radin2son

How did you convince them to go with a 6” lift and still use the existing suspension? Advanced’s website is marginal at best, but does state 0-2” lift available. Check YouTube for 4wd conversion by Advanced 4x4 vans: Overland Expo 2015. 8 minute walk thru on a NVP 4x4. Edit: The Advanced rep in the video pretty much says the 2 1/4” lift is perfect for NV’s independent suspension. 0” lift is pointless. The current Chevy and E series Fords can handle 6” lifts or more.

NissanNews.com has announced 2019 NV cargo and to a lesser degree NVPs. Currently available now at “select” commercial dealerships nationwide (440 commercial dealers). Easier to google 2019 NV pricing.

Did the donor door come without the van? If not, removing it will give you a clue... You could run into problems if your van took a hit and hinges etc are out of alignment.

Over it, as in inside or out. If it’s a CRL window, and the screen is on the inside, the louvered section won’t fair well against a pry bar. You may want to replace it with all glass, then sell the CRL along with the interior camper parts. Attach a photo when you trailer your Land Rover. Many decades ago I had a ‘62...

Must have been quite the hit. Could another body shop have avoided the craniotomy? Would insurance have approved fixing the bumper, rear doors, and rear panels? Someone will most likely buy this with a salvage title. Good luck on finding a ‘18 NV in any other color. You could try to preorder a silver standard roof ‘19 with rear door windows and V8, if you want chrome. Probably increase the wait time.

Welcome. You will get used to the hood and most will agree your NV looks great in the photo. These NVs will do everything you need. From the photo, it looks like you have an opening side door window. You may find you like this.

On the past 2 trips we saw zero NVPs. Then we see one driving by the end of our street.

You can’t go wrong with more, as in 3500. But, it really comes down to planned use. We have the 2500 V8 and it works fine for our needs.

After 62k on the oem Firestone tires, we went with Michelin Defender M+S. Quiet and good so far on all types of surfaces. 12k on them. Only issue reported was low mileage. Not really an issue in AZ as heat will take its toll on them with plenty of tread left.

Welcome. Did you tow with your Suburban? If so, you will have to post a comparison review.

On an “off the radar” (VW) trip to Santa Fe, we saw a dozen or more cargo NVs in the area of Albuquerque and Santa Fe. As my wife says, “All working girls.” There is a Commercial dealership in Albuquerque Also saw many Amazon MBs being delivered, 3 to a flatbed. Someone in Tucson told me there were 20 at the local dealership. Was surprised to see a Sprinter ad on TV. Made in America with choice of gas or diesel starting at $33k.

jww, look under lounge at the “2019” post by ASD Dad and the link provided. Not much difference between the two... Best deal or availability?

At least 3 NVs have now done Going To the Sun. Well worth it. Length restrictions are a good reason not to attach things on the front or back. (Zion has a width restriction for the east tunnel entrance. NVs don’t meet this even with mirrors folded in. They will at certain times of the year let you use the tunnel but you pay to restrict traffic to one way.) We have used the Washington ferry system and they check height and length. NVs at 20’ just exceeds the Alaska ferry “car” bracket. I’ve read where people have considered removing the rear bumper to avoid paying more... Fiamma seems to be the awning of choice but that Thule system looks like a great way to go. It is interesting how views differ regarding keeping things simple. We chose not to go with an awning but use a screen room instead.

Timsbeast, I like your questions and desire to set up an info source for campervan conversions, but you are not likely to get much of a response. The primary reason is that there are too few sustained forum contributors, even fewer diy campervan owners. Add to this that most diy posts are build progress reports. Some question and answer. Laharview, Mahu, KMG and more recently Dudeinavan are great sources for build info. Sportsmobile and Expedition Portal have good forums. Colorado Campervan has a van life blog, Open Road World, but it seems to be more about travel and it is not current. What would I like to see? Reviews of how the conversions worked and changes made over time.

Having bikes etc hanging off the rear of NVs is a pain when opening the rear doors. Have you considered a small off road trailer? I admit this is not as “overlandia” looking as a modified bumper with boxes and racks. Sportsmobile installs Aluminess products. SMB owners prefer their product.

I don’t disagree with you but Nissan may. For example, global platform... Wonder if the Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi problem will impact NVs in any way?

To make you even happier, Nissan needs to run an Altima. Then, we’ll maybe see NVs as support vehicles.

Just look how long the Econoline was around with only minor changes. No mention of Apple or Android upgrades? I’m still waiting for useful apps. Pickups are another story. I have seen the “new” Frontier around for the past year. All with Sonoran plates. Reason, built in Mexico. Yesterday I saw the diesel version. Nice enough looking but don’t come across as tough as the current model.

I’m curious about ducnut and interest in NVs, towing and conversions posts. I can find 3 of 4 posts, but not the first which may address this. Driving a Silverado is not the same as driving a NV. Both trucks, yes, but way different, particularly the 3500. Not another mental exercise, I hope... If ducnut intends to own/drive an NV, then this could be productive.

Thanks for the follow up. Good luck finding the right van.

New house batteries held a charge far better than old; no surprise. Since we only run a refrigerator, water pump and LED lights, there is no need for us to invest in solar. When we decided to go with new house batteries, I asked about lithium batteries. Some RV manufacturers are going this route, but I was told it is too soon (let others experiment) and too expensive. In the long run, they will last longer, but no guarantee. Better to stick with what we have.

You don’t have to hike into the canyon to enjoy it. We hiked trails on the rim and played tourist on off days. Hermits Rest rim trail is 7.5 miles, but you only have to do it one way or parts of it. The shuttle will take you up, back or pick you up at the many stops. We chose to hike up, ride back. No crowds. The train from Williams used to be steam with a few passenger cars. Now it is diesel with many vintage cars. El Tovar Lodge in the background. Better to stay in the campground for $18 a night or $9 if you have a pass. If you plan to go during the summer, you will need to make reservations now, north and south rims. Another great side trip is to go though the Navajo Nation, Monument Valley or Hopi Tribal area (AZ 264) via Tuba City on US 160. Not sure which route ASD Dad took to Hubbell Trading post in Ganado.

GRAND CANYON, NORTH AND SOUTH RIMS The weather was warm in late September, and we decided to go to the north rim before it shut down on 11/1 for the winter. Since we would be in the area, we added the south rim as well. Both require reservations, but in reality you can just show up as there were plenty of empty sites in November. Pay attention to site size and direction of the one way loop roads to get the passenger side facing the picnic table and fire ring. Eyebrow sites generally are for RVs and back-ins for tents. No hook ups unless you want to pay $51 a night at Trailer Village on the south rim. Getting to the north rim involves getting to US 89A whether coming from the I-40 or I-15 and taking AZ 67 for 45 miles to the north rim. On 10/21, a week before our trip, we were told second hand that there had been 5’ of snow on the north rim (source was a seasonal lodge worker) so I called and spoke to someone on the south rim. No number for the north rim. Could not confirm there was snow but there “would be snow in the campground. Trails were open but winter boots and crampons were recommended.” Cape Royal Road closed on 10/17 and it was unknown when it would reopen. With this information, we cancelled 2 days and added them to our reservation on the south rim. As it turned out, it had snowed 5-6” on 10/15 and there was no snow left. Cape Royal Road was only closed a few days. So, we made the best of it. We were in site 7 which is basically flat and there was a ravine between us and the tent sites, which are on Transept Canyon. Absolutely beautiful. Trail heads are near by and dogs are welcome on the Bridal trail and Arizona Trail, the through trail from Mexico to Utah. Temps were supposed to drop into the 20s but the lowest was 32*. It is 210 road miles from the north to south rim. It rained hard on our way. Travel day, so not a big deal. It stopped by the time we got to the entrance station ($35). The south rim is easier to get to from Willams or Flagstaff off I-40. Take AZ 64 or the train from Williams or US 180 to AZ 64 from Flagstaff. If you are coming from I-15, you have a long way to go via I-40 or take US 89 or 89A to get to AZ 64 at Cameron. All nice drives. Site 112 in Juniper loop was park it once, perfectly flat. Mather campground is 1+ mile to the rim, which was a great walk and dog friendly. A shuttle bus at the campground entrance will take you there as well. The shuttle bus system is excellent. No photos do justice to what you see.

Thanks for pursuing this the way you have. Our 2012 just hit 74,000 miles, so we are expecting nagging issues to come up. $1500 is more than nagging... Hope it was sensor glitch. On this last trip, we went from 2500’ to 8000’ when the TPMS warning came on and showed 0 psi in one of the rear tires. As quickly as it appeared it went away. When I later checked, psi was where it should be all around. Keep us posted.

SMB’s version is stiff “enough” but will come down off center if not parked on level ground. (We don’t use leveling blocks.) You have to muscle it in place with your shoulder. We also have had to pull it down 2 or 3 times in severe wind.