radin2son

With tow mirrors it is 102.8" according to Nissan's commercial website. When parked in your garage you will probably fold in one or both side mirrors, as they stick out farther than you think. Speaking of mirrors, the tow mirrors are excellent and pick up vehicles next to you until your periferral vision sees them.

www.trucktrend.com (go to features) has just put out a quick review of 2014 light trucks and vans that includes the 2014 NVs.

There is an interesting post regarding fuel consumption on www. sportsmobileforum.com for Sprinters (16-19 mpg) that probably can be applied to all vans. Basically, drive your automatic like a stick shift and keep the rpms at 2500-3200. With heavy loads the computer upshifts way to early and downshifts too late. Also a steady foot on the throttle can lead to increased fuel flow until it downshifts. Seems counterintuitive to me. It took a long time for me to try the D4-1 button on the end of the column shifter. It works great, and we use it all the time on narrow, twisting and steep roads. The commercial manager at Dublin Nissan said this was more fuel efficient than leaving it in D and letting your foot, brakes or more likely the computer make the decisions.

Didn't know there was a Nissan monitor or anyone monitoring this. Problem with posting/responding on the correct thread has more to do posting/responding to only one topic. It would be great if there was a way to easily post in multiple topics at the same time. Maybe I missed this. Another minor issue is keeping dealers/vendors on their own thread or at least identified as such. There has only been one dealer that I'm aware of. I know this doesn't address your volunteer request...

Remote door locks have sometimes been a problem; don't always unlock. Thought it might be the key fob battery or the angle I or the key was at... Seems to work best when on the slidding door side. May be where they have the sensor, or not. Not consistent enough to be an issue, as never had to use the actual key. Locking is a different issue. Locks remotely, but lights don't always flash. May be that rear door not completely closed, but can't tell this visually. Will unlock, open and close rear door and lights flash when locked.

We don't use our NV, low top camper conversion as a daily driver, but we have put 21788 miles on it since October, 2012. During 2012, we averaged 14.13 mpg over 4954 miles, based on gallons used/pumped per miles driven. (The trip computer generally shows ± a mile better.) This included towing our car from Fresno to Tucson (13.1 mpg). We averaged 16.15 mpg over 16834 miles during 2013. Truck Trend did an year long test and averaged 14 mpg.

The main problem seems to be that no one knows what a NV is. We had to educate our Farmers agent and their computer. It was added as a van to our car policy. It turns out this was not the way for us to go, as our NV is a camper. That is another story. You are just going to have to call around to get the policy you want and emphasize it is a passenger van.

This is a great conversion for those considering building their own. vimeo.com/79569858 Quigley (?spelling) also has a new high top 4x4 concept conversion.

When we purchased our NV Sportsmobile (SMB) camper van last September, our insurance agent didn't know what a NV or SMB was. Even though we faxed all the info and emailed the SMB info, we have been traveling in an underinsured van. Basically, he added our van to our car policy and insured the conversion for $10,000, the maximum. This was $30,000 short. Today, we corrected this and moved our SMB to a Class B motor home policy. Not all companies will insure camper vans, particularly if they are 4x4 and will be driven off road. This may impact "build your own" NV campers if your camper van adds up to more than $10,000. Don't use the word conversion; rather, say it is a "Class B motor home." I don't think this will impact any other NVs.

Hi madsadsalad, Congratulations on your van purchase. Although it was "cold" here in Tucson last winter, we didn't winterize it at all. Actually, I spaced this out. It sits in a carport when not traveling. Last November, when winter came early in Arches and Canyonlands, everything froze one night, except for the water tank and some water bottles we had in a canvas bag. We used the water in the bottles to make coffee and waited for things to thaw. We had cold nights on our Alaska trip, but didn't feel we needed a heater. We earlier opted not to buy a portable heater, as we were not sure where to safely set it up. (In the high top, there may be more room or options.) So, waking up on cold mornings is the same as tent camping. Where is the sun? Unlike tent camping, you have some place to sit while making coffee. Regarding the flat plate; the idea is great but we haven't reaped its benefits. We have tried filling a large thermos with hot water when we get to a camp site for dish washing later on. It starts hot then gets progressively cooler. We have tried this with the engine running; same result. Waste of limited water. (Someone on the SMB forum suggested a recirculating pump. Others say to go with on demand hot water, your other option. There are others who praise the flat plate.) It may be we haven't used it and the external shower very much... SMB can help you with this. While on the subject of water: if you have the 10 gallon water tank, have SMB install the 16 or is it 17 gallon tank. Reduces storage a little bit. (The demo high top they had for sale listed a 20 gallon water tank, but Jonothan said it didn't. 10 gallons is their standard tank.) Thanks for the comments regarding the SMB posts. I think you bought a great van. We certainly like ours. Get used to people asking you about it all the time. Enjoy your trip home. Even if SMB doesn't add a flat plate or larger water tank, it is worth the detour to see their facility and people.

I tried to convince the SMB forum admin to let me create a separate topic for NVs similar to the one they have for Sprinters. They refused. I did set up 2 threads under "General Sportsmobile" and "Meet up/Trip report" for NVs if you have any interest. I agree there is a lot of chatter on this site from the same group all about their Fords. Some is interesting...

Do you have the high top SMB? This was the first version they built to shop around to NV dealers. It was for sale as a demo at SMB west, but it disappeared from the web site. SMB in Texas also has/had a high top. It is hard to tell how many conversions were built; not many, maybe 12? 2 floor plans were offered and I always assumef most were built around the same time with few changes. When did you purchase yours? We have never seen another NV SMB on the road. Did see the Road Trek conversion.

I have a 2500 camper van converted by Sportsmobile in Fresno. They have limited info related to the Nissan conversion on their web site, but they do list several Nissan dealers who sell the Nissan SMBs in your area. You may be able to get some of the dimensions you need from the SMB web site and some ideas about floor plans (use Ford) as well as more info regarding 4x4 conversion, not just Quigley from the forum for owners and/or those interested in all things Ford E series and 4x4. There is a Quigley 4x4 passenger conversion in this forum, and I believe he mentioned a 2" lift...

Fixing this will let you hear the drip, drip, drip onto the back bumper...

Prior to our trip to Alaska, we purchased driver/passenger screens from www.theskeeterbeater.com and made a side door screen with materials we bought from them. The are held in place with magnets and work great. Another company makes a similar product, but had never heard of an NV. Nissan's fault, not theirs.

We have had the 2500 standard top, converted into a camper van by SMB, since 9/12. The conversion brings the weight up to 6.917 from 5,996. Set up for travel typically adds 1,000 pounds. In 2012 we drove 4954 miles and averaged 14.13 mpg (miles divided by gallons used). The computer said 15.3 mpg. This was not all interstate miles; there was a lot of narrow, 2 lane, twisting, hilly roads. We just returned from an almost 11,000 mi. trip to Alaska. We averaged 16.44 mpg. Except for I-15 to get to Canada and I-10 to return from California, it was again mostly 2 lane roads. The computer said 17 mpg. We are happy with this, but not so happy with the $320 charged for the 15,000 mile service; this included an "engine oil system flush," a new air filter, fuel injection cleaning and other checks. I think the dealer forgot this is a truck and not a sports car; however, after a trip like this I wanted more than an oil change. Everything was fine. In the future, I will stick to the regular oil changes per the service booklet. The 7,500 service cost $61.77 in Grande Prairie, Alberta.

We've been on the road in the western states, Canada and Alaska since May 5th with sporadic wifi or none at all. I tried to post photos before we left... You can go to sportsmobile.com to the forum and see photos there. Except for 2 occasions of the check engine light coming on, the van has been great. The first time was after getting caught in snow/iced roads and the second involved driving on dusty gravel roads with a brief downpour. Both in the Yukon. Unable to get to the arctic circle via the Dempster Hwy due to the road being washed out. Driven 9,000 miles and getting over 17 mpg. Computer says 17.5 mpg but I have to add up total gallons used to get the real mpg. Should be close.

Towed (dolly) our VW Pasta wagon from Fresno CA to Tucson. We have standard top, comverted to s camper van with V8 and tow package. Averaged a little over 12 mpg on interstate and some 2 lane. Quite a few climbs.

Motor Trend just completed a year with a standard top NV 2500. They averaged 14 mpg over 25,616 miles. Hard copy of article should be in the 5/13 issue... or go to http://m.trucktrend.com/roadtests/van/163_1305_2012_nissan_nv_2500hd_long_term_verdict/viewall.html I think Car and Driver tested a high top about a year ago. My last tank showed 14.23 mpg based on fill up. This is for a 2500 standard top converted to a camper. The conversion curb weight is 6,917 lbs up from 5996 lbs, thus carrying 921 lbs. This is well below the 3104 payload capacity. Getting it packed now for a trip to Canada and Alaska. Mine has an average mpg indicator in the trip computer. I just reset it for our trip. It reads better mileage (15.3 mpg overall when I averaged 13.34). Motor Trend/Truck Trend just posted a 2013 Best of Class. Go to above link and click on Road Tests. NV was second behind Sprinter. Ford, Chevy and Dodge (?) also evaluated but data not clearly rated. Not bad for a brand new van design, or updated panel truck :)

Add 4th recall (13V-095) to check the gear selector plate lock clip to ensure it was installed correctly. Mine was installed correctly, as was the case with every other van sold thought the local dealer. Had both fixed last Monday. Never had a problem with the latch or gear selector.

Last September, we bought a 2012 NV 2500 (low top) that had been converted to a camper van by Sportsmobile (SMB) in Fresno, CA. Low and high top SMBs are being sold by 8 Nissan dealers, mostly on the west coast. Only one other Nissan SMB sold to our knowledge. We have the V8 with tow, navigation, supplemental air bags and rear window packages. This is a great chassis on the interstate and secondary roads. We used to have an '83 VW camper, and the interior is set up the same way. 3 trips so far, and have a trip to Canada and Alaska planned. Reason for joining this forum is to see how this van is doing in numbers sold and any issues/recalls. So far, the only recall on our NV is the rear door latch. Will get this taken care of at next oil change. Tucson is a Nissan town, and there are more and more work NVs on the road. Very few low roof models. Saw a Fed EX high roof NV along route 1 in Northern CA. The NV sales manager at Dublin Nissan, CA, wished an extended version was offered, as he could sell many more NVs. A friend also told me NVs are popular in Alberta and British Columbia as work vans.