DIY Stealth Campervan - Full Van Tour | My Nissan Elgrand

In this video I give a walk-around tour of my newly converted Nissan Elgrand camper van.
This van was purchased by myself for use over this summer and beyond, I thought I would give a quick tour of my current minimalistic camping set up before I fully convert this van and add more luxuries!
Right now, the van is very basic, but it absolutely does the job. As mentioned in the video, I plan to convert the van to run on LPG fuel in the near future, as the 3.5L V6 engine is less economical than I'd like.. But that's the only negative I have to say about the van! Otherwise, I've been pleasantly surprised with it.
As a lifelong VW enthusiast, I decided to test out a Japanese import for the first time, and honestly don't know why there isn't more widespread adoption of these vans in the UK/Europe.. This has been great so far.
Please consider subscribing to my newly channel for regular content like this with updates on my builds, Aircooled VW projects and stealth camper travels.
Connect with me on Instagram: / _ctbuilds
Model of the van is a 2006 Nissan Elgrand 3.5L Highway Star Model, imported from Japan in 2020. If you have any questions about the van, feel free to drop a comment below or message me on Instagram!

[@ctbuilds]

Hey everyone! Since uploading this video, and having such a positive response, I have already added a TONNE of updates to this build :) Let me know below this comment if you'd like to see a PART TWO detailing the new additions ? 🙌

[@wilfredspearing1137]

Hey could you go over how you set HDMI cable up? Where did you plug it into in the Van?

[@ctbuilds]

Wilfred Spearing hey hey! Yeah so basically I have a PAL/NTSC box adapter in the rear.. plugged into the RCA port on the side of the car near rear seats in the right.. that box is powered by the 12v socket. Then I run a hdmi to the front of the car from that box, put it into a hdmi>lightning adapter and then plug my phone in! Once you set the standard head unit to “tv/aux input” it plays 😄 hard to describe but hope that makes sense! Check out the Facebook forums if it doesn’t.

[@davidshillito]

Hi There. Great video. You skipped quickly over the HDMI cable gadget at 1:45 which you say allows your phone screen to be mirrored to that factory header. Can you re visit that & drop me a link to exactly what you're using there to achieve that? I know this is obvs to you but I'm 63. You've no idea how many Elgrand owners would benefit from a tutorial video about what to get, what goes where & what connects to what to achieve this simple-to-you outcome! Thank you

[@joshid07]

second this comment! would love to know

[@madbadger6255]

I'm removing all the rear seats and fitting a good quality indoor leather sofa bed behind the front seats facing the boot. Its super comfortable for day time, especially with both doors and boot open when it's hot. I've bought a low rear storage bench that sits across the boot space right to the rear. It's about a foot high and holds the split charger leisure battery, inverter, induction hob, charger etc. To one side of the boot I have a low campervan chest fridge that's also a pull out table during the day. I'm not bothering with water/sink etc it's not needed most of the time. I have an android projector with a roll down large screen for cosy movie nights. I'm also a digital artist so I project my art for folks to see when I'm parked, and have actual prints in the windows, good advertising and great blinds 😁. I have a multi coloured and controlled led lighting loop around the whole roof and WiFi. Other than the sofa I got second hand and the electricals it's barely cost me anything. I'll do a video once it's completed but it looks fly af man😉

[@ctbuilds]

Sounds awesome man! Appreciate the love too. Cheers 😁🙌

[@bluedogbushcraft1779]

I love my one, please tell us how you got the screens to work from your phone 🙏🙏🙏

[@russelblackwell6041]

Beautiful van great for travel and camping if you can get a low klm model plenty extras want comfort for long travels

[@ctbuilds]

The comfort for the long travel was the best part for me! Super comfortable 😁

[@leejones5086]

We chose this over a vw t5 ,couldn't be happier ;) happy travels ;)

[@ctbuilds]

Yes ! Haha I think it’d a great shout, I’m definitely a fan of VW’s but I’ll stick to the old Aircooled buses for now 😉 The Elgrand was a no brainier for me after looking into them 🙌 Thank you 😁

[@colinbooth531]

I'd love to see your progress. Love your Ellie!

[@NZKaupoi]

Can’t argue with the simplicity 😂 just make sure if you’re going to watch movies in the car you have a jump pack … you’ll need it. Love my Elgrand too, very comfy ride especially compared to my previous Toyota commercial type van. Enjoy.

[@ctbuilds]

Absolutely! Haha and I never used the screens unless the engine was running - not worth it!

[@RoxytheZoologist]

The spaceship 🚐😍

[@ctbuilds]

Hahha yessss 😆🚀

[@David-bl1bt]

I'm interested to see how you develop the elgrand so I have subscribed so I can follow your journey and tips along the way. A drive-n-talk video would be great documenting the driving experience and pointing out the features👍

[@ctbuilds]

Thanks for the feedback David ! I’ll do my best to get that done when I can (in a responsible way 😉) cheers mate !

[@karinatownsend496]

Really like your vid and DIY problem solving approach. Would love to see how this project develops. I need to carry kayaks and bikes in the back so the luxury seating is probably overspec for my needs - but like you I'm veering toward the Japanese MPV route - currently a T4 driver but looking for a more sustainable vehicle to contend with ULEZ regs in London. My current headscratchers are: roofbars/bikeracks.

[@ctbuilds]

Japanese vehicles are the way to go imo! Not sure what would be ULEZ compliant, bti as for storing those things.. Roof rack for sure!

[@johnsherry3826]

Really like your elgrand really smart interior. I bought the toyota alphard instead 5 years ago which has never let me down but I still would like an elgrand at some point.

[@ctbuilds]

Thanks mate ! Yeah this is awesome. I love it every time I get in and drive it somewhere.. appreciate your support. Enjoy the Alphard 😁

[@libbykee8347]

This is exactly what I want. When my lease is up on the place I am in now, I want to get out and be free spirited. I am on my own so don't need a full big bed, have seen a few different conversions, but would like to keep costs down and keep it simple. Would love to see what else you have done to it

[@ctbuilds]

Get out there ! It's waiting for you :)

[@SemperFortis22]

Looks like a lovely van.

[@chrisreed26]

I am soo jealous of how you have these cool mini micro vans with power curtains! Why can't our US auto makers do something that cool? I guess maybe curtains in a van or car in the US is not cool even though I think it is!! Gosh I love that little van! It has some great features

[@ctbuilds]

Haha thanks so much ! Well on the flip side. I loveee the vans you guys have out there 🙌 Your old classics are incredible.. maybe one day we can do a trade, eh? 😉 Thanks for the love 😁

[@jdmcarandmotorcycle]

Every almost every Japanese rhd van has power curtains check our channel KZbin

[@chrisreed26]

@@jdmcarandmotorcycle Thanks I will!!

[@PaulBarnes2307]

What was the phone socket adapter you used?...I've looked on the Elgrand oc and no one can help at the minute...thanks

[@johnreynolds2387]

You did a brilliant job on this video. Well done

[@ctbuilds]

Hey thanks John! Appreciate that 😁

[@sinord5288]

Great vid just looking at buying one - thanks...

[@MrDesmostylus]

I’ve done something similar to start with. I ended up taking out all the back seats and making some bench seats out of 4x2 and plywood. Cool blinds!

[@ctbuilds]

Awesome ! That was another potential plan for me.. can’t go wrong really, tonnes of space in these when gutted and a usable interior even from stock. Win 🙌

[@ctbuilds]

Oh and yeah, the blinds are awesome 🙌

[@sirjohnbhoy]

Hi, thinking of buying one, but hearing lots about the low MPG, how is your thoughts on that ? Thanks

[@drcobb84]

For the record I have one of these same vans. Yes the fuel consumption is horrible. However it’s comfortable and being petrol you don’t have to worry about DPF systems etc. I still enjoy driving it as my daily

[@m0nkmaster]

We get roughly 15mpg for daily round town driving. 22mpg at best on a long run. Awesome car though.

[@simonwhiting4571]

Nice 👍

[@ctbuilds]

Cheers dude ! Appreciate the watch 🤘

[@green_retro7993]

How did you get your phone to play on built in screen? 🙏🏻

[@deanbax9]

How’d you get your phone working on the screens? Could you please do a video or send us where you got the information! Thanks mate good video

[@ctbuilds]

Appreciate it dude ! With the phone I used an hdmi adapter and played around with the settings until it showed up on the “tv” setting - check out the elgrand owners group on Facebook too. Useful people in there !

[@idesignyou...9257]

Great vehicles, nothing quite like them for the money!

[@ctbuilds]

Absolutely ! I think they’re awesome 🙌

[@Lifestartat40s]

It's a luxury and has a powerful engine. But the body is very heavy.

[@ctbuilds]

Haha it is a bit heavy! But it’s the price you pay for luxuries I guess.

[@OutdoorsColin]

Great video mate, thank you. I’ve just bought an E51 Elgrand, any chance you could give details of cable you use for iPhone screen mirroring please?

[@firefermentsmoke]

Likewise, I'd really be interested to know how you did that as well.

[@ctbuilds]

Hey ! It was a simple RCA / HDMI adapter that I used, plugged the RCA into the input on the rear right of the van.. then fed an hdmi cable under the carpets to the front. Used an apple HDMI>Lightning adapter and then selected something like the “TV” input on the stock stereo and it ended up working :) just played around with random buttons on the stereo until it turned on 🤣 also the RCA/HDMI adapter has PAL/NTSC options, one of them doesn’t work so sometimes try switching that. Hope that helps! You’ll find one of those adapters and all the cables you need on ebay/Amazon I’m sure.

[@dylanmatthews1484]

What was the price of the van , was it a import , nice simple setup . nice looking van . whats the actual mpg . The good thing about them been underated is there cheaper to buy.

[@ctbuilds]

Hey dude, this was a while back now but i paid about £6.5k for this which was a great deal - insanely clean vehicle! MPG is low - maybe 18 haha, thats why i converted to lpg to save running costs

[@davemarshall2838]

Great video

[@ctbuilds]

Glad you liked it, Dave ! Cheers mate 👊🏼

[@dronevids7327]

Great van for making memories . That 3.5 V6 must gobble up some petrol tho. What does it do to the gallon

[@ctbuilds]

For sure ! I think 18-25mpg usually. Converted it to LPG & that made it a lot more economical :)

[@johnharris6176]

Just a few things. It's an 8 seater. 3 on the rear. Also it's not quite the same engine as a 350z . Join the elgrand owners club forum. It's a great place for information

[@ctbuilds]

Cheers for the corrections dude. You’re right it seats 8! I’m on there too, great forum. Take it you’ve had one a while, being a master of the elgrand yourself?😎 cheers !

[@giovanni2668]

Great vlog, I’m looking for my nearest dealer now. Thanks

[@ctbuilds]

You’re welcome Giovanni ! Let me know if you need any questions answered about the vans 😁

[@slabbyrider8665]

Does everybody call you Georgio?

[@zumezoom9593]

Is the Elgrand a full time AWD system? Does the Elgrand have an on-board air ride system? Where would you find aftermarket parts for this vehicle? Any minor or major mechanical problems since you've owned this vehicle? How much did you buy it for? What year is it? Imported from Japan?

[@hachimajig5434]

Have you de-catted your elgrand? If not, please do, or your engine will suffer! The E51 elgrand has 4 catalytic converters, 2 infront, to inback. I forget which ones you need to remove, but if you do some googling, you should be able to find out which one. The reason you need to is because the cats get blocked up and the gas gets forced back into the engine, which will eventually irreversibly fuck the engine. Not sure if this would happen with an LPG conversion though, but, can't be too safe.

[@ctbuilds]

Yes, the cat converters have been de-cored on this 😁🙌

[@hachimajig5434]

@@ctbuilds nice. I made the mistake in the first months of owning mine, and it nearly got irreversibly damaged, glad you've stopped it sooner rather than later

[@19.384]

@@hachimajig5434 эти года производитель исправил эту проблему! Была проблема на первых Эльграндах

[@THEBIGTURKISHGUNZ]

@@ctbuilds how did you manage to de cord them please ? Or did you pay someone to do it and if so how much ? Many thanks I liked and subbed.

[@jaiburlingham2615]

These seem amazing, I have been looking at all sorts of cars and vans but surprised these arent more popular! What kind of MPG is it realistically?

[@ctbuilds]

hey mate,mpg was about 18-20 id guess, pretty bad lol it is a 3.5l petrol. That's why i swapped to lpg much cheaper to run long term :)

[@aidanwhitecars8033]

Hey great work. I’m thinking of getting one of these but want an apple m car play setup. Does the setup you have with the screen and phone connection work like car play, or does everything still have to be controlled through the phone?

[@drewsimonphotography9678]

Not over-engineered at all, these were used as limousine taxis in Japan for taxing VIPs and celebrities.

[@ctbuilds]

Over engineered for the common man I guess ;) but great to experience the luxury at a fraction of the original price. Super cool vans !

[@PaulBarnes2307]

What was the phone adapter you used?... I've looked on the Elgrand oc and there's nothing there about it.. thanks

[@ctbuilds]

Hey dude. Adapter was something like an RCA-HDMI adapter plugged into the rear. I think I’ve answered in more detail if you scroll the comments. Cheers !

[@Carrera-gp9od]

I'm about to buy a Toyota appears and do something very similar to this ,no need to go and straight away

[@ctbuilds]

Awesome ! For me I kept it simple to begin with and it’s meant that I’ve got so much use out of it this summer already🙌 don’t need to overthink it 😁

[@shepdoganimations6360]

Did you do the LPG conversion? I'd be interested to know who you used? Thanks, and would like to see video 2!

[@ctbuilds]

Hey yeah did the lpg conversion at AVon Autogas in Bristol, there's a video explaining that on my channel. Enjoy!

[@peterludlow9847]

Lovely vehicle but can you spill the beans on the mpg . also does it drive and go better then a VW van. Many thanks

[@ctbuilds]

Personally I can’t fault the driving experience ! It’s an auto. Pulls real nicely.. averages 20-25mpg which sucks but looking to change to LPG which would half the price of daily running costs ! I’ll happily do a comparison video between a Vw t5 and this 🙌

[@carolinemitchell5241]

@@ctbuilds That comparison would be great! You've done a great video here, very helpful & you're very smart & sensible, so great to learn from you :) ! thank you

[@ctbuilds]

@@carolinemitchell5241 Thanks for the lovely compliment Caroline!

[@scottyd2903]

Adaptive cruise control!? I’m in the market for an Elgrand roughly the same age as yours, and I’m finding it hard enough to find one fitted with cruise control. So imagine my astonishment when you said your was fitted with adaptive cruise control! Is that a radar controlled system with automated braking? I live in Australia and the majority of imports from Japan come without cruise control. Some suppliers offer a rudimentary cruise control system upgrade for about $800 AUD. But, if an adaptive system were available I’d be keen to get one of those installed. Is this something you installed after purchase?

[@ctbuilds]

It was a factory fitted extra I believe. Crazy they had it in 2006! But yeah I didn’t fit anything, got it with the car and looked stock :)

[@TheEerieBiker]

Love my El Grand, unfortunately due to fuel costs it stays parked outside and used very rarely. 😞

[@ctbuilds]

Ahhh that’s a shame.. worth it when you get behind the wheel though eh!

[@anifunny2226]

I really liked the motorised curtains on the window. Where did you get it from? Can you share link?

[@ctbuilds]

That was stock! Japan fitted cool accessories even in 06' haha

[@markwilson2421]

Great video bro. Just bought one today. Where did you get that hdmi connection lead from.

[@ctbuilds]

Awesome ! Glad you enjoyed. Enjoy yours 🙌 HDMI was an RCA lead plugged into the back, then an HDMI converter box that does PAL>NTSC, to the back of the van, then I ran a lead to the front under the carpet and fitted an Apple iPhone HDMI > Lightning adapter. Hope that makes sense !

[@Bboo-pl3wb]

Where did you buy the curtains from?

[@ctbuilds]

stock :)

[@campervan-john]

Ok for Just the odd night out.

[@ctbuilds]

It’s a great van for a few nights at a time ! I’ve been up in Scotland for a week now And it’s been great. I’ve added a few updates since this video to improve comfort and it’s made a big difference 😄

[@aristoscharalambous9050]

Hey mate great conversation! I would like to know where did you buy your foam mattress and the led light if you can put the link?

[@ctbuilds]

Hey mate I got the foam from Amazon. Double mattress size, 4” thickness :)

[@PaulaSalter.x]

Hey I have just bought one of these and I am so clueless when it comes to adding the LES lights and the HDMI xx

[@ctbuilds]

Hey! LED lights were just a simple kit from Amazon - £15 ish and they are powered from either the 12v socket or I usually use USB power bank to charge them. Hope that helps !

[@s1dew1nd3r4]

@@ctbuilds could you link me to the kit please? did you use a USB to DC adapter from your power bank as it looks like its plugged into that towards the rear???

[@hemiredman]

What year is this mate? Loved the video.

[@ctbuilds]

Thanks so much ! The van is a 2006 elgrand highway star ⚡️

[@carenza163]

Thank you for the video! I've been researching these with a view to purchasing one for use as a camper but haven't quite decided between this or the Toyota Alphard. Did you look into both? If you did, I would be interested to hear the reasons why you went with the Elgrand. I'm also wondering what the insurance costs are like and how hard they are to get insurance for being a grey import? Have subscribed and look forward to seeing what you do with it!

[@ctbuilds]

Thanks Cheska! For me, the Elgrand was a stronger choice because of the general look/feel Of the vehicle. I did view both, I think elgrand drives smoother IMO. Slightly nicer interior features, higher powered engine for the heavy vehicle (both the Alphard & Elgrand are just under 2 tonne), and fuel efficiency looked to be around the same. If you Google “alphard vs elgrand” I’m sure you’ll find a few articles comparing ! As with insurance, even being 24, I went with brentacre and that was fine for me. Just over £1k but that’s to be expected on a car with a 3.5L engine and me being relatively young! Hope that helped :)

[@carenza163]

@@ctbuilds Thanks for the response! I have done a lot of research on both and like you say the Elgrand tends to win out on looks and handling. I finally found somewhere I can test drive them both so will be doing that later in the week. I figured insurance wasn't going to be cheap on these, but I do have a bit more age behind me so will have to say how they are feeling that day when I eventually call to find some.

[@ctbuilds]

@@carenza163 Awesome, enjoy it! Hope all goes well for ya :) No worries !

[@bertram-raven]

Older Alphard's used timing belts rather than chains. If you want an Alphard, buy one made after 2008 - they have timing chains.

[@ctbuilds]

Bertram Raven fair point ! Thanks for the advice :)

[@markco2811]

Its look like a toyota alphard but it's nissan?

[@ctbuilds]

Yeah that’s it! Very similar vehicles. Nisan Elgrand and Toyota Alphard are often looked at as competitors for the same niche.

[@markco2811]

@@ctbuilds the toyota alphard here in the philippines is so expensive only politicians can buy Ang druglords humbling lords also praise the Lord like pastors hehe

[@ctbuilds]

Mark Co haha oh wow! I’m blessed to be driving this van here then 😁

[@nige99]

Its not a van is it . Does about 20mpg to 30 on the motorway....

[@ctbuilds]

MPV / Car / Minivan … All the same to me 🤣 I know it’s technicallyyy not a van i but I treat it like one 😁 and yeah that’s right on mpg. Luckily with LPG it makes the cost far more doable !

[@johnnygorman5606]

@ct builds. I really enjoyed your video. I'm actually currently in the market for buying an Elgrand. Could you please confirm the model you have? Did you buy it from an importer, and if yes, can you please share the contact details.?

[@ctbuilds]

Awesome ! Glad to hear it. I bought mine privately from a guy who imported it himself. It was on fb marketplace actually, mine is a highway star :)