radin2son

I'm rambling, which contributes to it being fuzzy. Stock alternator with 2 UPG (upgi.com) AGM sealed lead-acid batteries (UB12900) bolted on under the sliding door step. There may be room to add another, but they weigh 58 lbs. Life expectancy is 3 to 7 years. I know this means calander years, but adding up all the time spent in our camper, it comes to over a year. That is a lot of discharge, recharge... When and if the stock alternator needs to be replaced, the higher amp alternator may be the way to go. Again, probably over simplified, it seems to make charging more efficient at idle when charging the house batteries or using a high draw appliance. I couldn't pull up info on KMG's system. I wonder where he put the solar panels since he didn't want anything on his roof, as well as what he is powering. Time to make "meet up" plans in Missouri...

I may be simplifying this way too much but... Isn't substituting a larger primary alternator but not altering the voltage regulator and trickle charge the same as leaving things as is and not worrying about the 10% deficit? In context of a camper van, particularly the way we use our's, then owner of SMB West was correct. (?) No reason to "mess" with this. But if you do, Nations starter and alternator (nationsstarteralternator.com) has received good reviews on the SMB forum. Their XP high amp alternator will set you back $640 to $750 for either the V6 or V8. (More efficient idle may be the reason to make this modification.) The dual alternator kit is $1100. That still leaves solar battery maintenance.,. This last trip is the first time we have had anything stolen, a "city" water hose (leaked like a sprinkler) that I left connected to the spigot while we were away. I can't imagine leaving a portable solar unit hooked up unattended.

KMG, I didn't realize or forgot you have a solar system, plus I knew nothing about C-TEC. I just assumed that permanent solar panels did this whether or not in motion. With a fully charged battery at the end of the drive and with the charge maintained by the panels, what can you do with the power you have? This reads like a stupid question, but can your solar system recover quickly (in ideal conditions) from repeated heavy power draws? I keep ending up at cost, will there be more power available and how often will conditions be ideal.

In 2013, we were in Grande Prairie, Alberta getting service. The Commercial Manager recommended a second alternator. Later, I asked the owner of SMB West about this and his response was "Why?" The NV alternator was sufficient. The $1500 plus labor price tag puts the Zamp 80 Watt portable solar unit ($800) in perspective. With a second alternator, you start with a full charge; however, to maintain battery charge, one (idle) is faster than the other slower (trickle). A larger battery bank brings up other issues. Where to put them and weight. The power draw for a cup of coffee would be the same, but you would have more power in reserve, which would be a benefit. We can manage our power reserves to keep the lights, water pump and refrigerator running, but we need our camp stove for that cup of coffee. Like you we haven't justified the price and would like to see what other NVers are doing. Mahu, if I remember correctly, you are going with a propane stove top/oven and refrigerator. Since you will have a propane tank, are you considering a propane generator.

If only I could convert the brain power I've expended on whether or not to invest in solar, I might have just enough for a brief trickle charge. At best, NV alternators will only charge "house" batteries 90% of capacity. So driving around all day will only give you a mostly charged battery. This is important if you are off the grid for a while. Solar should do it. Right? No! On our recent trip to the NW, days were short and we had plenty of cloudy/rainy days. On sunny days we sought shady sites to avoid global warming inside. (Even though our NV would get warm, the water in the 20 gallon tank didn't. This made for some quick outdoor showers when we didn't start up our NV to get the flat plate to warm the water. It felt so good...) The penthouse (ph) as SMB calls it, driver/passenger and slider screens make for great ventilation, but it still gets warm. Someone on the SMB forum did some fuel calculations on charging while idling vs using a generator. Very little gas was used to convince him to ditch the generator. The main argument was that many places have no idling rules in addition to quiet hours. When we were able and needed to, we idled. Not that big an impact on mpg.

We thought we had coverage (Farmers) when we bought our NV. Since we were at SMB West, I emailed and faxed all the paperwork to my agent and thought we were insured for the full amount, $66K, the amount on the sales contract. Instead, we were insured for roughly $40K, the cost of the van plus $10K for the conversion. Our agent assumed we bought our NV, then had it converted. The conversion could only be insured for $10K. We traveled around underinsured for quite awhile... We still have Farmers, but our NV SMB is under their subsidiary, Foremost, at full value. The key was that Nissan sold it as a converted van, and the computer recognized SMB as a Class B RV. It costs less to insure our NV than it does to insure our 10 year old car.

Quick thinking!

UTAH NATIONAL PARKS For anyone considering a trip to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks via I-70, a great place to stop is Green River State Park (photo 3), especially if you are towing. It is close enough to the parks for a day trip and less costly ($28 for 30 amp) than RV campgrounds in Moab. Also, your RV may exceed the park length limits if you can even get a site. We were in the area last week and there was a huge line of all sorts of vehicles waiting to get into Arches. Fewer cars at Canyonlands. No sites available. If you are in a camper van, take your chances at the NP campgrounds, or go to Needles Overlook (US 191 north of the Canyonlands/Needles NP entrance. There are 2 campgrounds and dispersed camping. Just make sure you are not on private property. The Green River (photo 2: That's a railroad bridge and at night the passing trains sound like the tracks are right next to your site.) is accessible from the park for rafting and kayaking. In this photo, it was close to flood stage, but last week it was low. I-70 will then take you over to I-15 with access to Bryce and Zion. Beware of the tunnel restriction at the eastside entrance to Zion. If you are not towing, head over to Hanksville and take UT 24 to Capital Reef National Park and take UT 12 to Bolder, Escalane, Kodachrome SP (photo 1) and Bryce Canyon NP. Unforgettable road! If you park your RV at Bryce, take UT 12 to Boulder. Fantastic farm based restaurant there.

After our 5,832 mile trip around the west, not including Wyoming, we averaged 15.4 mpg (16.6 mpg if the computer on 2012 models is to be believed) on Interstates, secondary roads, maintained gravel roads and barely maintained dirt/clay/sand roads. Lots of mountain ascents and descents, some requiring 1st and 2nd gear. Basically, this particular NV and drivers get this mpg. "Not bad for a house," as my wife puts it. 15+ mpg is what we have averaged on our trips over the past 3 years. Our NV 2500 standard top weighs considerably more than the almost 6000 lb stock version. (Add 1000 lbs. for the conversion and 1000 lbs. for gear, water and occupants.) We feel we made the right choice to opt for the V8. The V6 would be fine on highways, but when you put it into manual mode, it is great having the power. We haven't felt a need for 4x4, and unless you mount some serious tires, I think it is too heavy for off road adventures. Since we live in the sunbelt and mostly cruise on established roads, 4x4 would bring down mpg. (KMG did get decent mpg on his trip.)

Thanks. You may want to look at the Transforce AT tire ($218). The ones on the Rams didn't look overly aggressive. Both HT and AT come with optional Gold warranty (3 year replacement for any reason). Web site doesn't give what it costs. There also is a 30 day trial period. I have time to check around.

Most of the reviews for the LTX were by Ram PU truck owners; no van owners. ATS or was it AT2 tires got mixed reviews last time I looked. RICK may have been one of the reviewers, and he definitely had problems with them. Interestingly, I walked by the Dodge dealership (also owned by Jim Click, who uses at least 3 NVPs for shuttles for his 4 non-Ford dealerships) storage lot and the Ram Heavy Duty PU diesels all had Firestone Transforce AT tires. I mentioned this before, but last year we met a Sprinter SMB owner who replaced his LTX tires with Firestone. Looked odd not seeing Michelin on a Sprinter. I only mentioned the tread guarantee to compare the tires. One you get nothing, the other you get a credit, even if it isn't much. It really isn't as important as getting a good tire. So far Firestone has been a good tire. I'll take a look at what else DT sells. I know they sell BF Goodrich and Goodyear. Thanks to both of you for your input.

Firestone Transforce HT tires at the local dealer are $195 each, which isn't much less than $204 msrp. Unless the dealer offers "buy 3 and get the 4th for $1, this isn't the way to go although this tire has worked well for us. The dealer indicated most tire manufacturers' road hazard coverage is for cars only. He recommended nitrofill.com for a road hazard policy. I'm pretty sure Firestone offers a truck road hazard coverage but did not read the fine print on their web site. The Michelin LTX M&S at Discount Tire is $214 with a 70k tread guarantee vs none for Firestone. DT offers their own 3 year road hazard policy which I have used in the past. They also offer a tpms rehab for $32. Not sure what this entails or if it is compatible with Nissan. If it is for a set of 4 tires and works, it would be worth doing to avoid having to remove and remount the tires later on. No matter what set of tires, it will be $1000+. Also, none of these tires are in stock, so it will be 2 trips.

Getting an oil change at the dealership this morning. Tires still have some life in them but not enough for an extended trip. Getting an estimate from the dealer for replacement and balancing. Alignment check? Early on there was some scalloping but the tires appear to have even wear. Learned that tpms requires sensor replacement ($100 each) not battery change. Life expectancy is 4 to 7 years. Advice was to do nothing until one goes, then replace them. Will find out later what else needs attention or replacement. No special on tires, but everything checked out fine.

Current hobby, if not completely obvious, is traveling in our NV, which limits to some degree other hobbies. We are not full timers, but we have exceeded our goal of 12k a year. In 3 years, we have put over 51k on the odometer of our "travel" NV. My daily driver has been my bike, although we do have a car. I've given up serious training for road cycling, but my wife has figured out a way to create a Pilates/yoga "studio" wherever we end up. In bad weather, she uses the limited floor space in our NV, while I retreat to the "loft" (the portion of the bed not suspended under the roof with the roof up) to read or nap, mostly nap... With 2 older dogs and dog restrictions in national parks, hiking has been limited. We enjoy finding farmers' markets or stands, good cafes, local eateries, micro-brewers and local wines. Our consumption of the latter 2 will not keep them in business. Our outdoor kitchen in a duffle bag lets us cook fresh veggies while on the road. I keep a hand written log of our travels and take lots of photos with an iPhone, rather than bring camera equipment, to keep track of where we have been. Sometimes I miss having a better camera and lenses. The new iPhone is better in this regard. (Nice hike to "House on Fire" ruins near Natural Bridges monument. These guys carried in a lot of equipment... to get this.) I enjoy exchanging info on where we have been or plan to go. Doesn't matter if you pull an RV, sleep with your motorcycle...

We don't have a Qversion and most of the time we don't feel a need for it. The manual mode works fine. I was somewhat concerned about the state of our oem tires with 50k on them. At an overlook near the dugway there was a sign warning not to attempt the 3+ mile dirt road in wet weather. It had rained the previous day but was already hard pack clay. The overlook itself was slick rock and very rough, up and down in places. We had enough clearance but we parked and walked (Monument Valley in the background and view from the edge). An Audi Quattro followed a Jeep over a rough section (we drove around it), bottomed out and lost all its oil in the space of 30 yards. Hundreds of miles from a place to tow it... At least with NVs, we have a chance that a local garage/repair shop can cobble together a fix. Still a long tow.

Just back from our trip. 31 days in a sleeping bag, but at least we weren't in a tent. We spent 2 days at Natural Bridges National Monument in southern Utah on our way home. When we left, we had a choice to backtrack 34 miles to US 191 or take UT 261 and the Moki Dugway. (What's a Dugway? It is where your draw a straight line between where you are and where you want to be, ignore the obstacles and blast or dig your way to your destination.) In this case, you are on the top of a mesa and want to get to the valley floor. 1st and 2nd gear all the way down...

Having to sign in everytime I wander off is annoying... ASD Dad, I agree that the majority of NVP buyers moving up from smaller vans are doing research and will not revisit the site unless they have a problem. Same for cargo/business owners. Am I losing interest? Sort of, but it is more like who cares? Very often, I will respond to a post or start a topic, read it, shrug and delete it. I had planned to do a 3 year review of our "bought and paid for (as of September)" NV and SMB, separately, when we finished our trip. In reality there is nothing to add to what is already known. If the other 28 or 29 NV SMB owners participated in this forum, I would to be able to compare what works etc. So far, only 2 others...That said, I have a few road photos to post.

Return from the cellular dead zone! ASD Dad, you have mentioned the Titan Forum and I'm sure there is a Tundra forum. How were they set up? My only experience with forums "was" the Sportsmobile forum. Amateurish look, but good content/participation biased toward/by ford 4x4 owners, I have nothing else to base this forum on. It's professional look fooled me into thinking it was Nissan sponsored. I bring this up to see if it would be feasible to create another forum with fewer sections (already suggested by another poster) but with a focus on NVPs, conversions and performance or after market modifications. I have no idea how to do this but imagine it would require time and perhaps money to pull it off. It the above is a waste of time or may not generate increased interest, a "simple" effort to keep things on topic may help. For example, when a new owner shows up and has a towing question, welcome them and point them to the towing section and only answer their question there if not already addressed. This will make it easier to find things in general.

Same one. The way the interior is set up would make it difficult to sleep more than 2. I'm not sure what the interior height difference is between our pop top and your high top but if the SMB high top used the same dimension cabinets as our's, it might be possible to add a sleeping loft. We saw a Srinter that was converted this way. The couple build a loft for their pre-schoolish sons, a sleeping platform for them and room underneath for storage (plastic bins) and water containers. Except for sleeping they spent their time out of the van. They also had 4 bikes on the back.

Did you change the sign in process, as in sign in every time? Clicking on the "remember me" doesn't work. Or, is this a log in problem that needs to be addressed by staff to catch up with OS9?

Now we can stop looking for you on the road... We ended up much farther south in CA than planned after going down the OR coast and Redwood NP in CA. 1 to 2 hour construction delays on the CA 299 crossing the coastal range. Now we are trying to avoid winter weather watches as we attempt to cross NV get to Moab...

Few things are better than a great trip. Your NV is dirtier than ours...

While passing through Port Angeles, WA we saw a high top NV SMB on a RV lot. We did not stop, but the Nissan dealer there sells both commercial and SMBs. Go to www.wilderrvs.com if you are interested. It is listed as a 2013 NV V6 with 1187 miles for $63K+, reduced from $66K+. The floor plan is the same as ours (think VW Westy), but the cabinets on the driver's side are taller. More storage? The down side is no walk through to the rear doors. It has an awning that appears to be attached to the sheet metal above door height. Check their photos.

Summer may be over, but it's still travel time. "Going to the Sun Road" in Glacier NP was amazing. NVs are too wide to drive it and there are places where you see why, but they only monitor length, let you through and record your plate number. (NVs are less than 21'.) You will not be able to tow, so plan on parking your RV at Apgar CG at the west entrance or at St Mary CG at the east entrance. You can reserve sites at each. Many Glacier CG is first come first take. We got very lucky there. The campground was full an hour before arrived at 1 pm and my wife suggested we just drive in and see. One was still vacant. There are private campgrounds near both entrances. I have lots of photos, but you have to see it... See if you can find our NV in the parking lot at Logan Pass. It was almost empty at 9 am when we arrived. After walking to the Hidden Lake overlook and returning about 10:30 am, it was full. The "Red Jammers" White Motor Company, built between 1936 and 1939, are still in service after being restored by Ford and converted to propane (so says the decal). For $95 each, you and 15 others can take an all day tour of Glacier NP. Red Jammers exceed the length and width limits, but who cares... We looked at them and thought this vehicle has potential. It has a canvas top that rolls back. Add a pop top and it will sleep 2 fore and aft. In SMB parlance, that means: "Seats 17, Sleeps 4."

So far this trip, we have seen somewhere around 25 cargo vans, mostly HT, including 2 of the "Above and Beyond" 500,000 mile delivery vans featured by Nissan Commercial. No wonder, both were in northern AZ; they are based on Phoenix. Saw 3 maybe 4 NVPs, one in MT was 4x4. Lots of Transits, mostly passenger. Saw one pulling a 20'+ RV. Another was 4x4. We have seen several Transit and ProMaster cutaway vans. Can see why NVs need this and the extended Van.