radin2son

I agree, it does look great. 300+ hours of labor. No wonder conversions are expensive! What type of trips do you plan?

I have looked at Tire Rack for tires; they are cheaper for all "E" rated tires except Michelin. Like most reviews, you get a mixed bag. Plus, the reviews mostly are written by Ford and Ram pickup owners. There don't seem to be any van specific reviews. It appears a lot of, if not most, OEM tires are replaced with Michelin. This includes Ford van owners on the Sportsmobile (SMB) forum. In Florida, we met the owner of a Sprinter SMB who went the other way. He replaced the OEM Michelin tires with Firestone based on price. He liked the value and the ride. In our case, the NV camper conversion adds about a 1/2 ton. When loaded for travel approximately a 1/2 ton is added. This is not a mostly empty pickup that is being used like a car. So, when the time comes, we may stick with the OEM Firestone tires and whatever sale the dealer has going (buy 3 and get the 4th for $1). Then again, maybe Nissan will be installing a different OEM tire. There also is the issue of checking the alignment. Discount tire doesn't do this locally. I do get the old spare issue. In the mid 90s, I had a blow out and put on the spare, which also blew out in short order, midway between Glia Bend and Yuma, AZ. I was not that far from a farm machinery repair shop that sold truck tires. Made it to Yuma and bought 4 Michelin tires for our VW camper.

I like the turbo and small displacement engine on my TDI but I'm not sure I would go this direction with a cargo van. I would prefer a diesel if mpg was an issue for city use. Interesting super truck on the cummins link you provided.

Is replying to oneself the same as talking to oneself? No other responses can be one due to one of many reasons. No interest. Not enough NVs close to replacing tires. Brand loyalty. Upgrading to larger rims and tires... Brand loyalty and the shop experience, based on the last set of tires and installation, are probably most important for me for my VW. I have no brand loyalty for the NV, but I am satisfied with the OEM tires. The question is whether or not there is a better tire out there. Another factor is the TPSM. Does this need to be replaced at the same frequency as normal valve stems? I know Nissan does not have to do this, but will there be issues down the road if they don't? One more factor is the yet to be used spare tire. If I stay with the Firestone Transforce tire, I only have to buy 3 tires and keep the best tire for a spare. The only issue is whether or not the spare has the TPSM. What to do?

Mc2guy. Why so low on the NV mpg estimate? You should be able to get about the same as the Transit. Does breaking up the air via a spoiler or box/rack on the back make any difference/improvment in aerodynamics? I have seen semi trucks with a foldable "wedge" device on the rear doors to achieve the tear drop effect you mention.

Great explanation. Thanks. Is there any difference in drag and fuel efficiency between the frontal area designs of Nissan vs the Sprinter/Transit? (Rhetorical question) Somebody must consider this in the design process, but we only know mpg of each design through word of mouth since mpg isn't on the window sticker. rad

Before the 35,000 mile service, without looking at the tires, the service manager mentioned that NV tires are being replaced at 30,000 miles. My tires were fine with plenty of tread left. What happens after the tires max out. As near as I can tell the best replacement choice is between Firestone and Michelin. The NV dealer has OEM Firestone Transforce tires. Discount Tire has the Micheline equivalent. My main concern is which is the right tire (both rated for use on the NV) on the OEM rims? MSRP is about the same, so price is not a deciding factor. Firestone offers no mileage rating, while Michelin rates theirs at 70,000 miles. (I read somewhere here about having 56,000 miles on the OEM tires and planning to get Michelin tires.) Truck Trend has an interesting article from July "Understanding Tire Load Ratings" for non-dually light trucks that I mostly understand but wonder how this applies to cargo vans. Maybe Nissan or more likely the tire manufacturers have this covered. Too bad the "tough love" videos didn't address tires.

Our plan is to keep our NV camper going for 10 years, 2 down and counting. The only way we would buy another in the interim would be if Nissan offered an extended version. We would use the same floor plan and the added room for storage. With all the NV mailings we have received in the past 3-6 months, Nissan wants me to buy another now. Bates, you are right about the lack of early promotion. It had to hurt! The current promotion is slick. We like the "Rock video" even though we have no clue who he is.

e. was an April Fools joke courtesy of Truck Trend. (With GM taking the wait and see approach, maybe the joke will be on them...) e. is replaced by Nissan's new rock star video. Go to www.trucktrend.com to view it.

About a year ago, while sitting midway between 2 red lights, a driver in a huge Ford 4x4 pickup waiting for the light in the opposite direction, shouted, "Is that the new Ford?" I shouted back, "It's a Nissan." His response, "cool!"

We made the decision almost 2 years ago not to go with a Sprinter conversion. We bought the NV because it fit our needs best. We also liked the idea of having a gas engine, even considering poor mpg, that Nissan had been using since the introduction of the Titan. Parts and a mechanic should be easier to find while traveling in remote areas. So far, no emergencies.

Jon and Wollip, Since this started out as a diesel topic how about creating a "Ground Up Build" topic so it will easier to find your "camperized" posts. We also looked at Outside Van but were put off by the price and the fact that their site showed "sold" custom builds. I read somewhere that they primarily took the order and had Adventure Vans or someone else do the work. They did have good videos. On the topic of diesels, will the planned (maybe?) Cummings diesels be able to burn whatever diesel is available like our '05 TDI? This would be a huge plus for a NV diesel. Otherwise your decision to opt out of a Sprinter for a gas NV was the right one.

Picked up our van from the dealer after leaving it there for a repeat of the 30,000 mile service. (See TPMS saga if interested). Service also included the 35,000 mile oil change. No charge. When I dropped it off 2 days ago (had the luxury of not needing it), the service manager and I did a walk around and reviewed all issues since we took ownership in 9/2012. This included the intermittent check engine light, the intermittent check gas cap warning, the broken glove box latch, the left rear door latch (enables the door to swing to the side) got stuck inside the door. (Able to pull it out at the time.) This may be the same latch involved in an earlier recall. And, after I mentioned that I greased the sliding door rollers and cleaned the track because the track sounded gritty, he found that the sliding door gets slightly hung up when fully opened. Check engine light left no code. Unresolved? Gas cap replaced. Leak detected and this may have been the reason for the check engine light. Glove box latch replaced. Rear door latch replaced. (Second time?) Upper roller on sliding door greased. All covered under warranty. So, what is my point. We probably should do this at every service. Definitely as you near the end of the warranty to establish a record. The glove box latch and rear door latch are either cheap and/or poorly designed and may fail again.

Service is due... Where do you go? Here are Nissan dealers we have had a positive experience. It would be great if this list could expand over time with forum members contributing. Grande Prairie Nissan in Grande Prairie, Alberta (NV dealer) Stanley Nissan in Fairbanks, AK (NV dealer) John Lee Nissan in Panama City, FL (NV dealer) Brower Brothers Nissan in Rock Springs, WY Independent shops could be included, but our experience has been they have never seen an NV. Stuttgart Autohaus in Tucson, where I take our VW, is willing to work on it as they have the equipment to work on the VW Rialto (? Spelling). Since we use our NV for travel, we decided to get used to the Nissan network.

My other car is a '05 VW Passat TDI wagon and I sometimes carry 2 bikes on top. This decreases mpg by 4-5 mpg. The rack alone decreases it by 1-2, so maybe I won't be so lazy and leave it on. These numbers come from a mtb review of a hitch mounted bike rack (1UP USA ) that I am considering for the NV. I have a new to me Thule hitch mounted rack that does not fold up like the 1UP. It folds up into its shipping box and can be stashed in the NV along with our 2 "Break Away," as in frame comes apart, bikes.

Backfire1, 14.1 mpg was the average mpg. (The computer generally is 1-1.5 mpg higher.) So yes, mpg has improved. We use our NV for travel. The joke in Tucson is that you have to drive 500 miles to start your trip.

Hi backfire1, As luck would have it we put 4954 miles on our NV between 9/27 and 12/2012. The mpg was 14.1 or 15.3 if you believed the computer. (This optimistic reading may be why it was deleted, I won't include it below.) The best per tank mpg was 17.2 and the worst was 12.4, when we were towing out car home after picking up the NV in California. By the end of 2013, we added 16,834 mi and averaged 16.3 mpg. The worst fill up mpg was 13.2 and the best was 17.8. 2014 looks about the same. Worst fill up mpg was 11.5 (Saga of 30 psi under inflated rear tires and dry camping) and best was 18.1 and 18.3. I don't believe 18+ mpg so toss the high and low out. I put whatever regular grade we can find, 85 or 87, since we are often in very isolated areas. So far the engine has not protested. One other obscure thought... Does location impact mpg? Any climatologists out there? Does humidity, rain, snow etc. impact mpg? Do you get better mpg at altitude? Based on the numbers I get, it appears to be the case. In normal driving in FL, we saw mostly low 15s mpg, while on at higher (4000'+) elevation, we see 16 and 17 mpg. Hope this helps.

I do the math and do not rely on the mpg display on my 2012 NV 2500 with V8. I also add up the miles and divide by gallons used during our trips, as who knows what the pump cut off is at each fill up. Last trip of almost 5000 miles, mostly secondary roads showed 15.6 mpg. This included a lot of mountain driving, eg 13% grades at 10,000' and periodic idling the engine to keep the camper house batteries charged when dry camping for long periods. Hope your mpg improves.

Interesting article on www.trucktrend.com on "Trucks or Vans - Whch are better for work?"

Several years ago NPR aired a 4/1 story about "portable zip codes." When you move, you take your phone number and zip code with you. While thinking, how is that going to work, they finished with a gotcha. Gotta be wary... Forgot to add that with more NVs, particularly the high tops, the "ugly" look is gone. I think this also is due to the great graphics on work vans. We met a guy in Idaho, whose brother in law bought a used high top (couldn't get the deal he wanted) from a Chinese restaurant. Wonder if it had any graphics. No one would suspect stealth camping.

Truck Trend reported this on 4/1. Unless it was April Fools' ... It seemed logical. Why create another Sprinter type van? As a dealer, it might be unwanted competition, but as a consumer, it offers more options and perhaps better service if all Chevy dealers/service departments will work on them.

I know this topic is of limited interest, but I always wondered how many NV 2500s were converted to camper vans by Sportsmobile in Fresno, CA. 30 were built and sold through Nissan dealers. All were sold. Ironically, it wasn't until our last trip through UT, WY, MT, SD, ND and ID that we saw one (low top) in Grand Teton National Park and another (high top) south of Salt Lake City. Where are all the others? The owner of SMB was unaware that Chevy vans will be NV 1500, 2500 and 3500s as of the 2017 model. More conversion opportunities for SMB and the possibility of the Chevy diesel being available in Nissan doesn't offer one.

TPSM update. Jim Click Nissan will redo the 30000 mile service, fix the glove box latch (see other post) and try to find/fix the reason for the check engine light that comes on intermittently and loose gas cap notice that comes on less frequently. No word yet from Nissan or NHTSA. 7/1 Nissan Consumer Services (615-725-7000 or 7144 to speak with Chris about this) contacted me by phone to discuss the TPMS issue. I'm not sure he fully understood the severity of the double error on the part of the tech or the problem resetting it, particularly if no Nissan dealers are in the area and tire shops have trouble with it. He indicated he was taking notes and would pass the info to the engineers. He did no know if other manufacturers use the same system. Anyone know? 7/5 NHTSA listed the safety report on their web site, but it probably will go no further. This is the only report for NVs. If Nissan uses the same TPMS for all vehicles, there may be similar reports for Titans, Frontiers and Quest (?) vans if there is a significant psi difference. I doubt this is a problem for other Nissans as psi tends to be the same, front and back. It probably goes unnoticed. 7/16 30,000 mi service redone to include the 35,000 oil change. Service manager and I went over all issues that have come up since we took ownership. This included the check engine light, loose gas cap warning, left rear door latch (enables the door to fold along the left side), got stuck inside the door, the broken glove box latch, and the sliding door track, which he found, that gets slightly hung up when fully opened. Only the check engine light was not completely resolved, as no code was recorded. The gas cap was replaced, so this may be the check engine. If not, he is willing to continue the search for the cause.

The glove was suddenly difficult to open. When I was able to open it, the plastic moveable part that engages the fixed latch in the back came out of its track exposing the spring. When I tried putting it back on, it fell between (small opening on both sides) the front and back molded plastic. I had to take the whole unit apart to shake the part out. I put everything back together and then removed the latch from the door. Put it back together, but whatever holds this plastic piece on the spring or engages the handle is missing or broken, most likely the latter, broken. I managed to get it to stay shut but another aggravation. I guess this will be covered by the warranty. Not exactly a wear and tear issue, as we keep very little in there except the manual, registration and proof of insurance. The bin between the seats gets lots of use. Plastic on plastic... Is that more durable? We'll find out. 7/1 Dealer had ordered the part and will replace it at next service (See TPMS topic.) 7/16 Replacement latch installed under warranty.

Returned from our 3 week trip, but heard nothing from Jim Click Nissan until I forwarded my email to the general manager. He responded immediately and cc'd the service manager to take care of this. The response from the service manager was a brush off email not an apology or offer to check the van to confirm that the rest of the service was done correctly. He has not answered my response which I sent 2 days ago. The end result is ongoing. In the meantime, I filed a complaint with Nissan and filed a safety related complaint with NHTSA. I don't have any expectations except there is a report filed. Next up is BBB in Tucson. On a more positive note, I think there should be a "Good Nissan Dealer/Service" topic where we can post and look up dealers/service in the event we are in the area.