radin2son

The 2nd of 4 long term test reports is out and should make NVP owners happy. For almost $56k, the Armada has the same V8, a 9000 pound tow rating, 4x4, seats for 6-8 and an average of 13.84 mpg. High of 16.49 mpg and low of 11.29 mpg. I still think the NVP is a better value, particularly if you need the room for people, pets and gear. Our mpg also has been higher.

Welcome. Just let us know what part of the country you are in and the first rally has a destination.

I have a 2012 and the warranty was 36k. Had it been a 2014-15 model, it would have been covered by the 100k warranty. We are back in Tucson with the odometer about to turn to 46k miles. There are a huge number of no service areas around the U.S., so I just waited to post this when we got home. Glad we turned for home when we did. We were in Missouri and had planned to follow the Missouri River to South Dakota. Instead, we drove through Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. Strong headwinds and rain but not severe as they just had in KS and MO. MPG took a huge tumble due to the weather. We had been around 15.7 mpg per tank full for most of the trip, but then we started getting 13+ mpg. The computer says 16.0 mpg for the trip, so it may still be around 15 mpg. Did see 4 NVPs, one in Kansas (?) pulling a large utility type trailer and another south of Pueblo, CO. The dealer in Colorado Springs keeps a V6 NVP for a rental; he had used it himself for a family trip. Power OK. The last was here in Tucson, getting gas while I was putting diesel into our ignored VW.

Another trip, another check engine light and loose gas cap warning. Around 41,000 miles, the check engine light came on after driving through rain and a muddy construction zone northwest of Dalles, TX. Not surprising as this has happened numerous times before. Similarly not surprising when the check gas cap warning light came on. It wasn't and I reset it. Expected the check engine light to go away after several days, the way it has before. It didn't after 1000 miles, so the search for a NV dealership began. It was late Saturday and we were no where near a dealership. This is how we ended up in Charlotte. 2 codes came up: P0441 Purge Flow (This is the one that came up around 8,000 miles. The check engine light was reset and when it later came back on other trips, it went away on its own.) P0455 Gross Leak (Evap) The latter had to be fixed to the tune of $600+ for a new part to be delivered the next day, or $225.50 to repair the sensor. The sensor in the charcoal canister came loose and the sensor was measuring what we breath. (Scary that the air we breath tripped the sensor.) According to the service manager, 99% of the fixes work and the unit does not have to be replaced. I chose "fix it." But... How big a problem is this, how many vehicles share this canister and if you replace the part, is the sensor going to come loose? No warranty coverage, even though the check engine light was an ongoing intermittent problem during the warranty period. (The gas cap had been replaced at 35,000 miles under warranty and the service manager in Tucson wanted to replace everything. He couldn't unless the code came up again.) Since service records are not computerized and/or available between dealers, so the service manager in Charlotte had nothing to go on but my say so. My next step is to get in touch with the service manager here and see if Nissan will cover this. If they do, they probably will want to go with a new part.

2 more NV dealerships to add to the list: Scott Clark Nissan in Charlotte, NC. Had a persistent check engine light and showed up without an appointment around 11:30 am. Michael Redwine, the service advisor, got our NV in right away and the problem was fixed. We had intended this to be a social visit with Chris Nagy, but not that long of a visit. South Colorado Springs Nissan in Colorado Springs, CO. Needed an oil change. Showed up without an appointment around 2:30 pm. Anayansi Adame, the service advisor, got us in and out in an hour. Since we had 2 dogs, I asked where we could sit outside, and he said just bring them in with us in the waiting area. So we sat at a table under the "No pets allowed" sign. Staff liked them better than us; we were scruffy looking after being on the road for over a month

It's working...

If "reboot" means turning the phone off, then on, this did nothing. Over the course of a long road trip, I turned my phone off numerous times in no service areas. On my iPhone, the last post was 5/23. Going from mobile version to full version did nothing except I could read more recent posts. I could not sign in on either. As of this post, still not working.

Same issue with the mobile site. Contacted Nissan and Rob indicated they were no other complaints. If not fixed let Rob know via "Contact us."

Thanks for taking the time to document this. Maybe the NV engineers will similarly take the time to design and offer lift and seating options on the next generation NV.

Welcome. Stand alone is the way to do it. There are 2 dealers in WA selling, or who sold, NV SMBs. Any interest? A lot campground "What is that?" No one, however, is rushing to buy one.

1 white NVP driving north on I-25 near Asheville, NC. 1 black NVP driving south on I-77 near Columbia, SC. No silver NVP seen in SC. Numerous cargo NVs in and around Charlotte, NC. Also have seen many NV 200s on this trip. It looks like some regular Nissan dealerships can sell them. Saw a used one for sale on the side of the road in TN.

Meant to say TN thing. Saw 2 other cargo vans near the Smokies...

1 high top cargo converted to camper in Alamogordo, NM. 1 passenger near Amarillo, TX 1 passenger near Nachitoches, LA 7-8 near Nashville, TN. 1 cargo HT, 2 cargo LTs and the rest NVPs. Must be a southern thing...

Why do you need 2 fan-tastics? I believe the NM van only had one to leave enough room for solar panels. 1 or 2, your van needs this. For roof top AC, you will need shore power... Shore power for you now only needs to be a good extension cord, a place to plug it in and a power strip. Are you planning to install windows? If not, you will need to crack your front windows. Skeeter Beater makes screens to fit NVs. The list goes on and on no matter how simple your design or intentions are. Managed to drive away from and out of tornado watches and warnings. Weather driven route so far, but will still get us to the southern start of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

We have AGM batteries. Word is they last 2-3 years and we are in that zone. You will need shore power or idle your engine to use your microwave. Now is the time for you to pre-wire for solar. If I were doing a build, I would seriously consider Goalzero's solar gererator. Fixed panels on roof and an easy to store generator. Generator you would need is $450+, same for the panels. You can easily run lights and a refrigerator. You probably cannot make a cup of coffee. When I looked at another brand I would have had to spend $1000+ just for the generator to do this. Advantages over standard generators, NO fuel. Met a guy in NM who coverted a V6 high top. He put 350 amp solar panels on the roof. Started with 50, then 100... Runs lights, refrigerator and stereo. No plumbing other than 2 five gal water containers. He went without windows for awhile and settled on 3 windows he bought from a tear drop trailer manufacturer. 2 for back and 1 for slider. 3 for the price of the full size slider window. On a different topic. He claims to get 19+ mph per gallon. He set front tires to 65 psi to see if he could increase this. This is a 2012 and has mpg displayed. If he uses this, it is about a gallon more that reality. Still, very good mpg. Traveling, so will try to send photo of his van later.

It was a formidable system: all it needed was gun ports. One of my first impressions of NVs was an armored truck carrying casino $.

As I mentioned before, our dogs have never set off the alarm when we leave them in our locked van. Short or long periods. The difference may be that they are less hyper or your van is mostly empty and more sensitive to motion or whatever sets off your alarm. As you build your van, it may be less of a problem. It will be interesting to see what the alarm people say. In the Hazeltons, BC I met a Swiss woman traveling alone in a 4x4 Sprinter. All the windows and door locks had slidding metal covers. If only I had anticipated your question, I could have asked her about her alarm. There is a story about thieves in Europe climbing on top of "pop top" vans to force down the top onto the sleeping occupants. They then can burgle the van. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Why lock the doors when you are inside? Unless you install a ceiling fan and add louvered windows, you are going to have to leave your front windows open in warm weather. The "evil doer" will have access to the unlock button unless your boxers give him pause. Just keep your key nearby and you can lock up as needed. Campgrounds, probably not. Boon- docking, maybe. Stealth camping in sketchy areas, probably. We have seen a lot of solitary women cycling and car tent camping the past 2 years. Just be cautious about your choices. There are a lot of campgrounds that have become semi-permanent housing for workers/families where no housing is available or affordable. Like most workers, they are too tired to do much more than eat, sleep and get up early to go to work. Bottom line is, do whatever is comfortable.

Are the NVP mirrors the same as those on V8 commercial vans? The 2012 or 13 NVP without the tow option definitely had inferior mirrors. Maybe this was the case for commercial NVs as well. Edit: I'm so used to the mirrors being extended, the NVP photos looked different. Can you adjust the driver's seat (Are they the same in NVPs and commercial?) position enough to improve what you see in the mirrors. I have the driver's seat up high and close, since my wife also drives. (It looks high compared to the passenger seat.) We can pick up passing vehicles before peripheral vision kicks in. Also like having rear windows no matter how restricted the view is. Early posts on towing mirrors were positive and no temporary mirrors were needed.

Interesting posts on this forum. Like the area around Pasadena. Read something interesting in Consumer Reports that headlight bulbs deteriorate over time and should be replaced every couple of years. Also, you can improve brightness but not increase range/distance. This is predetermined by the headlight design. CR testing, not manufacturers ads and tests, show more expensive bulbs aren't much better than OEM. If white light is what you want, your decision should based on price. The range, if I remember it right, was $40-80 per set.

Good luck with bolting your build together.

Go over to Ace Hardware and have someone take a look. This is a difficult topic to discuss without double meaning... Have you checked out Van Life blogs and videos? Mostly VWs and young couples, but you may get some build ideas. They also are fun to read even if they think they discovered van travel. Several van life bloggers are sponsored by Goal Zero. Interesting way to power your electric use if you decide to add that at some point. You always have NV's inverter in the interim. We met a NV SMB couple who used this to brew tea. I wonder if the Nissan engineer was a tea drinker or if this was an unintended benefit.

With our poptop, we get a lot of wind noise and latch noise depending on how the roof settled when taken down. This, however, is not as annoying as the loud hum of roof bike rack and open sunroof.

Since it is a very tight fit in our x1 carport (no access to hood or driver's door), I was surprised how much room was under the hood, particularly near the headlights. I was expecting something like the Honda Element in the video. Although, I don't see a need (rarely drive at night when traveling) for us to do anything beyond a "better bulb" replacement, a photo of your installation would be helpful. Did you resolve the driver side illumination?

We are more than happy with our NV SMB, but want to make improvements, not major modifications, where they matter. The existing headlights being one. I!m interested in a "single bulb replacement." Under the headlights topic, Jean Desjardins posted a video on how to install an HID headlight kit and pictures of the before and after results.