radin2son

Thanks. Mc2guy also recommended Sheehy Nissan. Passing through Panama City, we also had a good experience at John Lee Nissan. For what it is worth, here is a updated list of Nissan NV service departments forum users have rated as a positive experience: ALABAMA Benton Nissan (Hoover) ALASKA Stanley Nissan (Fairbanks) ARKANSAS North Point Nissan (Little Rock) ARIZONA AutoNation Nissan (Chandler) Avondale Nissan (Avondale) CALIFORNIA Future Nissan (Roseville) COLORADO South Colorado Springs Nissan Colorado Springs) Greeley Nissan (Greeley) FLORIDA John Lee Nissan (Panama City) MICHIGAN Elhart Nissan (Holland) Fox Nissan (Grand Rapids) NORTH CAROLINA Scott Clark Nissan (Charlotte) Classic Nissan (Statesville) Hunter Nissan (Hendersonville) OREGON Tonkin Nissan (Wilsonville) SOUTH CAROLINA Nissan of Greer UTAH Tim Dahle Nissan (Southtown) VIRGINIA Sheehy Nissan (Manassas) CANADA ALBERTA Grande Prairie Nissan Updated: 3/31/19

SMB users had problems with Fiamma awnings, failures and brackets (Fords). The solution was custom made brackets. I don't remember if Sprinters had any bracket issues. Check their forum for more info. I remember now why we had to modify the bracket to fit the welded rack points. It had to be angled to fit under the ph, aka pop top. Jon Nelson was thinking about an awning for his high top NV with pop top. You may want to PM him to see what he came up with.

Cascadia (?) Awnings in Bend Oregon should be able to do this. At one point we considered their awning. Their system uses brackets that we thought could be modified to fit NV welded rack points. Their awning brackets are sturdy and fairly long. At worst, you might have to have them manufactured. We liked the idea of being able to remove it and not have holes in the roof or have stress fractures/leaks to deal with. In the end we decided not to... More to do with wind, rain and trying to keep things simple.

You both have white high tops, one with windows and the other not. Someone else has the burgundy (?) NV with motorcycle. Here are some interior photos. Not the greatest, but it gives you some idea what our SMB looks like... Most are self explanatory. Lots of storage. The 20± gallon water tank is on top of the sub-floor under the rear seat, center and mid-rear axle forward, with access to pump, city water fill valve and where you fill it gallon by gallon if water is distant. There is storage to the right, where we keep extra canned goods in one of too many dishpans I bought. There is a warning label about putting flammable things in this area. Behind the dishpan it a large duffle containing our outdoor cooking gear. Inverter, switches and outlet to the left. There also is a table top under there that we have never used. Fold down bed is comfortable, but we sleep on top. Our dogs sleep on the couch, not folded down as it really cuts down on floor space. Access to lots of rear storage. External shower on right in storage box for tools, table base, cords etc. Larger water tank cut down slightly on storage, but we can fit 2 medium duffle bags center to right, our large kitchen duffle an the left with room for grey water pan, power cord and a variety of wet, what do you do with things. on the far left is storage under the closets all the way forward to the base of the sofa. We also use the rear mattress area for storage. When we carry bikes (Ritchey Breakaways that fit into a suit case), one is horizontal under the bed platform, the other, vertical on top. Bikes generate their own gear and planning... We are coming on 3 years of NV travel...

There is a good chance we will pass each other on 93, unless you are still in Polebridge. Look for a silver low top, and we'll look for your burgundy or red high top. KMG, what color is your's? If you haven't travelled out west, your phone and wifi will be relatively worthless unless you are in towns, on main secondary roads with no mountains or canyons, or on interstates. Bring an atlas and pick up state maps at border visitor centers. If your NV has nav or your have a GPS unit you will be fine for directions. The NV nav is equally worthless when it comes to planning routes; it won't show the overall map. Yes, we sleep in our van every night on our trips. The only exception was 2 nights in DC. We are not into stealth camping, nor is our van stealthy with the top up. It also was too hot in DC. KOAs work well on road trips, if we can't find a state park, and we use their atlas to initially plan a route like this trip. We don't see ourselves doing much hiking etc. Mostly lots of driving which was the intention when they established most national parks. (If you enjoy reading, a great book is Wilderness Warrior by Douglas Brinkley. It is about Teddy Roosevelt and his contemporaries who worked to develope our parks' system. It is 800+ pages...) If you don't sleep in your van, KOAs have tent areas and cabins. No clue what their cabins cost. (You would like the one in Filmore, UT. Extensive atv trails out back on what is probably BLM land.) Check KOA out and pick up their free atlas. You are smart to bring warm clothing or at least many layers. We don't use a heater in our van; rather, we rely on sleeping bags and liners. Both our bags (4) are rated at 15*, but only one (2) is comfortable at that temp. We will probably rely on our lesser bags and liners. The norm in Glacier should be 38* at night. Nothing is normal anymore. By photos, do you mean interior? I did post an album with a few pictures, but it doesn't take many to get boring. I always take one at each campground because they all start looking alike. I also keep a written log/diary for the same reason. It is a chore sometimes. We use our our iPhone as a camera and to check email, pay bills, check news etc. when we can find service. I download photos onto our laptop and iPad. Because service is often sporadic at best, I don't bother with the cloud. Our NV is mostly empty (gear), so I could take some of the interior. One of the attractions about Sportsmobile was not needing to do a lot of research on what to put in it. They have done conversions for a long time. As a result, I know very little about other options.

We will probably get there about a week ahead of you, but may still be in the area depending... We are fortunate to not have any time constraints and are still looking at maps and options. After looking at the route to the eastern entrance, we can see why all routes go through the western entrance. There is very little on the eastern side from I-15, northwest. (In June, 2014 we drove west in route 2 from Williston, ND after staying at both TR National Parks, toward Great Falls. Between private and reservation land, there were no places to camp. Ended up camping in the county fairground in Havre, MT.) Our plan, subject to change, is to head to Missoula and the western entrance, Going to the Sun Road, camp where can, head to Many Glacier and return to our western route,via route 2, toward North Cascades NP. rad

Going to the Sun Road is open with restrictions as of yesterday. With the exception of the campground in the area of the fire, all are open. Same for facilities. 1430 miles from Tucson to the west entrance per iPhone maps; it doesn't want to give me mileage to the eastern entrance. Google maps is worse; it won't even acknowledge there is a Glacier NP. The nav unit will only get us to Glacier if we put in a City, street address or I have to guess and pick an intersection from a list. Annoying, plus the nav unit loves interstates. It will take us to Las Vegas to get to I-15 rather than the straight shot north on I-10 and I-17 to Flagstaff and secondary roads in AZ and UT to get to I-15 south of Salt Lake City. Time to ignore technology and spread out the western states paper map and individual state maps on the kitchen table to figure out a route.

Back to the "new" Titan. Do you really think Nissan would let a new and improved 2016 NV rain on Titan's parade? What a concept... I'd buy the 2015 an upgrade the nav unit on my own.

Any chance you can add a classified section?

Trucktrend.com will be putting together an article on 2016 trucks and vans well before the 2016 NV is available. If Nissan is into the 5 year model life like Honda and Toyota is/was, it will be 2017 before there are major changes. If they stick with the original Titan plan, it will be 2024... Regarding the tech package, I would expect the current package to become standard for SV and/or SL with the option becoming Apple or Android. Still car based, unless Nissan Commercial gets serious? Personally, I like long model life with minor improvements. I also like the fact that there have been no major issues related to buying the first model year. I'm surprised NVP is only tiny % of sales.

RAD has nothing to do with "being rad." Just my initials. For some reason people have problems spelling Tucson; it often is misspelled "Tuscon." So, 2son it is. rad

Most of the participants on this forum appear to be NVP owners or non-business users of cargo vans. The word commercial is in play because we and business users own the same basic truck sold by Nissan Commercial by a limited number of dealers that sell all types of Nissan vehicles. Here in lies problem #1. Sales should know everything about the product, quality aftermarket products and to sell the best product to meet the customer's needs. It also makes sense to follow up on sales, owner satisfaction etc. As ASD Dad earlier indicated, the purchase process is a blink when compared to the length of ownership. It is not likely that the commercial sales manager has much, if any, influence over the service manager. Here in lies problem #2. Nissan Consumer Affairs is needlessly divided up between non-commercial and commercial when it comes to NVPs and non-business users of cargo vans. We really have more in common with Titans and SUVs. Here in lies problem #3.

BuyinanNVP, you are right in that you were the source. Only one Nissan dealership in WA, who posted and attatched a photo, has set up a stand alone commercial "dealership" or sales/service building. There may be others, but this has to be costly and needs a robust market, as they say. So, in all probability, sales and finance do both non and commercial at the majority of dealers. Same is true for the service adviser and manager. A good service manager, however, can save the day. The commercial sales manager and NV dedicated tech are most likely the only ones we can rely on, but contact generally is limited. I met the local commercial sales manager only once, when he wanted to talk about SMBs. I learned he was approached by SMB to sell them, but he declined. I have a better relationship with the service manager and a service adviser who handles most if not all NV service appointments. This helps.

In July, 2015, Nissan sold 1526 NVs (1500, 2500 and 3500. No breakdown on cargo vs passenger); this is slightly less than last month. Year to date is 9000+, which is about 1000 more than this time last year. Divide this month's sales by the number of dealers, and not that many are sold per dealership even if a dealer is able to sell every unit they can get their hands on. So why is it after 3+ years that sales and knowledge don't match up? Was it the sales associate, commercial manager or the accountant who said you need a commercial loan for a NVP? Was it the tech or service manager who said the sonar problem is related to idling? There are other examples but fortunately not that many. I know we as customers are motivated by price and budget. More power to you if you stick to your budget. But with NVs, it appears crucial to go beyond the sales accociate and meet the commercial manager and have him introduce you to the service manager. Maybe the test of a good dealership should be that the sales associate takes the initiative and makes these introductions. Be prepared and bring a list of questions along with your "buyer's cheat sheet." I should add that our buying NV experience was not the norm. We picked up our converted NV SMB at the factory in Fresno, CA, went on a trip and returned via the dealership in Dublin, CA, to complete some more paperwork and pick up the nav card. The commercial sales manager gave us the vehicle orientation. We also tend to meet techs, sales and service managers who want to check out our SMB. So far service has been excellent wherever we end up every 5000 miles or so.

Sometimes you cannot see the screen, sun/dust on it, too much contrast between sun and shade around you and when dark, although back up lights do a good job. There also are times when you should see what is behind you but don't. The rear sonar works well and is not annoying. Again, my only problem is replacement cost. They are very vulnerable to other cars nudging your bumper, parallel parking or backing out of a space in a parking lot. In DC, people had pads that covered the rear bumper when parked.

Enjoyed your review. I agree that Nissan didn't foresee the non-business direction of NVs. I also wonder if they are building enough NVPs. Given the size of new trucks, builders of new homes still don't get it. (Actually, they may get it. In a nearby expanding development, the garage door opening is about 8', more than high enough for a NV. A NVP in the older section had to sit in the drive along with neighbors trucks. Since most AZ homes do not have basements or attics, this builder has added a huge space for storage in the garage. The right slot will only handle a car, but the left side is more than long enough for NVs and storage/shop. Now, the only issue is the door mechanism.) Our converted NV just fits in our carport, one of the reasons we bought it over a Ford E-series or Sprinter. I doubt the new Transit would fit as well.

It is important to get your NV at a great price, but not as important as finding a competent service department that will service your NV for 5 years or possibly as long as you own it. This includes the service adviser who greets you, the tech who works on your NV and the service manager. (Find a good service department, post it; we need to know.) When you get stonewalled, treated poorly, or the problem is not fixed, Get the GM involved as Carrie and her husband did. (I love the video and voice that said "Sue" them, with parental correction, the Ford Transit rental...to say nothing of the van replacement.) Depending on results, or maybe irregardless of results, we need to contact Nissan Consumer Affairs. (I doubt the front sonar will be solved at the dealer level.) In the interim, open a case as Carrie suggests, so they know this is a common, ongoing problem. It is the only way to get it recalled.

How to you plan to use your NV? NVs at same dealer? Despite comments about the tech package, it is worth not having to deal with aftermarket. The wiring is all there, ready for a better nav unit... The nav unit is fine for us. We use Bluetooth but not xm radio. (Refuse to pay any more monthly fees for programs of little interest.) Another reason to go with the 2015 is the software update to the tech package; however, it is not clear what this actually did. The good thing about the power seat is the ease of adjusting it. The driver's seat is vastly different than the passenger seat, at least in the cargo version. I think this is due the way the passenger seat folds to make work space. It feels too low, or at least much lower than the driver's seat. Most complaints are about front sonar. My issue is the cost of replacement. Otherwise, they work well with the rear camera. Check edmunds.com to see if the $500 rebate or whatever is still in effect. Passenger vans appear to be the big sellers, so if you are looking at a cargo van you should be able to get the price down on the 2015. 4 hours is a long way to travel, so you may want to look at other dealers in other parts of your state (?) or other states. You can use the dealer locator to get their current and pending inventory. The service department and warranty don't care where you bought it. One last thing to consider is that only NV commercial dealers can service NVs. If you do your own service, this will be less of a problem but you will need to travel for warranty work. We have a 2012 NV 2500 low top cargo, so someone else will have to compare 2014 to 2015. No matter which one you pick, you will like it...

ASD Dad, I think an on/off switch, like the inverter, tow mode etc, will be the eventual recall solution for NVs with front sensors. Every NVP owner, however, will have to make a case with the dealer, rep and customer service. What a precedent, a new van with the same "minor" problem. (Amazing that they put front sensors on the new Titan.) Someone earlier mentioned sensors don't work well when dirty. Haven't noticed this is with the rear sensors, but maybe they don't get as dirty as the doors from back spray. If our van had front sensors, they would be covered with dead bugs like the rest of the front end.

Mental chipmunk: "When is a bumper not a bumper?" Answer: "When it has parking sensors." Rebuttal: "I don't think so." Source: Future engineers. Our rear sensors don't like shadows and backing down curb cuts. Since we don't normally drive around in reverse, it is not that big a deal. But, if I had the option of deleting this when ordering a NV, I would. It is too costly to replace... or annoying if you have the 100k warranty. Actually, now that I've thought about it, I replaced the sensor under warranty and still paid for it. A very early post pointed out that the front bumper gap near the wheel well is more than under the grill. Our's is this way. Could the angle of the bumper or sensors cause them to malfunction; that is, see chipmunks when there is no chipmunk. "I don't think so." Interesting that you had the worst type of experience with the service manager, but a better experience when the GM took the action of replacing your van, even though it did nothing to resolve the problem. (This is what I meant in another topic when I said "too dealer dependent." Each dealer handles issues independently and inconsistently. There should be Nissan policy, particularly for warranty issues.) I see a recall in the future.

If their fridge is top loading only, it will need overhead room, possibly cutting down on your storage/counter space. I suppose you could use the closed top as a counter. There are trade offs. Nice looking unit. As far as this brand is concerned, I know only what I saw on their web site. They may be the same used in a Ford crew cab 350 or 450 camper conversion featured on Expedition Portal. Did you consider the Ford chassis? If a bath/toilet area is important to you, the one I described several posts above actually takes up very little space. The portapot could be stored in the shower pan and not need to take up space in its own cabinet. (If you are interested search: Sportsmobile: SMB West tour on the assembly line on Vimeo. [What I thought were 2 custom NV conversions actually appear to be the same one. There may be another one built for "Teva man," or whatever. My iPad wouldn't bring up photos.] The video, from 3 years ago, also shows 4x4 Ford E-series and Sprinters being converted.) SMB in TX installed a similar shower pan/curtain behind the driver's seat in a Ram ProMaster. I only noticed the shower because it was mentioned in the build description. Odd place to put it, however. One last item. The couple in the video opted not to buy a SMB. They either kept or bought an old Dodge Ram and put a slider camper in it.

KMG, That's quite the leap from a Fuso chassis, for good reason, to NV Quigley. Alan Feld (SMB west) went in the opposite direction, leaving his son, Jonathan, in charge of SMB west. I think Truck Trend did a review of his Fuso conversion. Too much "expedition/overland" for us to say nothing of the price tag. Still, a neat world project in partnership with an Australian converter. (Your experience makes you wonder if the U.S. Fuso Is the right way to go.) Speaking of overland, we have seen a few MAN vehicles out west. It is comical watching them bounce over speed bumps like a backhoe... Are you transferring/adapting your conversion plans to the NV?

Wise to move this to another thread. Thanks for putting up with us... Enjoy yourselves.

What does this "shift pin bar" look like? Is it primarily cosmetic and can you continue to shift without it? I ask this because Nissan NV dealers are scarce in many areas.

Rick, What can be said? It is a business decision on your part.