terms of turning the second row around, the first comment is this: if you don't want to modify the floor or seats, it will only turn around into the extended-legroom/further-back location.  Also, because of the overhang of the seats vs. the legs of the seats, you can only turn around the 2-pod, and you have to remove the single seat.  I took a C-clamp and squeezed the front hooks on the seats for 30 seconds so as to make them approximately 1/16" skinnier.  I could actually fit mine in un-modified, but I wanted it to be a little easier to get in-and-out...  probably depends on how thick the welds are in your floorpan.  I plan to make a short youtube vid of this in the next couple weeks or so.  An added benefit: when the seat is reversed vs. a 3rd row with 3 seats, the passenger legs are offset almost perfectly.

I found this pic online, or perhaps on the photo gallery here, can't remember...  Are you saying this is what the charcoal looks like?  If so, I'll definitely run over to the dealership and order them!  http://i.imgur.com/DXkLD8Z.jpg

Thanks!

Our family recently outgrew our beloved 2004 Toyota Sienna XLE Limited in mid-July.  Now that we have 8 in the family (and our minivan had 186k miles), we needed an upgrade.

We shopped around for a long time, comparing Sprinters, Ford E-Series and Transits, Chevy Express, GMC Yukons, and even used limo/party/shuttle buses.  We knew if we were upgrading we wanted at least 10-12 passengers.  As I said, we're 8 by ourselves, but we wanted the option to take along a couple friends or the grandparents when they are in town (I HATE driving multiple vehicles to the same destination).

We almost bought a used '13 SL in Cali when we were able to work a killer deal with our local dealership at the end of the month...  and so we got a new 2015 NVP 2500HD SL, with the tech package, in dark blue.

Even though we've only had the van a little over a month, we're already moving quickly on modifications.  We've added running boards.  We've figured out how we can have the second row reversed, and we'll soon be adding a custom-built/removable table that will make it nice for roadtrips or even around town (my wife homeschools our children, and no time is wasted, even riding in the van ;)  We're also going to add some screens in the back as well as some fun LED light strips (we had Christmas lights in our old minivan year-round)...  makes it a party-bus!  I've also purchased a roof rack (same time as our running boards), so we can continue to use our Yakima skybox for cross-country trips (we need a lot of stuff!).

Mostly we LOVE it.  Our nickname?  The Beast.  Nickname from our kids? The Big Blue Bus. 

Some initial complaints (mostly minor / we'll figure out a work-around):

• Reflection of the instrument panel on the side-view mirror at night.  I'm considering getting a cheap laptop polarized/privacy screen and cutting to shape over the instrument cluster to see if that makes it go away.  Otherwise, I'll probably just attach a piece or paper or something to the edge of the cluster that sticks out towards the steering wheel and blocks this on long roadtrips.
• Can't turn on the rear lights from the front?!  How is this possibly missed?  Hence the reason for some LED light strips which we'll turn on/off with the AC power inverter switch to get around this problem.
• Lack of information/knowledge online and even at our local Nissan dealership.  It seems the NVP is in this tricky middle-ground between commercial and regular vehicles and parts and documentation doesn't live completely in one database or the other.  Glad this forum is here to figure some things out!
• Nav/tech package is kinda wonky sometimes.  Maybe I'm just learning how to use it (and it is very different than our old nav unit on the minivan).  Why can't I be on the phone and see the map/follow directions at the same time?  Speakerphone is pretty weak (even with volume cranked) compared to other vehicles we have with Bluetooth capabilities.

i did not get rear carpeted floor mats with my 2015 SL at the time of purchase, but seeing the complete lack of after market options, I now want to add them.

Talked to my local Nissan parts department, and they said that they only come in charcoal/gray. This just sounds completely wrong to me since the only leather/interior option on my SL is beige.

Are they just not finding the right part number? Can you get OEM rear carpeted floor mats in beige?