radin2son

Have you confirmed this with the dealer? Or contacted commercial customer services? Why put it in the manual if it doesn’t apply? I wonder what EPA says about medium to heavy duty trucks. There has to be some standard.

That is a tall penthouse. It also has taller profile when down. Do you have it set up to sleep there as well? Great for warm/ hot weather, particularly since you have a rear upper window as well. Or is that an option? One of the criticisms of Sportsmobile tops is their use of round tubing to support the top. Does CCV use the same system and tubing?

Your best bet is to contact Chris (704-552-9192) at Scott Clark Nissan in Charlotte, NC. He is the commercial and fleet manager. He has experience with this type of use and conversion. He also has ties to Chicago.

On a trip to and from the Grand Canyon, saw at least 6 commercial use NVs. No NVPs. Strangest was a Roto Rooter NV 1500 at the Mather campground on the south rim. Thought they were doing a RV call or something to do with the bathrooms. No, just 2 guys and their friendly pit on some sort of adventure. Louisiana plate.

Great video. Not sure about your bulkhead plan and lack of windows, but your plan works well for stealth camping. Our experience is that NVs’ interiors get smaller the longer you are in them. The cabin area even if not particularly useful gives the illusion of space. We use the bin so access front/back is not easy. Someday, Nissan may offer an extended version.

This isn’t torque in the true sense or electric as described above, but FCA’s eTorque looks promising especially in the area of mpg. No need to modify truck toughness or engine which would work great for NVs. Also available for all engines. $1400+ option over the life of a truck is a bargain.

Great update. What psi do you run? OEM tires? The Nissan dealership in nearby Port Angeles had an SMB forever until moving it to their RV lot. Assume it sold, but SMB owners don’t show up here, until recently.

? Someone else will have to answer this. But, to overstate the obvious. If you are driving, your engine/alternator will charge and maintain the battery charge. No need for solar. When parked without solar, your AGM batteries will deplete until you charge them with the engine. With solar connected to your AGM batteries, a charge will be maintained and power lights and refrigerator for an indefinite time. werethecarusos.com claim their solar can do this plus run their RV ac and power laptops etc. This must be new technology. Before, you could only use your ac if you had shore power. Yet Someone on this site mentioned using a trickle charger for the start battery and it also charged the AGM batteries. When our NV is parked at home, I hook it up to the house current using the 30 amp shore power cord and adapter. Charge only as needed. Only the CO monitor draws power full time but this can be disconnected by removing a fuse. Draw is minimal. All of the above applies to commercially built campervans. I doubt diy builders would bother with this. Solar does what they need.

Interesting articles, the one on batteries and smart alternator. I doubt NVs have anything other than a stock, standard alternator. The real question may be whether or not all NVs have the same alternator. (NV 200 has a 150 amp alternator; larger NVs have the 130 amp. Heavy duty battery availability differs.) When we were in Grand Prairie, Alberta getting an oil change, I mentioned the “starter” battery only charged the AGM batteries 85%+ according to SMB. The commercial manager suggested adding an alternator; there was room. At the time it made no sense to me, maybe still doesn’t. He may have been talking about a smart alternator to specifically charge the AGM batteries. The article seems to suggest that this is not the way to go. Standard alternator works best. Also, some have said it is nonsense that the alternator does not fully charge the AGM batteries when driving or at idle. I know that MBs have a high idle option to charge or run electrical.

Welcome. You made the right choice regarding vans given the size of your family and plans for your van. Interesting that your dealer is interested in using the “new” Titan parts to convert your van to 4x4. A dealer in SLC apparently is doing the same thing. You will have to let us know how this compares with Quigley and Advanced.

Nice find. Not rude. How is your van plan progressing?

Mark and Mahu, Your views still come down to S_A contacting Quigley, Advanced and Nissan for supporting or conflicting data. S_A hasn’t done this so far. quigley4x4.com has an excellent, easy to use site specific to Nissans. Go to Nissan Technical center. Weight chart, based on model year 2015, direct you to the engineering department if there are any questions. If you google problems or issues with Quigley conversions, most posts are old and relevant to Ford E-series. Some issues involved using stock parts. One 2007 post indicated Sportsmobile West Quigley conversions were better, better turning diameter and more custom parts etc. I didn't check Advanced.

It remains a mental exercise. It is up to other 4x4 NV owners to decide whether or not to weigh in. This will determine whether or not this thread continues.

S_A, More info upfront should have been included; eg, being a chassis engineer. I still think it is a mental exercise, interesting but contrary to what is already on the road. The problem with being on this site for as long as I have, you remember similar posts courtesy of Expedition Portal. In that case it was a Jeep owner. Similar claims. KMG tangled with him. So what is your point and how do you get from your Landcruiser into a 4x4 campervan?

Brand name of LED lights: Ming’s Mark. 18” 500 lumen, cost $47.50 200 lumen for reading lamp, cost $18.99 You can find these online. If you want a dimmer switch, it is easier and cheaper to replace the fixture.

S_A, This is beginning to look like a mental engineering exercise. Pete has 5 years or so of real world use without any concerns. Quigley and Advanced have the most experience concerting NVs. Stick with them. There have been posts about using the original Titan’s 4x4 components. No go on that. Then the new Titan appeared and same thoughts. If it were that easy, there would be more conversation and conversions out there. On the Nissan Commercial site, look for the video where Extreme (?) converted a standard cargo van to 4x4 and diesel. This was a joint project with Nissan.

There is an over the top NV conversion, Kodiak, done by Ouside Van. 4x4 conversion was done by someone else? If still in the hands of the original owner, he can be found on Expedition Portal. Photos are/were on Outside Van. We briefly looked at Outside Van in 2012 when we bought our NV. Featured Sprinter vans were 1 offs, examples of their work. Unaffordable was the bottom line. Same for the 2011 MB conversion at Sportsmobile, $83k. None 4x4. Had to go with Econoline/Quigley to get that.

Few 4x4 owners still post. PM KMG regarding his Quigley conversion; he unfortunately sold his as did Jon Nelson (Advanced). You best bet is to go through the 4x4 posts and PM owners. Good luck. No one ever mentioned a weight distribution problem. There is a general lack of knowledge regarding NVs, so the info you have from Body Builders Guide may not be that accurate. Contact Advanced and Quigley directly to get their take. Adding oem seats to a cargo van can be a real, make that impossible challenge if you can find someone to do this. Again, contact KMG or read his posts. He may pick up on yours as well... Interesting stats on recalls. I didn’t think there were even 7. Most if not all were minor. Check the recalls on this forum. They are pretty much are spelled out. I know Nissan Commercial has a recall link that may help as well. One issue you haven’t considered is service and warranty work. Only Nissan Commercial dealerships can service an NV. You can find Transits all over the place and every dealership can work on them. Sprinters have their own issues...

Maybe someone on this forum is, wants to be or just wants a look? For whatever reason I end up on various email lists. I have never owned anything Yakima but I like their site. explore.yakima.com Look for Van life: Dirty, Smelly, and Perfect. Briana Madia, husband and 2dogs are featured in their 1990 E350. Good read. She also is on Instagram. Date of article is 10/8. There are other posts as well under van life. We are not dirtbags and our van is not a dirtvan but it may become one when we are done...

Take your time. If you have 2 sealed batteries attached to the frame, they may still hold a charge after 6 years. They may not like cold weather, however. You will find out soon enough, but if you aren’t camping you can wait. The reading light has a halogen bulb in it. Gave off way to much heat so we didn’t use it. LED is so much better. I doubt they put in 2 new AGM batteries when they added solar. It is possible they died on their own (3-5 year lifespan) or they bypassed them when they added a deep cycle battery in the engine bay. 2 benefits: cheaper battery and easy to install. If you are satisfied with this, leave it alone.

No problem. SMBs have the NV 12V battery in the engine bay and should have 2 AGM “house” 12V batteries in a tray mounted to the frame under the sliding door. If you have 2 batteries in the engine bay that isn’t stock. Take a photo of what you have and measure the battery. Apparently, there are 2 versions with different dimensions. Ours has the larger of the 2. Look for the battery tray under the van. There should be 2 sealed batteries. I replaced these. If you have a different setup, it may be due to how the solar is set up. SMB didn’t pre-wire NVs for solar. I replaced the fluorescents with LED lights, using the same fixtures. I’ll have to get the manufacturer for you. My invoice doesn’t have this. The light over the rear door already is LED. Yes, regarding the reading light. You can simply substitute a LED bulb. No reason to do anything with the NV map/dome lights. The light added by SMB already is LED as are the lights over the sink, counter.

It must be related to the new V8. Perhaps they are going to upgrade the V6. I would still opt for the V8. Miko’s family of 8 may not grow in number, but they will get bigger.

Miko, you are correct. Not sure when they discontinued the NVP 2500, but the NVP 3500 S and SV are V6 only. Since you know what you are talking about, is the 2017 NVP the same configuration? If you plan to tow, go with the SL. Not that this helps you, the cargo NV 2500 still offers a V6 or V8. Curiuosly, the SL only comes with a V6. The cargo NV 3500 only comes with a V8. You have to wonder what Nissan is thinking. It has to be related to numbers sold and maybe the V6 outsold the V8.

NV 3500s only come with a V8 regardless of trim level. If this is what you are considering, the SV will have a V8. It appears most on this site have NVP 3500s. If NVP 2500s are still available, the 2500 gives you a choice of V6 or V8. In 2015, while getting an oil change in Colorado Springs, the dealer had a V6 NVP available for rental. A salesman said he used it to take his large family to a reunion. He felt the V6 was underpowered.

This is not something you think about when buying a vehicle: few NV aftermarket parts, Your other source may be a salvage yard. Even then you are not likely to find the number you need. You didn’t say why you needed so many covers. Why not a rubber cargo mat or carpet? I believe there was a rubber mat for sale by a cargo van owner. If acceptable, price the cargo mat. The part is available and expensive, but if it is what you need...