I bought a van. Well, technically 6 months ago I did, and I finally took delivery of it.
Ordered a 2019 Nissan NV 2500 SV V8 High Roof, and had it delivered from the factory to Quigley for the 4×4 conversion. Then it was shipped all the way to California for pickup.
Having come from the Tacoma and Cricket combo, I had a pretty good idea of what worked, and what didn’t work, and what was important to me.
This specific build is the closest to checking all my boxes.
More specifically, the main reasons for choosing this particular vehicle:
- Standing height interior.
- Body-on-frame construction.
- 4 wheel drive (via Quigley conversion)
- Ease of maintenance.
- Horsepower and towing capacity.
The Nissan is the only body-on-frame van that’s available with a high roof option. The truck-style front end offers accessibility to the engine bay that’s not available with more traditional vans, like Sprinters or Transits.
Sprinters and Transits are unibody construction, and have much smaller/weaker engines and a much lower towing capacity. Their 4WD/AWD systems are also not true part-time 4WD: The Sprinter has a planetary gear reduction reducing power to the front wheels, and the Transit is a computer-controlled system and wasn’t available with AWD until 2020.
The engines on both of those models are also smaller, and turbocharged, adding complexity with regards to maintenance. Too complicated, in my mind, for true long-term durability in the adverse/abusive conditions that I tend to put my vehicles in.
Yes, you do end up sacrificing some interior volume, but everything’s a compromise. I choose to prioritize the more traditional ladder-frame construction, V8, and 4×4 system over comfort and living space.
Now it’s time to start the build.
Andrew Liu 