OpenRoad

Very impressive! An amazing amount of thought and work must have gone into this. I would be interested to see a component list of what you have installed. I expect it will be a long list! Are you planning on living full time in your van? Good job.

Attached is the shop manual section for Wiper & Washer. It includes a wiring diagram and troubleshooting guide. Hope that helps. WW.PDF

Nimbus, Sorry for delay reply, I have family visiting. The unladen height spec I used is shown in section RSU (RSU -12) of the shop manual. Here is a shot of the page. If you have different tire size than stock you will need to take that into account.

I have a 2015 NV2500 cargo that I have built out for camping. With the additional weight the rear was low from the unladen spec height by about 1 1/2". I have the total built out weight of my van somewhere but I know I am way under the limit. I still have the original factory shocks and at 60k miles they are probably due (next project?). I am not really interested in going the air shock route so as a first step decided to try the simple solution of installing the Sumo Spring product. They bolt onto where the factory frame rubber bumpers were that prevent the axle from hitting the frame. I know some others have used this product but thought I would share my thoughts. They are a little expensive for what they are (~$280) but are very easy to install and seem like they will hold up for awhile. There are 2 options, a 1000lb capacity and a 1500 lb capacity. I went with the heavier option. They are approx. 6" in height and after installation the frame is resting on them. The van now sits about 3/4" higher than before but still below spec unladen height. My suspension performance was acceptable before but I have noticed that sideways roll when going over uneven terrain is somewhat dampened and normal driving seems a little quieter. Not a dramatic difference though. So I think the install was worth the easy effort and they provide a positive benefit. So now on to shocks. Does anyone have a recommendation? Think I have seen some using Gabriels. Thanks.

Found this in section "EXL" of the shop service manual. Not a straight forward system for controlling the daytime running lights. Assuming that is what you are meaning by DRLs DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHT SYSTEM.docx

Reading this post made me curious on whether I had a chipped key or not. Looking at the 2016 passenger and cargo van brochures it appears that the passenger version came standard with the immobilizer on the SV and SL models (not available on the S) and the cargo version had the immobilizer just on the 2500 & 3500 SL models. So the answer is, it depends.

Looking at the shop service manual (section PCS, pages 3,13 and 20) it appears that there are separate fuses for the LH (fuse 40) and RH (fuse 41) low beam headlights. I would recommend taking a look at fuse 41 in the IPDM and see if it is blown. If you don't have a copy of the service manual it is a handy reference, though sometimes hard to find what you are looking for. There is a post somewhere on this site where it could be downloaded. Good luck.

Sounds like you have a good work project to keep you occupied this winter. I have a 2015 NV2500 V6 that I converted from a used cargo van into a camper van. To answer one of your questions concerning where to relocate the tire jack, I located mine in the engine compartment beside the radiator passenger side. With the V6 there is a lot of extra unused room there. Attached are a few pics showing the jack and kit that comes with it. I also have a small shovel, come-a-long, tow strap, extra engine oil, tarp and poles, and a small storage box (pic) tucked away in there. I might suggest at this stage in your project that you think about installing some front to back and side to side wire chases so that it will be much easier to wire in whatever accessories when you get to that point. In any case, congratulations on your purchase. Even though there is not a lot of activity on this site there are some very knowledgeable people that can provide good info.

I think sometimes just having the rear wheel drive on my Nissan is a good thing in that it keeps me out of trouble. Though I have been impressed with just how far I can go with the good clearance and the tires I have on my NV. The thing the people at Capital Reef had going for them was this is a very popular destination so they and others were rescued in fairly short order. I prefer to go to remote areas and try to have what I need to be self reliant. One thing that I carry in case things go to heck and walking out is not really an option is a Garmin InReach. Now matter where you are the satellite communication allows you to contact your friends alerting them to your situation or, if things are really bad, the authorities for emergency rescue. Garmin provides a subscription service that you can turn on and off at a very reasonable cost. Even with the hordes of travelers and campers that are out there now the Southwest is a really big place with plenty of fantastic empty destinations. We are really lucky to be able to travel there.

Sounds like you are getting really close. Trying to fire up a new engine is stressful but feels so good when it runs. Best of luck in successful completion of this part of your project. Very impressed with your progress and all the hurdles you have cleared so far.

Although I have been quiet on the sidelines I have been following your thread and appreciate your sharing the info. You are going where no one has gone before. Hoping you can finally get past the engine project and interested to see what you do next.

Yes, stock wheels.

I installed BF Goodrich T/A KO2 265/70 R17 on my high roof NV 2500 camper van conversion a year ago. They are slightly oversized but easily fit in the wheel wells without any problems. I had the original OEM Firestones on there and didn't trust them for driving remote rocky roads and they also had terrible traction. I have been extremely happy with my choice. They are quite, provide a smooth ride and have amazing traction. Also with the reinforced sidewalls I no longer worry about the sharp rocks you often find on back country roads. Have done several long road trips through the southwest .

The cost of Flarespace flares is a hard one to swallow. For us it was a necessity based on our design layout. When I finally made up my mind to purchase I found that they were no longer listed on the Flarespace site. I called and they said they were having issues with their offering for the NV but (and this is where fate smiled on me) they wanted to know if I was interested in bringing my van to their Portland shop so they could work out their fitment issues. If so, they would provide a set to me for free. Portland was only a 5 hour drive away so I was very lucky on this one and took them up on their offer. As far as installing, this was going to my first cut into the sheet metal of the van. I was a little scared about it and found a local shop (who Flarespace vetted) and had them do the work. In hindsight, after cutting holes for the window in the sliding door and the roof for the vent I could have easily done the flare cut. This was the only work I paid someone else to do but since I obtained the flares for free I didn't feel too bad and figured I was supporting a local shop. They also needed to be painted first which I was not at all interested in attempting so another local shop received some business. An important note about the flares, if you do install them you will need to remove a piece of sheet metal from the far right inside of the sliding door or it will interfere with the flare when the door is opened. It is just a sheet metal cover that is spot welded to the door frame and I have no idea of its purpose. It came off pretty easy with a few blows of a cold chisel at each spot weld. There was nothing under it but door frame and removal did not affect door functionality at all. Again, it did not seem to provide any purpose and I have no idea why Nissan added it. I have added a photo showing its location. Good luck in pursuing your build out.

You might check out the Interior Lighting Systems section of the Service Manual. There is a troubleshooting page on page INL-61 that might be of help. If you don't have the manual I think it is available as a download thanks to a very nice post. Look for Nissan NV Service Manual under the Maintenance forum. It is an invaluable reference to have if you are doing any work on your van. Good luck.

I wired in a switch under the dash that prevents the engine from being started. Specifically prevents the ignition relay and fuel pump relay from being energized when the ignition key is turned. My impetus for doing this was concerns of leaving my camping van at remote trailheads for periods of time and coming back to find it gone. Not to say that it prevents it from being broken into but at least I can (hopefully) still drive back to civilization. It would take thieves quite a bit of time to figure out why the van does not start. I located my switch where it is easily accessible but hard to find if you don’t know where to look. I have attached some pictures and markups of the wiring diagrams from the service manual for reference. No special tools needed but if you have a crimping tool to make butt splices in the wire it makes the job much easier. You will need to remove the lower left hand instrument panel (pages IP-18,19 in the NV service manual) and unmount the fuse block (2 screws) to have access to the back side of it. The blue wire on connector M38 is the one you need to cut into to wire your switch. Butt splice new wires to the two cut ends of the blue wire and route to wherever you are locating your new switch. If you want to test this out without first cutting any wires then just pull fuse 12 (10A) in the fuse block located behind the pop out door located lower left of the steering wheel. The on/off switch (SPDT) switch I installed is in series with this fuse so pulling the fuse does the same thing as opening the switch. Fuse pulled, engine won’t start. I guess I could have just pulled this fuse whenever I felt I needed to secure my van instead of installing the switch but over time the switch will be easier. Make sure your switch is rated for at least 10 amps and use large enough wire gage ( I used 14 GA which is slightly overkill). Note, my van is a 2500 HD S V6 High Roof. I think that the wiring will be the same for other models but I cannot confirm that. So for the disclaimer, DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. Even though it works on my van I take no responsibility for how it will work (or not) on yours. Reference pages from NV service manual: PG-25 PG-26 PG-29 PG-81 PCS-19 IP-18,19

NVinNE, The rear door wood paneling is attached with screws into metal just like all the other paneling. I have not found that any of the panels rattle or the screws loosen from road vibration. Our paneling is thin 1/8" and so there is not much mass to them. Attached is a better picture of the bed frame and cranking system if you are interested. It is not the "perfect" solution but I like its' simplicity. I have seen some pretty cool designs using pnuematic struts or scissor jacks that assist in raising and lowering the bed (see attached) but couldn't figure out how to overcome the interior curvature of the van and not have those mechanisms interfere with interior space. Having some kind of bed raising system to get it out of the way when not in use was important to us versus the fixed platform bed, but it does add another design headache in the build out process. Will be interested to hear what you come up with if you feel like sharing.

NVinNE, We did not do any framing on the walls because we didn't want to lose any precious inches on interior space. We insulated inside all the structural steel members with wool and in-between with poly iso. We then mounted our floor cabinets to floors using the existing OEM floor bolts that were already there for cargo tie-downs and used plus-nuts in the walls where needed. The overhead cabinets are connected to the van steel using plusnuts. After the cabinets were in place we cut wall paneling to fit and attached them to the walls with screws. The advantage to this in our minds was the additional interior inches. The disadvantage we discovered was the much harder job of making cabinets and paneling fit non-square walls. I recently had to temporarily remove a cabinet and wall paneling and they came out and went back in without a problem. The overhead storage shelf we added is located above the existing OEM shelf. If we extended the existing shelf it would make getting into and out of the front streets much more difficult (at least for me at 6 ft. I would have to crouch quite a bit more). Wanted to keep access to/from the front seats as easy as possible. The bed frame hand crank mechanism is actually a re-purposed Thule cargo lift. Went through A LOT of design ideas on how to lift the bed (pneumatic struts, linear actuators, electric motor with reduction gear and worm drive, and on and on...). This ended up being a simple solution. The bed goes up and down in less than a minute and is not that hard to crank. The crank mechanism is a worm gear design so it is self locking, i.e. won't move up and down on its own. Good luck on your van build out.

I have been a viewer of this site since I bought my used ’15 high roof NV2500 S V6 cargo van a few years ago. After much work and slow progress my wife and I have completed (mostly, are you really ever finished?) the conversion to a camper van. As you all know the NV is a rare sighting in the camper van world and so there is not a ton of DIY conversion info out there (as there is for the Sprinter, Promaster and Transit owners). Thought I would share what we have done for anyone who is interested. We did all the work ourselves and minimized the use of aftermarket add-ons (i.e. expensive) where possible or practical. I like the NV for the rugged dependability and ease of working on but wish it was about 1 foot longer and had a larger following for support. We had a difficult time trying to fit everything in that we would have liked so we had to make compromises. We mostly camp off the beaten path and come from a background of tent camping so an indoor shower and toilet were out. I toyed with the idea of the 4WD aftermarket conversion but have found that I can go just about anywhere I need to go with the upgraded tires, tire chains and judicious driving. Below is an overview list of what we did. Adding some pictures also. If anyone has questions on what we have done I will do my best to answer, i.e. electrical design, method or materials of construction, design choices, etc. Happy trails! Electrical 500W of solar panels, 300 Ah AGM batteries (2x 6V), 2000W inverter/charger, 220W DC/DC charger for charging house batteries from alternator (with Bluetooth comm), battery monitoring system (with Bluetooth comm). The electrical system is more than adequately designed to allow us to cook (portable induction cook top), run our heater and also recharge our e-bikes daily. LED lighting, 12VDC plugins, 120VAC plugins, USB charging stations, etc. Cabinetry Wooden framed (pocket screwed), sheathed with plywood, bolted into van. Had considered using the popular 80/20 AL framing but the wooden framing is very strong/lighter weight/less expensive and has proven itself through miles of rough roads. Heating Forced air propane heater (Suburban NT-16SEQ, much less expensive, runs quieter, easy to install and needs less maintenance than the very popular Webasto or Propex), 10 lb. propane tank (enough propane to last us about a week in cold weather), thermostat control added to the heater. The 10 lb. tank is contained in a specially made enclosure that vents to the outside. The tank has a Bluetooth enabled level sensor that allows fairly accurate determination of remaining propane. Cooking We usually cook on a portable induction cook top but also have a single burner propane stove that runs on the small green propane bottles. Have a couple of bottles usually on hand which can be used to provide propane to the heater through an adapter if we run out from the 10 lb. tank. Water (3) 16 gallon plastic storage tanks with foot pump to dispense water to a built-in kitchen sink/faucet. The sink drains out below the van but we have the option to easily connect a 5 gal. grey water container to the drain under the van if needed. Refrigerator Built-in top load refrigerator/freezer (IndelB TB51A) Sleeping A memory foam bed custom cut for 2 which is stored overhead against the ceiling when not in use via a hand crank system. Sleeping arrangement is head and feet towards the sides of the van. Added sidewall flares to accommodate 6 ft plus for this sleeping arrangement. Seating Removable rear seating w/ seatbelts for 2 (utilized a bench seat from a VW Eurovan)(not shown in pictures). Standard NV factory seats up front. Bench seating for sitting at the dining table when the bed is raised to the ceiling. Miscellaneous Add-ons MaxAir vent fan Roof rack made from aluminum square tubing (for mounting solar panels) Overhead backup lights Side slider window in the sliding door Flares on the rear side panels to increase interior width and allow transverse sleeping arrangement Larger tires (BF Goodrich T/A KO2 265/70 R17) Much better tire than the stock Firestones. Traction boards, shovel and come-along stored onboard for those instances of getting stuck 2” receiver hitch with wiring (my NV S model did not come with a hitch) Swing away receiver hitch platform bike rack for 2 ebikes (constructed using parts I already had) Ladder stored onboard Side awning (using tarp, hooks mounted on roof rack w/ L-track, collapsible poles) Portable shower & small bucket toilet (toilet only for use when other options not available) Portable air compressor Aftermarket stereo with NAV, backup camera and upgraded speakers Mosquito screening (removable) at slider door and front door windows Very well insulated throughout with insulated coverings for all windows Hidden anti-theft switch wired into the engine starter circuit Propane and CO2 alarms Fire extinguisher Overhead storage shelf above driver/passenger seats (this increased our storage space by a lot)