radin2son

50-80 psi. When not on pavement, dirt roads are generally maintained. Dusty and washboard. If the road is not maintained in some fashion, we look for a turnaround or believe what the map says. On most recent trip, dusty road at Black Canyon. P0448 code came on well after the fact when driving on wet roads. Check engine light disappeared sooner than usual. It was either oops or never mind...

Marstons in your area as well. Part of the great migration from UK. A NY dentist bought the home in 1982. The new owners are from mid-MA. We need to get our NV pointed in that direction. Port Orford, OR is next. Fishing town but also know for its cedar used in boat building. Wouldn’t surprise me if you build sail boats as well...

Marston Mills was an inside joke. As an aside, the Marston family home (Machias, ME) built in 1804, was sold in 1982. It recently came on the market, but sold before we could act. This side of the family begins with John “the Mariner” Marston who arrived in Salem, MA in 1634-7 with his father. John later sailed a Ketche (Returne) from Boston to Barbados. (Ancestry.com has the records impossibly screwed up.) Mariners, farmers and general contractors are part of the heritage. When too cold in Maine, leave the farm and work in Boston. Good to several builds going on.

Still a guess. Ben & Jerry’s. Rented space in a spool and bobbin mill in Burlington, VT. Looked this part up.

Wild guess, Marston Mill. Window?

Inevitable question: “How’s the gas mileage?” Other than giving a general response, mpg and gas prices are mostly out of our control. You take what you can get. The exception is fill up anywhere before you cross into California. One thing we have noticed is we get better mpg in the west vs trips east to the Everglades and DC.

Yup, the mpg instrument panel display was off by 1 mile. Paper and pencil calculation came up with 15.1 mpg. Even this is questionable given the vagaries of pump shut offs. I believe the mpg instrument display disappeared in 2013. Not sure if it reappeared.

Unless you already have calculated all things going into Nimbus, 1500 lbs will disappear quickly when you add the weight of water, food, 2 people and gear. One thing you may want to add, if you haven’t already, is reflectix windshield/front window covers. It provides privacy and opens up the area, making the interior look bigger. Our van came with a cloth curtain that draped down from snaps above the windshield and side windows, obscuring the dash and steering wheel. To confining for me. You probably have room for the John Steinbeck washing machine and bungee drier.... We use a dish pan or look for a KOA tent area for a real shower and do laundry.

Shower curtain installed! So, how do you plan to use your NV? You have a lot packed in 10’. It will be interesting to see the “lived in” photos.

Great job! Much needed info for someone considering a camper conversion, as well as the time required to do it right.

This thread would be better named “current prevailing price.” conversiontrader.com has a conversion ready 2019 NV 3500 SV hightop for sale at $53k. 2137 miles. Reason for selling: Plans changed in 2020 and van sat unused. Recent oil change. Fan, extra windows and partial insulation included along with 3 bales of wool insulation. 2+ years of warranty remain. Sign of the times...

For as long as we keep our cars, our mechanic told us not to buy a Subaru. A mechanical/auto engineer told me Subaru’s are fine for as long as the warranty. He owned one at the time. In our case, we have no need for awd. So, no Subaru in our future.

Quick review of Michelin Agilis tires. Quiet at interstate speed, handle muddy, wet clay, dirt, and wet pavement. It’s a good all around tire for varying conditions. Not a specific winter or off road tire.

The camper vans of choice on this trip were custom builds on Sprinter 4x4 chassis’s. Of course, Subaru was the car of choice in Colorado.

Woods Lake CG, forest service, is lightly used, first come first served campground. While we were there, the max number of campers was 16 out of 31, not counting the horse sites. 8+ miles west of Telluride, CO and a 9+ mile 1/2 pavement and dirt drive up to just shy of 10,000’. Stock NVs can handle it just fine. All but #30 are van friendly. We were in site 13, no RVs section. Camper vans are fine. Serious thunderstorms can be an issue, but we got lucky and had great weather. Photos show that. Took on a day trip to the north rim of Black Canyon on the Gunnison River National Park. (Years ago, we camped on the south side in snow.) We had planned to stay at the 13 site (fcfs) but opted to remain at Woods Lake. Much cooler, plus dogs have few options in National Parks. Sites are in shade and we checked out vacant site 3. Flat enough with fantastic view. Never encountered a sign like below. Uranium mining in the 4 corners area. For those interested. Per the 2012 NV mpg calculation, mpg was 16.1. This is high about 1 mile. Much lower octane in mountains and NVs do fine at 10,000’+. They also do fine at 80 mph on interstates.

Just back from a 1600 mile trip to Colorado. Saw 10+ NVs, all but 2 were working vans. One was a Beyond and Above delivery hightop that delivers where Fedex and UPS won’t go. Back in 2013(?), Nissan Commercial made a “promotional” video on their relationship with this Phoenix based company and their test facility, also in that area. 500k on their vans. (No idea how new or old this one was.) 2 other Nissan videos to track down are the Titan test promotion and the extreme 4x4, diesel conversion of a NV 1500 or 2500 standard top. Saw a hightop camper conversion, white of course, going west on I-40 between Winslow and Gallup. Also saw a NV200 diy conversion.

That post is over a year old, so you may have to pm Zbeld.

Unless someone posts otherwise or you find 2017 problems online, you should be fine with your planned use. Found this general recommendation. Change fluid between 60-100k. Doing it sooner is fine and won’t damage anything. If you bought your NV from the owner, pay for an oil change and have them check out your NV. Unless, you already had a mechanical check.

Do you know service and use history? Towing seems to be an indicator. You probably can wait until 90-100k.

Per after-the-fact news reports, a flash flood warning had been issued. With no cell service and next to no local area radio stations, there was no way to know except to look up at the clouds. 60 people were rescued and 8 vehicles destroyed. In one place, the water was 7’ deep. It’s ironic that the Salt Lake Tribune recommended looking at the park website for the current weather or checking at the visitor center. Per CR’s website, limited WiFi is only available just outside the visitor center’s front door.

The current park brochure shows the road as fwd which would have kept us out unless it said fwd and high clearance vehicles recommended. Wonder if NPS will close Capital Gorge road during Monsoons? There is a gate that was closed several days earlier per some hikers.

Check out Youtube, Capital Gorge Flash Flood Rescue June 23rd, 2022 It’s all about a decision to drive into a flash flood to escape, underestimating the force of the flood and overestimating his truck’s capabilities. He drove through a safe area of high ground, where an NV would have had to stop. Going in on the paved section, the road climbs. When the pavement ends, the road follows the wash down to the parking lot and trail head. Our concern at the time was to get there early to get a parking space and beat the heat. Even though you have to cross a “small” normally dry wash to get to the parking lot, there was no reason to think the parking lot would flood. When we finished our hike the lot was full and cars were parked on the road. Doubt anyone was concerned about flooding.

Back in May, 2017 we drove the Water Pocket Fold road to get to Capital Reef. (Earlier post here if interested.) Adventure_journal.com has an article and YouTube link to a June 23, 2022 flash flood in Capital Canyon. Here are a few additional photos of our time in the area. Some weather was rolling in but our thought was no worries. We weren't worried about heavy rain or flash floods. But should we have been?

? ? ?? Get some no-seeum screen material for your front door windows. 2 ways to go. 1. Make a screen pillow case to fit over the door frame. Or 2. Use magnets to hold a single layer... But, you may already have done or plan to do this. Have fun.

Like your conversion. How do you use your van? Met a guy years ago who split his time between commercial sailing and rock climbing. There has has been a pickup in NV200s so add some more pics and info.