Towing my humungous camper

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disallow
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Towing my humungous camper

Postby disallow » Tue Jun 28, 2011 7:50 am

Hey all,

Based on what I've seen on the forum, I seem to be the most aggressive when it comes to what I tow with my Pathfinder.

We tow a 2008 Keystone Passport 280BH travel trailer:

Dry Weight: 4508lbs
Loaded Weight: 5500lbs
Tongue Weight: 415lbs
Length: 32ft (hitch to rear bumper)
Height: 10'2"
GVW: 6050lbs

I tow using a DSP weight distributing hitch with 1000lb bars. I have the Airlift 1000 system, which I inflate to 30PSI for heavy towing. I also have a Superchips Tuner, which has a Tow Mode.

The Path is rated for 6000lbs, 600lb tongue weight. The one limitation they list in the OM is a front surface area of 64 sqft, or 8' x 8'. I exceed that limitation, as the front area of my trailer is 10'2" x 8', but its not a flat front, its curved and somewhat more aerodynamic. (See my profile pic).

I've towed the trailer about a dozen times now. First few times with both trans coolers, and for the last 2 years, with the rad transcooler bypassed. I don't have a temp gauge set up yet for the trans, but haven't noticed any slipping, or any issues with the transmission fluid, so I'm fairly certain I'm not overheating the trans. The temp gauge is sitting in my shop waiting to be installed, so hopefully I will have a chance to install this summer.

My towing experience last summer was not great. Lots of gear hunting and some white knuckle driving. I always tell people that I am very near what I consider the limit for my truck, and outside factors such as wind or bad road conditions could potentially push it over the edge. In those situations, I reduce my speed and try to exercise more caution. Also of note is that I live in very flat prairie. No hills to really mention around here, you can watch your dog run away for about 3 days.

However, the experience this weekend was much different, even pleasant. We towed to a campground (been there several times) about 100 miles from home. No issues whatsoever maintaining a speed of 100kph, no gear hunting. Burnt $52 (44L or 11.7USGAL) on the way there, and $46 (42L or 11.3USGAL) on the way back.

I did not use the tow mode in my Superchips for this trip. I was also burning 87 octane gas.

The only other major difference was my tires. I run Bridgestone Dueller REV02s. Last year I had LT265/75/16s, but this year I have P265/70/16s. There is a 1-1.25" difference in the diameter of these tires.

Anyways, hope everyone gets something out of my ramblings above. Let me know if you have any questions.

t


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volvite
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Postby volvite » Tue Jun 28, 2011 8:06 am

Looks like you went with a smaller and lighter tire than last year. I wouldnt have thought that half an inch would have made that big of a difference.
Glad you had a good weekend though. I can't wait to use my path for some hunting this fall and towing a camper than.

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Postby gadget1382 » Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:05 pm

We have a 3000kg limit (a little over 6000lb) limit for our upper limit towing capacity here in Aus, but are not allowed to use a WDH on the Nissan towbar.

I've noticed that you guys may have a completely different setup to ours. Would you be able to post a pic or two of the tow bar attachment method?

Ours is a wrap around on the rear crossover with 6 bolts holding it in. But from a parts supplier there, i've seen images of a rail to rail design. IMO that is a much better design and as a result allows you to have a factory nissan WDH system.

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Postby remyek » Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:29 pm

gadget1382 wrote:We have a 3000kg limit (a little over 6000lb) limit for our upper limit towing capacity here in Aus, but are not allowed to use a WDH on the Nissan towbar.

I've noticed that you guys may have a completely different setup to ours. Would you be able to post a pic or two of the tow bar attachment method?

Ours is a wrap around on the rear crossover with 6 bolts holding it in. But from a parts supplier there, i've seen images of a rail to rail design. IMO that is a much better design and as a result allows you to have a factory nissan WDH system.
thats the same in OZ as in whole Europe. hydraulic brakes is also not legal anywhere in europe for some funny reason. You can rebuild american trailers, but thats more costly than buying a new european standard one... beats me....
Last edited by remyek on Thu Jun 30, 2011 3:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Tue Jun 28, 2011 7:59 pm

gadget1382 wrote:We have a 3000kg limit (a little over 6000lb) limit for our upper limit towing capacity here in Aus, but are not allowed to use a WDH on the Nissan towbar.

I've noticed that you guys may have a completely different setup to ours. Would you be able to post a pic or two of the tow bar attachment method?

Ours is a wrap around on the rear crossover with 6 bolts holding it in. But from a parts supplier there, i've seen images of a rail to rail design. IMO that is a much better design and as a result allows you to have a factory nissan WDH system.
3000kg is 6600lbs, so thats not insignificant. If I had a 6600lb towing capacity, I wouldn't feel as 'marginal' in what I am towing.

The tow bar, per the attached pics and diagrams, is attached to the frame via 2 bolts on either side. As you mentioned, the north american version of the hitch assembly runs the entire width of the vehicle. Can you send some pics of yours?

Image
pic of hitch from rear bumper

Image
attachment point on the frame rail

Image
diagram of frame assy

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Tue Jun 28, 2011 8:01 pm

remyek wrote:
thats the same in OZ as in whole Europe. Airbrakes is also not legal anywhere in europe for some funny reason. You can rebuild american trailers, but thats more costly than buying a new european standard one... beats me....
Why would you want airbrakes?

gadget1382
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Postby gadget1382 » Wed Jun 29, 2011 6:34 pm

If interested, check out the discussions here.
http://www.pcoa.org.au/forum/viewtopic. ... &start=135

You can see from the images the others have posted that ours is a short stubby thing...

I'm really tempted to get a whole unit shipped over from the states!

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Postby remyek » Thu Jun 30, 2011 3:20 pm

disallow wrote:
remyek wrote:
thats the same in OZ as in whole Europe. Airbrakes is also not legal anywhere in europe for some funny reason. You can rebuild american trailers, but thats more costly than buying a new european standard one... beats me....
Why would you want airbrakes?
sorry dudes, was somewhat tired during that last post. I ment hydraulic

gadget1382
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Postby gadget1382 » Thu Jun 30, 2011 3:39 pm

Lol, i didn't think too much of it with most heavy haulage trucks having air brakes.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Thu Jun 30, 2011 5:02 pm

remyek wrote:
disallow wrote:
remyek wrote:
thats the same in OZ as in whole Europe. Airbrakes is also not legal anywhere in europe for some funny reason. You can rebuild american trailers, but thats more costly than buying a new european standard one... beats me....
Why would you want airbrakes?
sorry dudes, was somewhat tired during that last post. I ment hydraulic
Do you mean on the trailer? They are electric...

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CAMO
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Postby CAMO » Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:10 pm


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Postby volvite » Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:21 pm

remyek wrote:
disallow wrote:
remyek wrote:
thats the same in OZ as in whole Europe. Airbrakes is also not legal anywhere in europe for some funny reason. You can rebuild american trailers, but thats more costly than buying a new european standard one... beats me....
Why would you want airbrakes?
sorry dudes, was somewhat tired during that last post. I ment hydraulic
Same thing here but I call them surge brakes.

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remyek
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Postby remyek » Fri Jul 01, 2011 5:52 pm

can proive pics of mine, european style tow bar

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Postby disallow » Sat Jul 02, 2011 5:57 am

CAMO wrote:European tow hook, 3000kg limit: http://www.lukasus.nazwa.pl/szarmach/al ... -080_2.jpg
If this is the factory tow hook in Oz and Europe, then a WDH cannot be used. A WDH requires a 2" square hole like I showed in the pic above so you can put the WDH assembly in, and that is what the WD Bars hook into.

I also noticed that the tow ball looks like a 2" ball. For most travel trailers here, they are considered Class IV, which means you need a 2 5/16" hitch ball.

t

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Postby 05Pathfinder » Sat Jul 02, 2011 4:11 pm

Disallow,

I have a question for you. I have never towed before and I am looking into buying a used utility trailer. What will I need to purchase for the lights to work with my 05 Path Se?

Thanks


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