Towing with NV 2500 van

napadan wrote:
Hi, all. Has anyone towed a trailer with a Nissan NV 2500 van? Mine's a v-6 high roof, and I tow an 18 ft. 3500# GVW trailer. It tows fine, but with a bit of trouble going up steep hills (in 3rd gear, high revving). Well, I'm thinking of getting a heavier trailer, an ORV 18DB. This has a GVWR of 6000#. (Bigger tanks and stronger frame/ suspension.)

I'm a cautious tower, but I like this trailer. It's also much cheaper than the Escape 19, $20,000 vs. $30,000. I don't want to buy a V-8 pickup truck. What to do?
Thanks..................Dan

ORV 18DB, 4100 BROCHURE DRY WEIGHT, figure 4400 lbs. out the door at the factory, add 554 lbs. of water (66 gal !), 60 lbs of propane, 50 lbs. battery, 400 lbs. of stuff, and it's at 5500 lbs. Figure 715 lbs. tongue weight (13%).

There's some reason other than towing a camper that you have a 2500 van, so that's a given. Others also have been searching for THE high payload van to tow a camper. They haven't found it. Too bad NISSAN hasn't put their 5.0 Cummins in the NV.

The NV V6 is rated to tow 6,900, which includes passengers other than driver and all cargo in the van. So 6,900 - 5,500 trailer would allow 1,400 for passengers and stuff in the van. Of course, a vehicle loaded to its GCWR will not be nimble at all.

What to do?

1. Go up the hills more slowly in 2nd gear with the engine revving high. How often is this going to happen?
2. Buy a Ford Transit 250 with the 2.5 turbo diesel rated to tow 7,300. Not much better.
3. Buy the V-8 NV rated to tow 9,400
4. Buy a Ford F150 SuperCrew with an Ecoboost V6 rated to tow 7,600 to 11,900, but less payload than the NV.

No magic bullet here.