Fully Electric Campervan: DIY Conversion Process (Nissan e-NV200)

[@islaws4589]

When my Leaf grows up it wants to be an eNV camper! Living the dream :)

[@HLnotHL]

I am absolutely loving your channel, so pleased I found it. I have only been interested in van life for a couple of weeks and I have seen so many videos with people using diesel vehicles.. I’m now convinced electric is the way for me. Keep up the great content.. I’m going to binge watch the rest of your videos and follow your journeys.. Thank you 🙏

[@Simon-dm8zv]

Truly fantastic. I am currently thinking about a used e-NV200 as the successor of my VW T4 campervan.

[@GlynHudson]

Awesome! I would recomend the new 40kwh version if your budget can stretch. You won't regret the extra range. Although my 24kwh is still highly functional

[@Simon-dm8zv]

@@GlynHudson Yes, 40kWh would be wonderful. However, a used e-NV200 with 24kWh battery will set you back about €20.000 (in The Netherlands) and a new 40kWh version is at least twice that amount. But I guess availability and prices of used ones will change over the next few years :)

[@katejacobaarnold1928]

@@Simon-dm8zv We're in the Netherlands & wanting to do this too. The 40kWh bestelbus is at least more common & cheaper starting point than the Evalia people carrier. If you can get a subsidy too (The Hague has a scheme at the moment also covering 2nd hand vehicles)

[@Bettys_Eldest]

If you are in the Netherlands you shoud take a look at what MAXSON are doing with extender batteries for the e-NV200

[@Simon-dm8zv]

jbsignaturetele MUXSAN ;)

[@shakers4u]

Nice conversion, I just found your link from Nate's channel. I've gotta change my van due to the new changes arriving in London next year, this in now on my shortlist.

[@GlynHudson]

Great to hear, I've actually just finished filming a full detailed video about our van that Nate will be posting on his channel soon!

[@GrotrianSeiler]

You guys are awesome. I will love following this project/trips. What a great adventure you took on.

[@itpawn]

Can I have more details about the portable water boiler? Thanks a lot for your ideas and passion! I enjoy watching

[@GlynHudson]

It's a 12V insulates kettle, see blog post for list of all the items used in the build. Kettle is inclosed on the list blog.zerocarbonadventures.co.uk/2018/11/nissan-e-nv200-vs-peugeot-partner.html

[@HistoryNeedsYou]

Really cool conversion!

[@davidwilliams1844]

Amazing! So if you leave the heaters or air conditioning on over night - how much electric does that use? Half a battery? 10, 20, 30 miles worth etc?

[@GlynHudson]

If we're not plugged in the heater uses about 20 miles of range overnight depending on how cold it is. A/C doesn't use very much. I wrote a blog about this blog.zerocarbonadventures.co.uk/2021/12/nissan-e-nv200-campervan-cabin-heating.html

[@ibrazier]

Hi IM seriously tempted to get a env200! Love the channel! Im a mountain runner and use a new Transit atm to drive to the hills and sleep in it.... Ive put in a Diesel heater, I see you say you can run the heating while not running the motor but I guess this runs off the 12v battery? Does this run ok or flatten that?

[@GlynHudson]

That's great to hear! The van needs to be left switched on when running the heating, the energy comes from the main traction battery, you can lock the doors from the inside, see: blog.zerocarbonadventures.co.uk/2021/12/nissan-e-nv200-campervan-cabin-heating.html

[@reddyornott9981]

Did you look into having the R&R bed on sliders so you can push it forward and have rear space for carrying?

[@GlynHudson]

I've not heard of these before, sounds interesting but would have been ticky to install since the battery pack is located further forward

[@energiavadasz3328]

Fantastic.

[@countteddy]

ooh...so exciting......got a bongo rear seat that folds flat to make a bed.....any links to the windows ....?...the android is a brilliant idea , I thought you had a techna when I first saw the video........great stuff....

[@GlynHudson]

Thanks, windows came came from vanpimps.co.uk

[@JeepinDownUnder]

Just a thought... I noticed there’s some room under the bonnet, could you perhaps install a suitably sized water tank under there to free up room in the cabin?

[@GlynHudson]

I use the space under the bonnet to store charging cables. It would be an alkward sized water tank. If you wanted you could replace the spare wheel underneath the van with a under sung tank. I quite like removable 25L bottles for easy refilling and cleaning

[@countteddy]

the pv panel looks good, how did you run the cable ?, you didn't drill the roof?. and have you added another 12 volt aux battery ?.....

[@GlynHudson]

Yes, I drilled the roof. Made sure I drilled in between any structural parts and used roofing mastic to water seal.

[@GlynHudson]

No, didn't add a 2nd 12V battery. When the van is switched on it continuously charges the 12V battery from the main 400V DC traction battery therefore plenty of power available. Reduces complication, saves space and reduces weight

[@roberthart6967]

Glyn Hudson hey glyn, great job are you able to share what auxiliary battery you changed it for as you mentioned an lithium or did you mean a AGM? Also did you use a split charge relay, I’m looking to do similar on my 40kwh. Great inspiration guys!

[@GlynHudson]

I did use a lithium, I've now changed it to a AGM battery. I just use a single battery under the bonnet. If it's running low I turn the van on to charge it from the main traction battery. If you wanted a dedicated leisure battery you could use a standard voltage sense split charge relay. However, I've found just using one battery works fine since I often have the van switched on to run the heating / stereo anyway. I prefer not having the extra weight and space saving of not having a 2nd leisure battery

[@roberthart6967]

Thanks for the reply glyn, I may go the dedicated separate route of another battery AGM with the voltage split charge just to keep the systems separate, but I’ll have to research a bit more I think, I like what you have done by using the open source and dropping the voltage, be nice to see a dedicated video on this an in depth review if you could at some point.

[@Nieminenracing]

Hello from Finland! And thank you for your very good travel videos with Electric Campervan :) we bought E-nv200 40kw evalia in january and the car is almost perfect for us. My only problem is the useles head unit in this car. I found your conversion to android head unit and want to chance mine too. but.. i have not found obd reader and head unit that is compatible with this car. What obd dongle you use and how is it paired with your pumpkin head unit? Hope you can give me any advice! Thank you! Toni& Jonna

[@GlynHudson]

That's great to hear. My Pumkin head unit is a Android head unit so any bluetooth ODB2 dongle that works with Leafspy should work with it. However, I've mostly found my smartphone to be more convenient for using leafspy. I would recommend choosing a head unit based on audio / navigation requirements and using a smartphone for ODB2 connection.

[@noelthompson1634]

Can I have your shopping list? As I what to make my e-NV200 as good as yours. p.s. I can show how to make a a push button to cancel the sidelights till you restart it with a push button in the cab.... Respect Noel.

[@GlynHudson]

Sure, list of all the items is on my blog post. What's your idea regarding the light switch? blog.zerocarbonadventures.co.uk/2018/11/nissan-e-nv200-vs-peugeot-partner.html

[@LouReedsmuse]

Where did you get your bed?

[@VeeFour]

I'm seriously considering converting an e-Nv200 40 KW/h van myself, and I'd be very grateful if you could point me in the direction of some resources that can teach me about fitting the required electrics. There's plenty of information out there about regular van conversion electrics, but I need to understand how to marry the main traction electrics to a 12v 220v leisure system. Many thanks in advance. I was thinking about converting an EV Van a couple of years ago, but now seeing that you've proven that the concept works, and works well, I'm excited to start my own project that will involve the carriage of a Zero FXS EV motorbike as a shuttle vehicle

[@GlynHudson]

Good choice, the 40kwh will make a great campervan. I wrote about my conversion on my blog together with a wiring diagram. If you want to use a leisure battery you cna just use a normal split charge voltage sense relay. However since the van already has a larger battery I make do without a leisure battery just using the vans 12v battery (which I switched to an AGM) topped up from a solar pv panel. If I notice battery is getting low I just switch the van on to charge the starter battery from the traction battery. You may have different requirements.

[@GlynHudson]

blog.zerocarbonadventures.co.uk/2018/10/electric-campervan-diy-conversion.html

[@mrsnrub2952]

@@GlynHudson The Japanese variants of the e-NV200, has an ac outlet that uses the van's 40/24kwh battery. The older 24kwh models can be imported (after VAT and costs) for around 10K

[@GlynHudson]

@@mrsnrub2952 That would very useful. Do you know what the current rating is?

[@mrsnrub2952]

@@GlynHudson It's the Japanese standard of 100v (at 1500w), a step up voltage converter should solve any issues, as the outlet is available on all post-2018 40 kwh (and any G 24kwh) e-NV's

[@billyray323]

Hi What stereo did you choose for the van, I noticed you've changed it & is it Bluetooth connectivity for Sat nav Cheers buddy

[@GlynHudson]

I fitted a pumpkin Android head unit. Any double DIN headunit should fit. I think fitting one that supports Android Auto and Apple Carplay would be a really nice upgrade. I used a Nissan Nv200 harness to keep the steering wheel control function buttons working

[@billyray323]

@@GlynHudson Brilliant thank you. Stay safe and happy guys 😉🍻

[@Bankrolt24]

What radio/sat nav did you get having trouble finding one that fits

[@GlynHudson]

I've got an Android Pumpkin unit, any double din unit should fit. There's nissan ISO adaptor available to make the connections work

[@Scampi252]

Great conversion! How do you power the induction hob? I don't see any inverter in your van nor on the bill of materials! Also, is there a reason (besides capacity) why you didn't use the in-built 12V Renault-Nissan battery for low voltage appliances, and bough an AGM battery instead? Thanks!

[@GlynHudson]

Thanks. The induction hob is powered when we're plugged into an EV charge point or campsite hookup. It would be possible to power via an inverter but a 2kW inverter are quite large and expensive. We're usually plugged into a hookup overnight. If not, we used a gas stove. We do use the van's 12V battery to power the lights etc. The vans 12V lead acid needed replacing after 4yrs so I choose to install AGM battery as a replacement since it's better designed to handle lower depth of discharge.

[@Scampi252]

@@GlynHudson Thanks for sharing this. Do you know how does the NV200 recharges its 12V battery? Let's say your 12V battery goes deeply discharged, will the vehicle notice and recharge it using the Lithium battery bank, or does it only recharge when moving the vehicle?

[@Scampi252]

Inverters are getting cheaper and cheaper by the way. I am considering buying one to run my induction hob and other AC appliances while being off-grid. Check here for instance: greencell.global/en/power-inverters/2427-green-cell-car-power-inverter-converter-12v-to-230v-3000w6000w-pure-sine.html?search_query=3000W+inverter&results=7#specification

[@GlynHudson]

@@Scampi252 Awesome! Having such a large inverter would be nice. 3kW @ 12V will need some very fat cables! I would recommend having a separate leisure battery since the van's DC-DC converter is rated at 1kW, I would be careful about pulling more than 1kW from the vans aux battery under the bonnet to avoid stressing the vans DC-DC converter.

[@noneofyourbusiness5134]

Its great to see you made this work. Really interesting that the climate control when the van is swtiched off. How effective did you find it in the depths of winter/summer and how much power did it use? Or is it a case that you only use it if you have access to a hook up?

[@GlynHudson]

Thanks for your comment, the van has to be switched on to run the climate control. It's not a problem to leave the van switched on overnight, we found it uses about 3% per hour, so maybe about 30% running the heater overnight. Since our old 24kWh battery has got a relatively low range we generally only run the heating all night when we're plugged into a hookup. If you have the newer 40kWh battery this would be less of an issue. However, it's still useful to run the heating for a few hours before bed to get the van nice an toasty, our van is well insulated so retains heat quite well. Here is one of our earlier videos where we run the heater overnight without being plugged in: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnjcfK2qqpaAr8U

[@noneofyourbusiness5134]

@@GlynHudson thats great to know. Pity the env200 doesnt have the 62kwh battery of the latest leaf, but 40kwh should get close to 2 hours between stops hopefully.

[@GlynHudson]

It's possible to fit up to a 53KWh battery extender to the env200 which would give 93kWh! muxsan.com/English/products.html#nissan-e-nv200-battery-extender

[@noneofyourbusiness5134]

@@GlynHudson haha wow thats a lot of batteries! Thats a lot of money, weight and space, but still worth considering due to the range of options. The under body 17.6kwh is tempting for minimal impact inside but should still get you three hours of motorway cruisng with the 40kwh env200.

[@GlynHudson]

@@noneofyourbusiness5134 totally agree, anything over 200 miles real world range is not needed imo. When I drive a family members Tesla I need to stop for a comfort break before 200 miles anyway!

[@jonathankeenan5163]

Good stuff but no one seems to be saying how they manage to bolt a rear seat/rock and roll bed down when there's a great big battery underneath the floor. How did you manage? Thanks

[@GlynHudson]

The battery doesn't extend all the way to the back. There is no battery where we bolted through for the seats. I did double-check this first before drilling!

[@jonathankeenan5163]

@@GlynHudson Thanks for the reply. Been watching your progress for a while and just looking to get a van myself. Got a great deal on a Maxus e Deliver 3 but no idea if it's possible to fit bed or seats as yet. Just looking at rails that are bonded rather than bolted but info is hard to come by and only available for Transit and VW as far as I can tell. All the best!

[@GlynHudson]

@@jonathankeenan5163 That's great to hear the Maxus looks like a really nice van. Let me know how you get on. I've not heard yet of any Maxus based campervan conversions. I'm afraid I've not got any first-hand experience of it, so I don't know how far the battery will extend. Although it's really not a big job for a garage to drop out the battery pack. Cleavley EV or any HEVRA garage should be able to remove the battery in about 30min with the right tools and lift. Good luck

[@jonathankeenan5163]

@@GlynHudson Thanks, that's good advice. This issue was becoming a deal breaker for me as it's a lot of money if it turns out it can't be done but I think you are right and may even be cheaper than specialist bonded rails. All the best!

[@GlynHudson]

@@jonathankeenan5163 I would think nothing would be as strong or dependable as bolting though with a steel plate underneath for reinforcement. This would be my preference even if it means dropping the pack. This is what my seat looks like from the underside photos.app.goo.gl/e4XmF6YMXe59Boe77

[@karlluftig1667]

Hello, I'm from Germany and the text has been translated with Google. I would like to be able to switch off these daytime running lights when I sleep in the car. My Nissan workshop told me that it would cost around 120 euros. Which fuse is responsible for the daytime running lights? About a quick message I would be very happy. Greetings Karl

[@GlynHudson]

Hi, see 4 min into my campervan conversion video kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6Wln4NpiNl8aJo

[@karlluftig1667]

@@GlynHudson Thanks,

[@s.porter8646]

Hea man how did you get that section of the dash out? also what's the rectangle to fill in the gap around the new head unit?

[@GlynHudson]

Just pull that middle part of the dash and it pops off, the double DIN android headunit unit came with a fascia plate

[@s.porter8646]

@@GlynHudson Ok cool, thanx also for the cruise control, did you have to pull the wheel or was it just safer with the airbag out of the way?

[@GlynHudson]

@@s.porter8646 wheel removal is not needed it just made access easier

[@s.porter8646]

@@GlynHudson for level 1 do you carry a 2 or 3 blade cord?

[@GlynHudson]

@@s.porter8646 we don't have level 1 in Europe all our outlets are 240V

[@garenkarapetian709]

I wonder if it would be possible to add 500W (or more) of solar panels on the roof, which would slowly charge the main battery? That should add quite a few free miles over the years. My question is do the van’s stock electronics allow for such modification to be implemented easily?

[@GlynHudson]

The vans main battery has a minimum charging current of 6A / 1400W. It wouldn't be practical to fit that many solar panels on the roof!

[@garenkarapetian709]

@@GlynHudson that's an interesting piece of information. So the battery is on 230V. I wonder if there's a way to hack the Battery Management System or charge controller to accept a minimum of 0.5A. I remember there was a German youtuber - a kid who was experimenting with Nissan battery upgrades, who was into that sort of thing. He even started a company around EV battery expansions.

[@GlynHudson]

@@garenkarapetian709 that is the limitation of the onboard AC-DC charger. To charge the battery at a lower current you would need to connect directly into the 400V battery pack, however this would require a significant number of panels and a specialist charge controller to achieve such a high voltage. Not worth the hassle and the danger for only a few miles of range IMO.

[@garenkarapetian709]

@@GlynHudson Yeah, there's simply no space for 1400W of pannels on that tiny roof. But an idea just came to me: what about having a leisure battery bank as a "buffer" between Solar panels and main battery. So when there's enough charge accumulated in the leisure bank, a separate controller can start spilling the excess at 6A into the main battery. There's a certain hypocrisy when some vanlifers use the term "off-grid living" or "green" while boasting about covering 40K miles on overweight diesel gulping vans. An electric van (and your channel seems to be among the pioneers in this direction) which would also generate it's own free miles - that'd be the thing, even if it gets only 15km/day. I'm only raising these question because in one of your videos you said you're interested in these things (i.e EV things).

[@GlynHudson]

@@garenkarapetian709 Yes, a buffer leisure battery would work. I've heard of other people doing that. However, the van is small, so space is at a premium. One of the nice benefits of an EV van is that I don't need a leisure battery. A leisure battery with enough capacity to be able to output 1.4kW for a decent period of time would have to be quite big and large. It would certainly be possible to make it work. However, I've found in most places in Europe it's easy to find EV charging stations and campsite hookups. 1kWh or energy only gives about 3 miles of range, so it would take a lot of solar to fully recharge the 40kWh main battery. Small vans are all about compromise, I prefer to maximize storage and living space.

[@lookoutleo]

hows life in pandemic land ? are you still running the env200 have you done any orger mods. ive been looking again at vans , would love to get one already converted , do you know anyone selling one?

[@GlynHudson]

Not too bad thanks, the van's not recently been on any long trips. I recently fitted a 1500W inverter, so we can run the induction cooker directly from the van without needing a hookup. Will be making a video on this soon. I've got a friend who will be selling a 24kWh unconverted van soon, although you would probably benefit from a 40kWh battery. Any campervan conversion company should be able to convert an e-NV200, it's nearly identical to an NV200 to convert.

[@lookoutleo]

@@GlynHudson I have 2 solar pannels in my house charging bank of batteries , some things run of 12v and have inverter to, don't you find your induction ring draws to much current , they are 2000w. Are you using it at low power setting?

[@GlynHudson]

@@lookoutleo my induction hob is a Vango Sizzle 850W unit

[@lookoutleo]

@@GlynHudson does it work ok on inverter ? my induction hob just wont work on my 2kw inverter its lidl one 2kw, not happy . what makes your inverter, mines silverline and works on pretty much everything else fine

[@lookoutleo]

i sent you a message throu your website , send me info on van that might be for sale

[@swiftdetecting]

did you ever put pop up roof on one ? also you have main email thanks

[@GlynHudson]

We've not fitted a poptop on ours, however many other people have fitted a poptop onto this model of van

[@simoncanfer5030]

You need a video on the Android head unit!!

[@GlynHudson]

Will do! I've been planning this, I've just been very busy with the conversion. I'll try and get this done next week. It's really great, I'm very impressed with it. It puts the stock unit in our Nissan LEAF to shame

[@JackButlerVideos]

I'd love to see this too! Great job on the van, it's very well thought out!

[@MrDavidcarp]

Hi can the battery at the front underneath the bonnet be changed to a lithium please?

[@GlynHudson]

It's best to keep it as lead acid. I looked into it and couldn't find any 12V lithium batteries in correct form factor which can handle 125A charging rate. If a lithium battery is charged too quickly it can catch fire, the van was designed for a 12V leaf acid

[@MrDavidcarp]

@@GlynHudson is just that I have recently seen a lithium 20ah with 630a cold cranking I was thinking that might work with the high cranking what you think? And thanks so much for your reply and video’s are awesome ✊🏿🥗📷🐕‍🦺⚡️🚐🧗🏻🎥👫🏻👌🏿

[@GlynHudson]

@@MrDavidcarp EVs don't require hardly any current from the 12V to switch on, cold cranking amps are kind of irrelevant. The main issue is the vans on board DC-DC converter is not designed for charging lithium batteries.

[@MrDavidcarp]

Thanks for the help 🚐✊🏿

[@pedroagonzalezfoto]

But, ehmmmmmmm, what's the actual mileage of the e-NV200? Is it really capable of riding along 850 miles without having to stop several times to get it plugged to recharge the battery? I mean, is an EV van currently the best vehicle to travel? I have serious doubdts about that. In fact, one year ago I went to a Nissan dealer with the idea of buying an NV-200, as I think it's the very best base vehicle for a single taveller. But I detached the idea as soon as the salesman told me that they weren't commercializing gas/diesel NV-200s anymore.

[@SilverShieldcollector]

Can you get a 5 seater nv200 camper?

[@katejacobaarnold1928]

I'm trying to figure out a compact 6 seater version with 2 small doubles incl pop up tent roof... There is the people carrier version of the NV200 (Evalia) with 7 seats. So should be possible?

[@fire_stick]

Did we find out what happened in the morning @8:21 😉

[@GlynHudson]

We got married 😂

[@NoelG8NDT]

How can I mail you a circuit drawing?

[@GlynHudson]

Could you upload to pastebin / dropbox / gdrive and share a link?

[@noelthompson1634]

@@GlynHudson my email is noel at solarpowercare co uk So kill the light all you will need to do is deck a wire to to ground via a momentary switch in the cab. to reset just turn the van off then on again. Where in just blog is the shopping list? As I what to start on my van. Oh I could send you the Light over ride relay as a kit free for a review on here. All the best Noel "RadioVanGuy"

[@immortalsofar5314]

A bit disappointing. I was looking more for starting with a good bodywork, non-running gas/diesel van for conversion rather than starting with an electric van.