Local Apparent Friday

Yah dunno, never been to Bisbee. Baja sounds more fun. I'm not sure what is going on that mx is any more dangerous or worrisome than normal.

Back to baja is canceled but they are rallying in AZ instead, if anybody is interested. @radin2son

LEDs seem to add some nuances. I have the torchbeam and love them, but have noticed recently that they are interfering with my FM radio reception. I normally don't use air broadcast, so I don't know if they've always interfered or if it's new. Either way, I'm going to order a choke and see if that solves the issue. Additionally, the cluster light for my temp gauge and fuel gauge seems to be getting some residual from somewhere...they are very faintly illuminated when the van is off, but not with any consistency. Sometimes they are completely off, other times a faint glow. Bumping the vehicle around doesn't seem to change it. That though I'm chalking up to the rest of the LEDs that I did, as it didn't occur until I swapped all the turns/brakes/running lights.

IIRC the shock choices were OEM, Gabriel, or Monroe, then a slew of knockoffs. No factory bolt in from rancho/fox/etc. I ended up going with the Monroe, IIRC, since they are listed as the heavy duty option on RockAuto's part selector, although the Gabriel are known for a stiffer ride. I'm pretty sure I have the order correct. I wish there were in-channel visors. I am not a fan of the stick on ones. Where you'll fall short, in my experience, is that there are no LSD options, there are no cheap 4wd options, and there are no cheap bumper options. American Van has a cheap roofrack. As for wheels, there are options but not as many as you'd think when you start looking at backspacing and offset, because of the slider. There is an extender that is made to give you another 1.5" of clearance or so. As Crusty asked, if you give us an idea of what you are looking for, all the available options have been explored extensively here. If you are handy with tools/welders, the sky is the limit, or at least whatever the legal bumper height is in your home state. ? Welcome to the forums.

Theoretically, for your hypothetical situation, I would try the $10 home depot key. With no chip, it won't start the car, but it should unlock the doors. This way, you don't have to worry about somebody breaking into the hitch safe and stealing the van...worst case they can get in but can't drive off... Also, sorry to hear about the divorce but glad to see you're still out there traveling, and hope you'll stick around! Rad is moving around out that way, and we have a newer older member who is also gearing up for western travels. Congrats on going fulltime. -laf

A couple more shots of the van. Had a family medical emergency (everything is ok now) that necessitated that we cut our trip short, so we did the 10 hour drive back the day before yesterday and are back home for the meantime.

Not personally sure, but wanted to pop in and say welcome back! What the heck have you been up to? I need a door key to carry on expeditions around a lanyard without carrying my full set, so I can run to home depot tomorrow and try and report back, if nobody answers conclusively by then.

That's pretty neat, and will make a great last memory! Never understood the allure of nascar...seems the only interesting thing is the wrecks, and the video game wallride that one guy did.

Lame. Hope you had a good time. We're sitting around until April....my bike wiring harness is in a major mass of loose spaghetti right now back at home, waiting for my eventual return.

Bump for a '23 meetup...west coast guys could hit the Back to Baja vanlife festival in April, if you're down for morning yoga.

Firstly, sorry for your loss. I'd be devastated without my better half who is also my travel buddy. I'm glad you're carrying on and living those dreams that you guys shared. As to your build, it sounds pretty great, would love to see pics. Ours rn is just a built in futon...everything else is just temporary as we figure it out....diesel heat/solar/stove/sink/etc etc all waiting to go in when we get back to the shop. I'd be curious about your plans to shoehorn the shower and head in. Rad is out your way, perhaps you guys will cross paths. We went the trailer route as well for the bikes...no way we could fit us plus two bikes and all the requisite track gear into the van. Currently we're track riding road racing bikes as well as running pit for a WERA endurance team, but hoping to get into some backwoods and trail riding in the future. Need to swap out bikes for it though...current stable is a gxr600 and an r3 for the track, then an r1150 and a tu250 for the street. Maybe i'll get rid of the heavy beamer and snag a couple small street legal thumpers.

Gratuitous van pics abound. We're bouncing around the Southeast for the month, trying to find relatively warm spots and failing. I bought a diesel heater, but haven't installed it yet so we're relying on sleeping bags and whatnot.

Here ya go:

Post up some pics and tell us a little about your build when you get a chance. Kodi is just a multimedia OS that has access to a ton of free apps like crackle, tubi, etc.

We use starlink and pull tv via various different apps and scrapers via kodi, but I don't really need or use live tv. Live tv is always the kicker...best bet is still an HD antenna if you are within range of a broadcast antenna. Starlink is great but wish I would have used the portability feature instead of the RV feature. Hoping to be able to convert back in the future to portability, but currently locked out. Passenger swivel requires removing the center console, which is a great spot for a bougerv 12v fridge. Had the opportunity to buy a swivel for 25 and missed it. Kicking myself in the butt about it, and will continue to.

Necrobump. Ran one of these on the econoline and loved it, although think I'm going to go rooftop NMO on the nissan. Jury is still out though.

I'm glad lowrider bumped this. I forgot that I hadn't updated this. My random electrical issues turned out to be that I hadn't quite plugged the trans harness all the way in after the engine swap. It's kind of a hard one to push together. Make sure you hear the positive click of the lock. Otherwise been driving great. Been on the road pretty much all year... currently hiding from the cold in NC after a few days back country in Pisgah and a stint at Hanging Rock. Pics to come eventually.

Wait a little bit, things will be cheaper when people start needing money. As for internet, starlink has been pretty nifty, friendly on how far off grid you like going. Welcome

Kinda sounds like you said...like there's air in the system that's not been purged properly. When I did the engine swap on mine, I caught hell purging the system and the needle would jump all over the place from spiked to low until I managed to get it purged. Tons of youtube vids on how to do it the correct way. Did you do anything prior to it starting to overheat, or did it just start doing it and then you've had a shop try to resolve? Any particular reason to suspect a blockage?

Cool, I'll keep an eye out for a pair in the jys. Thanks

Is the heated only available in the electric seat? I supposed I'd have to give up my underseat tray if so...

Back before I found out that the center is the perfect spot for my fridge, I had been on the same hunt. Watch facebook marketplace for part-outs. I had seen them there. What kept me from pulling the trigger was the hunt for the even rarer HEATED captains chair. Whether or not that was built, I do not know. Now that the fridge is there, it's in the back of my mind to just settle for heated seats, when I find a set reasonable in both wear and price. Happy hunting and best of luck. - laf

Welcome! There's a ton of info on the forums! If you're not aware, 4wd was never offered stock, it's an added conversion and there are 3 (IIRC) main companies doing it. Be sure to check the classifieds here...4wds have been moving a lot lately and there's a thread with links as people find them as well. If you had to do the conversion out of pocket, it's about 15k last I checked, not including travel to or from. I will mention that the factory 2wd electronic slip is a bit more sure-footed than a traditional non-lsd van, with proper tires and inflation techniques. As to what years are best, I personally favor the first run, but there are many who like the 2nd production as well. The major difference is in the transmission, although there was an engine design update as well. As for what to look for, what particulars are you hoping to find out? Are you just looking for a family bus? What use case requires 4wd? Are you hoping for the v6 or the v8? Where are you located? Will you be towing, etc etc. This forum is great for camaraderie and the much more technical side of NV ownership. For large-family-specific pointers, might I also recommend the unaffiliated Nissan NV Families group...they have a lot of tips and tricks useful for large families. Again, welcome! - laf

Huh. Neat, I had no idea. Ty for clearing it up.

3500 is v8 only. Odd that it doesnt have the button.