New NV2500 owner (sort of)

[HERvan]

Bought a new NV2500, V8, trailer tow package.  Outfitting for camping with the horses and dogs.  Like the tie-downs inside, and the multiple clips on the roof.  Have seen varing reports for mileage with the V8 from 10's up to 20's, with the onboard "mileage computer" displaying wildly differing information.  What would be the expected mileage, not towing anything, and with towing a 7k (loaded) trailer?  Generally mild hills (think east of the Applacians, mid-Atlantic states). 

[KMGLTZ]

welcome, there are so many different aspects for MPG, such as climate, load, driving style, etc thats why you get so many varying reports. I have a 2012 NV 3500 V8 constantly loaded with about 2000lbs and a ladder rack with 2 ladders and i see around 13.5-14 MPG.. live in PA in a very hilly area and have been seeing this mileage in temps in the 60-80 degree range.. that MPG is better then my ford box truck getting about 8mpg

[HERvan]

Thanks.  We are going to use it mostly for camping with the dogs and crates, but 5 or 6 times a year towing a 7k (loaded) two-horse trailer.  We use a 2003  E-250, 5.4L, now, and get 11-12 with the trailer, and 16-18 on the highway with only dogs and us.  We looked at the other 2013/2014 vans as replacement, and the NV gave us everything we wanted (except the diesel; no one offers that in a new van, anymore, with the towing capacity we wanted).  Time will tell, however.

 

Now, on to the interior insulation, rain on the roof, and general noise abatement from the "boom box", so to speak.  Any suggestions?

[KMGLTZ]

the only real solution that would not take up a crazy amount of space would be sprayon foam insulation.. the van wasnt designed for camping so it is not going to be that quiet no matter what you do. its just rain noise anyway

[axulsuv]

When I first got my 1500s low roof it was definitely "boom box" . Since then I've added factory interior panels and clips with plain old fiberglass insulation behind them . I got all the oe stuff from  FactoryNissanParts.com  . As to the roof on mine , I used a few rolls of the foil backed bubble wrap type insulation you can get at Lowes or the Home Depot and some contact cement and glued it up between the roof beams with 3m contact cement . With the intent of covering it with some thin homemade panels for a headliner .... 

 I haven't got around to finishing the ceiling yet and the silver rooftop doesn't look that bad ... But the point is these few small things completely changed the noise level inside the the van :) You can still here the rain in a downpour , but instead of the loud tinny tapping on sheet metal it has turned down to a muted thud  , if that makes sense ...

And the change in interior temp is worth it too , I can park it in the sun after driving it on one of our 100 degree 98% humidity days around here , go grocery shopping or whatever , and come back to the van in a few hours , open the back doors to load it and get a waif of cool air coming out of it when i open the doors .

 Glenn

[HERvan]

We do tent camping, with the dogs, and sometimes the horses, so do not live in the van.  Going to be outfitted with storage for tents, chairs, other camping accessories.  Plenty of room for the three dog crates.  Thanks for the suggestions for insulation and some sound reduction.  We do take some week and two week long trips, and the sound muffling would be welcome on 6-8 hour driving days :) .  When I get it back from the dealer (installing interior side panels and a window in the sliding door), and after some interior work to do, i hope to post some pictures.