towing my camaro?

[SLEEPER 86]

i will be moving across country soon (2300 miles) and i am trying to decide if my 1991 pathfinder will be able to haul my camaro (3000 lbs) the distance. it has 168,000 miles on it and doesn,t leak or burn oil at all. i would be replacing the timing belt and waterpump as well as the 4 wheel drive actuator before the trip.it has a new radiator, distributor, battery, plugs, and wires, and will get a full fluid replacement. i will be driving 400/ 450 miles a day.

does it stand a chance or should i sell it and rent a 16 foot truck and car hauler trailer?

thank's in advance for your opinions!
Modified by SLEEPER 86 at 12:57 PM 1/26/2010

[Chuck Tribolet]

What's the tow rating on your PF? It varied from year to year (even in thesame body style) and with whether you have an automatic or a manual transmission).

Are also hauling all your worldly possessions? Remember that besides thetow rating, there's also a max gross weight (truck+trailer).

And factor in the weight of the trailer.

I think I'd find a buddy who want's a road trip and have them drive one of yourtwo vehicles. Or look into shipping the Camaro.

[fueler]

i wouldnt do it. i towed a stripped acura integra that weighed in at just over 2000 lbs (much less than any camaro) on a 1000lb full trailer (all 4 wheels off the ground) .... so total 3k lbs i towed it about 100 miles, up a mountain and with the weak 3.3L i was going up the mtn at less than 10mph at some points. Semi trucks were passing me and honking at me. At one point, smoke was even coming out of my AC vents. Three days later my transmission exploded.

Maybe flat ground would have been a different story... but if you plan on going up any hills, i wouldnt do it with the 3.0 in a 1991....

especially if its automatic. the 91 automatic transmissions are notorious for overheating.

[gwhunt23]

I agree with Fueler. On my '99 I towed 4000 lbs of trailer and moving equipment over roughly 1000 miles, all on relatively flat ground.

I wouldn't want to do it again. You can't go much faster than 60-65 on the freeway because OD must be off, which makes for some piss poor gas mileage. Not to mention the comfort factor, that heavy of a trailer will toss around the Pathfinder pretty easily. Plus, I was scared for the transmission the whole time.

Since you're going across the country, I know you'll see a bit of mountains. I've been through the Rockies WITHOUT towing anything and the 3.3L Pathfinder still struggles to keep up with traffic.

[fueler]

Since you're going across the country, I know you'll see a bit of mountains. I've been through the Rockies WITHOUT towing anything and the 3.3L Pathfinder still struggles to keep up with traffic.

yup - the same mountains that blew my transmission when towing, are already a struggle for my Q even without a trailor!!

[MagicM]

You probably could, but with a 3000+ lb car, and a trailer that's probably another 1000 you'll be severely underpowered. Weight of the tow vehicle also determines how much you can tow safely and with your load weighing more than your pathfinder it might be a little unstable XD.

[Densetsu]

If you're doing this to save cash, don't forget to calculate in your lost gas mileage. Towing 3000lbs with my '03 Pathy made a pretty decent dent in the fuel economy, from 20mpg highway down to 13mpg or so. That was with the 3.5L engine... the 3.3L will be struggling even more and you'll probably experience an even more dramatic drop in MPGs.

Are you going to be using a trailer for this? Don't forget to count that towards your weight as well.

For sure if you try this, install a transmission cooler. Not sure how your gen of Pathys is set up... my transmission fluid runs through the radiator to cool it off, and even then I'd install another cooler. For such a long trip... better safe than sorry.

But if you're even thinking of taking it in the mountains, forget about it.

[abadlovesong]

I'm doing a 2k+ move as well. Only i'm doing it in my '01 pathy and i'm not towing a damn thing. haha I'm also going across fairly level ground from ga to los angeles.. i leave saturday, so wish me luck

btw, sorry about hijacking the post. I agree with the rest, don't do it.