dented

Also, if you want, I can get you the part number of the rear shocks they used on mine. They aren't a perfect fit, there is a small amount of slop at the bottom mount. But, they do fit, overall, with the lift blocks.

They were too narrow. The titan rear axle has a much smaller tube diameter than the NV. I was able to get some from an auto parts store.

Propane tank on rear door, and reinforcing brackets inside door. Ladder too. Hose just drapes down ladder, connect to quick disconnect behind bumper, then regulator, Propex furnace inside keeps us warm in the winter in the desert.

If anyone needs one, send me a message. I have one I bought, and it was on the van only a few weeks before I replaced it with a winch mount with integrated loop. I will sell it to you very cheap. I might not reply right away, I only visit here once a month or so.

No, none of the parts are from Titan. I have tried swapping in bilsteins speced for Titan, and it doesn't work. Very different. My 4x4 NV uses dodge and chevy parts, mainly. The rest are custom made.

Ok, about six months into the conversion, and it works well enough. I use it mainly in the desert, sand, and some nasty mountain (think old mine) roads too. If I remember correctly, the front transaxle is from a Dodge. The Tcase is from a Chevy. No increased road noise. No weird vibes. It just works. They had it less than a week. Was done in four days. Wait time was about two months, if I recall correctly. Cost was just under 12k. A tough pill to swallow, but overall we are still way under the cost of a comparable used van. Advanced 4x4 did an OK job. Not top of the line, but good enough. Skid plate isn't painted at all, just uncoated steel. Plain sheet metal screws holding the boot to the floor. Screwed right through floor mat. I expect it will rust pretty bad if you live out east. I will take mine apart next year, clean it up, coat it, and mount it all correctly. They don't listen to what you want. I specifically asked not to have the 1970's era giant green light on my dashboard. They put it in anyway. They write on your door with permanent marker. I think it can be removed easily. Words are misspelled on the upfitter label applied to the door frame. It reads "turck" instead of truck. They forgot to install correct sized bushings on the rear shocks, and they make a lot of noise, rattling around. I picked up the correct ones from them a few months later, and they appear to have cut them with a sawzall. Crooked cut, burred edges, no care at all. Remember that you are one customer, with one truck. They deal with fleets, who order dozens at a time.

The best choice is to ditch it, and use an aftermarket radio, unfortunately. I was in a Dodge ram recently, and their nav/stereo is so much better, the Nissan model looks like a kids toy in comparison. I never use it, obviously. Criminy, you can't even stream music to it.

More conversations with Advanced 4x4, locker still not available to test out yet. The titan XD has a different axle width. The only part that's likely swappable will be the differential. Maybe next year.

What did you end up doing? I have been considering getting some rally type flaps, universal fit style. Or, cutting my own from lost truck mud/stone flaps. Plenty of those on the side of the roads.

I used Titan spacers, and they worked fine. Same with rear spring blocks, but the U bolts I had to get locally, since they are a different size. Inexpensive way to lift the NV. I do also have the steel spacers made by Advanced 4x4, they told me they would be taller than the others I had. They weren't, just more expensive. Ha ha ha! I also have the 4x4 installed by them. They aren't real good at listening to what you want, or even care to do what you ask for. But, not many options for getting it converted. They will do stuff you told them not to, and forget to install parts you paid for. I think on the whole they don't care much about regular folks, they have plenty of fleet work to pay the bills. It's not as if you or I are going to send them ten trucks per year.

I have the OEM unit, and the picture is terrible. It appears to be out of focus, all the time. Only slightly better than the Nav headunit itself.

Same place I mounted mine. It's not ideal, but it's the most obvious place. Sorry for the vertical picture.

I would give this away to anyone who wants to pick it up. Hurry, before it becomes scrap metal and goes off to the recycler.

It's mine, and it's a sunroof. It was pretty simple to install. It was the biggest one available, I bought it on Amazon, believe it or not. We regularly road trip, and headed to Moab this weekend, then Zion, then Moab, then Zion again. April is a busy month. Ha ha! If you want to check out the sunroof, drop me a line. I am headed to Solitude today, some storm riding. :) The van is being converted in two weeks to 4x4, so we can extend our reach a little bit. And we've been sneaking up the canyons this winter, so now we will be legit. We'd like to put solar up top, but haven't gotten around to it yet. In any case, welcome to the forum, it is a bit quiet, but there isn't a lot of NV owners out there.

It is not shared with anything. Nobody makes a locker for it, other than Nissan, and nobody has yet tried swapping one in. I have been discussing it off and on with Advanced 4x4 in SLC. He is interested in getting one to try, but it's not been available yet, and he is swamped with normal work.

Great to see another NV owner in Utah. We are up in Bountiful, and are having ours converted next month. It's been incredibly reliable compared to the Ford we had before. If you see us out, say hello!

I have bolted my own in several places for tying down motorcycles, camping gear, etc. I went to an auto scrapyard and removed the triangle tie downs from Chevy/GMC SUV's (yukon, etc). They are pretty burly. I also use some L track from a handicap bus I used to have. I have it mounted up by the ceiling, and midway down. I hang gear from it, like sleeping bags, backpacks, climbing gear, etc. Then it all gets lashed against the wall so it's not banging about. I have also bolted bolt hangers (climbing gear) on the bulkhead to hang hammocks on. http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Rock-Sentinal-Bolt-Hangers/dp/B0027Y55ZC The other end of hammock hooks on the rear, above the rear door, in the pre-cut slots. I use aid hooks to hang that end. Yeah, it's pretty Red Green in our van.

I bought my NV2500 from a catering company. I still find bits of broken porcelain and glass in the nooks and crannies. They needed to upgrade to a cube truck with a hydraulic lift for the rolling shelves/carts.

So, how about you guys update with pics of your van with the wheels? I bought some wheels when I bought the van, but I am only lukewarm on them.

I found the grill was too difficult to remove while I was installing my winch and cabling, so I skipped it. It appeared that to remove it is to destroy all the clips, and possibly the grill as well. Tedious.

We used the second row of seats from a Durango. Seat belts as well. I wrote several paragraphs about the process, but then it all went to "internet long reply heaven" and this is what you get instead. A picture. My apologies, this is not a luxury vehicle. It is a weekend gear hauling desert bashing camper van.

Version 2 isn't going to win any awards for beauty either, but it fits in there well, and is out of the way. Honestly, I would trade something for the version 1 winch mount, or practically give it away to anyone who thinks they would use it. Otherwise, it's going to be scrap. I paid almost $700 for it, but it takes up valuable space and earns me looks from the wife because it is still here, and not on someone's van. Heh! Trade me some out of state beers. Trade me a beehive. Trade me some wall mount outdoor speakers. :)

I contracted a local shop to build a winch mount for my van. It took them nearly six months, and then when I picked up the van, they did everything I asked them not to do. Sheesh. It lived on the front of the van for about a month before I found another local shop to do it right, and recess it behind the bumper. For some, having it outboard may not be a problem. It was a problem for us, because we often rub the front and rear bumpers already on desert roads. It was built to fit the Warn 15,000 winch, but I believe the mounting holes are the same. But, the shop also rotated the winch and mounted it incorrectly, so if you use a M15000, you will need to redrill the holes. Should be four in front, two on bottom. I will never go back to that shop. They also stripped some of the holes in the winch, and the frame. Here it is. Open to offers, trades, partial trades, etc. I really would like an awning, and for what I paid for this, I could have bought a Fiamma. Ugh. Located in Bountiful, UT. You can pick it up, or I can try to ship it. I have access to pallets, and commercial dock at the company I work at, so that might help. We might even be able to meet up somewhere, if you are enroute to destinations we visit frequently, such as southern UT, or southern ID. Or western WY, or Nevada, or... Easiest way to reach me is facebook . If you want to see pics of the new improved winch mount, I can post those too.

If I could purchase the rear end of a Dodge Power wagon, and have it work with the wheel sensors the Nissan wants, I would do it in an INSTANT. I miss my lockers in my Jeep and the Ford Econoline I sold to buy the NV. Don't get me wrong, I love the NV. It's quiet, comfortable, powerful, and roomy. It hasn't left us stranded on any road trips (ahem, Ford) and who can argue with riding your motorcycle right into the van. But when I see sand covering a desert road, I stop and see if I can shovel it out of the way first because this van STINKS in sand. I have thrown more rocks and dug more holes with the NV than the E350 ever did. It had a limited slip rear that was far more useful than I expected it would be. True what MC2guy said. I have had vehicles wobbling on two opposite corners before, with open diffs. You start stacking rocks, and whatever else you can find. But I don't want to have to do that all the time. Turning the "traction control" off has had little effect for us. We drive the van off road almost every weekend that we drive it. I also have two large traction mats for last ditch efforts. I have had almost no success getting a winch mounted yet, but I hold out hope. If I could get a locking rear diff, desert trips would be much more comfortable. Worth every penny.