Demountable camper group

Popped into my local dealers today for a gander at the new Navarra, which has led to a question. With the new suspension set-up on the rear axle, is it possible to fit uprated coil springs - and damping units if required - in order to be able to update it to 3500kg?
My local dealer couldn't answer this one, so i've sent an email to Nissan UK and I thought i'd ask the collective wisdom on here, to see if I can get an answer.
Still waiting on the new Hi-Lux, but the 5 year warranty on the new Navarra's rather appealing, and the camper sits further forward of the rear axle compared to the L200, due to both a longer wheelbase and the design of the double cab.

I doubt a manufacturer will want to commit in writing its support for uprating of suspension. Plus if they have gone for coil springs that tends to imply they are after ride comfort which would be a major selling point to those looking to purchase a pickup truck merely as an SUV, which I feel has been Nissan's target audience from the days they introduced the D22. If that is the case they are even less likely to be interested in uprated suspensions.

Best bet might be to wait until Australian / South African aftermarket suspension manufacturers start providing options. I notice that Ironman sell suspension upgrades for the D40, so I guess they will want to bring out similar upgrades for the new model too.

I notice that the Nissan website is branding the NP300 as "Tough as always". Given their reputation I'd want it a lot tougher

Personally, if it was between the Toyota and a Nissan, there would need to be a lot going for the Nissan to sway me in that direction, given the history of the D22's engines blowing up and the D40's chassis breaking.

Steve.

Cheers Steve, I was asking the question more for anyone else out there that might be having similar thoughts. The Hi-Lux is still what i'm waiting for, but there are concerns over stated fuel consumption - Toyota claim 10% improvement over the outgoing models, but state the 2.5 at 38mpg and the new 2.4 at 39mpg... which certainly isn't 10% better. Toyota also have claimed market leading fuel consumption from the new engines, but both are nowhere near the competition's mid 40's on the combined cycle.
Also, i've heard today that we're not likely to see the 2.8 until much later in the year, possibly even next year, as they'll be bringing in the 2.4 first of all.

With coils you might be able to go over to a full air setup relatively easily.

Toshbins wrote:With coils you might be able to go over to a full air setup relatively easily.

That's what I was thinking you might be able to do. Lots of MH/Camper owners do air suspension upgrades to their vans' underpinnings, so should be a possibility on the new Navarra.

Perhaps Steve at Marcle might be able to offer something adapted to fit

Our Dutch partners at Veth (the guys that do our extended wheelbase Amarok, Dmax and Navara conversions) tell us they will have all the parts needed for the new Navara model conversion very shortly. As increasing the GVW to 3.5t with air assistance is included in the long wheelbase conversion, uprating the suspension with air should also be straight forward. Further, as the entire conversion is approved by Nissan, they shouldn't have any problems with the air components in respect of the truck warranty either.

Hope that's helpful, but if you need any more info just give me a call.

Best wishes

Gary

I've had several of you get in touch unaware that we offered these extended wheelbase conversions - oops! Sorry folks, I guess when you're so close to something you don't always see it as others do.

In essence this is something we do in conjunction with Veth Automotive, a German/Dutch company specialising in commercial vehicle modifications and conversions. Extending the wheelbase of a pickup is technically and practically quite straightforward, but getting homologation and manufactures approval for your modifications is another story. Veth do that, and currently have approved conversions for Nissan, Isuzu and Volkswagen pickups. The approval is crucial for the warranty with a new car. The converted Amarok is available as a new vehicle through the VW dealer network in Holland so no worries on that score. The new Nissan conversion is in final stages of development.

If you really need or want a double cab rather than a single or extra cab as a base for your demountable this is the way to go. You really do get the best of both worlds. The best thing of all is that durability is, if anything, improved as the weight is now carried where it should be, that is shared between the 2 axles. On the subject of durability they are surviving military use in the Dutch army, ambulance use in the UK, and their little excursions into the Dakar have raised no issues whatsoever.





If you need any more info please just ask!

Best wishes

Gary

Following on from my initial investigations, I took the new NP300 Navara out for a spin today and I have been left a little unsatisfied by what is currently being touted by Autoexpress as the best handling pickup ever.
Firstly, claimed fuel economy. Nissan are claiming mid 40's and a nice, steady, hour run gave me 39mpg. When I got on the M5 and set the cruise at 63mph, the bar graph display for real time fuel consumption seemed to spend a lot of time under the indicated 39 the average digital readout was giving me.
Next were the humps on the bonnet, which restrict your view and make it difficult to gauge where you are on the road in relation to everything else.
The sunroof cuts into your roof height - a lot - and with the rear seats being set quite low, gives a very cramped, unnatural seating position for your passengers.
For me, in my hour of driving, I did start to get fidgety in the drivers seat, so may well find it uncomfortable on a long run.
The demo I took out also had climate control, which didn't like being in manual mode very well. I was getting a bit warm at the factory 21 degree setting, so turned it down to 16 and into manual mode, to which I got cold air. I turned it up to 18 and started getting too warm again, so I started to turn it down 0.5 degree at a time. This seemed to have little, or no, effect, until I got down to 16 where it went cold again. Back to 16.5 and it was hot, so not much in the way of good heating controls. Be sure to check this one if you're thinking of buying one.
Compared to the new L200 and Ranger, the Navara also leans a lot in the bends and the steering is rather ponderous and slow. Another thing that's ponderous and slow, as well as notchy and imprecise, is the manual gear shift. Crisp is not a word anyone will be associating with the Navara in manual guise.
That's quite a few moans there, so a couple of good points to finish. The cockpit trim is very nice, as is the stereo, which gives you a good readout on the display of tracks and artists playing on the radio. It's also very quiet when cruising, with some good punch for overtaking, but it is noisy when you put your foot down. Mirrors are clear and not overly massive and bumps are smoothed out, giving a lovely smooth drive, as long as you don't go round too many corners.
For me, it's too compromised, so it's off the list and, given this group review (http://www.caradvice.com.au/388419/ute- ... -amarok-2/), i'm going to take an Amarok out and see how it compares on the fuel economy with the latest offerings.
With the aforementioned chassis/suspension upgrade being available for this truck, I may well look at a nice, low mileage, one private owner, 2012 Trendline or Highline for ferrying my camper around with. If that fails, I may still have to wait and see what the new Hi-Lux has to offer, but some recent changes in my work, may well bring forward my pickup purchase plans.

Just a little update, as I took an Amarok out yesterday. It's big, but quite manageable, even down country lanes. It handles the bumps very well, with virtually no chatter on the rear springs over bumps. In comparison to the new Navara, it's still leagues ahead, showing up how bad the new one is. I find it hard to comprehend how Autoexpress can say it's the best pickup on the UK market today, given the wallowy handling, tin of spaghetti gearbox and cramped cabin. The only downsides to the Amarok are it's big, so heavy on the fuel (I got 34mpg on a mixed run) and the DSG changes gears - a lot - to make the best of the smaller engine, which you do notice and leads to the question of the lifespan of the clutches in this particular truck. It was very planted on the road and also very quiet in the cabin, but forward progress always felt a little strained on that little engine.The sound stage was a bit flat, despite my adjustments of the various controls, certainly not as good as my little I10. For the money, it cossets you and feels like it's well built, but it lacks airbags for rear passengers and is sparse of a fair few bells and whistles that are standard features on the competition. These count against it as it makes the Amarok rather pricey by comparison.
It's also still only Euro 5, with no updated model coming till sometime next year, so i've no idea what they're planning to sell once Euro 6 is in force this coming September.
However, due to the quality of the drive, it's not off the list, but a back to back try out of the seating position, with the new L200, puts the Mitsubishi back at the top of my preferred pickups at the moment, along with price, colour scheme, drivability (i thought it was a nicer drive than the much lauded Ranger) and their 5 year warranty, I feel it's currently one of the better pickup choices.
If I can avoid having to rush out and get one soon, due to my work situation possibly changing, i'm still going to wait for the new Hi-Lux and compare it with the L200, to see which will be the better choice.
On paper, the Hi-Lux reviews state it as handling heavy loads really well, but claimed mpg figures are way wide of the mark, with the L200 being reviewed as very poor on the handling with weight on board. Mind you, those were the same reviewers that claimed the L200 was a poor handler on the road when empty as well, compared to the Amarok and Ranger, but I personally thought it was better than the Ranger.
Given some of the Ozzie reviews for the new Hi-Lux, i've been having some random thoughts on buying a current 2.5 Hi-Lux and getting the front seat(s) moved back a couple of inches. Any comments on that as a plan, from current Hi-Lux owners out there - especially if you've been out comparing the new stuff to your current steed - would be appreciated.