Nissan NV-200

Anyone lived out of one of these? Seems like a good dirtbag mobile.

Met a boater that had a ~full size bed in the back of his on a frame that allowed for plenty of storage. I'm rocking a ford transit connect, and its a bit tight for me my girlfriend and our 80 pound golden retriever but makes packing super easy.

Bumper bump.

I think it's brilliant.

It's a Nissan, so it'll last a long time.

The standard midsize van to turn into a home is an Astro, it is 190"L, 78 wide, and 75" tall. It's perfect except for being a mechanical piece of shit.

The NZ200 is 186" long, 68" wide and 73" tall. And it's a Nissan.

It's a touch smaller. So build it up and add a box on top (more secure and bad on MPG) or in back (less secure, doesn't affect MPG).

I like it. Seems relatively inexpensive for a new van compared to price of a brand new passenger minivan.

For the cost it under performs.

Mike Brady wrote:For the cost it under performs.

It's 20-22K for a cargo model.

What are the other options in the price range and what more do they offer?

-Not an antagonistic question, I just don't know.

Another similar vehicle is Chevy City Express.

chevrolet.com/city-express-…

On the other hand, has anyone seen NV200 Taxi model yet? I personally would prefer passenger type for the NV200 if/when they are available.

Definitely not a new car :) but for 10-15k you can get a nice sprinter with relatively low miles. I am completely biased as I live in one, but to be able to stand up, have a queen size bed with room to spare and to be able to go 600 miles(25gal) to a tank seem sweet to me.

Mike Brady wrote:Definitely not a new car :) but for 10-15k you can get a nice sprinter with relatively low miles. I am completely biased as I live in one, but to be able to stand up, have a queen size bed with room to spare and to be able to go 600 miles(25gal) to a tank seem sweet to me.

I understand used cars. If I got one, it wouldn't be for a while and would definitely be used.

For me a Sprinter is highly impractical. I would not be living in it. I'd have to park it. Oil changes range from $100-$300. It'd be used on weekends and occasional week long trips. It just doesn't make sense to me. I also don't trust American cars and my trust of European cars is middling. So for me it's going to be a Honda, Toyota, or Nissan.

To be honest, my ideal setup would be a mid 90's Toyota truck with a cab-over camper shell. Keep that thing packed and ready to roll and have a new super efficient little Civic or Yaris or Leaf or something for the rest of my driving.

Mike Brady wrote:Definitely not a new car :) but for 10-15k you can get a nice sprinter with relatively low miles. I am completely biased as I live in one, but to be able to stand up, have a queen size bed with room to spare and to be able to go 600 miles(25gal) to a tank seem sweet to me.

Low for a sprinter is not what most people consider low miles on a normal vehicle. Something to keep in mind.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote: I understand used cars. If I got one, it wouldn't be for a while and would definitely be used. For me a Sprinter is highly impractical. I would not be living in it. I'd have to park it. Oil changes range from $100-$300. It'd be used on weekends and occasional week long trips. It just doesn't make sense to me. I also don't trust American cars and my trust of European cars is middling. So for me it's going to be a Honda, Toyota, or Nissan. To be honest, my ideal setup would be a mid 90's Toyota truck with a cab-over camper shell. Keep that thing packed and ready to roll and have a new super efficient little Civic or Yaris or Leaf or something for the rest of my driving.

The oil change cost seems steep but remember that the interval is 12k miles. If someone is charging you $300 for an oil change you should definitely turn around and walk away.

It would be less practical if you do not plan on living in it but I recommended it because the OP was speaking of living in a rig. As far as reliability goes I have alot of faith in a maintained pre-N3CV sprinters and it is not uncommon to hear of 600,000 mile rigs still pluggin away.

I hear ya on the truck setup. I recently sold my beloved 87' 22R yota. I lived out of it for a year and had a blast romping around and traveling the west coast. Dead simple to work on, readily available cheap parts, super reliable, pretty rugged and capable.

mozeman wrote: Low for a sprinter is not what most people consider low miles on a normal vehicle. Something to keep in mind.

Definitely takes a little faith and a paradigm shift to think about 150,000 miles as being low mileage. :)

Skeptical of the CVT engins especially climbing roads in any mountains. I would rather go for a Transit Connect. Do lots of research.

They call me Sam wrote:Skeptical of the CVT engins especially climbing roads in any mountains. I would rather go for a Transit Connect. Do lots of research.

I am not a fan of the feel off a CVT, especially in town when coasting. Ironically climbing hills is their strong suit, or at least theoretically their strong suit.

I own a fleet of adventure rental vans (www.basecampervans.com). I've thought about switching to Mercedes Sprinters (expensive) or the smaller NV's/City Express (too small to be functional). I've bought 3 Chevy Express 2500s this year. So far so good. Good combination of size, gas mileage, functionality, and most importantly for dirtbagging -- the ability to ninja camp because if you resist the temptation to put Black Diamond stickers on the rear windows, you look like another work van parked on the street. Personally, I wouldn't want to live out of an NV, especially with my dogs.

The 3/4 ton Express vans come with a rear locking diff which comes in handy when accessing trailheads. They stopped making AWD Express vans in 2014 but if you can find one of those (I own 2) they are like tanks.

Good luck with your dirtbag mobile quest.

"Good luck with your dirtbag mobile quest."

Thank you all for your responses! A couple things to add...

•I'm looking for something to live out of full time.
•It needs to be very reliable; I plan on doing lots of driving cross country.
•I have about $15k to drop on it.

All ideas welcome, all input is appreciated. I like the idea of the Nissan NV-200 because I can get one almost knew for $15k (about 10,000 miles). A sprinter would be awesome, I would love the space, and Im totally cool with a bare bones deal and slowly building it up over a few seasons. But spending my nest-egg on a rig with 150k+ miles on it is hard to wrap my head around. Feel free to convince me otherwise!

✌️

A friend of mine just bought one. I'll see how it's going. She has slept in it for a week or so and then realized she couldn't live that life and rented out a cabin.

I posted some pics of the rig I'm building here: mountainproject.com/v/build…

Going the Sprinter route took a fair amount of research and due diligence for me to feel comfortable dropping the dime. I made the dealership sign a major mechanical recision and then I took the van to Freightliner, Dodge and an independent Sprinter tech for inspections. This along with an extended warranty made me feel more comfortable and I have not been upset about it since. I also had them do some body work and replace the slider hardware.

They are definitely more expensive in many aspects but I feel like I have bought something that is going to retain it's value much more than many other vehicles. My friend bought one with 300,000 for 10k. I would be amazed to see that happen with any other new van.

The Express is a cool rig too, I wanted one but opted for the head height, as I wanted to live in a van but I didn't want to devolve. I was also looking at the full-size Ford E series, I found one with a powerstroke in it but us silly 'mericans need that 6.7L power and don't mind getting 15 MPG! I couldn't stomach supporting that so the Sprinter it was.

That is a sweet rig, Mike! I like what you did with it. How much did the van cost you (off the lot), how many miles? Thx!

Thanks.

With an extended warranty and interest on the loan it is right at 20k with 140k miles on it. I didn't really haggle as well as I could have on the price but I feel like I got what I wanted out of them in repairs.

Still need to do a lot of work to Van Diesel but its gettin there. I can't wait to just be doing the finish work. Today is actually my last day in my apartment, so tonight is her maiden voyage which is kicking off a week long trip to Leavonworth/Index. So stoked!

Whatever you end up choosing, let me know if you have any questions about materials, methods, cost, etc.

Thanks, Mike. It's great to see its working out for you!