What does everyone tow?

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daxnizmo
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Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2010 8:20 am
Location: West Monroe, LA

Postby daxnizmo » Tue Jun 08, 2010 8:29 pm

Well like i said in my previous post, I did make it to Georgia just fine. However, things didn't go as planned and had to bring the car back on the trailer. I wasn't expecting to drive back with the car on a trailer AND an additional 530 lbs. of weight...

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So how do you get a motor out the back of a Pathy without a hoist? Easy, you get your neighbor with a tractor and your grandfather.
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My sweeet custom engine stand, lol!
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The Pathy did well but I could DEFINITELY tell I had some added weight.


GbayPathfinder
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Location: Barrie Ontario

Postby GbayPathfinder » Mon Jun 14, 2010 6:43 pm

I tow my 19.5 foot Tahoe Boat in the Summer. Winter time tow is a 2010 Ski-Doo 1200x Renegade in an enclosed Rance all aluminum cargo trailer. Tow's both very well. Uses more gas with the Rance trailer as the top of the v nose front of the trailer is about 2 feet above the top of the roof of the Pathfinder and the wind really pushes it around on windy days. Thinking of installing a trans-cooler soon

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thejean
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Location: Calgary, Alberta

Postby thejean » Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:50 pm

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BMXPath
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Location: Texas!

Postby BMXPath » Tue Sep 07, 2010 8:49 am

I just got something new to tow. Well, it is new to me. :wink:
Last week my dad gave me his old ski boat. I learned how to ski behind this boat as a teenager. It is a 1981 Invader. 16 foot with an open bow.
90 hp Evinrude outboard.

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08Datsun
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Location: Santa Barbara, CA

Postby 08Datsun » Wed Feb 02, 2011 2:43 pm

I'm reviving a thread from the dead as I finally got a picture of the trailer. This is Lake Cachuma last weekend.


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CPLTECH
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Location: SW Ohio

Postby CPLTECH » Wed Feb 02, 2011 4:39 pm

08Datsun,
Can you give the rest of us some info on the gas mileage while towing vs. a guesstimate of what the trip would have gotten without the trailer? Just wondering how much a fold-down gets compared to a full-size. My reg lite-weight 3k # gives me 11-12mpg vs. 20-21 not towing. With the fuel prices on the rise, was thinking of returning to the world of the pop-ups.

Thanks,

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08Datsun
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Postby 08Datsun » Wed Feb 02, 2011 6:06 pm

CPLTECH wrote:08Datsun,
Can you give the rest of us some info on the gas mileage while towing vs. a guesstimate of what the trip would have gotten without the trailer? Just wondering how much a fold-down gets compared to a full-size. My reg lite-weight 3k # gives me 11-12mpg vs. 20-21 not towing. With the fuel prices on the rise, was thinking of returning to the world of the pop-ups.

Thanks,
Pop-ups don't seem to be as light as they used to be. The one above is over 2300lbs. empty. I figure its about 2800 lbs. loaded, maybe 3000 on a big trip.

We get about 15mpg towing that thing at a little over 60mph. The speed limit towing a trailer here in CA is 55. We get 20mpg on normal road trips driving 70-75 with four of us and out junk in the PF.

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gkb62001
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Postby gkb62001 » Thu Feb 03, 2011 8:30 am

08Datsun wrote: We get about 15mpg towing that thing at a little over 60mph. The speed limit towing a trailer here in CA is 55. We get 20mpg on normal road trips driving 70-75 with four of us and out junk in the PF.
You really get that good of gas mileage? I've only been averaging 15 not towing anything. Granted that is mixed city and highway, but still.

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08Datsun
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Postby 08Datsun » Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:41 am

gkb62001 wrote:
08Datsun wrote: We get about 15mpg towing that thing at a little over 60mph. The speed limit towing a trailer here in CA is 55. We get 20mpg on normal road trips driving 70-75 with four of us and out junk in the PF.
You really get that good of gas mileage? I've only been averaging 15 not towing anything. Granted that is mixed city and highway, but still.
Yeah, that's the real gas mileage. Remember, the road trip and trailer towing is done almost all on the freeway or highways, until you get close to where you are going. Around town here, we get 15, just like you.

tuleman
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Location: daisytown, pa

Postby tuleman » Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:50 am

Fossilfuleburner wrote:
Have you done the radiator trans cooler bypass?

If you have what type of trans temps are you getting?
(and is the temp going up a lot when towing?)
I had my transmission temperature gauge installed four years ago. I just did the radiator bypass two weeks ago. Here’s what I noticed:

Transmission temps run lower when there isn’t a lot of demand put on the transmission. This consists of mostly highway and light city driving (less than 2 miles just to get on the freeway). This is the type of driving I do most often and temperatures are 140-150 now vs 160-165 before. This is in 70 degree outside air temperature.

Temperatures climb much faster than before in stop-and-go city traffic where there isn’t a lot of airflow across the auxiliary cooler. I definitely see higher temperatures here! Outside air temperatures have been in the mid-70’s where I live so I haven’t been able to test in 90-100 weather but judging by how fast temperatures rise now, I’m confident we’ll see temperatures above 180, which personally, I feel is unsafe. In the past 4 years, in non-towing situations, the only times I saw transmission temperatures above 180 was when I was looking for parking in San Francisco for 30 minutes while going up and down SF hills. And climbing mountains like the Sierra to Tahoe/Reno (8,000 ft) and the Grapevine (4,200 ft) to Los Angeles.

The aux cooler is inefficient at dissipating heat without airflow whereas the radiator cooler is not dependent on airflow (since it transfers its heat through circulating water). This is why I installed a 10” fan on the transmission cooler a week after I did the bypass. I estimate the fan generates the airflow equivalent of driving 50mph.

It was a no-brainer for me to install the fan because I always saw the highest transmission temperatures on city streets when towing (180 to 210). I needed to try to restore the slow speed cooling capacity I lost with the bypass. I can post pics of the fan if anyone is interested.

Just so you know our engines normal operating temperature is 180 degrees so when it was hooked to the radiator i dont understand how if the water is 180 the tranny fluid wasnt the same or close to it. My bullydog tuner gives me water temp in the radiator.

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pawjr74
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Postby pawjr74 » Thu Feb 03, 2011 11:12 am

tuleman wrote:
Fossilfuleburner wrote:
Have you done the radiator trans cooler bypass?

If you have what type of trans temps are you getting?
(and is the temp going up a lot when towing?)
I had my transmission temperature gauge installed four years ago. I just did the radiator bypass two weeks ago. Here’s what I noticed:

Transmission temps run lower when there isn’t a lot of demand put on the transmission. This consists of mostly highway and light city driving (less than 2 miles just to get on the freeway). This is the type of driving I do most often and temperatures are 140-150 now vs 160-165 before. This is in 70 degree outside air temperature.

Temperatures climb much faster than before in stop-and-go city traffic where there isn’t a lot of airflow across the auxiliary cooler. I definitely see higher temperatures here! Outside air temperatures have been in the mid-70’s where I live so I haven’t been able to test in 90-100 weather but judging by how fast temperatures rise now, I’m confident we’ll see temperatures above 180, which personally, I feel is unsafe. In the past 4 years, in non-towing situations, the only times I saw transmission temperatures above 180 was when I was looking for parking in San Francisco for 30 minutes while going up and down SF hills. And climbing mountains like the Sierra to Tahoe/Reno (8,000 ft) and the Grapevine (4,200 ft) to Los Angeles.

The aux cooler is inefficient at dissipating heat without airflow whereas the radiator cooler is not dependent on airflow (since it transfers its heat through circulating water). This is why I installed a 10” fan on the transmission cooler a week after I did the bypass. I estimate the fan generates the airflow equivalent of driving 50mph.

It was a no-brainer for me to install the fan because I always saw the highest transmission temperatures on city streets when towing (180 to 210). I needed to try to restore the slow speed cooling capacity I lost with the bypass. I can post pics of the fan if anyone is interested.

Just so you know our engines normal operating temperature is 180 degrees so when it was hooked to the radiator i dont understand how if the water is 180 the tranny fluid wasnt the same or close to it. My bullydog tuner gives me water temp in the radiator.
The water temp at the top of the radiator will be the hotter because the coolant is pumped in from the engine into the top of the radiator. The water at the bottom of the radiator will be cooler as it has passed through the radiator and has been cooled. What the temp differnce is between the top and bottom would be interesting to know.

tuleman
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Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2011 10:27 pm
Location: daisytown, pa

Postby tuleman » Thu Feb 03, 2011 12:13 pm

what you are saying about the temp at the top and bottom might be true if it wasnt moving but i cant believe that with it circulating with the water pump it would be signifigant, and i am using the stock temp probe that is mounted on the engine block that my bullydog reads and displays. i couldnt answer your question anywho. sorry

07SECrownie
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Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

Postby 07SECrownie » Mon May 09, 2011 10:33 am

We tow our boat with the PF.

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volvite
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Postby volvite » Mon May 09, 2011 12:11 pm

Don't town anything on a day to day basis. I tow a camper during hunting season. Used to use my 99 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 4.7L V8, but now I'll upgrade to the Pathfinder.

jasunderland
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Location: Wolcottville, IN

Postby jasunderland » Mon May 09, 2011 5:23 pm

08Datsun wrote:I'm reviving a thread from the dead as I finally got a picture of the trailer. This is Lake Cachuma last weekend.


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Looks a lot like ours! We have a 98 Viking. Pulls great! I will snap a pic of it this weekend. I also get about 15 mpg pulling it around 56-59 mph.


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