Ultimate 4x4 off-road camper van, 2013 Nissan NV3500

Seller's Description

This is the overland, camper van you have been looking for: "Bruce Vanner" aka The Hulk. This awesome off-road, off-grid living platform was the creation of a well known overlander John N., who a photographer/ traveler. His blog buildout is at the end of this post. Its a lovely living situation with great amenities, that is very capable off road, even in ice/ mud. The top electronically raises, allowing a comfortable bed for 2 people, plus a small kid sized bed downstairs. 6'2 headroom. Seat belts for 4. Indoor/ outdoor showers, toilet, seating and kitchen. Passenger seat swivels to the kitchen. Current clean registration (as RV) and smog in CA, previously in NV. Price: $71,000 OBO I have all the receipts and manuals as well as maintenance service records. Receipts total more than $110,000, not including labor. I am only selling due to family/ health circumstances, as I love The Hulk. Happy to chat on the phone, but only interested to show it to serious buyers (no looky-loos please). Located near Santa Cruz, CA. Lots of details below: 2013 Nissan NV3500 HD Camper Van. Currently 69,3XX miles 5.6 V8 gas engine (no problem on power) 25gal factory fuel tank 4x4 Conversion by Advanced 4X4 - 4H/4L/2H. (Manuel application, which is more reliable than push button) Windows by Colorado Camper Van Pop-Top by Colorado Camper Van (with arctic insulation option) Aluminess Front Bumper w/ Warn 16.5Ti Winch (16,500 lbs) Aluminess Rear Bumper w/ storage box & tire carrier. Tow hitch as well (5) 18x9 +18 Raceline 935B Defender Wheels (5) Nitto Exo Grapplers 285/70/18 (purchased June 2020 - less than 8k miles) Body modification & propane tank by Jerry Icon Coilovers and 2.5” Titan Lift Blocks installed by Nisstec (provides 2.5” of lift over stock) Firestone Rear Airbags/ lift installed by Nisstec (50 psi but easily adjustable) Power: 250amp American Power Alternator Brand new Odyssey AGM Starting Battery (2) Lifeline 8D Coach Batteries - 510ah total Sterling 120amp Battery to Battery Charging Controller - 120amps to coach batteries (3) 100watt Solar Panels w/ Bogart Engineering Controller Progressive Industries 30amp Shore Power Controller Sterling 2500watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter with 70amp DC charging Bogart Engineering DC Charge Monitor Seven AC Power Breakers Seven DC Power Breakers One 450amp and One 500amp DC Routing Switches (2) Switch-Pros Switch Panel Power Systems (16 circuits total) Comfort: 7500 BTU Dometic Air Conditioner with Heat Strip; split system with condenser under van Propex HS2800 LP Furnace (kept me toasty on a 20F nights) Westfalia 3.3gal propane tank 3 Gallon 120V Whale Hot Water Heater ARB 50qt Refrigerator/Freezer (Slide that fits all common 50L refrigerators) Nature's Head Composting Toilet w/ 12v fan 38gal Fresh Water Supply Tank (inside van) 18gal Gray Water Waste Tank (underneath van) All drawers slide lock-in / lock-out Indoor hot/ cold shower enclosure (outdoor hot/cold shower as well, with hose) ElectroSense Water Level Gauge Rotating Passenger Seat (turns towards the kitchen) LED Lighting throughout to ensure minimal power draw Dual insulation Thinsulate / Low-E Reflective insulation Microwave Induction cooking stove Sink with hot/ cold water Extras: Yaesu 8900 Ham Radio Cobra CB Radio Wilson Cellular Amplifier (2) Rotopax 2 gallon fuel containers 8.5' Thule Awning (its really amazing) Krazy Beaver Shovel and ice splitting maul (4) Rigid D-Series Pro Flood Lights w/ Amber Covers (creates an insane amount of light) (2) Owl Van Maxtraxx magnetic mount Slider Door Privacy/Insect Screen (back and side) Extendable ladder Many extra keys, shackles and other items Recent maintenance: 7/6/25 by Ernie's Napa of Felton: Oil change/ filter with Synthetic Blend Oil 5W30 7/6/25 by Ernie's Napa of Felton: Replaced Carbon Canister/ Vapor Canister Vent Solenoid 6/24 by United Nissan of Las Vegas: Brake fluid flush 6/24 by United Nissan of Las Vegas: Coolant system flush 6/24 by United Nissan of Las Vegas: multi point inspection Cons: Pop-Top canvas has a wear spot due to the lifting arms on the inside. Only cosmetic and does not leak Van has been used so paint has some pin stripping Laminate flooring isn't perfect and has some gaps Dometic AC is a bit finicky & could never get it to run right off of house battery power. Never tried AC on shore power but heat works great. Regular van AC works fine. I never needed the Dometic, so I never looked into it. My guess is the canister just needs to be refilled as it blows air fine ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From John N (original buildout): My Project: In late 2013 while still owning our second Sprinter, I decided I wanted 4x4, move away from Mercedes, and move to a gas engine. Since Nissan was the last body on frame van manufactured and since two companies do relatively minor invasive 4x4 conversions we bought the last new silver 2013 left in the US from a dealer in Oklahoma through a dealer in CO at the end of February 2014. On it’s way to CO it made a detour to Salt Lake for 4x4 conversion before it even landed on the CO dealer’s lot. I flew out to CO in March 2014 and drove the van across town to Colorado Camper Vans where they installed windows and the pop-top bed area. I flew back to Colorado at the end of June, picked up the van, toured CO for two weeks with a window cargo interior. Upon return to CA, I did a quick 3 day plywood build to test out my space ideas which was adequate enough for CA DMV to license it as a motorhome. Yes, it is licensed as a motorhome. Throughout the summer of 2014 we went to 5 conversion places to price out my interior ideas (including a trip to Oregon to a conversion company we had used before) and no one wanted to take on a one-off project based on my idea. In November of 2014, I told my wife I was going to take three weeks off from work to build the real interior. That three weeks turned into three months. When the top is down it's 10'2 at the top of the first breakable item (where the antenna fold-over point is) Top of antennas is 13' The flooring is CNC cut aluminum to the fit of the van. I wanted the least height material yet a stable on for the cabinets and "life" above it. It's been powder coated and there is foam and sound insulation beneath it. I always intended to cover the walkways with a rubber mat or carpet. But, I've liked how easy it is to clean up wet muddy shoe prints and other dirt so I never proceeded with a top covering.

Amenities

Kitchen