Mark Rogers
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Posts posted by Mark Rogers
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The Steelcraft model number is 600-41300.
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Another tip: Put disposable underpads (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/Healthline-Disposable-Underpads-Count-Trading/dp/B00HUCQY1A/) under the booster seats and car seats. They help a lot for keeping bottle drips, sippy leaks, puke, etc. from drying on the van's seats. You can find them online, at medical supply stores, and even places like Walmart and Walgreens. Bring extras on long trips.
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Welcome to the club! If you haven't done so yet, you should consider joining the Nissan NV Families group on Facebook.
+1 for the running boards
If you don't have a garage that fits the NV, a remote starter is great for getting the temperature right before inserting the kids. But running boards should be a higher priority.
The rear seat belts tend to rub the necks of older kids, so you should look for some seat belt covers when the kids are out of their car seats.
And, if you have the cloth seats, put some Scotchgard on them ASAP.
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Did you check the trailer connector with a volt meter? It would be good to verify that the problem is with the van, not the trailer. If you decide it's a problem with the van, you should check the relay box next to the battery. Take a look at figures 28 and 29 in this document: https://www.nissan-techinfo.com/asistgc_1/USENG/diskdocs/1/T/H/1TH29.PDF
If that doesn't help, you might just want to let the dealer look at it since it should be covered by the warranty (as long as it's not a problem with the trailer).
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I've heard of people using vinyl flooring in the back. It comes in wide rolls, and can be pretty cheap if you can find remnants to buy.
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Radin2son,
The V6 weighs less than the V8, so you can put that much more payload in the V6 version.
If you compare the NVP to the 3500 Cargo, you'll see that all the NVP amenities reduce the payload by about 1000-1200 pounds, depending on the trim line. So that's how much all the extra features weigh. I believe the rear seats alone account for about half of that weight.
The NVP is heavy enough that it starts to eat into the towing capacity, too. It's limited to 8700 pounds instead of the 9400 pounds of the cargo version.
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I just checked Nissan's website. Looks like the 2500 can handle more payload than the NVP. I guess the seats, carpet, rear climate control, etc. add a lot of weight.
NV Cargo specs: https://www.nissancommercialvehicles.com/nv-cargo/specs?tool=vlp.nvcargo.regional.specs.link
NV Passenger specs: https://www.nissancommercialvehicles.com/nv-passenger/specs?tool=vlp.nvpass.regional.specs.link
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I don't know how hard it is, but those sensors are crazy expensive if you have to replace them. I broke one of the rear sensors, and it cost hundreds of dollars for the replacement part.
Good luck!
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Doesn’t Randucci’s 3500 have a slightly higher payload capacity than my 2500 due the 3500 suspension and tires? 3/4 ton vs 1 ton? If so, then a suspension change could increase the payload capacity of the 2500.
You could theoretically increase the payload capacity. You'd have to somehow verify that every component of the frame and suspension is okay with the higher payload, and I'm not sure how you'd do that in practice.
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The addition of a leaf spring and bigger tires increases payload capacity for the 3500 vs the 2500?
From your previous comments about towing, more cargo means lower towing rating. If you get it right, less sag would be better for towing?
An extra leaf spring and bigger tires could reduce sag, which would be good for towing heavy loads, but it wouldn't increase any of the max weight limits.
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If the van didn't come with a trailer hitch, I bet it also didn't come with the wiring that goes from the front to the back of the van.
There's some info in these threads that might help:
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I'm pretty sure my neighbors would hate that. Kudos to you for safety, though!
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In Tucson, perhaps all of AZ, we have a summer “monsoon” stupid motorist law. Get stuck in a running wash and need to be saved, you pay.
Maybe, this needs to be more broadly applied.
I like that law. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stupid_Motorist_Law
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Unsafe towing is a really big problem, but there are other safety issues that are even more common. I frequently see headrests adjusted incorrectly, passengers with their feet on the dashboard, passengers sitting reclined while the vehicle is in motion, etc. And I've talked to plenty of parents who have no idea how to install or adjust their children's car seats.
We have an epidemic of "failure to read the instructions."
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Doh! Looks like I was wrong about the location of the air return vent. I did some experimentation and found that it's to the left of the second row. So, does anyone know what that grill by the back left door is for?
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I've never actually towed a trailer, so I'm not the best guy to recommend a brake controller. But I know the Tekonsha P3 has excellent reviews on Amazon. And I believe you can also buy a Nissan-specific cable for it. You only need it if your trailer has electric brakes. I'm guessing yours does because it's 6000 pounds, but you should verify that before investing in a brake controller.
Does the 2500 have a tow mode? Even though I don't tow, I still use my 3500's tow mode when descending long mountain roads. One of its features is that it automatically downshifts when you touch the brake pedal, and then waits for you to touch the gas before upshifting again. I find that's much nicer than fiddling with the shift lever to select gears.
texcofarmer reacted to this -
The tow hitch you're talking about is likely the hitch ball. I've heard this thing called a tow hitch or trailer hitch most of my life, but recently learned that the hitch is actually the bar on the front of the trailer that connects to the ball.
The hitch receiver is a black bar under the bumper that has a two inch square hole where the ball mount is inserted. And the ball mount is a short bar with the ball mounted on it.
I'm pretty sure all of the V8 NVs come with a hitch receiver installed at the factory. It should include an electrical connection to the left of the square hole where you can plug in your trailer. This connection is essential for the trailer lights, and possibly the brakes (depending on whether the trailer has electric brakes or not). Depending on the connector on your trailer, you might need to buy an adapter to make it work with the connector on the van.
If your van has an electrical connector for a trailer (and I believe yours does), the wiring for the lights should be ready to use. But some extra work is needed if your trailer has electric brakes. In that case, you'll need to install a brake controller. This is a device that connects under the dashboard and tells the trailer's brakes how and when to operate. There's usually a wiring harness tucked under the dashboard near the brake pedal for this, but it sounds like yours might have been left in the glove box. It should look like a bundle of wires with a connector only on one end. That connector fits a matching connector under the dashboard. The brake controller will come with a similar wiring harness with a connector that fits the controller. The idea is that you're supposed to use those two harnesses to build a cable that connects the van to the controller. If you're not comfortable with doing electrical work, see if you can buy a pre-made cable that's designed to connect a Nissan NV to your model of controller. If you do decide to do it yourself, please do quality work (i.e. no cheap crimp connectors or other things that might fail) because this is a very important piece of safety equipment. For the same reason, don't buy a cheap brake controller.
The NV also has the option to mount a hitch ball in the middle of the step on the back bumper. While cheap, this option should generally be avoided for two reasons. 1) The bumper can only handle trailers up to 2000 pounds. 2) The bumper is the wrong height for most trailers.
There's a lot to learn about towing, and I've pretty much exhausted my knowledge on the subject. So, I'm going to defer to the experts on the site for the fine details. In the meantime, please read Nissan's towing guide (https://owners.nissanusa.com/content/techpub/common/2017/2017-nissan-towing-guide.pdf) as well as the towing section in your owner's manual. There's a lot of good information there.
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I'll let the experienced trailer haulers answer the question, but I'll start by getting a couple of basic questions out of the way.
Did your van come with a hitch receiver?
Does your trailer have electric brakes?
texcofarmer reacted to this -
I just found this topic. I'm thinking about getting a mobile transceiver, but I'm worried about knocking the antenna off by driving under bridges, tree branches, etc. At least the ground plane is large. :-)
Have you had any electrical noise issues with your radios? I'm assuming you wired them directly into the van's battery?
73
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The double seats weigh 120 from what I was told. The singles should be close to 50 I would think.
That sounds about right to me, just based on hefting them. Unfortunately, I don't have a suitable scale for weighing them.
Full Time Rear View Camera + backup camera
in Accessories & Modifications
Posted
You can buy a converter to make a PAL video signal work with an NTSC monitor, or you could buy a PAL monitor to go with a PAL camera. But neither one of those seems like a great solution. Please let us know what solution you find.