Nissan Armada Tow

colliehauler wrote:
Does the rear floor in the cargo area of the Armada fold flat?

Yes, completely. Its amazing how much cargo room is back there with both rows folded down.

Does the rear floor in the cargo area of the Armada fold flat?

I have a Titan and I am guessing it might be the same case as the Armada. The manual says to tow in fourth gear and not D. Also press the tow mode button.

I get 9-10 towing around here, about 14 mixed driving and up to 19 all highway. My commute to work is under 4 miles so it does a job on my MPG.

The Titan and Armada are showing some age but I feel like they have worked a lot of the kinks out of the existing design from the early years and it has resulted in a pretty reliable vehicle. I am on my second one, the previous was a 2006.

I have a 2008 Armada LE and tow an Outback 21RS. Granted the 21RS isn't very long but it is rather heavy. I have the Max Tow package so it has the airbag auto-leveling suspension, tranny cooler, and 'tow mode'. When in tow mode the computer will limit downshifts which is healthier for the transmission but can be a little annoying on hills. The auto-leveling is really nice and I won't go without it in the future. I don't have any truck experience to compare to (previous TV was a Grand Cherokee) but as a former Chrysler fan I can say Nissan builds a reliable vehicle. By that I mean - they don't leak! Every Dodge or Jeep I owned was a leaker. Plenty of power when needed. The Armada has a somewhat stiff ride, but I prefer the responsiveness. I test drove a Suburban and a Sequoia before buying and the Armada handled far better.

I get 14 MPG during the work week, almost 17 on long highway stints and 10 while towing.

My worst towing experience came during a 'white-out' rain storm on the way home after a trip. The anti-sway bar broke on the way to the lake, and the worst rain occurred while I was on a major highway with plenty of truck traffic. It handled perfectly and I never felt compromised, even without the anti-sway. Tires had a lot to do with this as well but that trip made me a believer.

Great info guys, thanks! Yeah you see a lot of stuff that makes you shake your head out there on the road. Good to know on the tires and the speed, I did not know that. Thank you!

The Armada does not seem that big (my neighbor has one) as some SUV's and trucks. We don't like big vehicles so our Durango is the perfect size and the Hemi has the cylinder deactivation and I can get 22mpg on the freeway (not towing), about 14 around town. I know I am going to be giving some of this up but I really don't like some other vehicles out there, I know the Armada is showing its age a bit now so its a toss up. I am not a truck guy so the Armada is the next biggest vehicle w/out going to an Expedition or something like that but going bigger than the Durango. Its a third vehicle for us, we don't drive it daily so its not the end of the world on the mpg I guess. They seem to ride super smooth, impressed with that.

Those mentioning shifting, I put mine in 4th toward inclines and just keep the rpm in the 3500-4000 range as that is where max torque is and it was content there on the inclines. I had heard leaving a vehicle in drive can cause the torque converter to slip and the transmission to heat up as it hunts for gears on hills. Im no expert, just what some have said but it seems to work. Thanks again for all the info.

azwildcat99 wrote:

mikeinaz wrote:

I did notice a bit of sway so I kept my speed at 65 or below but I think I will upgrade to a better WDH and sway control as the one I have is a EZ Lift and was great for my 23' HTT but this longer and heavier TT needs a bit more stability I think.

Just an FYI, ST trailer tires are rated for a maximum of 65mph. I see lots of trailers going way too fast on I-17, so I wanted to ensure others know this limitation. :)

I pulled my trailer 5,000 miles in 7 1/2 months a little over a year ago.

Traveling the country it would seem very few know or care about the maximum speed of ST tires speced at 65mph.

Then they come on here and complain......

mikeinaz wrote:

I did notice a bit of sway so I kept my speed at 65 or below but I think I will upgrade to a better WDH and sway control as the one I have is a EZ Lift and was great for my 23' HTT but this longer and heavier TT needs a bit more stability I think.

Just an FYI, ST trailer tires are rated for a maximum of 65mph. I see lots of trailers going way too fast on I-17, so I wanted to ensure others know this limitation. :)

Mike I just bought a 2010 armada platinum. I did the math and tow a 31 ft TT. The weight is about 7700lbs loaded and I have no trouble. The airbags suspension on the rear is awesome on leveling The load. I drove through the Catskill and Adirondack mtns. Here in NYS. I had no trouble pulling up the mtns. But with only a 5 SPD transmission you do have higher revs. But if you look ahead on the road and help the trany pre choose the gear( I do this) you will keep the revs down. The computer has to make up for lost speed and pushes a higher rev. If you lightly double tap the gas peddle going into the hills the transmission will change gears earlier and keep you in optimal ranges that are not excessively high. J love that Armada and my wife thinks she is king S@#t driving it too. It is really big...really big. Expect not better than 12 mpg around town and 9-10 when hauling
Hope this helps

lb7677 wrote:

mikeinaz wrote:
I have a question for any Armada owners. Considering buying a new one and coming from a 2013 Dodge Durango w/ the Hemi. The Dodge has more HP and about the same TQ but Im down a bit on payload so nee to upgrade and am just not a 'truck' guy. The Armada has about 1500# payload which would be fine for me. I have a 26' TT that's about 6200# loaded w/ less than 800# tongue weight. So how does it do towing on hills? Its less HP than my Durango and has one less gear in the transmission so as I tow through mountains, I am worried it may have to hunt around for the right gear and be winding out at higher RPM's for longer periods of time. Looking for some real world experience from any owners who can shed some light. Thanks!

Hi MikeinAZ, I have a 2008 Armada and tow a TT with about the same weight as yours, with a little more length (30ft). I live in the Phoenix area as well so you may be talking about the same hills that I have towed through many times; for me it is primarily from Phoenix to the Mogollon Rim area or Flagstaff area. I find that the Armada does need to work quite a bit to get up the long hills, running high revs and bouncing between gears if you want to keep it above 50mph. Furthermore there have been two occasions during the summer that I've had to turn off the air conditioner because my engine temperature started to shoot up. Granted this is AZ we're talking about but that's some real world experience.

For your comparison, I don't have any 1/2 ton pickup towing experience to compare it against, but prior to the Armada I had a 2006 F-250 diesel and towed the exact same trailer. It could go 80+ mph straight up those same hills without blinking an eye but that's not a fair comparison :)

Thanks for the feedback on your towing experience. We took the new camper up to the Rim this weekend and the Durango pulled it well. Of course there is one or two hills going and one on the way back that keep me under 60mph but its expected and most people go slow up those. I don't feel bad.

I did notice a bit of sway so I kept my speed at 65 or below but I think I will upgrade to a better WDH and sway control as the one I have is a EZ Lift and was great for my 23' HTT but this longer and heavier TT needs a bit more stability I think. Also the Durango's shorter wheelbase does not help. I LOVE my Durango but think the larger payload of the Armada as well as the ability to go offroad a bit will still cause me to pull the trigger. My Durango is the R/T so it has that more aggressive look which is not conducive to going down service roads w/ rocks kicking back up the rocker panels. There is always a give and take in trying to pick the right tow vehicle and having the best day to day vehicle you enjoy.

mikeinaz wrote:
I have a question for any Armada owners. Considering buying a new one and coming from a 2013 Dodge Durango w/ the Hemi. The Dodge has more HP and about the same TQ but Im down a bit on payload so nee to upgrade and am just not a 'truck' guy. The Armada has about 1500# payload which would be fine for me. I have a 26' TT that's about 6200# loaded w/ less than 800# tongue weight. So how does it do towing on hills? Its less HP than my Durango and has one less gear in the transmission so as I tow through mountains, I am worried it may have to hunt around for the right gear and be winding out at higher RPM's for longer periods of time. Looking for some real world experience from any owners who can shed some light. Thanks!

Hi MikeinAZ, I have a 2008 Armada and tow a TT with about the same weight as yours, with a little more length (30ft). I live in the Phoenix area as well so you may be talking about the same hills that I have towed through many times; for me it is primarily from Phoenix to the Mogollon Rim area or Flagstaff area. I find that the Armada does need to work quite a bit to get up the long hills, running high revs and bouncing between gears if you want to keep it above 50mph. Furthermore there have been two occasions during the summer that I've had to turn off the air conditioner because my engine temperature started to shoot up. Granted this is AZ we're talking about but that's some real world experience.

For your comparison, I don't have any 1/2 ton pickup towing experience to compare it against, but prior to the Armada I had a 2006 F-250 diesel and towed the exact same trailer. It could go 80+ mph straight up those same hills without blinking an eye but that's not a fair comparison :)