Towing big with the Path

Any topics related to 2005-2012 R51

Moderator: volvite

User avatar
SPICOLI
Posts: 193
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:55 pm
Location: Canada

Postby SPICOLI » Sat May 15, 2010 10:56 pm

Does anyone tow their toys in the mountains? I live in British Columbia, Canada and pretty much any towing that we do here is through mountain passages. I'm wondering whether anyone else town their trailers/boats/whatever else in the mountains? If you do how does your PF perform in the uphill towing? I have a 5000# trailer that I tow around, but I'm always worried about overheating the transmission on the uphill climbs as well as general power for uphill towing.


User avatar
thejean
Posts: 52
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2008 4:47 pm
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Postby thejean » Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:46 pm

I was just debating as to whether I can tow a 28ft camper that weighs 9000+ lbs out to BC this weekend. Anyone think this will be an issue for the tranny? I believe with the airbags and WD hitch I have, I can handle the tongue weight but now I am worried about the tranny. JC

User avatar
HillbillyJake
Posts: 352
Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2008 8:55 pm
Location: Pitcairn Pa.

Postby HillbillyJake » Thu Sep 02, 2010 1:34 pm

I would not. if you have the V-6 it is 50% more weight than the truck is rated for. if you have the V-8 it is rated for only 7200lbs. second, 9000 lbs is a lot of weight to stop even though the trailer has breaks. my feelings are that you will be asking for problems and failures.

User avatar
thejean
Posts: 52
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2008 4:47 pm
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Postby thejean » Thu Sep 02, 2010 5:08 pm

Turns out it is 6500 lbs dry. I have a V8 so I should be good. A bit worried about sway but we are not forecasting major wind in the mountains. If there are still campsites available I may give it a shot.

User avatar
thejean
Posts: 52
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2008 4:47 pm
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Postby thejean » Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:54 pm

My latest towing endeavours...

Image

Enclosed 22ft trailer with a race car and spares inside! Towed ok. There was a bit of the tail wagging the dog when the trailer was empty and there was wind.

FWIW, I plan to buy a diesel 2500 or 3500 soon.

CRXguy
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2010 11:16 pm
Location: Calgary, AB, Canada

Postby CRXguy » Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:31 pm

Looks good!

You still post on WSC?

kazeej
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 9:40 am
Location: South Florida, USA

Re: Towing big with the Path

Postby kazeej » Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:22 am

RacerZX wrote:One of the primary reasons I upgraded from my Murano to the Pathfinder was the added towing capacity. I tow my race car, I tow other cars...

When you need to tow, use any normal air source to fill the airbags with up to 35psi and it keeps the rear end nice and firm.
Image
Thanks for posting this stuff, even though this is an old post, it had everying I needed to know about the suspension kit. I have been looking at doing this on my Pathy, with the same kit you used, and you removed all doubt. I just ordered the parts.
BTW, where did you get that cool spoiler on the back? Did it come with it?

Thanks again!
Jack

User avatar
thejean
Posts: 52
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2008 4:47 pm
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Postby thejean » Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:31 pm

CRXguy wrote:Looks good!

You still post on WSC?
I sure do!

User avatar
yeziam
Posts: 41
Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2010 5:59 pm
Location: Minneapolis

Postby yeziam » Thu Mar 17, 2011 4:56 pm

About 6500 lbs with mostly trailer weight (heavy rental beast). Once up to speed it pulled no problem with 12 mpg over 150 miles or so. Stopping wasn't an issue. If I were to do it again I'd definitely get airbags.
Image

User avatar
volvite
Sponsored Member
Posts: 2180
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2011 5:06 pm
Location: Hill AFB, Utah West Point UT

Postby volvite » Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:17 pm

Thanks for all the information. I don't tow a bunch, but when and if I do, I'll probably look into this. Looks like a nice setup.

pgleduc
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 2:11 pm
Location: Orleans (Ottawa), Ontario

Great posts - thank you!

Postby pgleduc » Sun Mar 20, 2011 1:22 pm

Just a quick note to let you know that despite this posting being nearly 5 years old, it was extremely useful to me. I did both installs using this post (trailer brakes and air lift / bags).

I installed the 7 pin and brake controller last spring to tow a 4200 lbs camping trailer. Simply install - especially with this post. Everything worked well but I did notice the Pathy's sagging rear end. Which is why I just installed the air bags this weekend. Pretty straightforward install too. Still several weeks from towing the trailer with the new bags but I will repost an update after I've tried it.

I only have one bit of advice to others Canucks and northern state dwellers... while I'm sure this is obvious to everyone else (but me!), trying to install the kit after it's been in your cold garage for a few weeks in Feb/March is a bad idea. The bags aren't very flexible when they're cold nor are the air lines. I wound up taking everthing in the house for a few hours. After everything warmed up, the install was a breeze.

Thanks again!

glockshooter
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2011 7:15 pm

Postby glockshooter » Sun Mar 20, 2011 1:41 pm

For you guys with the lift bags, do they effect the ride? I use my pathfinder to haul wood pellets for our stove. I make 2 trips per ton, so I'm throwing 1000lbs in the rear at a time. My former ride, a ford explorer, did it no problem. The pathfinder, with 1400lbs of capacity, seems like it really squats. I'm figuring GVW minus the curb weight, so I should be within capacity. Should I add bags before my next load?

User avatar
disallow
Site Admin
Posts: 2820
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:02 am
Location: Winnipeg, Canada

Postby disallow » Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:07 pm

glockshooter wrote:For you guys with the lift bags, do they effect the ride? I use my pathfinder to haul wood pellets for our stove. I make 2 trips per ton, so I'm throwing 1000lbs in the rear at a time. My former ride, a ford explorer, did it no problem. The pathfinder, with 1400lbs of capacity, seems like it really squats. I'm figuring GVW minus the curb weight, so I should be within capacity. Should I add bags before my next load?
do it. Best under $100 mod I've ever done.

pearl62
Posts: 57
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2008 11:43 am
Location: Morgan Hill, California

Postby pearl62 » Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:33 pm

I just drove from California up to Tofino, BC, hauling a 18' ultra-lite trailer. Fully loaded, it's probably around 4500lbs.

On previous short trips I noticed the transmission temps getting quite high on slow uphill runs, so before this trip I installed a 10" cooling fan on the trans cooler. It's definitely better, but I find that I still need to go down to 3rd to keep the trans fluid pumping through the cooler at a good enough rate to keep it below 200 degrees.

I have the LE 2wd 4.0 V6, and I find it has plenty of power to haul, but the fuel economy suffers... I averaged ~9mpg over the entire 1000 or so miles, including all the passes.

Suspension-wise, I've already beefed up my rear springs (King Springs from Australia, ~25% stiffer, maybe 0.5" drop), Rancho 9000 shocks all around and Air Lift rear bags. I found I had to run 30lbs pressure in the bags, rear shocks set to full stiffness, and I think the fronts are around -2 ( I can't remember if that is 3 out of 5 or 8 out of 10). With the weight-distribution hitch [Nissan] I still found an anti-sway was needed to keep from steering me when large vehicles passed, and it helped a bit to keep the bouncing down. The bouncing is still more than I'd like at times, but I'm still experimenting with rear bag pressure, shock settings and weight distribution tension.

Overall, I'd say the R51 Pathfinder is a pretty good tower, though I would sure love to have a diesel under the hood to get some better economy while towing...
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... .614016804

glockshooter
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2011 7:15 pm

Postby glockshooter » Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:00 pm

disallow wrote: do it. Best under $100 mod I've ever done.
Any suggestions on what style or brand? Do I want to go with the 500 or 1000lb bags?


Return to “R51 General Chat”