[Canadian Conversion]

Hello everyone,

I have recently started converting our brand new 2020 NV200. It was purchased for the purpose. We also purchased the roadloft kit (roadloft.com), so all that's left for me to do is insulation, ventilation, and power.

Insulation:

Used sheep wool insulation to stuff the doors and panels. Where there is nothing to stuff (upper walls and ceiling), i have been cutting XPS to shape and gluing it on with M3 spray glue and filling in the gaps with Great Stuff spray foam. Turned out to be much more work than i thought.

All that insulation is ugly. I plan to cover the ceiling with a large piece of sanded plywood, thin enough to give me the required bend, and drill it directly into the ribs. Not sure about the sides (where the windows should be). Either a wood veneer or carpet of some sort. Will need to be glued on. Suggestions welcome.

Ventilation:

Purchased a maxair mini. It includes a LED light, which eliminates the need for separate wiring. The instal will require me to cut a 14" by 14" square hole in the ceiling. There is only one place in the NV200 where this will fit between the ribs: in the middle of the vehicle between the two sliding doors, and it will require cutting half an inch out of the ribs on each side. Despite this, i decided to go with the 14" fan because it is standard RV size (easy to replace) and the small fans seemed cheap.

Power:

KISS principle applied... bought an AIMTOM 350w portable power station to power fan, phones, laptops, etc.

Wheels:

The ugliest part of the NV200 is the wheels, so new allow rims.

Any comments or suggestions welcome and much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Fummins]

Wow, that kit is $4500!

What are you doing for heat or would you just run the engine?

 

[Canadian Conversion]

Thanks for the heating tips. Other than running the motor and insulating, hadn't planned on anything other than a winter camping sleeping bag, but that might change.

To answer your question regarding the allure of a tiny van conversion... you named one reason, cities. We love camping but its not just for camping. More for travelling in general. But the main reason is we traded in our second vehicle, which is what makes it affordable for us. The NV200 is still small enough that it can act as a second vehicle and be driven to work. Even with the cost of the kit, once finished, it is still about half the price of anything else finished on the market.

 

[Fummins]

Gotcha! That makes sense, I didn't think of it that way.

 

[NismoNV]

I just started a conversion too (literally bought it today haha). Where in Canada are you?

I am hoping to get away without a fan but I could regret it. We'll see. There are a few in depth NV builds on youtube if you haven't already found them. Really good walkthroughs on the insulation and things.

 

[Canadian Conversion]

I'm in Quebec.

I have probably seen all the you tube videos at this point. Lol. Not many adapted to Canada, other than out west.

I struggled with the idea of a fan too (still haven't installed) , but there are few windows that can open in an NV200. You will likely need it in summer for the heat and in colder months for the condensation

Where abouts are you?