radin2son

Welcome. Can't wait to see what the reaction is to your 4x4 NVP snow plow idea. This afternoon, we saw what appeared to be a 4x4 NVP just east of Butte, MT on I-90. Maybe...

Welcome, you are not alone in loving the ride. kms must mean Canada. Let us know where you get your first service and if you think it was positive. A lot of us travel and it helps to know where we can get good service.

He's on his way to the NV dealer. Wonder if he brought his 9' standups with him...

Truck Trend just posted an article with photos of a tour of the Cummins Plant that is manufacturing the new Titan engine. Lots of photos! In the first, there is a NV in the background. Diesel?

Definitely go with the high top if you plan to carry surfboards inside. You will appreciate the "standup" room to get your boards and gear in and out; otherwise, you will feel like you are in a minivan. More space, but hunched over. You will need a ladder to get to a roof rack for your standup boards. If you plan to put all your boards on the roof, mpg will go down whether it is a standard or high top. In cycling, it seems we can never have too many bikes. (We had 7 at one point; now down to 3.)10 boards for you, or is it 5 and 5 for you and a passenger? Just saw this on trucktrend.com. The 2015 Dodge ProMaster V6 gets 18 mpg city and 26 hwy. Impressive if true. Truck trend shows the NV V8 at combined 14 mpg. It would be helpful if Nissan would post city/hwy as well...

Emimiller, nice look. Do you have room in the back for 2 wheel chairs? Since you said it started out as a V6 cargo van, the curb weight is 5807#. The conversion will add weight, but you probably can can use the V6 NVP for starters. NVP curb weight wasn't listed as a specification on Nissan Commercial's mobile web version. Tow specs were listed. Nissan Commercial is really nebulous regarding what we drive. Are they 1/2, 3/4, and 1 ton? Does the addition of a spring leaf on the 3500 make it a 1 ton? If it doesn't bust your budget, you could check out suspension modifications or just continue to use your Titan.

What is a NV "Sherrod" conversion and does it increase the weight of your NV? From what I have read, you have to consider both your TT and loaded tow vehicle weights. I haven't looked but your manual may not give tow specs for a loaded/heavier NV. Our experience is that most people in campgrounds, including cg owners/operators/hosts have never seen an NV, let alone know what the tow rating is. This could be true for the TT dealer as well, but I would be inclined to believe the dealer. Others will chime in...

None of this is particularly surprising, unless you have been dealing with commercial managers. Unless Chris, Bates or others can confirm 2016 NVs will be arriving next month, you could be waiting a long time. (Looked at 8/15 van sales (down but more than last year) and total NV sales since 2011. There is a noticeable drop off in sales in August and September in earlier production years, less so last year, and an increase in sales in October on. New model year?) Good luck. I took a look at your stove top/oven and furnace and wonder where you are putting the propane tank. We considered a semi-custom SMB conversion, until we couldn't find a NV to convert and SMB West owner, Alan Feld, told us he couldn't install a stove top and propane tank on the driver's side due to venting and proximity to the gasoline fill. (Dave Anderson's video didn't show where he put the propane tank.) It may be a RV builders code and not something a home build is subject to. It was a moot point at the time because we decided to go with one of 2 still at the factory.

whitebread250, By now you should be on the road heading west. Looks good for the Tetons, Yelowstone and Glacier. We won't be leaving until 9/8 or 9/9, same as KMG, so we may miss each other. Our trip after Glacier doesn't look good for the Cascades unless we take US 12 through the Bitterroots to Mt Ranier, the Olympic Peninsula, take a ferry from Fort Townsend and catch US 20 to the Cascades. Day by day planning... This is why we own converted NVs with no reservations required. We have been following the fires, red flag warnings, rain, cold temps and noticed they have a lot of earthquakes. Most are 1.5 but one was 4+. No mention of this in the news, so it must be the norm. Sort of like living with bears in the area. You get used to it.

Drove the 100+ mile to Sky Harbor, Phoenix twice in a 4 day period. The AC in my VW tdi was not up to the challenge, Black Forest maybe, but not the AZ desert in August. Our NV AC is up to the challenge. We have driven across the desert when it was 117*. No problems except the rear needs more air circulation. Would love the factory option of adding AC outlets in the rear. No need for dual zones as it exists in the NVP SL. Retrofitting our NV SMB is not a option, but if doing a home build, I would seriously consider this.

Rick, The sample of 2 V8s (1 cargo HT, 1 NVP) is 7 to 9 mpg city; the combined is 7 to 11 mpg. Based on this ridiculously small sample, you are not that far off 8 mpg city and 9 mpg combined... The best you can hope for appears to be 11+ mpg combined, if you opt to lose a work day to have Nissan check it out. dslavin123, You probably have to go with combined or hwy mpg to answer your questions regarding mpg differences between V6 standard and high tops. I probably missed this, what are your plans for your NV?

Refills based on what mine look like; dealer service installed them. Look exactly like refills, only plastic not metal inboad clips/tabs to hold them in place, that I put on other cars. The problem is reaching them. This might be difficult. Climb on the hood?

Daydreaming520 posted a link for a NV high top home build video. The build included a Fiamma awning with side walls that seemed to be able to withstand quite a bit of wind. He also had a custom built rack to attatched the awning, solar panels and whatever else he put up there. He had a ladder attatched to the left (?) rear door. There are Thule and Yakima side loaders for bikes and boards, not sure about kayaks, but they most likely would only work on standard tops. Doubt this would work, but SMB built a high top NV with board mounts on the interior, driver's side. They also had a shower at the rear, same side. Nissan, there is a need for an extended van...

What service did Nissan do at 30,000 miles? If they didn't drain and change all the fluids per the service manual, have them do this at your next service and again at 60k. I assume service is the same for V6s. Is there a timing belt or chain? Too soon to address this if it is a timing belt. Are you due for 35k service if you are on a 5k oil change schedule? If you are not there yet, wait to do the walk around then with your list. They will do a general inspection but this usually addresses wear and tear items, wiper blades, tires, brakes etc. that aren't covered by warranty. UNLESS, you have one of those expensive service plans or you are driving an Infinity NV. If your service is up to date, schedule an appointment to address the 2 problems you have and do the walk around then. They may find other things as well. Frank can be difficult to reach. The NV service adviser is Jeff Hovelson. He'll get the job done and you will have documentation if problems resurface. 9/3 Have them check the slider; I thought ours sounded gritty. Frank said it was getting hung up. Also have them check the rear door hinge release; mine stayed in the door and had to be replaced (x2 if this was an earlier recall fix). Any check engine or gas cap warnings? They can do a pressure test for the gas cap. If there are no stored codes, they can do nothing else. Is your center console/charging ports still removed? I doubt this would cause the wonky USB port, but it may mean it never worked properly if you primarily used the console to charge your phone etc... What is interesting about our NVs is that we have so few issues to address. You certainly haven't had many... It is also probable that few are close to their warranty expiration.

RICK and NVP, You have established city mpg at 8+ mpg. (On the Oxnard to San Diego part of the PCH, our combined city/hwy was 12+ mpg.) So Rick, if you accept a sample of 2, your mpg is right on. No issue except disappointing, right? Reliability and a good warranty should offset this. Truck Trend did long term tests on the Armada (on going) and the NV cargo high top. NV combined mpg was 14 mpg if I recall correctly. Just search for their review to confirm. (I've posted their Armada review under Lounge, off topic.) Since most of our driving is hwy, we average 15+ mpg. I also drive the top half of the tank (never know where the next gas will be in some places), stop pumping gas at the first cut off, unless it is very sensitive or cuts off way too soon based on what I think it should be or the gargling noise. Since we rarely hit the same gas station twice on our trips, it is likely the cut off varies. At the end of each trip, I add up all the gallons, miles and do the math. Typically, it is close to each fill up mpg. I also keep track of the computer mpg, and it is always off 1+ mpg than the "hand calc."

ASD Dad, I'm not surprised you "hand calc" mpg. Most of us do. dslavin123, consider what Chris_cm said. Go with the V6, standard roof, hitch and Uhaul if you need more room. Or, go with the V8 and included tow package. The price between the V6 and V8 is not that much and probably improves resale later on. This is not my quote; rather it was a post on expedition portal: "There will be a time when you say, I should have had a V8."

Funny, but we were there to figure out how much IKEA furniture we could fit in a 5'x8' Uhaul trailer if in the future we go with an apartment rental somewhere as a base camp. If the label said "particle board" we moved on, and we moved on a lot. We were in Tucson when we replaced the wiper blades, but we were in FL getting service when told they should be replaced at the next service. The new blades work great and haven't dry rotted in this desert heat. I wouldn't hesitate to have a dealer replace them again while traveling. I wonder if they can be found at non-commercial dealers.

I paid $24.60 to have them replaced when getting service at Nissan. Better blades than oem, although the part # 28890-1PA0A may be the same. Was at IKEA in Phoenix yesterday where they have lunch for $4.99, furniture not included. Got out of town just before that crazy storm hit...

This not directed at anyone, but it is human nature not to want to have paid more for a NV, or in the case of mpg get fewer mpg, than someone else. In the case of 2012 models, our NVs do the truth stretching for us. The computer mpg calculation will be 1+ mpg better than if we do the math ourselves. It also seems to be all about location, location. In our travels, we get better mpg in the drier, higher west than in the east. I keep a gas log of fill ups that includes location and mpg among other things that are related to trip costs. Higher mpg almost always matches up with fill ups in the west. The exceptions are usually related to strong headwinds, heat and steep mountain passes. ASD Dad, Have you tried driving your NVP empty, then with it loaded to the max with all the external variables about the same. I bet your mpg will remain 14+ mpg, empty or loaded. Unlike the Tundra, you have a vehicle that meets your current needs...

If you go with a front hitch and plan to buy a NVP, stay away from the SL with the bleeping, no make that beeping front sonar/sensors.

First let me say that neither I or April Fuel had anything to do with this if it is a hoax. It, however, makes perfect sense. The NV has the frame you need for the newly developed diesel for the new Titan. Isn't the frame the same? Install it first in the NV, and it's ready for long term testing by Cummins, not Nissan. So Nissan reps wouldn't necessarily know. I bet that diesel NV has a lot of real world miles on it. Meanwhile, Nissan was testing their prototype Titan independent of Cummins but sharing info... Although it looks like a good fit, I think the info Chris and Bates had earlier about no diesels for NVs remains in effect.

I haven't seen anyone post city/hwy mileage. MPG for V8s high tops vary from terrible to (?). For V8 low tops it probably works out to 14+ mpg. Axulsuv gets 21+ mpg with his V6 low top while a V6 high top camper conversion can get 17+ mpg. With our V8 camper conversion, we average 15+ mpg for a trip but can get 17+ mpg per tank.

Thanks for the info. My NV battery is in the same age range. So far so good, but but batteries in AZ last 3 years at most. My VW mechanic puts in Interstate batteries which have been problem free for each 3 year period. Never had to replace a HD battery. Any issues finding them?

New here, but a "seasoned" owner... Welcome. I doubt Nissan Commercial ever envisioned the adaptability of NVPs for special needs. Post some photos so others can see what you have done. Maybe the engineers will consider this in next generation NV. The option of an extended version of all NVs would be welcome.

Not a bad itinerary for a moving van...