Anyone tow with a Nissan NV 3500 van?
Hi folks... Looking at TVs that can carry a number of people and tow relatively big. The NV with the V8 supposedly will do ~9k towing. Anyone here own one? Like to hear your experiences...
Forum Discussion
I would swag that even with the cummins V8, it will still be a DOT class 2 van, will ALL the same limitations as far as how big a trailer etc it can haul and tow. Yes more hp/torque give you better performance. BUT, at the end of the day, ANY rig with a given gvwr will be limited in how big a trailer you can tow, by the chassis strength. IE when I learned to tow, there was NO such thing as a gcwr as it is sold today. The max trailer recomended behind a given rig was 2x the GRAWR. So if you have as noted, many vans with 6000-6800 grawr's, the biggest trailer no matter the engine was 12-13K or so. I am sure a NV3500 will tow a trailer of this size with out issues.
I've towed a 12K trailer behind my 96 K3500 with a 6100 grawr/9200 gvwr, and a whopping 12K gcwr. NO WHITE KNUCKLES driving at any point in time. Same chassis with a larger higher hp motor, upwards of 12K. So I was a little slower up hills! Big deal.
Same with the sprinter I drive at work, similar specs to the nv3500, gm and ford full size vans. I'd tow upwards of 10-12K behind. Not much more for various and sundry reasons. REality is, 6-8K is about max considering the HP/torque of the motor.
Folks have to remember, the motor is not the end all be all of a given rig from a towing standpoint. Then as far as FL goes, I am sure they are looking for a cheaper motor than the B5.9/6.7 I 6, that will power rigs to upwards of 26K gvwr/gcwr. Just as GM did with the dmax when it came out. The class 6 5500 with gvwr's from 19501-26K had a 26K gcwr. That was all that motor was designed to go up to, either pulling max or hauling/carrying. They want to compete with Ford in the F550/650 relm, and Navistar with the 4000 series rigs with IHC V8 motors. Many of those rigs have gvwr's no higher than the gvwr! My old 92 4600 with a 175 IDI 7/.3 is the same way. GCWR is 18000, gvwr is 18K, but I run down the road upwards of 26K. again, a bit slow, but overall safer than a smaller rig chassis rig.
Marty
I've towed a 12K trailer behind my 96 K3500 with a 6100 grawr/9200 gvwr, and a whopping 12K gcwr. NO WHITE KNUCKLES driving at any point in time. Same chassis with a larger higher hp motor, upwards of 12K. So I was a little slower up hills! Big deal.
Same with the sprinter I drive at work, similar specs to the nv3500, gm and ford full size vans. I'd tow upwards of 10-12K behind. Not much more for various and sundry reasons. REality is, 6-8K is about max considering the HP/torque of the motor.
Folks have to remember, the motor is not the end all be all of a given rig from a towing standpoint. Then as far as FL goes, I am sure they are looking for a cheaper motor than the B5.9/6.7 I 6, that will power rigs to upwards of 26K gvwr/gcwr. Just as GM did with the dmax when it came out. The class 6 5500 with gvwr's from 19501-26K had a 26K gcwr. That was all that motor was designed to go up to, either pulling max or hauling/carrying. They want to compete with Ford in the F550/650 relm, and Navistar with the 4000 series rigs with IHC V8 motors. Many of those rigs have gvwr's no higher than the gvwr! My old 92 4600 with a 175 IDI 7/.3 is the same way. GCWR is 18000, gvwr is 18K, but I run down the road upwards of 26K. again, a bit slow, but overall safer than a smaller rig chassis rig.
Marty
