Family of 8-New 4x4 NVP

[Cameron]

Hello!  We are a Nebraska family of 8 (kids range from 4 mos to 9 years).  We have a 2021 NVP on order from an Iowa dealer, who is going to ship to Advanced 4x4.  We will have them install larger tires, I think 285/70r17 on the stock rims, or maybe 285/75r70.  I think we won’t do any lift or other stuff to start with. Eventually, I will want to work on the headlights and maybe some cameras. Will be my family’s main source of transportation, so not a dedicated overland rig or anything like that. We are switching from a 2018 Ford Transit (which I love) because we want to tow a travel trailer, and the Transit’s crap at towing. 

 It seems we are getting in on the tail end of this whole NV thing, huh?  Seems like the vehicle I’m getting will be one of the last made… sad day. 
 

Anyway, looking forward to chatting with all of you about this beast of a vehicle!

 

Cam

[8DeepInTx]

@Cameron Welcome to the group and yes, it is unfortunate that the NV3500 is EOL. I can tell you that as a father to 7 kiddos ranging in age from 7 to 14, this van has been an incredible investment which has been very reliable as well as functional and allowed us to travel as a family and even bring along friends or additional family at times. I have done a handful of modifications to my NV but no where near the level that some of the group have done with theirs.

 

If you travels in the NV ever bring you through TX give us a shout so we can create a NV meet-up!

 

T. King 

[Cameron]

10 hours ago, 8DeepInTx said:

@Cameron Welcome to the group and yes, it is unfortunate that the NV3500 is EOL. I can tell you that as a father to 7 kiddos ranging in age from 7 to 14, this van has been an incredible investment which has been very reliable as well as functional and allowed us to travel as a family and even bring along friends or additional family at times. I have done a handful of modifications to my NV but no where near the level that some of the group have done with theirs.

 

If you travels in the NV ever bring you through TX give us a shout so we can create a NV meet-up!

 

T. King 

 

Hello!  Glad to hear that. Have you done any modifications that have been helpful for family life?  I’ve wondered about replacing floor with rubber for easier  cleaning.  The carpet in my transit is impossible to get crumbs out of. I’ve thought about an intercom so I could talk from the driver’s seat over the speakers.  Have you put in any DVD players or the like?  We don’t have anything on our current vehicles but thinking about strapping iPads to the back of seats for long trips. 

 

 We are going on a one month trip with a travel trailer next Jan from Nebraska to gulf coast and over to GA and FL, so will be spending a lot of time in this vehicle. 

[radin2son]

It may take some work to find old, relevant posts but they are there. 

 

Good to see new people posting...

[8DeepInTx]

@Cameron I have fixed/enhanced the issue with the rear A/C lack of air flow that you likely have seen others post about. I purchased the kit from the small biz in FL that corrects the reduced air flow and that enhancement has been a life saver...especially in Tx during Jun/Jul/Aug when sitting in the rear rows was comparable to a sauna. I have also flipped the second row bench so that it is rear facing. I recently put aftermarket 285/60/20 Toyo tires and some 20x9 HELO wheels which isnt a "family related" modification but it was time for new tires and I found a steal of a deal on them. I have upgraded all the speakers, added a LC7i sound processor, and an amp along with 10" subs. I have not swapped out the head unit but that's something I might do down the road

 

I am currently in the process of adding an auxiliary battery and outlets. I have a yellow top 34/78 Optima battery as of today have added (6) USB 3.0 outlets, (2) 125v outlets, and (1) 15amp 125v waterproof outlet with dual extension cords. I still have to install the fuse block, 12v onboard charger, 2000w Pure Sine inverter, isolator switch, and wires. I have several hours left on those mods which will absolutely help the kiddos avoid fighting over the outlets when their devices need attl juice. I do have (4) 10.1" Bluetooth headrest screens that will get installed once all the outlets are wired up and ready to go. I am considering adding a Maxxair unit but want to see how things feel inside the rear of the van during the upcoming summer months before I take on another project. 

What do you have on your docket in the way of modifications?

[Cameron]

@8DeepInTx, better headlights and probably a dash cam with pre-collision warning.   I will want to add a running board to help kids get in, especially with the added height.  Screens in headrests sounds interesting. What have you gotten?  Would we need to upgrade the electrical system to run them?

 

I have read about the rear AC issue.  I’ll try to do some fix preemptively, because my wife often sits in the back with kids.

 

I’m going to miss having Apple CarPlay, may try to see about a fix for that.
 

 

 

[8DeepInTx]

@Cameron Ahh yes, your mods reminded me that I too have swapped out the bulbs in the headlights as well as the fog lights and also have the Pormido D50 3 channel mirror camera. The upgraded fog lights seem to make a much greater difference in road visibility/brightness than do the upgraded headlamps....not sure if this is because the OEM fog lights are so poor that the step up is so much more noticeable with the Cree LED fog lights I have now or if there is another cause. Either way, upgrading both sets of bulbs has been a great, and inexpensive modification that probably took less than one hour to complete.

 

As for your Apple CarPlay complaint, there are tons of double din aftermarket head units out there that have Apple (and Android) connectivity/CarPlay and you can even find better than average ones for less than $250. The screens I purchased are not installed in the headrests but they are attached to the headrest with a strap and then have two pegs that go into the NV's headrest hole and then have a hollow top so that the OEM headrest can be inserted into this tube that the screens clip onto. I opted for some off brand screens that actually were an impulse buy I came across at a flea market and grabbed them for a few reasons. I wanted 5 total because of the number of kids and age range of the kids and if your kids are anything like mine, with all the button and screen pushing they do on roadtrips, any unit installed back there  will likely only have a 2-3 roadtrip life span and I dont want to throw $3k out the window on broken screens. The ones I got were $1000 total due primarily to the fact they are off brand, i was buying so many, and I was able to negotiate with the vendor at the flea market. I really like them so far and are bluetooth, apple/android compatible, have 2 headsets each, have 10" touchscreen's, and can charge via 12v or USB.

 

What type of running boards/side steps are you looking at? Are you going to get full length ones on both sides or buy the shorter one for drivers side? Do you have a manufacturer that you like?

[Cameron]

@8DeepInTx I think I’m going to need a full list of your mods with model numbers…  I see myself wanting to do pretty much all of that, except maybe the subwoofers.

 

Do you like your mirror camera?  Do you use the rear camera in addition to the factory backup camera?

 

Although we are switching from a van, we are actually trading a loaded 2021 Tahoe, so we will be decreasing in the creature comforts and bells and whistles. 
 

I have not figured out a running board yet. We have a very basic, fixed one on our Transit from the factory and it works great.

 

 Thanks man, I really appreciate the conversation.  I always thought I’d never get an NV because the technical innovation is lacking compared to a Transit.  But I didn’t think about innovation can’t turn a big minivan into a towing monster or true 4x4!  And learning about all the modification possibilities makes me excited to take delivery.

Edited May 11, 2021 by Cameron

[exE350]

We just bought an NV3500 passenger. Best van I've ever driven ... we've had full size vans for many years. Really can't understand why these haven't caught on.

We installed Laverne running boards (stainless tube with rubber/plastic step pads, short on driver side). They look great, are pricey and function acceptably. Our previous van, Ford E-350 had factory runners, wider (and thus generally more useful) than anything we could find for the NV, but ugly.  Also, the Lavern runners leave a gap between runner and lower body that could get your (or your kid's) foot caught (they offer a plastic piece for ~$80 to mitigate this, but looks like a sliced section of pvc pipe that I could install later).

You mentioned installing a Maxxair roof fan. We're investigating that also. Do you know if the ceiling light circuit will carry the 5 amp load? Will the roof structure allow a 14 x 14 cutout?

Thanks

[radin2son]

Welcome. The roof definitely will handle a cutout. Lots of roof top fans and in our case a reinforced pop top have been installed. 

 

Have any of you addressed how dealers will handle service, warranty and recalls? The latter have been few and mostly minor. 

 

Curious us to see if all Nissan dealers will be able to work on NVs. Much easier to find non-commercial dealers when traveling. 

[ArcticAthlon]

On 5/10/2021 at 9:52 AM, Cameron said:

 

Hello!  Glad to hear that. Have you done any modifications that have been helpful for family life?  I’ve wondered about replacing floor with rubber for easier  cleaning.  The carpet in my transit is impossible to get crumbs out of. I’ve thought about an intercom so I could talk from the driver’s seat over the speakers.  Have you put in any DVD players or the like?  We don’t have anything on our current vehicles but thinking about strapping iPads to the back of seats for long trips. 

 

 We are going on a one month trip with a travel trailer next Jan from Nebraska to gulf coast and over to GA and FL, so will be spending a lot of time in this vehicle. 

 

I just joined the forum and we came from a 2018 Transit as well. Towing, carpet and many other things were terrible and I am going to install vinyl flooring. I just posted my mods for cameras, floors, running boards, etc. on my Introduction post, before I saw yours. I put all my links in there. I can share pictures of what they all look like. 

 

I am jealous of the 4x4 conversion. maybe someday.

 

 

 

Edited June 22, 2021 by ArcticAthlon

[SAA]

WE are a family of 8 as well! This video is an example of what we have done for dvd's for trips! It works great and so much cheaper than having them all installed professionally! We can have up to 8 screens with this setup!