I've seen one on the road and thought "the thing" wold look better lifted. I've been told the rear axle and leaf configuration for the 2500+ is much different than the Titan. However the front I've yet to hear if the differences are there. Front strut spacers work well for lift and easy to DIY but I'd do a little spring measure and top strut mounting bolt triangulation measurements.

Quigley makes a Nissan NV 4X4 van, let us say hallelujah | TFLCar.com: Automotive News, Views and ReviewsThe Fast Lane Car: Auto News, Views, and Reviews

 

I'm more interested to see what you do with the interior of the NV. I was thinking it might make a nice compact RV.

 

Interested in this also. I saw a thread somewhere about a guy who converted his NV into 4X4. It actually looked pretty cool with the beefy tires going up the rocks.

Also, you can't come in here talking about your new ugly vehicle and not post pics!

 

i always loved these little things

1996 DAIHATSU HIJET VAN [DAIHATSU] - $8,500.00 : Japanese Mini Trucks,Custom Kei Trucks,4x4 Farm Vehicles, Longhornminitrucks.com
check these guy out
4x4 Van Conversion kits

 

I crawled under a NV at the autoshow, why not it was carpeted and I usually don't get to look at a chassis in such comfort. The back axle wasn't all that different from my '04 from what I saw but I didn't take any pictures...

this may interest you as well: In a Category All It's Own: The All-New Roadtrek N6 Active - News

I've been looking at the NV as well for fun mostly because in time my family size will out grow my Titan and I'll have to do something..... I'm pretty happy with the Nissan family so I've looked at the NV and the Armada :dunno:

 

just get a mini bus and put some nice tires on it.. lol

 

I think the Quigley 4x4 upgrade is pretty cool.

Quigley's Nissan NV 4x4 Conversion - Performance - Truck Trend

 

That's the one I was talking about. But, there is almost no ground clearance even on that one.

 

Regarding a bus, we did that. We took it to Ikea, built an apartment inside of it, then drove it across the US to Big Bend, and back with our motorcycles inside. It was a fun trip, but the bus was the wrong platform for us. It was far too big, impossible to keep heated while moving in the winter and ours suffered from premature death due to rust. I sold it to a fellow who was going to pull the cummins and put it in some kind of diesel race truck, but not before I used it to move almost all the way to Utah from Michigan. It only made it to Laramie, WY before the brakes failed for the third time and I threw in the towel.

The quigley 4x4 system might be okay, but we are holding off on that because we want to be sure we are okay with such little interior space. The NV is a few feet shorter in the cargo area than our E350 is. After a year of travels we will have a better idea if this will fly or if we should be looking at the Ford Transit after all.

Advanced Four Wheel Drive in SLC says they can install a three inch lift (in conjunction with a 4x4 conversion), and my guess is that it is parts available off the shelf combined with some custom UCA's and some Titan parts. I ordered some of the more common inexpensive lift components, and I will see what works out. I will definitely report my findings, because so far the only people doing this work are companies and they aren't saying anything about what they are using. From my poking around, I think the NV is made mostly out of parts bin stuff from the Titan. The rear end may be different though because ARB and Randy's Ring and Pinion both told me that none of their titan parts will work in it. A rear locker would be sweet, but it looks like that's out for now. I will have to rely on good judgement, decent tires, a shovel and a when I can find someone to build a bumper, a winch.

Regarding the interior, I have ordered a few additional windows and the largest sunroof CR Laurence makes. I simply used some grey cheap carpet on the pressed board panels in the back for now, and we are going to make a headliner system once the sunroof is in place. Additional reading lights and LED cabin lights will go in at that time too. I have bought a second row seat from a late model Durango, and it's seat belts for our passenger area. It should arrive today, and I need to refill my welding gas tank and get started making mounts. Those seats were cheap, nearly the right color, and fold down nicely so we can use it as a table when needed. Also, they were the most comfortable units I found that looked easy to modify for mounting in a flat floor.

We don't go in for the built in kitchens, or most cabinets because they are easily destroyed. We like the utility of an open van we can toss bags and bins and rocks and bikes and gear into. In our bus, we had cabinets, sink, cooktop, dishes, etc and they took a lot of abuse, but showed it. We are hard on things like that so we do our cooking outside mostly when camping.

Ultimately, I like a van platform over a truck so that I can get up, go in back, and sleep/get ready/eat/chill etc on trips. I feel too claustrophobic in a truck on trips, and when the weather turns lousy we have a place to retreat to and wait it out. We spent nearly an entire day once on a climbing trip in the back of our E350, and the only thing I regret is that it wasn't a tall top, and there was no roof vent. If we had to sit in a truck, we would have just left and gone home.

I will post a stock picture, and then some progress pictures when the suspension bits get here next week. I will document either my success, or my huge failure. Heh! Then, we will all know what might work or what doesn't, and why.

 

This is it when I picked it up, but it's the only photo I had. It's plain, ubiquitous silver.

 

Leave the van at home.
Ride the bikes.
Stay in a hotel.

 

Where we like to go, there is no hotel. Plus, this is actually cheaper. And we don't need the amenities of a hotel. Don't watch TV. Don't like hotel beds. Don't like hotel prices. Don't like booking. I like driving where I want to, and sleeping where we stop. I don't have to hurry to make it somewhere to check in and spend the next twelve hours waiting for morning, we can arrive at a spot at midnight and get an alpine start a few hours later.

Not to mention, we can't always ride bikes. I sold my touring bike because I kept taking it on dirt roads, then trails. So, I bought the DR650, it's a decent compromise. Sometimes we are just camping, rock collecting, mine exploring, climbing, canyoneering, ice climbing, backcountry skiing, snowshoeing...

In short, we aren't hotel people. I am not a resort person, or a one vacation a year person. Our weekends are as good as our vacations ever were for a long time now that we live here, and the van is an integral part of making it awesome every time.

I understand that many people are, and they like beds in hotel rooms with TV's and pools and elevators and electricity and hordes of people and the sound of ice makers and noisy AC units. And so on. We just aren't, and it took a while to figure out why we weren't enjoying those kinds of trips when so many people did.

 

Can you take some pics of the suspension? I don't see why some simple blocks wouldn't work in the back. Not sure about the front though...maybe it's as simple at using Titan spacer (or finding another vehicle that matches). Not sure if that would help or hurt if you convert to 4X4.

Also, what about a 2" body lift to allow a larger sized tire? A 2" body lift on a Titan is fairly simple as it doesn't require as much relocation as a 3" does.


Where are you located? I know a guy here who does custom fab and makes some really nice bumpers and accessories. His prices are way below anything else I have seen, especially on something custom.

 

I ordered a simple spacer kit and Bilstein shocks. You are for sure right about the blocks in the back, but the front parts are a mystery. I just received them yesterday, and will see what I can fit today.

A body lift won't help much, as dragging the frame is still a problem, even with taller tires. Which reminds me, the gas tank is seriously exposed, and I will have to make or modify a skid for that.

I started fitting the second row of seats yesterday too, but found I didn't have the right bits of steel to make plates for seatbelt attachments. That will have to get wrapped up during the week. Ideally, I would have been able to find a nice bench with individual seats that have integrated belts, but there wasn't anything like that available for less than a thousand. Also, the Durango seats I am using fold down flat and we can use them as a seat or table, or fold them up once more and they sit against the front seats. That way I can still get a motorcycle or two inside for short trips. I am not a fan of trailers, I have had bad luck with tires, frames, lights, etc. Plus, we don't have a good place to store a trailer. Too much hill at our house.

I fit some lights in the back door, as you can never have too much light when setting up or breaking camp or packing up in the dark. These were cheap, as I pulled them from a handicapped van in a salvage yard.

I spoke with a fabricating shop about a bumper, but the guy kept wanting to steer me towards a four inch tube bumper. Probably would recommend white wagon wheel rims too. I guess I will keep looking. The rear bumper should be less trouble, the mount is pretty simple. If the dimensions are close enough to a Titan, I should be able to modify one. Heck, any full size truck rear bumper really.

 

Maybe I should have just started a general build thread somewhere else in the forum.

 

The Titan Bilstein 5100 shocks (part 24-197649) don't fit. The shaft is much smaller, the bottom bolt hole is far too small, and they are much shorter than the OEM units.

OEM shaft

FWIW, these are the OEM pieces.

The spacers up top fit fine though, and I squeezed a bit of lift out of them. The bolts for those were at least comparable in size and grade. I am not a big fan of the lockwashers, but I will keep an eye on them, and if any loosen, I will use locknuts.

It's not as tall as my E350 yet, but it looks like I would need to use different control arms, or spindles to go any taller. It was a bit of a wiggle/squeeze/push/grunt/swear to get the assemblies back in with the spacers on. I had to put a lug nut on and stand on the thing to get it all in and lined up. Whew.

On to the back, I hope the blocks fit, otherwise I spent more than I needed to. Which reminds me, if anyone in Utah/Idaho wants a decent deal on the Bilsteins, I won't have to send them back. I am traveling to Zion at the end of the month, otherwise we can meet around here.

 

The wheels should arrive this week, and I will get tires put on hopefully this week as well. That should do a bit to get us out of the weeds.

 

The lift blocks are not the same size, ditto with the U bolts.
So it seems the NV is a much heavier duty unit. I hope this translates into more durability, but I would be pleased if it holds up as well as the Ford did.
I will have to source some other shims, blocks and U bolts.
So, these are for sale too. Heh!

 

For the record, I don't feel like ordering parts I can't use is a waste. It's a learning process with the NV, since nobody has documented a build yet. Local shop isn't willing to share any info, so I will have to learn from my own mistakes.

NV forum is dead, and the folks there don't seem interested in this stuff anyway. If the Titan forum isn't into it either, just say so, and I will bugger off and drop in somewhere else, no hard feelings.

 

Have you tried calling Bilstein? They may be able to figure out what you need. I don't think the shaft size is much of an issue as long as it doesn't pull/push through the hat on top.

Same for the rear blocks...you may try giving someone like Summit a call. Have your dimensions for the blocks and U-bolts. Or have a fab shop create some. Seems like that wouldn't cost too much.

Have a measurement of the UCA? I bet they still use Titan arms...which might allow you to get another 1.5" of lift on the front by upgrading to some aftermarket UCAs.

 

Hmm, could it be possible that the NV suspension could be a preview of what the diesel Titan is going to hold? I wonder because you said it was a bit more beefed up in some areas, especially the shocks. Don't beat me up over it if I'm wrong as I haven't been very up to date on the newer T's, just a thought.

 

This actually is pretty interesting. If it's not too much of a hassle, I'd like to continue reading your updates on progress

 

This actually is pretty interesting. If it's not too much of a hassle, I'd like to continue reading your updates on progress

Agreed. And pics are great. Haven't seen much about the NV's.

What did you end up going with on the interior seating? Have you though about mounting it to a track (similar to utilitrac)? That way you can move the seat back and forth when you are stuck inside or need more cargo room.

 

I believe the NV is a 3/4 ton chassis platform, not exactly the same as the Titan 1/2 ton. I'm afraid you're in the same boat with the NV us Titan owners were in during '04.

 

The NV is cool. I don't find it ugly at all. I'd really like to own one, for just the purposes you state. Keep up the trial and error!

This thread will be super useful once more used NVs make it to the market.

Congrats on getting the front spacers to work. Some fab shop should be able to mill you a set of one off rear blocks for pretty cheap.

 

It'd be cool to see a ramp built into the NV, like Uhauls have, they just slide in and slide out from underneath the doors, should't be too hard