Towing 5200lbs with a 06 Nissan Pathfinder

[AJ143camping]

Hello all, I am currently considering purchasing a travel trailer and will be towing with my 06 Nissan Pathfinder LE 4x4. The Pathfinder has a max towing capacity of 6000lbs and a max tongue of 600lbs. Obviously I want to stay as far below that as possible but with what I want on my next TT I might be getting close to the max . I am considering either the Passport 238ml or the Sonic 220BH with the Sonic being my first choice. The car has Airlift bags, and trailer brake controller. I might have to purchase a WDH but only if needed depending on how much it squats with the airlift bags. My concern is that 5400lbs is max on the Sonic. Dry on the Sonic is 4200. Is it realistic to think I will be maxing out the payload capacity of the TT to 5400lbs? It's my wife, my small dog and myself, only bringing what we need nothing extra.

The car is 270hp and 291 ftlbs of torque at 4000 rpms

I'm plan to travel across the country with it.

[gmw_photos]

AJ143camping wrote:
...snip....

GMW Photos what model is your trailer?

My trailer is a funfinder ( cruiser RV ) 189FDS. At the time ( 2012 ) this model had an advertised dry weight of 3040 lbs. At least for that year, I believe they quoted dry weights as a bare bones trailer with no "options". So, mine weighed right at 3600 when I brought it home. The options on mine are a awning, air conditioner, television and outside BBQ. So those items plus two full bottles of propane got it up to 3600.
As you can see from my earlier post, I pack light, since I have only added 400 pounds to the original weight. I travel solo and I don't need a lot of stuff.

[AJ143camping]

That was my original question when I started shopping for TT. I wanted a Kodiak 200qb or a Sonic 220vbh. Both TT were under 4500lbs dry with the Kodiak being under 4000lbs dry. When you take into consideration all the other factors I was able to narrow the trailer that best fits my wants and my cars capabilities.

620lbs hitch weight is at the absolute max (and over my cars hitch rating). That is 200lbs over the TT GVWR. I will def. be checking the hitch weight and shift the weight as needed inside the TT.

GMW Photos what model is your trailer?

[gmw_photos]

And a little further thought/clarification, my point in bringing up the idea of actual weight vs GVWR, is let's say a person is filtering out potential campers based on GVWR. Let's further say they have set an upper limit of 5500 pounds GVWR. In this case, they would never even look at my camper, which might in fact be a good choice. It's actual weight is just under 4000 pounds ready to pull out the driveway.
My theory is to start with the manufacturers dry weight, and add about 1000 to 1200 pounds. That is probably going to be fairly close to what it will weigh when you're ready to leave to go camp ( assuming a empty or fairly close to empty fresh water tank ).

On your Pathfinder, as is usually the case with these types of vehicles, the first limit you will likely run into is payload capacity, not "tow" capacity.

Whatever camper trailer you are looking at, figure the tongue weight is going to be in the neighborhood of 12 to 14% of the actual weight. So a 5K trailer is going to have a real world tongue of 600 to 700.
My trailer tongue weight is right at 580 lbs, with a measured trailer weight of 3980 lbs.

[AJ143camping]

I agree with GMW PHotos, but it is hard to get exact weights when buying a new TT. I can only go with what info is available to me. The sticker on the side of this trailer said it is 3,628lbs shipping weight. I was working with gross weight since that will be the max I should ever tow with that trailer. What dealership would let me load all my camping gear, food, clothes etc and then take it to a scale to see if it is ok?

If the pathfinder was ever offered with a manual I would of been first in line. In fact this is my first automatic car that is mine. (The Murano that we used to tow with was my wife's)

My uncle has a Turbo Diesel Nissan Nevara with a 6 speed manual in Colombia (where I am from) I drool over it. They sell the same Turbo diesel manual configuration in my version of the pathfinder too.

I'm not worried about running 3500rpms all day if need be. I had a Miata that at 75mph in fifth gear would run at 4200rpms. I'm concerned with the transmissions temperatures. I plan to get a Bullydog triple GT tuner to monitor the trans temps and keep it below 200deg.

[gmw_photos]

I personally think the idea of just working from gross weight ratings of a trailer is too simplistic.
What really matters is what the trailer actually weighs.

Example is my trailer. It has a GVWR of 6000 pounds, but in reality, it weighs right at 4000 pounds on the CAT scale. The reason it is "rated" so high, is because it has two, 2800 pound capacity axles, so it "can" be rated for 6000 pounds.

I looked up the trailer you are now looking at. A good guess might be that it will weigh about 4200 to 4300 ready to camp. That will result in a tongue weight of about 620 pounds in the real world. You should verify all the weights on the scales.

I tow my 4000 pound funfinder with a '06 Frontier, 4.0L V6. However, my Frontier has a 6 speed manual transmission, and 3.69 final gears, which in my opinion is a better working drivetrain for towing than the automatic trans equipped Nissans of similar size. That's just my opinion though, so others may disagree and feel an automatic is better for them.

Mostly what you are going to experience is the need to be reasonable in your expectations. Be willing to travel at sane speeds, at times maybe in the slow lane, and at times at 3000 to 3500 engine rpm. You will not hurt your engine at those rpm. It is designed to easily run that speed, all day long.

That's my take on it.

[AJ143camping]

Update: After seeing many campers this weekend we have decided to negotiate a Sonic 170VBH. It has the bunks for an occasional guest but more importantly the weight is all well below specs. GVWR is 4000lbs, Hitch weight is 350lbs and it is 21' in length.

We are currently between dealerships for the same unit. The closest dealership is with in a 20 min drive. That is also the dealership where we purchased our first TT. They are more expensive than the second dealer but they keep pointing out a lifetime warranty.

I have been researching the lifetime warranty and came to the conclusion that it is useless to me since I do the maintenance my self. In order to keep the warranty I have to have it annually inspected by a certified dealer for $250 plus pay for the maintenance that needs to be done.

any thoughts?

Thanks again to every one who posted.

[Ductape]

We towed a 24' Surveyor, about 5k wet; using a 2010 PF (as well as several other TV of varying types). To Colorado and many other places.
As others have said, it's not the weight, it's the wind. On flat ground it would lock up the TC in OD and run 60-65 mph no sweat. Never a problem maintaining reasonable speeds on grades etc. Worst day was fighting headwinds in west TX rolling hills. Got tired of shifting and just put it in 3rd with the CC on.

Pathfinders of that generation have plenty of weight capacity to carry passengers and tongue weight and be within ratings. I've put every rig we've owned over the years on the scales.

[kvangil]

AJ143camping wrote:
Thanks kvangil, This is great read from first hand experience from someone with the same type of vehicle. Peak tq on our cars is at 4K so 3500rpms is not bad with a locked TQ converter.

What do you guys think about the Kodiak 200qb?

Based on the paper specs, it should work. Check the sticker on the actual unit though to make sure the weights on that specific unit are within your limits. Your towing experience won't be "pleasant" but it'll get the job done.

[kvangil]

2012Coleman wrote:

Note that your best towing will be in 3rd gear, with the engine churning at 3500rpms or more depending on what speed you want to maintain;

Not my idea of a pleasant towing experience, but hey that's me.

Sorry for your anguish over not reaching towing capacity due to payload limitations, but that is how manufactures sell product. I'm constantly amazed at people who I consider gifted intellectually, get hooked on tow capacity when researching a vehicle for towing an RV.

I would agree that it's definitely not "pleasant" but it's just adequate and gets the job done for what we want to do. If we didn't already have the TV, I wouldn't pick this TV as my first choice. Our next TV will be bigger...

From our perspective, there's no anguish over not reaching tow capacity. We were realistic about what the limits of the vehicle are. OP is asking the right questions...

[AJ143camping]

Thanks kvangil, This is great read from first hand experience from someone with the same type of vehicle. Peak tq on our cars is at 4K so 3500rpms is not bad with a locked TQ converter.

What do you guys think about the Kodiak 200qb?

[2012Coleman]

Note that your best towing will be in 3rd gear, with the engine churning at 3500rpms or more depending on what speed you want to maintain;

Not my idea of a pleasant towing experience, but hey that's me.

Sorry for your anguish over not reaching towing capacity due to payload limitations, but that is how manufactures sell product. I'm constantly amazed at people who I consider gifted intellectually, get hooked on tow capacity when researching a vehicle for towing an RV.

[kvangil]

I tow a 24' 4950lbs (gross weight) HTT with an '05 Pathfinder LE 4wd. Have had this combo for 2 years now. We mostly do local (within 200-miles) trips, but did make a 2000-mile roundtrip getaway to Mt. Rushmore. Our Pathy has 140K miles now and we plan to tow at least 1 more year with it. With our Equal-I-Zer hitch, we never experienced any sway issues, even in headwind and crosswinds of 30-mph on that Rushmore trip.

It will perform the job adequately for a trailer around 23' and 4800-lbs as you suggest. Just take it easy on the merge ramps. Note that your best towing will be in 3rd gear, with the engine churning at 3500rpms or more depending on what speed you want to maintain; in 3rd, I can maintain 65mph with cruise control on. The manual says you can just tow with OD off, but you'll definitely notice it struggling up hills if you tow in D with OD off; so keep it in 3rd. 🙂 Also don't expect anything better than 8-9mpg's towing, so you'll have frequent fuel stops with our relatively small 21-gallon tank. The payload capacity is pretty good at 1400lbs. The biggest limiting factor is the tongue weight rating of 600lbs. Most trailers beyond 4500lbs gross will exceed that tongue rating, so I wouldn't imagine towing anything bigger than we do today.

That said, I wouldn't take this combo to the Rockies or the Grand Canyon. 🙂

[marquette]

I just picked up a 2009 Wildwood lite that is almost the exact floor plan. I am wondering since the bulk of the storage is in the front of the trailer under the bed, pass through and overhead cabinets if after the trailer is loaded it will have a higher than normal hitch weight. Maybe someone on her may have some input on hitch weight since it is a important consideration in your vehicle's case.

[jerem0621]

Tracer Air may have something that works for you too.

[AJ143camping]

Awesome! I'm glad to know 23LB trailer will be ok. I will make this type of trailer my max length and weight combo when looking. They have this one in stock(sort of, locally 4 hours away).