The time has come to buy a new van. I recently drove a ford transit full size, and was surprisingly impressed. I plan to get behind the shell of both the Nissan NV and NV200 this week. I've previously driven a transit connect (2009), and was quite underwhelmed.

So, I'm heavily leaning Nissan regardless just for reliability. My main point that I go back and forth on is full size or compact. I love the idea of a compact van and the great gas mileage that goes with one. That said, the transit connect I drove at my previous job never got a shelving package, so keeping organized was next to impossible, but I could cram it full of tools and product. I got a look in the back of the ADT van last week, and with a full shelving package, I guess I could fit my tool bags, a 55" TV, and a receiver, and little else. I seem to recall having trouble fitting a 65" into the transit connect.

I'm in love with the idea of a full size van with a good Adrian steel package with lots of drawers and bins so I can have damn near everything I need contained in the shelves, and have plenty of room left for tools, boxes of cable, and all the product for a small to moderate installation in one trip. I'm not in love with gas mileage on a full size van.

Most of my jobs are a 65 mile drive, though the closer ones (15-20 minutes away) are picking up. That is playing a huge factor right now. Both directions on the 65 mile drive involve going over a hell of a mountain, also.

Those of you who have small vans, weigh in on whether you have enough space and organization to get by, or are you regretting not going full size? Those of you with full size vans, is the gas mileage killing you? Is it not as bad as I think?

I'm not dead set on Nissan. I'm open to any manufacturer if the reliability is there.

I got an nv200 with a shelf package. I've put a 75" tv in the box inside. I've put fully built racks etc... Ive put in 80k in 2 years without any issues whatsoever.

You can't beat the 5 year/100k bumper to bumper warranty on the nissans. I would never buy another brand because of it.

I have shelving only of the drivers side to leave room on the right for everything else. My van is nice and organized. I carry about 6 boxes of wire,tons of hdmis, all my power tools etc.... I personally don't miss anything with a larger van.

I'll post this again, cause it really says all that needs to be said.



Cannot do this in a small van. Full shelving on both sides. Still had two tool bags, a Festool case, vacuum, 6' ladder and 4' ladder in there. Also had a dumping trailer to go along with the tractor. I've fit as much as ten TV's in the van. Only thing I had to remove was some wire boxes that sit in the floor. Everything else I carry in the van remained in the van.

Mileage. It sucks. I have the 3.5l V6 and get between 11-13 mpg. You can get better mileage from other full sized vans. The NV has been reliable though. Oil changes and brakes are the only things I have had to do. While I'd love better mileage, I would not trade down to a small van that I have to plan every single job down to the fitting on what I will need. When unforeseen issues pop up, 9.9 out of 10 times, I have e what I need right there in the van.

I thought the NV had more cargo area than a transit connect. Looking inside the ADT guy's van was a real let down. Good to know the NV200 can hold more than just the shelving alone. you don't feel like you're losing any organizational benefits by just having shelving on one side? Doing it that way had occurred to me, and seemed like the only realistic option.

Goldenz, im not going to be able to get that out of my head the whole time during this process. I could get spoiled having that much room and still have damn near every small part I could need n hand. I like the idea of my van being a rolling mini warehouse.

I'll be driving both Nissan vans tomorrow evening, so at least I can get a good comparison versus both equivalent fords. I'd love to know why chevy expresses are so overpriced new, and harder to find used, when I see a lot of unhappiness with reliability.

I have no organizational issues whatsoever. I'm never short any tools or supplies.

I get 24mpg but I do mostly highway driving.

I looked at the NV200 when I was deciding on the NV. It's small. Way too small. I could fit everything I keep in my NV in an NV200, and then have no room for gear. I would also have to constantly move things to get to what I need.

As long as you don't go from a box truck to a truck with a trailer to full sized van to a small van to a full sized van with tall roof to a pickup truck, I'm sure you'll be fine.

Also, the fact I drive far for the majority of my jobs (1-1.5 hours drive), I want to have everything I need or might find I need unexpectedly in the van. I have tons of crap at home (home run business). Going to pick up something I have in stock but not on the van is not an option. If you drive far for your work, something to think about. The room to stock stuff outweighs the desire for better MPG for me.

I'm also thinking about a van. so which one do I pick? do I go for the gas mileage or the bigger size? I also like the looks of the Dodge ProMaster.

Which of the vans have the best gas mileage, loaded?

Stay away from the Transit Connects. They are little turds. We've killed transmissions 4 times in the two we have. They suck in every way except ease of organization. Most 65" TVs will fit, but nothing bigger.

I suspect all or most of the other full sized vans get better mileage. For one, Nissan makes decent power in their motors but terrible mileage. My Frontier only gets about 17mpg for a mid sized truck with a V6. Second, the NV is like driving a brick. Look at its shape. The least aerodynamic vehicle on the road. But it has a large interior for a standard roof van, is comfortable, drives great, is reliable, and at least when I was buying, was a little less expensive than everyone else.

I bought the full size Transit about 2 years ago (medium height/medium length) and really like it.  I moved up from a Chevy Astro and couldn't imagine going back to a smaller vehicle.

When I drove the Astro I had to shift products and tools in and out of the van every day based on the job and ended up strapping long stuff like conduit, shades, etc. on the top which was time consuming to load and unload.

Now with the Transit I keep almost every tool in the van, plus lots of parts/supplies and even have room for lots of demo stuff (lutron lighting & shades, acoustic stuff, etc.).  The cargo area is over 10ft long the longest shades, conduit, unistrut or whatever just goes in the back and I haven't installed a TV yet that didn't fit easily in the back.  I do custom work including woodwork, metal work, acoustics, etc. so keep a compressor and pneumatic tools with me all the time.  The only tools I don't keep in the van full time are table saw and miter saw.

It's got the 3.5 Eco Boost engine (twin turbo) and I average 14MPG fully loaded with ladders on the top.  Highway MPG is around 17MPG and in town with hills is about 13MPG.  I only drive 6000-8000 miles per year so not really concerned about fuel economy and the convenience of having everything in the van far outweighs the economy of a smaller vehicle for me.

Here's some photos... I had about $10k over the cost of the vehicle to outfit it and add graphics:










Here it is with two full height BGR racks (still on the pallets) along with doors, fans, cable chase, ladder racks and all the other goodies with plenty of room left near the front of the van:

I have an NV200 for about 2.5 years now. On the drivers side I have shelves. At the sliding door on the drivers side I have a stack of DeWalt Storage boxes with connectors for RCA, RG-6, screws, specialized tools etc. Fit a 75" Sony with no issues, racks, etc. Love that I can go in any regular garage for my downtown clients.
On the times when we have a large project with multiple TV's and gear, I just rent a truck for the day. It gets calculated into the bid price, and is not that much to rent for the day.

Who drives the NV200 on such days that you need to rent? Do you just have a helper drive it over?

Ive found this is the best way to trim the excess wire after a prewire. Just mow over the bundle.

After I add the mulch kit it will be