Frontal area for travel trailers

I still want to know, how many of you folks with full size 5w's, with front bedroom slides, are going to upgrade your measly 35 series duallies to something OTHER than one of these types of rigs. as you max frontal area per the new JSEA specs is 80 sq ft! you are all in the 100-110 sq ft range. so probably over your rated amount.......

Just something to think about!

Marty

Lakama wrote:
We have a 2016 Nissan Frontier automatic, 2 WD, 4 cyl., 153 HP. The GVWR is 4700#. Tires are 235/75 R15. The TT is a Jayco Flight SLX 145 RB with a unloaded weight of 2340#. I wanted to see if this was feasible before doing anything. No hitch, yet. We haven't purchased the TT yet.

The unloaded weight of the trailer doesn't take into account, battery/batteries, propane bottle/bottles, water weight, your basic camping gear, etc.
Bottom line is it's your truck, Nissan warned you, and YOU didn't listen to Nissan's warnings. Buy a small pop up or buy the proper truck to tow what you want to tow.

2012Coleman wrote:
what limit are you referring to - tow capacity?

Know anything about payload? Is there a sticker in the door jamb that says something like total weight of cargo and occupants not to exceed xxxx lbs?

What is the model/make/year of TT and the make/year truck?

Does it have a hitch receiver? Is there a weight limit stamped on it?

What kind of tires does it have?

If you read the thread, you will know all that and more...

We have a 2016 Nissan Frontier automatic, 2 WD, 4 cyl., 153 HP. The GVWR is 4700#. Tires are 235/75 R15. The TT is a Jayco Flight SLX 145 RB with a unloaded weight of 2340#. I wanted to see if this was feasible before doing anything. No hitch, yet. We haven't purchased the TT yet.

Lakama wrote:
What do you think of this plan - we get a transmission cooler and temperature gauge, then test drive the trailer we want (63 sq ft frontal area vs the 30 sq ft limit)? Our truck is 152 hp, automatic transmission, 2 WD, 4 cylinder. The trailer weighs 2400#, our gear and passengers weigh 500# and the limit for this vehicle is 3500#. We will drive below the speed limit.
If the transmission heats up on the test drive, we'll go for a popup with a frontal area nearer the recommendation.

what limit are you referring to - tow capacity?

Know anything about payload? Is there a sticker in the door jamb that says something like total weight of cargo and occupants not to exceed xxxx lbs?

What is the model/make/year of TT and the make/year truck?

Does it have a hitch receiver? Is there a weight limit stamped on it?

What kind of tires does it have?

I towed right at the limit with my 2002 Ram 1500 4.7 3.92 and it was not a fun time at all (about 800# over the rating). The truck did it but it was also taking all it had to do it. All you are doing if you have to push your vehicle to the limits is kill it in very short order.

As for not having to worry about over heating a manual trans you might want to rethink that stance. You can over heat a manual easier then an auto and you will not even know you are doing it!

Don

Lakama wrote:
What do you think of this plan - we get a transmission cooler and temperature gauge, then test drive the trailer we want (63 sq ft frontal area vs the 30 sq ft limit)? Our truck is 152 hp, automatic transmission, 2 WD, 4 cylinder. The trailer weighs 2400#, our gear and passengers weigh 500# and the limit for this vehicle is 3500#. We will drive below the speed limit.
If the transmission heats up on the test drive, we'll go for a popup with a frontal area nearer the recommendation.

Sounds good to me. But, as already suggested, test it hard under worst case conditions, like on a day with good headwinds. Then decide.

Make sure you have a good anti-sway hitch dialled in and the trailer brakes are working properly.

Awareness of your tow vehicle's limitations is smart. And sometimes you just have to make do.

If you do go this route, however, I see a tranny rebuild sooner rather than later in your future. May want to up the frequency of tranny flushes too.

I don't think a test drive is going to show you much, unless you test drive for an extended period of time, freeway and backroads, hills etc..

I just don't see this combination as being anywhere close to a comfortable drive. And I honestly do not see a test drive as giving you enough information to feel good about driving it. But, what the heck... Go for it, and if you end up not happy, sell the trailer (likely at a loss), or buy a bigger truck.

Mike

What do you think of this plan - we get a transmission cooler and temperature gauge, then test drive the trailer we want (63 sq ft frontal area vs the 30 sq ft limit)? Our truck is 152 hp, automatic transmission, 2 WD, 4 cylinder. The trailer weighs 2400#, our gear and passengers weigh 500# and the limit for this vehicle is 3500#. We will drive below the speed limit.
If the transmission heats up on the test drive, we'll go for a popup with a frontal area nearer the recommendation.

To add my two cents again, I used to tow pretty much the same weight and frontal area with just 102 hp. It maintained 60 mph on the freeway easily (although it took a little while to get there), and 45 over the mountain passes of Washington. The main difference is that I did not have an automatic transmission and so didn't have to worry about trans temperatures. I don't know a thing about the trans your truck uses, but a cooler would certainly help.