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Towing Capacity


merlinx
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Hi all . I need some advice. I am moving from Los Angeles to Atlanta. I was thinking of selling most of my furniture and whats left I would tow on a trailer with my 97 Pathfinder. I have a hitch I think its 2" and Im wondering what kind of trailer I can tow with it or how much weight. And by weight does that mead on the ball or the trailer itself? I am going over the rockies and woried about braking or the trailer being to heavy. Any one have this experience?

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Hi all . I need some advice. I am moving from Los Angeles to Atlanta. I was thinking of selling most of my furniture and whats left I would tow on a trailer with my 97 Pathfinder. I have a hitch I think its 2" and Im wondering what kind of trailer I can tow with it or how much weight. And by weight does that mead on the ball or the trailer itself? I am going over the rockies and woried about braking or the trailer being to heavy. Any one have this experience?

 

Well, the truck is rated at 5000 pounds for the total weight of the trailer and I believe 500 pounds of tongue weight (ie weight on the ball). Do not tow 5000 pounds with a trailer that does not have brakes. However, most u-Haul type trailers (the dual axle kind) have surge brakes if you don't have a brake controller in your truck.

 

I have towed a u-Haul trailer with surge brakes with my 2001 (which has the strong 3.5 liter engine) that was loaded and scaled at 5300 pounds and the vehicle towed fine for the 300 mile trip. I also tow my boat that weighs about 2500 pounds on trips (100+ miles) on very windy and hilly roads. The boat trailer does not have trailer brakes and the truck's brakes handled it without getting too hot (although I will not pretend that they didn't get hot...) or fading.

 

Thats my input...

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Standard towing for the Pathy is 3500lbs. Maximum is 5000lbs. Payload is 1175lbs. Keep in mind that if you add payload, your towing max is is also affected. If you're equipt with an Auto Trans and 4WD, you'll be better off towing.

 

Try not maxing the vehicles weight. You may lose control, going down the Rocky's. Check your brakes/brake fluid and coolant and radiator condition. Good luck!

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Try not maxing the vehicles weight. You may lose control, going down the Rocky's.

 

Just avoid the Rockies altogether and take I-10 or I-40, unless you are planning to go through Denver. There are some grades on I-10 and I-40, but if you use engine braking wisely, shifting to 2nd gear to keep your speed down, you should be fine.

 

When towing that much weight, don't plan to drive much faster than 60mph, and when ascending any kind of grade, count on not being able to do much more than 45mph.

 

Also, depending on which trailer you get, how tall it is, and how heavy it is, you'll probably get around 11mpg for your trip.

 

Good luck with your move!

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Hi,

I've got a 2002 Australian Pathfinder with the 3.3 V6 and regularly tow a Caravan (Camper Trailer), its max weight is about 4000 Lbs.

All the 2002 models were auto in Australia, and I have no problems.

I did think about an additional oil cooler, but haven't done it and (Touch wood) no problems.

I also have a Tekonsha brake controller and electric brakes on the trailer.

Cheers,

Colin

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(Touch wood)...

Not to veer off the topic, but its amazing how one superstitous saying can make it around the world with different interpretations.

In the U.S. its "knock on wood".

What its like anywhere else? :shiftyeyes:

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