whitebread250 Posted May 29, 2015 Hey Yall, sold my GMC 2500 hd diesel and bought a 43,000 mile 3500sv. The diesel was killing me on repair bills and reliability. We travel out west every other year to dual sport ride in this great country of ours. I can do SO much more with this van versus a pickup....haven't missed the truck yet after 3 months. Getting some great ideas on this forum so far. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ASD Dad Posted May 29, 2015 Welcome to the site! There is a ton of room in these vans. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris_CommercialManager Posted June 2, 2015 Welcome! What sort of problems were you having with your truck? It does seem there are a lot of people experiencing problems with diesels these days. I know my Sprinters in Illinois were having a TON of problems from bad fuel quality, we would get clogged DPF's and all sorts of issues from it. Got so bad we had lists of gas station brands people should and shouldn't go to for fuel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitebread250 Posted June 5, 2015 Chris, the last bill was 1900.00 for the fuel injection control module....and 4 months waiting for trouble shooting etc... I sold it 2 weeks after getting back. My buddy was having head gaskets installed on same model and that cost him 4 grand! Pulling a camper thru Colorado was a breeze....until front wheel hub went out(1000.00 with tow job). Going to Glacier in September with bike in back, looking forward to worry free travel, just feel the Nissan 5.6 gas will be more reliable (and so much quieter). Keeping stuff locked up in the back is very nice compared to an open bed pick up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris_CommercialManager Posted June 5, 2015 Jeez, I don't follow those diesel pick ups but I sure hope that isn't "normal". I know some guys swear by those trucks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitebread250 Posted July 13, 2015 I have been working on the van getting ready for a trip to Glacier park, colorado,etc... Made a box, and a shelf to convert into a bed when the bike is out. Box is 6 foot by 18" tall and 19" wide with 2 opening tops. Keep tools and stuff in box and sit on to get dressed before riding or whatever. 60"x 48" plywood rest on 2x6 shelf and 2x3 on side of box to make bed, and stands on end when not in use and bike goes in. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KMG Posted July 13, 2015 Nice van! Happy travels. Please post pictures of your trip. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris_CommercialManager Posted July 13, 2015 Please whatever you do make sure things are very very securely bolted down. With no partition to protect you make sure anything loose is not moving. :shift: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) Curious, Where and how do you secure the bed pad/panel/platform when you have your bike in there? Did you considermaking the platform in several pieces rather than one? We will be going to Glacier in the fall and hope "Going to the Sun" road will still be open. Mid-September is the typical cut off date. Last June, it was still closed due to a snow storm. I saw a short video of 2 cyclists riding it. Absolutely breath taking! Edited July 14, 2015 by radin2son Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KMG Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) I'll be traveling to Glacier National Park mid September. Radin2son maybe we can meet out there. My son and I are going to Mt. Rushmore, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier on the way to Seattle, WA. Edited July 14, 2015 by KMG Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) We will be watching the weather to see if we should leave just before or after Labor Day. Even in good weather, it looks like things shut down around mid-September. Maybe whitebread250 can give us some tips... We also want to see Mount Rainier and North Cascades, both missed 2 years ago when returning from AK. A return to the Olympic Peninsula is also planned. At this point, we are just beginning to think this through. Meeting somewhere in the area could be work. Have you previously been to the areas you plan to visit? Bought a road map for Mexico. This is a trip that will take some planing... rad Edited July 14, 2015 by radin2son Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitebread250 Posted July 15, 2015 I put some tie down loops on the walls for a tie down strap to hold the bed platform to the wall, plus the bike will have 4 tie downs also. I put the bike as close to the wall as I can for extra room to use the "couch" and have room to put other stuff. We are leaving Alabama Sept 3rd, stopping to see the noggins (mt. Rushmore), reservations @ many glacier monday night, It won't be hard to miss each other in nv vans (not many out there yet). We are READY to see this beautiful area in the Nissan and mark some things off the bucket list! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted July 15, 2015 We were looking at the Glacier NP web site and found that there are vehicle restrictionsOn Going to the Sun, as in 21' long, 10' high and 8' wide including mirrors. Our tow mirrors make it 8'6". Unless someone is measuring vehicles this shouldn't be a problem. Just don't hang anything on the front or back... Another vehicle restriction to watch out: Zion NP has a tunnel at the east entrance and they do monitor vehicles. NVs are too wide. There are certain times of the year where an escort vehicle will take you through the tunnel for a fee. They stop traffic and it becomes 1 way. You have to use the west entrance to enter and leave, which adds a long detour to get to Bryce NP or the reverse if coming from Bryce. Nice roads, however... You are right about not seeing many NV camper conversions. We saw one just like ours in Grand Tetons NP a year ago and a home build at a campground near White Sands NM this past April. A park ranger in NC looked at ours, said he had never seen such a thing and decided it definitely was west coast. We have a lot of educating to do... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mahu Posted July 15, 2015 Who would have thought the NV is 100 inches wide with the mirrors. Could one just fold in the outside passenger mirror and would that bring the width to below the 7'10" requirement? After all it's perfectly legal to drive without the passenger side outside mirror so driving with it folded in should be fine as well. The NV is 99.5 inches wide and the limit for the tunnel is 94 inches so folding it in should bring the width down to below 94 inches. Thoughts? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted July 15, 2015 (edited) It will depend on the ranger or volunteer. After Labor Day, it might not be monitored at Glacier on weekdays. I would start out with the mirrors extended, then fold them in. We may end up folding them in when we encounter on coming traffic. Full size pickups will have the same problem. Edit: Looked at some Glacier NP videos, and I don't think there will be any problem driving this. Their shuttle is a high top Sprinter, albeit narrower than a NV. Also saw a new Transit, that looked like an extended bed. There is a tunnel in Glacier but it looks like a lane and a half, so honk or yield. Maybe not honk, because there is a sidewalk. Most people enter Glacier from the west (35+ miles to Logan Pass, while the east entrance is about 18 miles to Logan Pass). Unfortunately there is road construction... Looked at the average temps. Should be 38 to 66* in September, or it could be 18 to 95*. Normally a good chance for rain. Welcome to the west if you haven't been... When we see "No RVs" signs we ignore them because we are a van. No one has questioned this. We do pay attention to length limits in case there are no or tight turnarounds etc. Zion will be monitored and folding in mirrors will not work, but when allowed and you pay the $35 fee, or whatever it is, you will be fine. '30s roads are picturesque but not build for NVs. Edited July 15, 2015 by radin2son Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitebread250 Posted July 16, 2015 That is very good info! I did see some restrictions but I figured I was close enough, but...... We are staying in Many Glacier and Apgar while at the park, may camp around Jackson,Wy and Crested Butte,Co. Going to Polebridge and will unload the honda 250l to ride to the border and all the stops up that way, do some hiking. Truck is quiet, bike is quiet, wife will be on bear watch! Thanks for the great info and comments, I'm a first timer with this posting stuff. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted July 16, 2015 (edited) It's funny, but the '30s red "jammers," touring buses, are 25' long. (Yellowstone has yellow and black jammers, as in gear jammers.) I doubt Glacier monitors restrictions... A good campground in Grand Teton NP is Signal Mountain. From the campground there is a nice hike to the summit. Black bears in the area but we didn't see any. Bear spray? A volunteer at a cash register in one of shops/visitor centers in Yellowstone had a bear spray canister on his belt. The guy in front of me asked, "See many bears in here?" This will be the first time for us at Glacier. Edited July 17, 2015 by radin2son Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitebread250 Posted July 18, 2015 It will be our fist time also. It will be our fist time in the fall, we have always been in summer or spring, really want to see the leaves changing, going thru Colorado as we make our way back. That's pretty funny about the bear spray in the store(could be for security for people!). Plan on tooting the horn on bike and carrying our whistle while hiking. I can run faster than her so...... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted July 23, 2015 We have started to piece together destinations. There are very few straight lines, more like a series of Ws after we get off I-15. Our plan is to go to Glacier NP, North Cascades NP, Mount Rainier NP, Olympic NP and other places on the peninsula, and maybe Redwood NP. In some ways, reversing the route makes more sense, but we will run into more closures, both seasonal and weather. El Niño is supposed to (may) bring record rain to the deserts and California this fall. But probably not to the northwest? We decided not to go to Waterton Lakes NP in Alberta, Canada if I read the BC boundary correctly. The road to Red Rock closes on 9/6, but who knows, someone may convince us to go there. Bates? We'll have our passports and "chipped" credit card... We do intend to return to this area maybe next summer. Whitebread250, We probably will start this trip on Labor Day, so we may miss you unless you have enough time off to be able get lost in this wilderness... I may have misread your posts, but Signal Mountain also has a lodge, as does Jenny Lake if you are not camping. We used the Grand Tetons as a base camp and did day trips into Yellowstone, which is huge and takes a long time to drive through to see all the sights. We exited via Mammoth Hot Springs. KMG, We may still be somewhere in the area of Seattle when you and your son get there. At this point, we have no idea how long we will be in each park. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bates Posted July 23, 2015 I've not been to wateron lakes since I was a teenager. Wonderful spot as I recall. Don't know enough to say about road closures or not it's a solid 6+ hours from where I live. The Banff/Jasper National park is spectacular if you've never been. I'm not much of a camper I have to say so I don't visit places like that all that often. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted July 23, 2015 We have been to Banff/Jasper and will probably return when we check out Waterton Lakes, but not on this trip. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitebread250 Posted July 27, 2015 I hope they have the fire out and the going to the sun road open! Still doing a few things inside the van and will post some more pics soon. I did the airbox trick this week, so easy. I used a sawall with a metal cutting blade for a clean cut and sanded the edges clean,(K&N filter) The van does not make any extra noise that i can tell, and believe it has improved the performance, doesn't seem to kick down from overdrive as often as before on the same climbs I drive very often. I drive a ford transit connect as my company car and it sounds like a teenager driving a Honda civic.....always shifting and revving just to keep the speed limit. Its nice to get in the big van on the weekends! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) We ran into a similar situation in Yosemite last year. We got lucky and they opened the west end of Tioga Road the day before we got there. The road wasn't damaged but it was part of a fire break and the burn areas we saw were a control burn. The smoke was noticeable. Otherwise we would have had to do an in and out from the east entrance. We are seriously considering going first to Joshua Tree NP, then take 395 along the eastern Sierras and cut over to Red Woods NP and head north from there. We have done this route several times. Our concern is that they won't reopen the eastern end of Going to the Sun Road since it will be late in the season. We may just put it off... Everywhere we go in the west, fire and insect damage is extensive. You just have to get used to standing dead trees. On the plus side, there are new vistas, and there is new growth. 7/27 Road isn't open but the eastern visitor center is. The big ? is when will the fire crews not need the 18 mile eastern section of road and campgrounds. Edited July 27, 2015 by radin2son Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted August 8, 2015 (edited) Going to the Sun Road is open with restrictions as of yesterday. With the exception of the campground in the area of the fire, all are open. Same for facilities. 1430 miles from Tucson to the west entrance per iPhone maps; it doesn't want to give me mileage to the eastern entrance. Google maps is worse; it won't even acknowledge there is a Glacier NP. The nav unit will only get us to Glacier if we put in a City, street address or I have to guess and pick an intersection from a list. Annoying, plus the nav unit loves interstates. It will take us to Las Vegas to get to I-15 rather than the straight shot north on I-10 and I-17 to Flagstaff and secondary roads in AZ and UT to get to I-15 south of Salt Lake City. Time to ignore technology and spread out the western states paper map and individual state maps on the kitchen table to figure out a route. Edited August 8, 2015 by radin2son Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KMG Posted August 9, 2015 Radin2son, Thanks for the news on the going to the sun road. I'm planning on driving it around Sept. 18th. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
