Chris_CommercialManager

I'm with you, I love driving at night. I've driven coast to coast more times than I can count. There's something awesome about being in the middle of nowhere, pitch black, driving and listening to a good Coast to Coast am show about aliens or the like...lol

Hey there Jeremy, good choice! It's a pretty rare case that you'll see anything other than regular/ preventative maintenance if the vehicle is properly cared for. Curious, what brought you over to the NV??

I should add. Notice where we put the tank holder. It needs to go there when you add the wing that pushes the partition back a few inches. It is an optional item but most people do it. Without the wing you can place the holder in back if you'd prefer it there.

Hey that's a sweet truck too. Most guys just slap a number and name on the side and call it a day. I'd love to visit the Arizona test facility. I'm very familiar with your weather there btw. I have property in palm springs. For me personally, summer is my favorite time of the year, I love the heat :)

Just had this done for a customer. I like this package a lot. If you're not doing something very specific like locksmith work or carrying very specific things, this is a GREAT package!

I've been to that facility for meeting on occasion and toured the plant several times. I'm not sure what you're talking about but you may know better than I. Not sure if I mentioned this before but if i didn't, Benz announced they will start manufacturing the sprinter in North America (haven't disclosed exact location yet). Now that is interesting in a few ways to me. First, if they can throw a built in the usa tag like our large NV's have that will be head scratcher to some domestic buyers. Second, with the new ford being almost neck and neck in cost with a comparable Sprinter, when benz eliminated the cost due to the chicken tax will it be cheaper than the ford? That would be something. And third, what do they have waiting in the wings or what are the numbers that have been crunched to view that as a cost efficient move??!! Very interesting, I think they are clearly going to hit ford head on. So check out my new parts van, I know it's just a parts van......But, It's probably the coolest parts van on the planet!! :drool:

that's an interesting one, keep us updated

I'll second Bates :)

Oh gosh, that's getting so much harder if not impossible to figure out these days. I don't know that I could find that number, and if I could I wouldn't believe it. There are indexes like here... http://www.american.edu/kogod/autoindex/2014.cfm but they seem to contradict information found here http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus03-complying-made-usa-standard Our work vehicles rarely get a rating. What is interesting is the transit connect is listed and is super low on the "made in the usa" scale. However it is imported so it's not suprising. According to the guidelines on that website I don't think automobile can really qualify as made in the USA anymore. What the manufacturers say now is "built in the usa". If I ever come across numbers I'll let you know.

I have to agree 1000%. I can promise you that you'll be just fine if you invest in a pair of quality snow tires. They make all the difference in the world. Chris

That's funny you mention that. I don't have bluetooth in my car that I use regularly. I went to best buy and dropped a bunch of money into an expensive jawbone about a year back (don't remember which one) and always had people complaining of background noise. The only thing that seems to work well for me is wired headsets. I hate that they always get tangled and it's a pain, but it's better than talking to people that can't understand what I'm saying. I have yet to use the bluetooth in the truck while it's moving but at least at idle I've done some calling and I've been impressed. Maybe I will take one out today and give it a shot to see what people say.

Well, my reaction to their pricing was the exact opposite, I can't believe how much bang for the buck there is. There's alot of work that goes into a conversion. I was retailing road trek's, midwest customs, and meridians for well north of 100k. A camper/liesure van is not cheap, but that's a good deal.

Don't know if your actually considering a 4x4 or not, but have you heard of these guys?? Go to Quigly 4x4 to check what they can do with the Nissan. That is one heck of a company Also, the upfitting forum is dead, here's a link to an Adrian HVAC in a low roof we just did for you guys to look at. http://nissannvforum.com/topic/456-want-to-see-an-adrian-hvac-in-a-low-roof-looks-like/ I think I'm just going to keep this thread going forever and post up links to stuff and other threads. I don't know. Wish I would have started it in the general forum maybe now. RADIN2SON: How do you like your Sportmobile? I watched a video last night on the van and I'm actually quite impressed. Seems to be the best of both worlds, space saving but expands to be much larger with pop up top. Looks very similar in construction to a boat as far as the mechanics. Did you look at other trucks? Why did you pick that vehicle? I called the Indiana branch and they said CA branch is the only one who produces them. It's actually a product I could be interested in bringing in but I'm not ready to take that leap yet. I'm going to get some more information from them and go from there. I'm hoping maybe a consignment arrangement can be arranged but that's always pretty difficult.

Just put together an order for a bunch of vans, each one received an Adrian HVAC package. Have a look, any questions....ask away!

As I'm thinking about it......Go onto Thermo King dealer locator here http://www.thermoking.com/dealerlocator/nadselections.asp?country=usa and call a place in your area. You will most likely be calling and upfitter who carries and works with red dot and many more who can steer you in the right direction, wether your looking for parts for a self install or looking for a reputable place to get everything done. Where are you located?

Contact http://proairllc.com/ and http://www.rdac.com/ I can give both a thumbs up from personal experience. I have not walked back to parts but I can assure you that unless your picking up everypart you need off a junked NV (and I'd imagine the list to be quite extensive) it will be very cost prohibitive. The aftermarket companies will perform do exactly what you want, reliably, and at a substantial cost savings. That will be a good start for you. Chris

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with your local dealership. I'd tell you to shoot over here but I fear that may not be cost effective. I would be writing the GM of the dealership and Nissan corporate regarding deficencies in your interaction. The only way to change is with feedback both positive and negative from customers like you. I of course can't speak to how anyone else runs their dealership but your darn right my expectation is to have thorough work done in service. I'm not going to hope it happens, I'm going to demand it. I have a laundry list of things that I demand from service, parts, sales, vendors, etc etc. Even though it's not always possible I do strive for 100% satisfaction. Generally, if there has been a problem my customers have always known I've done literally everything I can to not only take care of it, but see to it that it doesn't happen again. It is the ONLY way to build what is in my opinion a successful operation. I just called my Nissan rep and he told me to give you this. Please contact them and tell them your story. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help, you or anyone else is always more than welcome to PM me, I'll happily pass along a phone number or call you if needed. I of course can't get involved in anyone elses affairs, but I may be able to give you some advice or insight, wether it be a problem, a question on a piece of upfit equipment, or literally anything else. Chris Nissan Consumer Affairs PO Box 685003 Franklin, TN 37068-5003 Phone: 1-800-647-7261 Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in each time zone

See that's really the reason for buying the NV. It shouldn't "need" to go to the dealer for issues, these Japanese brand vehicles can usually take such a beating. I know it's a what if thing you're talking about and I get it. While it's a consideration to look at service availability prior to the sale, It's simply not fair to look at Ford and say, well why isn't Nissan doing that. Ford has had so much time in this market to build that network and put all of the proper protocols, requirements, and training in place to see to it that the customer can get a consistently good experience at so many different facilities. Just for starters I don't think Nissan has the man power on a corporate level to accomplish a roll out like that across the country. Not only that, but I honestly don't think it would be smart to literally jump right into the deep end like that. I can continue to speculate but I hope you see where I'm going. The Nissan is a superior product when it comes to reliability..... And to address your oil change comment and a quick change type underground bay thing. That just won't work, maybe for Jiffy Lube, but not for us. And if that was an employee of Nissan you asked "why they don't have one", I don't think he knows what he's talking about, it's far more in depth than a tire rotation. We have a commitment to the customer, I'll explain. This is a commercial product and most buyers are using it in a commercial application. I think the best way for me to explain it is to give you a mock scenario. Joe plumber just bought a Nissan NV from my dealership (had a wonderful experience btw, best he's ever had I believe were his words :). He has a fleet of 5 trucks. He brings it here for all service, oil changes, brakes, etc. Joe doesn't come in himself, he has his worker who uses the truck bring it in. We never actually see Joe, except when he replaces or adds a vehicle. Joe's just been sending his drivers in for oil changes for awhile and we've been doing them in our "quick change underground bay". One day Joe's driver is saying there is grinding coming from his brakes. Joe instructs his worker to take it to the dealer right away for fear of extra damage and loses that worker for the whole day, costing Joe a whole bunch of money. Joe gets a call from us and we tell him, well the pads are so low that your down to metal and need rotors now too (costing Joe even more money). Joe of course is madder than heck and rightfully so pointing the finger at me. Not only did Joe lose money, but so did we. I just lost a customer. Every single NV is given a very thorough inspection on every single visit and is given an extensive report card on every single normal wear item on the truck, NO EXCEPTIONS. You come in for an oil change and it's going on the rack (lift). It's that report card that the driver should have been given, that would have alerted Joe to the need for service. Commercial clients do preventative maintenance, most retail consumers do not. A car going down for a day is an inconvenience for most, it's standing up clients resulting in lost customers and alot of money for a commercial client. Nissan, and our dealership is committed to understanding our clients needs being looked at as a partner with our clients. And as such you need a lift to adhere to these high standards. For you personally you may do your own maintenance and know the general condition of items on your truck, and maybe you just need an oil change on a road trip. The quick change bay may allow more dealers to service your truck, but the commitment to such high standards is then lost, which of course in turn degrades the product and the brand. Nissan simply wouldn't allow that, nor would I. Simply put, the benefits outweigh the negatives. Does that shed a little light? I can get a bit wordy :) for me personally I take great pride and it makes me feel good when we catch things that would have potentially sidelined a truck. I can't tell you how many times situations have come up where say.... a belt was looking bad. We told the driver, he says... well, it's not my truck but if you think it needs it. The owner calls questioning it after the driver has called and then we send him home with the belt for the owner to see. Then we hear from the owner and he says thanks so much, that really needed to be done I had no idea. And we keep that guy on the road where he should be. :shift:

My service dept tells me as of this moment it has nothing to do with NV, and to elaborate further it's really only affected older nissans up to about the year 2004. Going forward who knows.

Bates that's interesting. It may be the case here that some dealers want the product and haven't gotten approved for one reason or another. I just don't know yet. However with everyone being able to carry the NV200 and seeing local dealers with not 1 in inventory it leads me to believe that there are plenty that are just missing the boat.