Towing concern question

[duffman1278]

I got a 99 Pathfinder, automatic and wanted to know how many of you have hauled a car on a trailor with your pathfinder? And if it did it with no problem?

I just want to be sure that it'll do the job. I want to haul a 89 240sx, and there's a few hills on the highway.

[miamiheat3332]

how far is the trip? how much does your trailer weigh and how much does the car weigh?

im assuming since yours is 99 its the smaller 3.3 engine so it wont be a beast on the road while towing this but it will tow it.

next thing is im assuming the car and trailer weigh 4000?

Only thing you should be worried about and depending how long the trip is, is you'll ruin your rear coils.

im pretty sure thats what happend to mine about 3 years ago cause i towed about 6500-7k lbs of sand + gravel from about 3 miles away from my house on flat land, so i did take it over its capacity but i drove like 15 mph, but yeah towing this depending how far will most likely make your rear suspension bottom out then

[duffman1278]

The trip is about 100 miles.

All together, the car and trailer probably weigh around 3000 pounds, I don't think it weighs 4000lbs.

Well seems like if you hauled and extra 3000lbs that I should be good??

[alexf20c]

is the car on a hauler or on a dolly? an aluminum tandem axle Uhaul hauler is a lightweight comparatively, and they weigh 1100lbs. if you're using a steel tandem axle hauler, it's going to be closer to 2000lbs for just the trailer.

and your 240SX probably weighs close to 3000lbs.

without trailer brakes, i wouldn't even pull that kind of weight around town, and especially not on the mountainous highways of California.

will it do it? yes. will you enjoy it? no. will your pathfinder enjoy it? certainly not.

you risk overheating the transmission, and you will certainly cook your brakes. your brakes may not fade too bad, but they certainly won't be up to the task of an emergency stop.

so, i guess it all depends on if your pathfinder has a trailer brake hookup, and the trailer has brakes on at least 1 axle. even still, i hope you're ok with doing 5500rpm full-throttle in 2nd gear, just to maintain 55mph on an uphill grade.

[fueler]

i towed an acura integra on a uhal tandem axle like alexrex mentioned. Going up hills was a 10 mph affair, semi trucks were honking at me as they sped by. Smoke was coming out of my vents at one point. It made the trip but the transmission blew a few days later.

[duffman1278]

Here's the trailor. And yes it's steel.

I however only have 2 some what steep hills to get over, which are about 1 mile long at the most.

[fueler]

if its a short distance, i wouldnt worry about it. I towed 4 a distance of nearly 150 miles and up a 4000ft gain in elevation when my transmission blew.

[alexf20c]

it's doable. just give yourself plenty of time to stop. your brakes will overheat quickly, trying to panic stop your truck AND that trailer.

[duffman1278]

Alright awsome. I plan to keep it slow and steady and brake with plenty of time and distance.

Thanks guys

[Chuck Tribolet]

Look in your owners manual for the tow capacity of your truck. I don't thinkthere have been any PFs with less than 3500 pounds two capacity, except theVERY rare 1987 four-cylinder E model.

Chuck

[gatorpits21]

I just pulled a 6 x 12 trailer jam packed with my stuff from seattle to phoenix about 2 weeks ago and my 01 pathfinder did great. Its got the 3.5 but it pulled pretty good. Straight through too.

[nbf6165]

Why take a chance? Just go rent a Uhaul truck, or the like, and pull it with that.

[alexf20c]

ya, you can rent a Uhaul or Budget or Penske box truck for not too much coin. you only need the little 14-footer that's built on the E350 chassy. it will pull it like there's nothing behind it.

or you could just go to Avis, Enterprise, Thrifty, etc. car rental and rent a Tahoe or a Silverado. i know Avis rents 1/2ton Silverados for dirt cheap.

it will have higher initial cost to rent a Silverado for a few days, but in the long run it will be cheaper because you won't have to pay to rebuild your transmission and/or your insurance premium when you rearend those 2 vehicles because you couldn't stop in time.

[Chuck Tribolet]

I found a 1999 PF owner's manual online. Tow capacity with an automatic is5000 pounds, manual is 3500 pounds.

Chuck