| **Financial Instruments and Commodity Contracts - Narrative (Details) (USD $)** | Jul. 31, 2014 | Oct. 31, 2013 |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|---------------|
| **Derivative [Line Items]**                                                     |          |          |
| Derivative, Amount of Hedged Item                                               | $ 0           | $ 0           |
| Derivative, Collateral, Obligation to Return Cash                               | 0             | 0             |
| Exposure to Credit Risk                                                         | 1,000,000     | 5,000,000     |
| Interest Rate Contract [Member]                                                 |          |          |
| **Derivative [Line Items]**                                                     |          |          |
| Derivative, Notional Amount                                                     | 40,000,000    | 45,000,000    |
| Steel Forward Contracts [Member] | Commodity Contract [Member]                  |          |          |
| **Derivative [Line Items]**                                                     |          |          |
| Derivative, Notional Amount                                                     | 13,000,000    | 11,000,000    |
| Diesel Fuel Forward Contracts [Member] | Commodity Contract [Member]            |          |          |
| **Derivative [Line Items]**                                                     |          |          |
| Derivative, Notional Amount                                                     | 8,000,000     | 2,000,000     |
| Mexican Financial Services [Member] | Interest Rate Cap [Member]                |          |          |
| **Derivative [Line Items]**                                                     |          |          |
| Derivative, Notional Amount                                                     |          | 78,000,000    |
| Mexican Financial Services [Member] | Asset-backed Securities [Member]          |          |          |
| **Derivative [Line Items]**                                                     |          |          |
| Derivative, Notional Amount                                                     | $ 138,000,000 |          |

| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Aggregate notional amount specified by the derivative(s). Expressed as an absolute value.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Article 12 -Section 13 -Sentence Column B
+ Details**Name:**invest_DerivativeNotionalAmount**Namespace Prefix:**invest_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**instant |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Exposure to Credit Risk
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**nav_ExposureToCreditRisk**Namespace Prefix:**nav_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**debit**Period Type:**instant |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Amount of the hedged item as of the balance sheet date related to the derivative. For example, the hedged balance on a debt instrument.
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_DerivativeAmountOfHedgedItem**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**instant |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Amount of obligation to return cash collateral under master netting arrangements that have not been offset against derivative assets.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 20 -Section 55 -Paragraph 13 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=28370219&loc=SL20226016-175313Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -Subparagraph (d)(2) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=20225523&loc=SL20225862-175312Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 8 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=7476318&loc=d3e41678-113959
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_DerivativeCollateralObligationToReturnCash**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**credit**Period Type:**instant |
| X                                                                                                                                                       |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_DerivativeLineItems**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:stringItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**duration |