converted from 2500hd pickup to NV 3500sv in Alabama

[radin2son]

We will probably get there about a week ahead of you, but may still be in the area depending... We are fortunate to not have any time constraints and are still looking at maps and options.

 

After looking at the route to the eastern entrance, we can see why all routes go through the western entrance. There is very little on the eastern side from I-15, northwest. (In June, 2014 we drove west in route 2 from Williston, ND after staying at both TR National Parks, toward Great Falls. Between private and reservation land, there were no places to camp. Ended up camping in the county fairground in Havre, MT.)

 

Our plan, subject to change, is to head to Missoula and the western entrance, Going to the Sun Road, camp where can, head to Many Glacier and return to our western route,via route 2, toward North Cascades NP.

 

rad

Edited August 9, 2015 by radin2son

[whitebread250]

We are so glad the road to the sun is open and the fire is slowing down. We will be coming in the east first and leaving out the west entrance. Plans are to take 83 down to Missoula, looked at google earth.... cant really find an ugly road on the map! radin2son, do you sleep in the van or tent?  I see you have a sportsmobile, some pics would be cool, been to the website and really like what they are doing with the vans. We have 105f heat index here now and my buddies are freaking out when I tell them we are taking a heater and winter clothes. I have been looking at the parks webcams and the smoke is still there but is much better, that may help with mosquitoes! I appreciate all the folks fighting the fire and cleaning up the aftermath so we can enjoy the park.

[radin2son]

There is a good chance we will pass each other on 93, unless you are still in Polebridge. Look for a silver low top, and we'll look for your burgundy or red high top. KMG, what color is your's?

 

If you haven't travelled out west, your phone and wifi will be relatively worthless unless you are in towns, on main secondary roads with no mountains or canyons, or on interstates. Bring an atlas and pick up state maps at border visitor centers. If your NV has nav or your have a GPS unit you will be fine for directions. The NV nav is equally worthless when it comes to planning routes; it won't show the overall map.

 

Yes, we sleep in our van every night on our trips. The only exception was 2 nights in DC. We are not into stealth camping, nor is our van stealthy with the top up. It also was too hot in DC.

 

KOAs work well on road trips, if we can't find a state park, and we use their atlas to initially plan a route like this trip. We don't see ourselves doing much hiking etc. Mostly lots of driving which was the intention when they established most national parks. (If you enjoy reading, a great book is Wilderness Warrior by Douglas Brinkley. It is about Teddy Roosevelt and his contemporaries who worked to develope our parks' system. It is 800+ pages...)

 

If you don't sleep in your van, KOAs have tent areas and cabins. No clue what their cabins cost. (You would like the one in Filmore, UT. Extensive atv trails out back on what is probably BLM land.) Check KOA out and pick up their free atlas.

 

You are smart to bring warm clothing or at least many layers. We don't use a heater in our van; rather, we rely on sleeping bags and liners. Both our bags (4) are rated at 15*, but only one (2) is comfortable at that temp. We will probably rely on our lesser bags and liners. The norm in Glacier should be 38* at night. Nothing is normal anymore.

 

By photos, do you mean interior? I did post an album with a few pictures, but it doesn't take many to get boring. I always take one at each campground because they all start looking alike. I also keep a written log/diary for the same reason. It is a chore sometimes. We use our our iPhone as a camera and to check email, pay bills, check news etc. when we can find service. I download photos onto our laptop and iPad. Because service is often sporadic at best, I don't bother with the cloud.

 

Our NV is mostly empty (gear), so I could take some of the interior. One of the attractions about Sportsmobile was not needing to do a lot of research on what to put in it. They have done conversions for a long time. As a result, I know very little about other options.

[KMG]

My van is a white hi roof with windows.  I'll look for both of you while traveling.

[radin2son]

You both have white high tops, one with windows and the other not. Someone else has the burgundy (?) NV with motorcycle.

 

Here are some interior photos. Not the greatest, but it gives you some idea what our SMB looks like... Most are self explanatory.

 

Lots of storage.

 

The 20± gallon water tank is on top of the sub-floor under the rear seat, center and mid-rear axle forward, with access to pump, city water fill valve and where you fill it gallon by gallon if water is distant. There is storage to the right, where we keep extra canned goods in one of too many dishpans I bought. There is a warning label about putting flammable things in this area. Behind the dishpan it a large duffle containing our outdoor cooking gear. Inverter, switches and outlet to the left.  There also is a table top under there that we have never used.

 

Fold down bed is comfortable, but we sleep on top. Our dogs sleep on the couch, not folded down as it really cuts down on floor space.

 

Access to lots of rear storage. External shower on right in storage box for tools, table base, cords etc.  Larger water tank cut down slightly on storage, but we can fit 2 medium duffle bags center to right, our large kitchen duffle an the left with room for grey water pan, power cord and a variety of wet, what do you do with things. on the far left is storage under the closets all the way forward to the base of the sofa. We also use the rear mattress area for storage. When we carry bikes (Ritchey Breakaways that fit into a suit case), one is horizontal under the bed platform, the other, vertical on top. Bikes generate their own gear and planning...

 

We are coming on 3 years of NV travel...   

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2015 by radin2son

[whitebread250]

I really like your van, that is really neat! We plan on spending 4 or 5 nights in the van. I found some cabins in Taylor park area close to Pitkin Colorado. We like state parks also, we use good sam app and AAA campground guides while on the road when we don't have reservations. We traveled in an e-150 5 years ago, we are so ready to hit the road in the Nissan. I gave a buddy travel tips last year and he and his wife went in a Toyota  Camry.... I could not handle that! If we see you it would be nice to check out the inside of your van.

[radin2son]

Thanks. The other Nissan floor plan allows passthrough to the rear doors. This works best with high tops.

AP recently had a story about a bear attack, fatality in Yellowstone. The hiker was alone and didn't have bear spray; he attempted to fight. The article also mentioned a tourist, who panicked, attempted to run and died. 2 years ago a woman near Babb, MT (eastern entrance to Glacier) was attacked. She had bear spray, but ran and couldn't get to her canister. She was severely injured.

Over the years we have hiked, camped in bear country and had 6 or 7 bear encounters. The most comical was in Sequoia NP (south entrance) when we were setting up camp. I was just returning from the registration kiosk when a black bear walked into our site. My wife shut the slider and I walked away to tell a ranger, who was picking up trash, that there was a bear in our site. She did not have bear spray, but did have a bucket and one of those gadgets to pick up trash. She started banging on the bucket, telling the bear to "move along." The bear did. Some bears apparently recognize ranger uniforms according to the ranger. There was a problem bear in the area and they tried to trap it. Instead they trapped the bear that was walking through our site, which was "her" nature path.

 

You will see bear boxes, with a variety of human and bear confusing latches (see below), in most campgrounds in bear country. The black dog is not bear vigilant; she is looking for squirrels. The bear law implies all food has to be stored in these boxes. I asked a ranger if this applied to RVs. The short answer is no. Tent campers and soft sided tent trailers have to comply. 

We are considering bear spray for this trip.

Enjoy your road trip. NVs are impressive...

Edited August 13, 2015 by radin2son

[whitebread250]

I have seen bears at Yellowstone and in the Teton NP. Hard to find bear spray and snow chains here in Alabama, we will get some when we get out there. We will only have snacks and drinks in the van, not cooking much on this trip so we won't have much trash to worry about either. Makes you think about eating bacon and eggs before heading out on a hike, if you smell like breakfast to a bear your just asking for it. I know 95 percent of the time they are startled or we get too close while the cubs are around but i still try to think ahead. Looked at the webcams today and its still smokey looking around St Mary's area.

[radin2son]

Don't carry chocolate...

 

If you take I-90 east on your way to Colorado, we recommend stopping at Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, east of Billings, MT. If you already have been, you know none of what you learn was in any text book. It also has great relevance to what is going on today.

 

We need a new atlas, and I was looking at the GPS units Rand McNally sells ($279-379 if I recall). 7" screen and can be set to auto or RV. Interesting unit with lifetime map updates via your computer. It seems to work off wifi. This is fine as we travel with a 4g hot spot and phone. I thought, "What? This is a GPS unit and it needs wifi to be able to work." So I tried my wifi iPad with no connection and all that came up was "current location" dot on a blank "graph paper" page. Neither Apple or Google maps worked.

 

I don't know if you have the Nav/tech package, but it will work no matter where you are in Canada or the US. Mexico? So, if anyone is considering the nav/tech package, it is worth getting even with its limitations.

[whitebread250]

Yes my van does have the Nav unit, I read that the map is the SD card on the lower right of the unit, they are 150.00 from Nissan but not sure if they are current (newer) than what we have now. We have an Atlas and maps of each state we plan on playing in. An iphone, android and garmin gps are also in the van. The Garmin actually picked up the dirt road passes between Silverton and Lake City, Colorado, so hoping it will help us this time also. The latest on the Going to the Sun road is open at night also, maybe some of the turnouts will open soon. No chocolate... got it,

[radin2son]

Take out the nav card and it will have a date on it. We have a 2011 card. Based on the info on the 2015 card, it doesn't seem worth the $150 cost. (Rick has one and says it is not worth it.)

 

Took a quick look at Garmin and this puts the card update in perspective. The Nuvi car series starts at $130. The $200 one I looked at has free lifetime map updates; others will work with a wireless backup camera. (I have used many bike computers over the years and like Garmin the best. I have the least expensive one and it gave me just what I needed to train and race.) I like Garmin's reference to "cellular dead zones." I still have to read the reviews.

 

How do you like your Garmin? I should also ask how you like the NV nav.

Edited August 16, 2015 by radin2son

[whitebread250]

I really like the Garmin, I am on my second one now, screen problems on 1st one after 4 years. Three years on this one I bought for 75.00 is doing great. I use it for work and can move it from car to car or motorcycle or even carry it in my pocket. Garmin is a big name in avionics so that is pretty impressive also. I only drive the Nissan on weekends and really haven't got to use the nav enough to get as comfortable as my Garmin yet. Like you said, 150 bucks for an SD card or a Garmin with lifetime maps is really a better deal for me just to be able to use it on several vehicles. I really shopped for a long time for my van and the NAV/tech package was high on my list of wants and I'm glad I have it for the camera and GPS, no regrets on that at all.   

[radin2son]

When we travel, we mostly leave the Nav off. Since it doesn't show the overall route, we have no idea what to expect. We do use it to get through cities. On secondary roads, we have reached our destination, but are actually miles from it. One time it was on the middle of a bridge. We have also been on a road and the arrow is plowing through fields.

 

The Garmin's look like great units and you can buy additional maps. (The free, lifetime upgrades are for the installed maps.) We could get one for Mexico or South America, if we ever venture that far.

 

We like the one with the built in camera. Can you imagine using this on Going to the Sun. You can use Gopro, but the Gamin incorporates it with other trip info. Expensive however... Plus, I'm not sure we could see the 6" screen if it was mounted to the windshield.

[whitebread250]

     I mounted a camera on the third brake light lens, does not affect it very much. It was a wireless FM signal unit but didn't work well so it is a wired unit now and is working well. I put the 7 inch screen where the rear view mirror should be(no windows-no mirror from nissan). It is high enough to see a large area, and it comes on and stays on with the ignition. The glare or reflection is a problem at times because of the angle it is mounted, but it is a big help at times. 

 

    I have played with the Garmin looking all over the world by zooming out. Not sure you could travel abroad with it, but the Garmin website should give info on that. The zoom feature is something you may like, you can zoom out and see the route to get a better heads up of where you are headed. I flew on a 777 once and the GPS on the seat was a lot like the one I have and it was very cool to monitor the flight (over 600 mph) as we went from Chicago to DC. 

[radin2son]

whitebread250, By now you should be on the road heading west. Looks good for the Tetons, Yelowstone and Glacier.

 

We won't be leaving until 9/8 or 9/9, same as KMG, so we may miss each other. Our trip after Glacier doesn't look good for the Cascades unless we take US 12 through the Bitterroots to Mt Ranier, the Olympic Peninsula, take a ferry from Fort Townsend and catch US 20 to the Cascades. Day by day planning... This is why we own converted NVs with no reservations required.

 

We have been following the fires, red flag warnings, rain, cold temps and noticed they have a lot of earthquakes. Most are 1.5 but one was 4+. No mention of this in the news, so it must be the norm. Sort of like living with bears in the area. You get used to it.

[laharview]

Looks nice.  I'm just starting a conversion.

[whitebread250]

We made it back! 5850 miles on the van, zero problems. I got it very nasty on a muddy Kebler pass in crested butte, colorado, but got some great pictures of the aspen trees. The changing room and potty came in very handy. All the extra stuff and clothes are really nice to have with you all the time. We got wet in Glacier on a hike, plugged the boot drier up in the back, and had dry stuff with us to change in the parking lot, slide the curtain over and changed. Never slept in it, every campground had a cabin for little more money than a campsite so went that way instead. Having the motorcycle locked up in the van and unloading when and where i wanted was perfect. I LOVE this van, and now my wife does too!

[radin2son]

Few things are better than a great trip. Your NV is dirtier than ours...

[whitebread250]

I took a few pics of other rigs while on the road, I love seeing people enjoy this country no matter how they do it! Better than watching other people enjoy life on TV....get out there and do something. The big truck was from Australia, made the Nissan look small, maybe if I fed the NV more veggies someday it will grow?

Edited October 13, 2015 by whitebread250