radin2son

If you take I-40 all the way to I-15 and go slightly north to Barstow, you have all sorts of options to get to the Bay area. Not all of them that scenic. And if you cut over toward Bakersfied and I-5, you could take CA 99 to Fresno and SMB West for a tour if it is a weekday. I would be surprised if they had any NVs in production. More importantly, if you spend much time in the Bay area, do you have a NV dealer in mind? You may want to check out Dublin Nissan just east of I-680 on I-580 (exit 45). Our SMB came from there, and they are still listed as being a NV SMB dealer (1 of 6 in the western states.) Gail Meadows, the commercial manager, is still listed as the contact person. He may not be there, as he has a sail boat and was mostly retired. He really liked NVs for conversions.

It has been a long time since we read Travels with Charlie. You probably read Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon. Although not a travel book, we like Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. I often take it to re-read. Inaddition to packing, were you able to put together what you will initially use when you hit the road? Post a photo of the start...

How did your factory order work out? Did you get a firm delivery date? Boy or girl?

When that happens, it will be news and no longer "off topic." There is an ad for the "new 2016 Titan" on Truck Trend, but it only brings up the 2015 models.

trucktrend.com did a great story on their pick of the best engines over the decades. Until our NV V8, I never owned a vehicle with anything larger than a V6. No surprise, Nissan didn't make it into this group. Maybe the Titan Cummins will... There also is a good article on carburetor and fuel injection for those of us who know the difference but not the how.

We were in that area returning from AK. We ended up staying at a "private" campground, behind a motel, in front of a cemetery, off I-90 near Ritzville. Next night we stayed in Dosewallips SP. Much nicer. We may be in the area again depending how we have to adjust our trip plans due to all the fires. Minor compared to what residents are dealing with. You will love how your NV drives and tows. There are a lot of good high top builds on this site.

Great choice. Post photos of your build and the antique tractors you tow. Family heirlooms? What part of the country is your farm?

One last thought or two, then I'm worn out. Again assuming there is nothing wrong with the sensor, and they can only be installed so the clips fit, can they be installed upside down. Does it matter? Since the sensors are outsourced and probably produced in multiples too big to fathom for a variety of vehicles and manufacturers, what are the chances for variations in the plastic? The sonar works fine, but what if there is a slight flaw that minimizes seeing the license plate? This may be why no one else has a problem as severe as DanD. Can Nissan shim the inside sensors to point slightly more to the outside? I believe there is a difference in right and left sensors (at least they asked me this when the outside rear was replaced), perhaps inside and outside. Did Nissan try different sensors, different locations? You would think so...

Only NVP SLs have front sensors and fog lights and Nissan designed a SL front bumper, so it is possible they will redesign the bumper. (If you can live with a frameless plate and reduced (?) beeping, keep your SL and have them install a redesigned bumper when available...) There is at least one NVP in the gallery with a front license plate. PM him to see if he has a SL with a similar problem. Anyone else with a SL and front plate, chime in... No one has mentioned that you can turn it off like the rear sensors when towing etc.; so can Nissan add a switch to turn it off when driving? (WHY NOT USE AND WIRE IT TO THE EXISTING REAR SONAR SWITCH?) Or if they have to disable it completely, see if they will add a front wireless camera etc. at their expense.

ASD Dad, Great idea to do a poll. There is a cargo SL, but it really is the old SV. NO FRONT SONAR. No idea why Nissan Commercial wasted assembly line space on a third level. The "new" SV has black bumpers and grill (not a bad look) and upgrades over the S.

Carrie, Hang in there. You are doing the right thing. Wish the other NVP SL owners on this forum would post whether or not they have any problems with the sonar to get some idea how many are having a problem. They can also just eye ball the bumper gap to see if there are any variations...

Tried to get the monitors to set this up, but no action. Maybe due to the fact that they get their revenue from banner ads and wouldn't from this. I'm not running this so the criteria is open... If it's a NV, fits in/on a NV or can be towed by a NV? PM the seller... Edit ad and mark as "SOLD" when it is...

When we travel, we mostly leave the Nav off. Since it doesn't show the overall route, we have no idea what to expect. We do use it to get through cities. On secondary roads, we have reached our destination, but are actually miles from it. One time it was on the middle of a bridge. We have also been on a road and the arrow is plowing through fields. The Garmin's look like great units and you can buy additional maps. (The free, lifetime upgrades are for the installed maps.) We could get one for Mexico or South America, if we ever venture that far. We like the one with the built in camera. Can you imagine using this on Going to the Sun. You can use Gopro, but the Gamin incorporates it with other trip info. Expensive however... Plus, I'm not sure we could see the 6" screen if it was mounted to the windshield.

ASD Dad, It would be interesting to see what the wheel well gap is on the SL's owned by Carrie, Kodos and Carls1973. (The gap may not be sloppy work; rather, it may be the only way they could mount the bumper.) It may not take too many mm to throw the sonar off.

Assuming the sensors are not the problem and there is only one way to install them on the front bumper, it could be as simple as only one variable. The way the bumper is attached to the frame. My bumper was installed with a slight tilt up (larger gap at the edge of the wheel well). If installed with the same gap all around, the sonar may work as intended. If the bumper is pointed down, the sonar may be hypersensitive to varying degrees. There may be enough SL owners who can measure this, particularly owners who have no problems with the front sonar. Are there any? This is at least as good idea as the cause being the license bracket bolts. Next, the engineers will say it is the tow hooks or their shadow. Could be...

Carrie, It was an off the wall suggestion, and you bought the SL for what it offered. A better alternative may be to defer the buy back, keep your van, live with the beeps (can you disable it like the rear sonar every time you drive?) and enjoy it over the Chevy. Let the engineers work on the problem, just not on your present van. They have the first one to work with. ASD Dad, I think the problem is far more wide spread by %, or there wouldn't be 2 buy backs and another NVP in CA they are working on. Keep in mind the number of NVPs being built/sold. Per Chris_cm's estimate, it is 20 cargo for every NVP. SL may be a very small number. You are a vocal group, however...

Take out the nav card and it will have a date on it. We have a 2011 card. Based on the info on the 2015 card, it doesn't seem worth the $150 cost. (Rick has one and says it is not worth it.) Took a quick look at Garmin and this puts the card update in perspective. The Nuvi car series starts at $130. The $200 one I looked at has free lifetime map updates; others will work with a wireless backup camera. (I have used many bike computers over the years and like Garmin the best. I have the least expensive one and it gave me just what I needed to train and race.) I like Garmin's reference to "cellular dead zones." I still have to read the reviews. How do you like your Garmin? I should also ask how you like the NV nav.

It's emissions sensors that have frequently shown up in posts for the past couple ot years and as recently as last week. Whatever sensor triggers the check engine light sometimes goes off after a few days/# of engine starts and other times it stays on. Great if under warranty, but expensive fix if not. I would say this, seat belts, getting out of park and front sensors are the most frequently posted problems. At least the first 3 have not resulted in a buy back, or it 2 buy backs? You would think front sensors would be speed sensitive; that is, only function at "parking" speed. What other function is needed? Stop and go traffic, red lights...

If you have the SL, can you step down to the SV to avoid the front sensors altogether? What else would you be giving up that is standard on the SL. If this is possible, order a SV with all the options to get it as close as possible to your SL but have Nissan eat the options cost and a NVP rental until your new one arrives. Good luck on this and thanks for taking the time to document it. Seems to me that with the number of documented problems on this forum, Nissan is looking at a recall. Maybe the fix is to delete it all together and install a new bumper with fog lights minus the sensor holes. The next recall will be the check engine sensors...

Does anyone have any info/insight regarding the ferry system in the Seattle area? WA route 20 east of North Cascades NP goes to Burlington with easy access that area. Looks gorgeous! I found the site for ferries and fares but have to take a closer look. This is one of those, "Since we are in the area." There is a length (22') and height (7'6") limit. Exceed this and the fare will increase (about double). No height problem for low tops, but if we have bikes on the back they will have to come off. Even the folded rack we have may exceed 22'. There are plenty of bike racks that fold flat, however.

Don't carry chocolate... If you take I-90 east on your way to Colorado, we recommend stopping at Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, east of Billings, MT. If you already have been, you know none of what you learn was in any text book. It also has great relevance to what is going on today. We need a new atlas, and I was looking at the GPS units Rand McNally sells ($279-379 if I recall). 7" screen and can be set to auto or RV. Interesting unit with lifetime map updates via your computer. It seems to work off wifi. This is fine as we travel with a 4g hot spot and phone. I thought, "What? This is a GPS unit and it needs wifi to be able to work." So I tried my wifi iPad with no connection and all that came up was "current location" dot on a blank "graph paper" page. Neither Apple or Google maps worked. I don't know if you have the Nav/tech package, but it will work no matter where you are in Canada or the US. Mexico? So, if anyone is considering the nav/tech package, it is worth getting even with its limitations.

Thanks. The other Nissan floor plan allows passthrough to the rear doors. This works best with high tops. AP recently had a story about a bear attack, fatality in Yellowstone. The hiker was alone and didn't have bear spray; he attempted to fight. The article also mentioned a tourist, who panicked, attempted to run and died. 2 years ago a woman near Babb, MT (eastern entrance to Glacier) was attacked. She had bear spray, but ran and couldn't get to her canister. She was severely injured. Over the years we have hiked, camped in bear country and had 6 or 7 bear encounters. The most comical was in Sequoia NP (south entrance) when we were setting up camp. I was just returning from the registration kiosk when a black bear walked into our site. My wife shut the slider and I walked away to tell a ranger, who was picking up trash, that there was a bear in our site. She did not have bear spray, but did have a bucket and one of those gadgets to pick up trash. She started banging on the bucket, telling the bear to "move along." The bear did. Some bears apparently recognize ranger uniforms according to the ranger. There was a problem bear in the area and they tried to trap it. Instead they trapped the bear that was walking through our site, which was "her" nature path. You will see bear boxes, with a variety of human and bear confusing latches (see below), in most campgrounds in bear country. The black dog is not bear vigilant; she is looking for squirrels. The bear law implies all food has to be stored in these boxes. I asked a ranger if this applied to RVs. The short answer is no. Tent campers and soft sided tent trailers have to comply. We are considering bear spray for this trip. Enjoy your road trip. NVs are impressive...

Never thought about using aluminum panels; nice look and sturdy. Not too many conversions (mostly $100k Sprinters) with glass all around, but with a high top there is room for storage above. Opened your photos up on my iPad, flat on the table so I could see the photos. What type of sub-floor do you have? You haven't said how you intend to use your NV, nor talked about prior experience. If you are and your Fuso choice tells me you are, ignore a lot of what I say. This may be in your plans, but you haven't mentioned water storage. Water can be scarce and in some areas not potable. Carrying water in various loose containers is a problem, plus they will freeze long before you do. One other area is resale; better to have a water tank installed even if you don't use it (not my advice, but from SMB). You mentioned a generator in your first post. Where are you going to carry it and fuel? That's why I like the concept of solar generators. Finally, what do you plan to run on it? Shore power? On the decorator side, you will need some sort of curtains. I know Outside Vans sells some very pricey ones that look a whole lot better than what we have on the back windows and slider. Our side windows have pull down accordion shades. I'm not up on decorator terms. rad

This is way beyond my comprehension, not due to the way you presented it. Well done. Your description reminded me of that ill fated Hemi Dodge stationwagon ad when the driver was asked "what you got in that?" The driver said something about plywood etc. In your case you or your wife can say, "3 kids, 2 dogs." More power to you (pun intended).

It will be interesting to see if the forum monitors respond to this. You may want to repost this else where on the forum where you found the removal posts or just keep it as a new topic there.