We stumbled on the designer for the Nissan NV Bryan Thomson. We shared some photos of our NV 6 Road Trek Conversion and he was kind enough to pass along some of his original design concept drawings and ideas, including the original theme sketch, which shows a more upright a-pillar and larger wheels. Bryan designed both the production and concept versions of the Nissan NV van.

Bryan was inspired by long haul trucks, like Mack and Peterbilt. I wanted it to have a bold, tough and purposeful look. But I always drew it with much bigger wheels than it eventually got. It makes Bryan happy when people put bigger wheels on it, and give it the proper stance it was meant to have.

Also, Bryan designed the rear end as an ode to an unlikely source of inspiration: The 1983-1987 Toyota Tercel 4WD Wagon.

“That was the car that made me want to be a car designer. The first time I saw one as a kid, it was spinning around on the showroom floor at Scott Toyota in Phoenix Arizona, and it looked like a spaceship to my 8 year old eyes. Cars before that had chrome bumpers, and here was this oddity with an asymmetrical rear end, and black plastic bumpers. We took the Tercel home that day, and I've always had a soft spot for that car.”

Bryan decided to throw a little love the Tercel way when he designed the NV, hence the asymmetrical license plate housing that lives in a styled frame element.

More of Bryan Thomson's design work can be seen here: www.bryanthompsondesign.com

No one knows Just Passing Through like Cyrus Sutton. In the chapter of Cyrus's  adventures, he's customized his van for experiencing life on the road. Through cutting, sanding, welding, and staining, he's transformed his old surf van into a unique camper that's been helping him traverse the west side of North America to seek out good waves and interesting people. Reef has partnered with Cyrus's on his new project, "Compassing," a film chronicling his recent van travels. Click here for Free Download from Reef.

We welcome all types of Van fans to participate in our forums and social media.  Class B, camping, and conversion vans from Sprinter, Ford, Chevy, Roadtrek, Sportsmobile, Outside, Van VW, and Nissan.  Follow us on Instragram and Twitter. Please drop us a line about advertising rates or to post your van event.

A reality web series about a young couple living and working on the road in a 1987 VW Vanagon. The ups and downs of experiencing America

Van Life Photo Book "Home Is Where You Park It" with photos of vans and other campers. 125 pages. 11 by 11 inches. Hard Cover.

Ships March 2014