SMB-W Nissan Van 4x4 Camper Conversion Coming??

[TomH]

My wife and I made the 2 hour 50 min. drive down CA99 to SMB West today for our first factory visit. Alan is in San Diego for the week, so Jeff gave us the tour and then we milled around through the vehicles for about an hour. Pictures just don't do these machines justice!

I asked Jeff what they will do after 2013 when E series vans are no longer available. He said Nissan approached Alan (Yes, THEY asked HIM) about converting a new Nissan van into 4x4 campers. We shall see! :wings::luxhello::Wow1::victory:

 

[ExpoMike]

So where are the pictures?

 

[cwsqbm]

Not really surprising that Nissan is interested. The Japanese seem to understand that filling niche markets can lead to brand loyalty.

Still, if you're not a Nissan fan, you can still choose a Sprinter, Express, or probably a Transit.

I've always thought Toyota should bring the HiAce here too. Might make sense selling them through Hino dealers.

 

[1leglance]

Nissan has their measuring session coming up soon and I am pretty sure Alan mentioned sending someone out there for that.
When Haven here on Expo first posted about the Nissan NV2500 I got in contact with Nissan and told them about Sportsmobile West (I was interested in a Disabled Explorers project if they ever come to market)....I am glad there has been follow through on Nissans part.
They have an interesting marketing plan in that they are showing at the commercial venues vs SEMA and such....makes sense with the van market being more commercial.

Ford has never given any love towards Disabled Explorers (even after contacting up the ladder past the Econoline brand manager) so I have nothing against moving to another platform, especially if it gets me out from under the current loan I have on the WAVE.

At first the word was the NV series was based on the Titan which meant there was a strong possibility of a 4x4, now in marketing and press materials make it sound like they are farther away from the Titan platform so not sure if Nissan will offer 4x4 or is SMB West will have to do the conversion.
Some of the nice factory features are the hightops that Nissan uses for full standing walk around ease, factory nuts welded into sidewalls for mounting things, and since it has a truck nose there is less of a doghouse to limit driver/passenger mobility.

Oh and just for fun here is a quick rendering that Stefan Blast (a friend from the FJ Cruiser forums) did when I was first looking into the project

 

[wanderer-rrorc]

the other thing not mentioned is the fact a few sites listed the cummins diesel as an option in the nv2500 and the awd package too...

I would love to see them...havent gotten any in my area yet...Im looking at them for when the kids get tired of the slide in camper...

 

[1leglance]

if you go to the Nissan Comm vehicle website they show a tour going around the country with the vans for people to see them, also a show schedule of where they will be.

It just says they are coming 2011, not sure when they will actually be at dealers...
I need to find the contact info of the Nissan people I spoke with and get an update on the reality of it all.

Diesel and AWD would be great....but I doubt it will be a reality, bummer too.
No mention of either on the website.

 

[HMR]

Diesel and AWD would be great...

Yep. :drool:

While we're daydreaming... I wish SMB would consider using the Tiger floor plan.

 

[Accrete]

Diesel and AWD would be great...

I agree!

I realize it is very early in the honeymoon for the new addition in the driveway, but during the first real crazy weather here on the oregon coast that included snow and ice, the Express AWD van with traction tires handled solidly. We had been used to AWD in our Volvo XC70 and when doing the research on AWD vs 4WD...the idea of having AWD for everyday driving in our incliment weather won over having 4WD for a few miles of off-road fun. And what we found during most of our adventures, is we really only _had_ to lock the hubs for the sake of lubing the running gear, rather than for the sake of actually needing 4WD to get anywhere we wanted to go (i hope that makes sense. IOW, for us, 4WD was over rated!)

On desiel verses gasser, Marc of XP Campers was instrumental in educating us on desiel engine use. What it came down to was the realization for us that though our egos wanted to have a desiel in the driveway, driving it to/from work during the 1.5 mile commute would have most likely killed the rig prematurely. So we went gasser. That just meant the appliances in the van would be run on unleaded fuel rather than desiel, so far on paper the upfitment looks doable with the dual fuel appliances on the market.

Cheers,
Thom

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

If Toyota brought the HiAce here I would freak out!!

 

[ttora4runner]

That Nissan drawing looks pretty nice.

 

[TomH]

Yep. :drool:

While we're daydreaming... I wish SMB would consider using the Tiger floor plan.

You know, that's very interesting because I also asked Jeff if the Nissan thing doesn't work out, and the Transits don't prove to be a great platform, if he thought Alan might consider trying a 4x4 pickup truck platform like EarthRoamer does with the F550. Jeff affirmed that EarthRoamer has an excellent product, but that it would completely depend on whether the owner of the Texas division approved it or not. Apparently, the owner in Texas owns that division, but also owns the franchise rights. Though Alan owns the SMB West division, SMB is basically a franchise and the other two owners can only do what the owner in Texas will allow. Jeff indicated that Alan was the more cutting edge of the three and that it took a lot for Alan to convince the guy in Texas to let him begin doing 4x4 conversions. People kept bringing Quigley vehicles in for conversion to campers and Alan saw the opportunity to expand into that market. Obviously, this has been a great success.

As to Tiger, that is a serious consideration for me. It is certainly less expensive than EarthRoamer. I looked at a Tiger CX a couple of weeks ago. Tigers used to be built on the Astro van, but are now built on an F350. I have one overwhelming concern about the Tiger and that has to do with many of them developing stress cracks just behind the point at which the cab and cabin are fused. I believe this is from torsional stress. I have started a new thread about this problem here:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52519

 

[HMR]

TomH- I own an AWD Tiger XL (Astro based) and have spent lots of quality time with a late model SMB Ford EB 4x4. I've also gotten to tour >10 other SMBs in various configurations. The SMB, obviously, is a stronger, more powerful and more capable chassis. I'm a fan. However, the little Tiger has a superior interior layout compared to any of the SMB floor plans. If SMB combined their chassis with the clever Tiger layout, I might have to consider selling a few vehicles and breaking the piggy bank.

 

[TomH]

HMR,

I just sent you a PM.

 

[RR1]

If Toyota brought the HiAce here I would freak out!!

A mini Sportsmobile would be great, something to replace those aging 4WD Westys.
Not all of us need or want fullsize rigs.

http://www.toyota.de/cars/new_cars/hiace/specs.aspx

 

[SWbySWesty]

haha - I'm glad someone mentioned the VW Westfalia's. They're like a mini SMB. You can upgrade with a modern engine, too, but having a modern vehicle to start from with a smart layout and a price tag that isn't like buying a home would be nice.