Too Heavy? Too Hot?

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valenburg
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Too Heavy? Too Hot?

Postby valenburg » Sat May 26, 2012 7:21 pm

I just used my pathfinder to tow a 6 X 12 Uhaul from Maine to NC. During most of the steeper grades in Western Mass, CT and parts of VA. The engine temp jumped pretty high. It almost got to the point where I was about to pull over due to the A/C cutoff coming into play (Pregnant wife). I am not sure if I over loaded or not. The empty weight with the trailer was 6580 and all loaded up was 8600. so I was at about 4000lbs (maybe) with all passengers and my animals. It was pretty hot the passed couple of days so I am sure that didn't help a whole lot. The only thing that I can think of that may cause this, is my water pump, the trailer was about a foot higher than the roof line of the pathy or xxxxxx?? I am just wondering if I loaded to heavy and if running it like that for about 900 miles may have hurt my baby? any input you guys would be appreciated.


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blink32
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Postby blink32 » Sat May 26, 2012 8:48 pm

Out of curiosity did you scale out somewhere to get these weights? Our vehicles are rated to drag 5k outback as is or 6k with WD Hitch so if you're weights are accurate you are within those limits. The only thing you didn't mention was driving style you maintained on your trip. I'm talking about taking it out of O/D and whether or not you were maintaining a lower speed or if you were hammering down trying to keep up with the fast lane on those grades. Either way I doubt you did any long term damage.

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ShipFixer
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Re: Too Heavy? Too Hot?

Postby ShipFixer » Sun May 27, 2012 1:05 am

Was the A/C actually cutting in and out, or were you slowing before that happened?

Mine was doing that due to a plugged radiator; but that occurs before an "overheating" condition. (Which is why it took Nissan over a week to figure out why my A/C was cycling after 20 minutes of driving...)

valenburg
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Postby valenburg » Sun May 27, 2012 6:23 am

I used the same CAT scale. driving wise, I tried keeping it around 60. On the steeper grades I would drop down to 50 or less if I could and taking O/D off. Memorial day weekend kept a good amount of traffic behind me and you know MASSholes lol. Once I noticed the thermostat rising to about dead across the meter, I would try and drop down in speed more if I could even then the temp would rise just a little bit more then the A/c would cut off. I am wondering if the aerodynamics of the uhaul put on extra load when going up the inclines. On flatter land there was really no issue with going 65-70, the temp was a wee bit higher than normal but that was expected. I also have the bypass set up. I don't really plan on towing this heavy for a while But I am thinking throwing in a transmission cooler couldn't hurt.

dared3vil00
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Postby dared3vil00 » Sun May 27, 2012 10:02 am

While our V6's can tow a massive amount of weight in proportion to other V6's (ford i'm looking at you with your old 4.0 v6) Anyways, with a vehicle that's eight years old, with probably around ~80k miles? Towing that much weight just isn't going to be as easy as when it was new. If you could of i would of suggested borrowing a V8 pathy, or a half ton pickup. With that said, as you found it it WILL pull it, just not easily.

valenburg
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Postby valenburg » Sun May 27, 2012 1:41 pm

well it was a one way move and once I empty out the uhaul and drop it off, I don't think i'll have to tow that much for a while. I may get a boat but it wouldn't be bigger than 15' or so. I'll definitely have a trans cooler by then. I have just over 61,000 right now.

CPLTECH
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Postby CPLTECH » Sun May 27, 2012 2:12 pm

4th gear [O/D OFF] does not allow the torq conv to lock up, hence a lot of trans heat. But 3rd [and 5th] is supposed to, if conditions are right. So on the grades, my suggestion is to slow down slightly and use 3rd and try to get it to go into lock-up.

I see where the 4Runner also has a 5 sp AT, so wonder if they encounter to same as do we. Could be that all 5 sp AT’s have a dual clutch design that causes our dilemma. Is that why some mfg are going to the 6 sp AT for better towing?

amr40509
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Postby amr40509 » Wed Jun 20, 2012 7:56 am

I find this really odd.

I have an '06 with 105K miles on it. I've towed a variety of things with it since new, often including a boat about the same weight as the load you mention.

When pulling the boat, I'd say I have a heavier load on the truck, as we generally have a bunch of people/stuff in the truck too. Of course boating is a hot weather sport, so I drive on the interstate (hours at a time sometimes) and in the mountains/back roads during high heat. I've never had my temp gauge really rise at all, it pretty much stays the same with or without a load.

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nutbar78
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Postby nutbar78 » Wed Jun 20, 2012 1:22 pm

Sorry but those weights aren't right. "The empty weight with the trailer was 6580 and all loaded up was 8600" You are talking pounds, right?

These numbers are directly from the Uhaul website.

For the 6x12 double axle trailer.....

Max load: 2,480 lbs.
Empty weight: 1,920 lbs.
Gross vehicle weight: 4,400 lbs. max.

Am I a dick? :?:

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blink32
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Postby blink32 » Wed Jun 20, 2012 4:54 pm

nutbar78 wrote:Sorry but those weights aren't right.
Why do you think that? 2005 SE Off Road curb weight that I could find is 4,489. Add in the 1,920 of the trailer and you've got 6409. He said he scaled out at 6580, 171lb's heavier that the theoretical weight. Seems reasonable to me accounting for a driver or fuel or random cargo. Loaded up scaled at 8600 which is only about 2,020lb's of actual cargo.

Are you thinking he scaled low?

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Wed Jun 20, 2012 5:14 pm

i agree with blink.

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doctahjones
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Postby doctahjones » Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:44 pm

blink32 wrote:
nutbar78 wrote:Sorry but those weights aren't right.
Why do you think that? 2005 SE Off Road curb weight that I could find is 4,489. Add in the 1,920 of the trailer and you've got 6409. He said he scaled out at 6580, 171lb's heavier that the theoretical weight. Seems reasonable to me accounting for a driver or fuel or random cargo. Loaded up scaled at 8600 which is only about 2,020lb's of actual cargo.

Are you thinking he scaled low?
i'm thinking nutbar was thinking the same way i was. i first thought "trailer weight", not gcwr. so yeah 8600lbs would be waaaayyy to heavy, if that was -just- the trailer. :)


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