Local Apparent Friday

We have one in our '14, but as we are on 285's, it isn't accurate. I used a GPS to track distance and figure out that it's recording roughly .90075% of the actual covered mileage, so when applying that mathematically to our odometer over the course of our trip, we averaged about 13.631mpg, which includes a lot of flat land driving, as well as a trip through the white mountains and across VT to Albany, then down the lake to Erie and round to Pittsburgh before heading for the WV mountains and across back to the coast. Good to see you all again! - laf

Mechanically it's been one nightmare after the next and the rust is next level.

Beautiful pics! Hope you're having fun out there. We use freecampsites.net to find chill spots as well. Fair winds, -laf

We own a subaru...i'll set to work getting rid of it when we get home and I'll never own another.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKrnbYZhZH0

So like they said, you have to trick the SRS system into thinking the seats are there, this is done with a resistor. The delete dongles that aztec mentioned are just resistors done up in a quick harness for people that don't know how to work with electrical components. As to resetting the light once you either put your seats back in or add the resistor, it's a very straightforward process, there is a youtube video that involves cycling your key a couple times and whatnot. My internet isn't running well enough rn to pull up the video, but just search "Nissan Airbag Light Reset" and you should find it. I'll double back and post it later when I have better net if you haven't found. As to resistor values, IIRC it's about 1k ohms, but you'll want to do some research and/or measure your resistance to confirm.

HD was just marketing, it means nothing and was dropped from the badging. NVs super easy to park, although our other ride is a 35' bus, so YMMV. If you're used to a smartcar, maybe not so much. The wife does okay with this one. Have read some minor grumblings about the newer trans itself (google the trans, not the vehicle,) but not enough to justify avoidance. Mileage so far on our trip has been high 13's, low 14's. That's been mostly flatland coastal work. We're in to the mountains now, we'll see how we fair. I'm also having to correct mathematically for our larger tires, but I don't think that's actually so bad for a 9 foot tall van on 285 ATs. Might do the mythical cummins conversion down the line when I get bored though, we'll see. We would have bought a newer one if we had found a sweet deal on one of those instead. - laf

Been seeing a bunch of NV's on our trip...mostly commercial work vans. I've seen a ton of other stuff as well...some commercial transit/sprinter conversions, some DIY promasters, and even a skoolie called Fancy. Been kinda quiet on our part because we've been crazy busy running the camp and now that I have free time, I'm using my phone as a hotspot to save the hassle of pulling out the starlink. Admin seems MIA since June, tried emailing but no response. Hope everyone is doing well. Still on the road for another week, we're in NH now after 3 weeks in Maine. -laf

So did this go anywhere? You get her sorted?

Without physically being there, it's kind of hard to troubleshoot, but it sounds like you understand the general process of how they work. Check to see that everything is connected and nothing is dirty or jammed.

Good thought, will check.

copart is a good place to look for junked vehicles, but you talk about having a more modern front end than 21....the titan was last redesigned in '20 and is slated to be discontinued in 24 unless something changes...Anyway, could be fun. Good luck.

Here's a diff carrier with fitment compatibility between older titans and newer NV's. This would mean that the spline count would be the same. The plot thickens. - laf

So the frames are the same, but bodywise, they are two different animals. Anything can be grafted with enough time/talent or money, but it's certainly far from a weekend ordeal. To what extent do you want to pursue this, and to what end?

So. I guess I'm not the best at posting minute by minute updates. We're on instagram too btw, sometimes more pics at least go out there anyway. But anyway, we glued down strips of foam insulation between the floor ribs, then a solid layer of the foam, then plywood painted and treated with mold preventative. The floor we went with is mannington adura rigid in heritage buckskin pattern...it's a 5.5mm luxury vinyl that's treated with microban. They have this really neat video on the site about how the scratch resistance is so strong that you can file the ridges on a quarter off, which is cool and all, but it took us less than 10 mins to scratch the ever-loving-**** out of the floor. It's a shame, too, because it was a ton of work and it looks REALLY pretty. Gonna' call the sales rep tomorrow and see what's up, but I'm guessing they won't have a solution. Anyway, we're carrying on with the build for now. We have a bed frame that's laid out athwartships and is a double folding futon, so we can use it as a couch in the van or hang out out back and enjoy the view...waiting on some hinges to actually get to the folding part, but we can sleep on it anyway. Been building out of cedar for the amazing smell, and it seems to be the only straight wood you can get these days at the big box stores. - laf

Made it safely to Maine and got the flooring installed. Working on getting a bed frame in there, tint appointment in 2 weeks time. Wife made up the window covers with some neat constellation fabric we found and some reflectix, fabric just covers the inside. Could have used an iron but, alas, don't have one of those in my toolbox. ?

Thanks for weighing in. Cool build, looks like I see a propane water heater as well? Would love to see more details, looks very clean.

Did anybody ever use these?

We're carrying starlink. I reckon if the clouds are thick enough to shut down the wifi, that's warning enough. ?

I second the thought of being impressed...we were off on the outer banks where we shouldnt have been a couple weeks ago but with the BFGs and the electronic locking diff or whatever they call it, we were out and back without issue. Garmin InReach is a great product, we carry that too, as well 10/11m radios, but that's more for hobby than emergency.

Pretty wild series of poor choices there. Glad the bush didn't catch on fire and burn the truck down. Educational for someone solidly from the East, where we have flash floods but they aren't as complicated and trappy as that. Breathtaking to see those waterfalls rolling over the top like that, but yah...after watching how long the drive out was, I would have made a detour well before he did to high ground on my own terms. Glad they all made it out. I wonder how those that just stayed at the trailhead faired. - laf

Yah we bought the screen material at the same time as the the window shade stuff. Going the magnet route. -laf

Neat pics! Beautiful country out that way. - laf

I haven't had a chance to snap pics because we've been running around working on projects and preparing for the week, but the van made the 16 hour drive up the coast without issue. Hoping to get some sort of bed installed this week, and wife has been making reflective/insulated window coverings. Hope you all are well. -laf

If not, home depot sells a Klein MM400 for $30 that is the best thing going.