NV200usa Posted February 22, 2015 I'm a new owner of a NV200, on the west coast, USA. I travel a lot, and also use for work. Love the file holder in the console, the office friendly cab, and seats sit up high with good visibility and comfort long distance. Now I'm looking to convert the back, to a sweet retreat. Pop-up, sliding floor, plasma screen, etc. I just want the basics, no sink, or any kind of plumbing. Maybe a microwave, inverter, lights, tv, beds(2)if I can find a pop-top in the USA. I'm going to check with sportsmobile in CA. and Van Specialties in OR. Both do great conversions, but I haven't seen a NV200 from either one yet. I'll post pict's if I find a place. I would like to hear from anyone who has a different option for me, here in the USA. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted February 23, 2015 If you were in the UK this would be relatively easy. You might want to see who sourced the VW style pop top they used to make Honda Elements into camper vans. Who knows, it might be a good fit as is. Since they stopped making Elements in 2012, this might be difficult to find. SMB may be able to refer you to a custom top fabricator. Don't bother with the SMB forum. You will get "It is not a van" comments from the Ford group. I ran into this attitude about the NV2500... Transit Connects were also included, yet Jonathan at SMB was measuring one for a possible interior build. The owner had a cot on one side and lots of boxes/stuff on the other. Another option is a car top tent, but not if you want interior head room. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daydreamin520 Posted February 24, 2015 www.ursaminorvehicles.com do the eCamper popups on Elements and Jeeps in the San Diego area. They might be able to help you out. 1 radin2son reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stephen Schank Posted June 18, 2015 Check out Recon Campers on Facebook. They have pop top, full NV200 Campers in the works in the USA. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverNV Posted July 24, 2015 The Sportsmobile conversion looks to be the best quality form what I have seen. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted July 25, 2015 (edited) As a SMB owner, I rate the quality as excellent in terms of materials used and conversion. Like the NV, it is solidly built. If there are any used NV SMBs out there and for anyone interested, do not hesitate to buy one. The reason being, only 30 were built (all sold). There was one listed on Craigslist out of Bend. Unless the info is archived, it is gone. I don't know if any new NV SMBs are being built. Only SMB West (maybe a few from Austin SMB) converted NVs. SMB West is now more focused on Sprinters, Ford Transits and their 4x4 Ford E-series cutaway project with a custom molded fiberglass E-series rear portion attached to it for $110k. (Truck Trend did a review and I saw a print ad for one in Overland magazine. They also may have done are review.) The NV buying process is cumbersome unless you live in the west. 3 Nissan NV dealers in CA, 1 in UT and 2 in WA are the only authorized dealers. It would be great if it was possible to order a NV, have it shipped to SMB in CA, TX or IL and built. We chose to pick ours up rather than pay to have it delivered; this avoided the delivery fee but we had to pay CA taxes which were applied to AZ taxes. Actually, CA taxes were more and there was no refund. We would have saved a few $$$s if we had it delivered. No fun in that. Chris at Scott Clark Nissan looked into this but got less than a "can do" answer. I have said this before; SMB in theory will do a custom build if you provide the van. At least 2 NV 2500 HT conversions were build; both floor plans looked very similar to the SMB HTs sold through dealerships. One had surf board racks on the inside. The other had a basic (shower pan, drain and curtain) interior shower at the very rear along with a cabinet to store a portapot. The portapot fit into the shower pan, I guess so the curtain could provide privacy. We are not fans of wasting space for either. The exterior shower works fine for us, and I will leave the latter to your imagination or solution... Edited July 26, 2015 by radin2son Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted August 2, 2015 KMG, That's quite the leap from a Fuso chassis, for good reason, to NV Quigley. Alan Feld (SMB west) went in the opposite direction, leaving his son, Jonathan, in charge of SMB west. I think Truck Trend did a review of his Fuso conversion. Too much "expedition/overland" for us to say nothing of the price tag. Still, a neat world project in partnership with an Australian converter. (Your experience makes you wonder if the U.S. Fuso Is the right way to go.) Speaking of overland, we have seen a few MAN vehicles out west. It is comical watching them bounce over speed bumps like a backhoe... Are you transferring/adapting your conversion plans to the NV? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KMG Posted August 2, 2015 Radin2son, It was a big change going from the Fuso to the NV. I believe my NV will offer enough off road abilities for 80% of how I would have used the Fuso. The NV has an indescribably better ride quality. I had to change my conversion plans. The biggest change is the deletion of a bath/toilet area. I added interior lower wall panels and side windows. I'll post pictures when completed. Hey, do you have any knowledge or advice on National Luna refrigeration units? Thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted August 2, 2015 (edited) If their fridge is top loading only, it will need overhead room, possibly cutting down on your storage/counter space. I suppose you could use the closed top as a counter. There are trade offs. Nice looking unit. As far as this brand is concerned, I know only what I saw on their web site. They may be the same used in a Ford crew cab 350 or 450 camper conversion featured on Expedition Portal. Did you consider the Ford chassis? If a bath/toilet area is important to you, the one I described several posts above actually takes up very little space. The portapot could be stored in the shower pan and not need to take up space in its own cabinet. (If you are interested search: Sportsmobile: SMB West tour on the assembly line on Vimeo. [What I thought were 2 custom NV conversions actually appear to be the same one. There may be another one built for "Teva man," or whatever. My iPad wouldn't bring up photos.] The video, from 3 years ago, also shows 4x4 Ford E-series and Sprinters being converted.) SMB in TX installed a similar shower pan/curtain behind the driver's seat in a Ram ProMaster. I only noticed the shower because it was mentioned in the build description. Odd place to put it, however. One last item. The couple in the video opted not to buy a SMB. They either kept or bought an old Dodge Ram and put a slider camper in it. Edited August 3, 2015 by radin2son Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
