jaymanfifty

Its tight but goes through the Auto Bell car wash in Shelby, NC. and with the complete wash package, the van looks like new - many comments from people on this van - some say its "fugly" but NOT to me - I think its "beautiful" - guess its the "eye of the beholder"!!!!!

I have to use a ladder to wash the roof of mine as well - I'm 5-10 - I guess if you're a basketball player, you could wash the regular roof without the ladder. I even need a 2 step stool to really clean the windshield. Not complaining though - luv the NV!!!

I'm tired of washing my NV by hand - it "kicks my a@@" - I have been hesitant to take it through an automated car wash such as Auto Bell around here in NC and wanted to know if anyone has already done so without mishap? This regular roof NV is still about a foot higher than a 4x4 Toyota Tundra so height may be an issue. Asked my dealer but no answer as yet. If anyone has taken their regular roof NV through any of these car washes, I would like to know so I can take mine - its over 80 degrees here today and I just washed this "girl" and, as usual, she "wore me out"!!!!

They have them at Lowes in several different lengths - the holes in the center of the roof near the 3 interior lights require very short bolts. I purchased several packs for future use.

My God I'm rambling!!

I have the regular roof 2500 V6 - it got 14 to 15 towing a 2500 pound trailer to South Florida plus the van was loaded with stuff as well. This was measured at the pump. The computer is questionable but has some relativity to the actual. I have seen my computer go to 24mpg for a few miles but it normally reads 19/21 in this hilly area of NC and relatively rural area. Mpg did drop in Ft Lauderdale with all the traffic lights and what is now the "red light camera capital of the World". But even then it was actual of 15/16. I'm very pleased with my mpgs on the V6. It is better than the Tundra I sold after buying the NV but the Tundra was the 5.7 V8 and 6 speed auto 4x4, longbed, double cab. Best MPGs on the Tundra was 21 on a tank of "apparently" ethanol free gas purchased on a trip to Yellowstone NP. I have found that gas purchased at Love's and sometimes Exxon seems to have less ethanol which gives better mpgs. Both my NV and Toyota Highlander have the computer and while these don't jibe directly with computation of mpgs at the fill up, they do give a close approximation [computers show about 1 to 2 mpgs more than actual], so if you watch your mpgs on the computer you can get an idea which gas pumps have more ethanol and which have less. Less ethanol can produce 2 to 3 mpgs MORE based on my many fill ups. - We should all demand that ethanol be left out of gas - it cuts mpgs significantly and I DON'T believe it does anything for the environment - thats just another "government lie". Ask your corn belt senators and congress members!!!!!! Of course they will LIE!!! Government does a lot of stupid things - like say that guns kill when its the human finger [or inhuman] on the trigger that kills!

My 7 wire plug and hitch was dealer installed. Took trip with trailer from NC to South Florida and all worked fine. Work done at Grand Strand Nissan, Myrtle Beach.

Earl, Thanks for the detailed explanation! Now I can safely watch 3 hours of TV while the wife is shopping. If it gets more than that or if its very warm, I'll crank up the Honda EU 2000 to run the AC, TV and the fridge for the "cold" drinks! Getting ready for the Yellowstone, Glacier trip with the van and leaving the camper back home in NC. Gas may be $5 per gallon so have to travel lite! Jay

It seems that the ignition key must be fully turned right in order to use the 400 watts full power of the built in inverter. Will doing this for several hours using the 400 watt inverter do any damage to the NV or the inverter? Also, will the inverter power off before the battery drains too much to start the vehicle? I'm running a 19 inch flat screen TV, 65 watts. Any thoughts/suggestions?

I got from 14 to 15 towing 2500 pound toy hauler to south Florida and back to NC with V6 2500 standard roof. Have gotten near 19 not towing. Have 4800 miles on the 2500 now. I drive around 65 towing and not much more when not towing, maybe 70 except when passing. Around Miami/Ft Lauderdale in stop and go I got 12 to 14 not towing but lots of stops/starts. By the way Ft Lauderdale must be vying for "stop light camera capital of the world" - they have put cameras at just about every stop light. Would have been nice if they put that money into a computerized system to coordinate the lights to reduce the number of stops and goes!!!!!

My NV had a connector just below the emergency brake that was taped up. The dealer had, however, installed a trailer hitch and the wiring harness on my NV. So I don't know if this connector would have been there had the dealer not done what he did???? I did not see the van until it was ready for pick up at the dealership. I have added a prodigy brake controller to my NV and all seems to be working well. Maybe you should ask your dealer about the plug you found. My diagnostics plug is attached to the bottom of the plastic just below the steering wheel/column. I ordered a wiring harness from the supplier where I got the Prodigy controller so all was "plug and play". I think it was the same harness that all Nissan vehicles require. I can provide the info on the supplier and the id for the harness if you wish? Jay

David, What is your bed set up like in the NV? I have the low top but want to be able to use it for travel/camping - maybe to Yellowstone in June, maybe Florida in the next few weeks. My NV heats up fast so I don't think I have a need for the remote start - did you install the remote start yourself or have an installer? On the inverter, is it a self install and I suppose it must be wired directly to the NV battery or did you add another battery? Thanks, Jay

Can anyone email me a photo of how the connectors which attach the roof rack to the built in connector points on the roof of the NV are installed? I have the 3 bar roof rack in [aluminum painted white] and the connectors but it seems to be a tight fit getting the connectors on [do they slide onto the bars with holes on the top of the NV and in which direction]. My email is jaymanfifty@yahoo.com