Ryan7 wrote:Nice setup, looks real good. The guys over on RV.net would despise you for this lol

I'm glad to hear it towed well

I'm on rv.net as well and yes there are plenty of people that give me crap for my towing setup. Everyone wants you to have a 3/4 ton or bigger truck. As for now it works except for the horrible gas mileage.

Kestral wrote:

Ryan7 wrote:I took mine out for a ride this weekend to get a feel of it before we hit the open road.

Mine is a 2011 Jayco Jay Feather X19H.

The Pathfinder towed it pretty good, definitely knew it was there but didn't seem to bog down at all and pulled it with no issues, up and down hills.

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Ryan7 have you added airbags yet? If not you may want to.

I haven't yet, and I do plan on getting them, hopefully I'll get hem ordered this week.

volvite wrote:I'm on rv.net as well and yes there are plenty of people that give me crap for my towing setup. Everyone wants you to have a 3/4 ton or bigger truck. As for now it works except for the horrible gas mileage.

People are surprised that a mid-size SUV can tow a heavy load because they aren't used to seeing it. I get asked about it frequently.

As far as gas mileage, unless you go diesel it's not going to be very good even with larger displacement.

2000 Tracker boat SC v16 pro angler with a 40hp merc and a 9.8 nissan kicker. pulled it a few times but I find that the Avalanche pulls it better because the boat weight is around 3500lbs

AZ_Path wrote:

volvite wrote:I'm on rv.net as well and yes there are plenty of people that give me crap for my towing setup. Everyone wants you to have a 3/4 ton or bigger truck. As for now it works except for the horrible gas mileage.

People are surprised that a mid-size SUV can tow a heavy load because they aren't used to seeing it. I get asked about it frequently.

As far as gas mileage, unless you go diesel it's not going to be very good even with larger displacement.

Exactly. For awhile now I've been looking at a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the EcoDiesel. I actually have an older sister and brother that both purchased one about 4 months apart. Without towing they are getting 28-32 MPGs. I'm going to borrow my brothers at the end of the month and do a test towing my trailer with his jeep. I'm on the forms and members are stating they get 14 when towing a 7000lb trailer. I'll do my own test and if it does get anywhere close to 14 It will give me more incentive to trade the Pathfinder in for a Jeep. While I love my 08 with the 5.6, it will pass anything on the road but a gas station.

Older model Polaris Sportsman, I believe its about 800lbs wet. Trailer adds another 300. Just brought it back from Cali and managed about 18mpg. I'm hoping to add my lift soon so the back end isn't so squishy. [/img]

Fossilfuleburner wrote:
I had my transmission temperature gauge installed four years ago. I just did the radiator bypass two weeks ago. Here’s what I noticed:

I keep going back and forth on what I should do. Did you consider just updating the radiator? Seems like that might be simpler than adding another cooler and fan.

4500 pound 22 ft C-Dory Cruiser.

Have the Air Lift 1000 air bags. Pump em up full and the car drives level.

Here's me towing. Red car is a 88 Corvette and the silver one is a 2000 BMW Z3. Didn't expect the Vette to be that heavy. Then again, with that same heavy ass trailer, a 08 Tacoma, sagged similarly with a 84 Camaro Z28 on there. Guess older GM V8's are heavy.

Got about 14 MPG highway towing both the cars in the pics.

Underworld, do you have airbags in the rear springs? It should eliminate the sag and are pretty cheap.

Nope. No bags. I rarely tow so just invested in the springs to get rid of the sloppy rear. I will say though that the trailer alone is 2200 pounds. If Wikipedia is accurate the Vette was 3200 pounds and the BMW around 2800 pounds. That would explain why the Pathy was popping a squat with the Vette on it.

My 2012 R51 and my 2020 Black Series Camper Patron. 4400LBS. The V6 is a mighty one, but the 3.13 ratios are killing me on long hill climbs.

https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/ ... e=61A3F2C7

k2sb2003 wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 30, 2021 7:18 pm

My 2012 R51 and my 2020 Black Series Camper Patron. 4400LBS. The V6 is a mighty one, but the 3.13 ratios are killing me on long hill climbs.

https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/ ... e=61A3F2C7

Thanks!
finally an update to this thread!
Your R51 looks well sorted too.

I'd like to see this thread continue because I'm still towing and always looking for more info and new ideas. My pathfinder is a 2012 S, V6, 114,000 (s)miles, radiator/trans cooler bypass, 265-70x16 tires, Air Lift 1000 air bags in the rear springs, Trail Ridge extendable side mirrors, otherwise stock. I regularly get 22-25 mpg on the highway at 65-70 mph,15-20 mpg around town and 17-22 mpg combined. I practically always have the A/C on, don't like driving with the windows open. The trailer is a 2020 Jayco SLX8 212QB, my unit specs at approx 26', 4300# dry, 1200# cargo capacity, GVWR 5500#, on dual Dexter 3500# axles and I estimate the frontal area to be 55-60 sqft. I use a Reese Straight Line hitch with 800# bars. With this system I have load leveling and sway control but don't need to disable any anti-sway device in order to back up. Mileage when towing is 10-13 mpg but most of my towing has been on city and county roads of SWFL with some limited freeway towing. Not for any other reason than that's what the travel plans dictated.

So this rig puts me very close to the limits of what my R51 is rated to tow and haul with my wife and I and our two dogs. My reasoning was this. Being in FL we're not going to be climbing or descending any long steep grades so why not get as much trailer size as the Pathfinder would safely handle. I figured we would be much more likely to get another SUV or truck rather than a trailer in the future especially if/when we decide to travel into mountainous areas or out west where the winds can get really strong and come from any direction.

On the freeway I would prefer a longer wheelbase but in towns or tight turns the short wheelbase is beneficial. Even with sway control this setup demands all your attention on the freeway. The 3.13 gears are really not good for towing this much weight nor is the IRS. In fact my main reason for installing the air bags was to help stiffen the coil springs laterally. I have no issue with towing in 4th gear except that the torque converter only locks up in 4th gear and only above 40mph. This can cause it to lock and unlock in headwinds and going up grades. I think higher numerical gears or a means of unlocking the torque converter manually would help. Otherwise it means going to 3rd and dealing with the higher revs. I would prefer a solid rear axle with real limited slip and leaf springs. I've given some thought to getting a second set of wheels/tires of smaller diameter to get the gear ratio in the range of 3.3:1 but if that adversely affects mileage too badly then range between fill-ups becomes an issue.