Tow report from 1000 mile trip

[ASD Dad]

Just got back from a 10 day, 500 mile one way camping trip through the eastern mountains of NC, TN and KY and wanted to post a quick review.

 

'15 NVP 3500 SL, family of 5 (3 small kids) and two large dogs (75# and 90#).

Towing a 32' Surveyor SP295 camper.  Approx 6600 pounds loaded (weighed on a CAT).

 

Grades of 4-7% were dealt with.  Towed around 65 mph for most of the trip (speed limit was 70 for a lot of it).  I have upgraded load range D LT truck tires on the TT to handle extra speed and the weight of camper.  Forest River seems to think that less than 100# of max load capacity per tire is just fine, after two blowouts doing under 65mph and within the load rating we disagreed!

 

Average MPG for the trip was a dismal 8.3 mpg.  Used Tow mode and also used manual shifting for parts of the trip, didnt seem to matter.  Going up the grades I was floored in 3rd gear and it would just barely maintain speed.  Dropped to 4th on any slight grade.  

 

So did it perform?  Yes.  It was nowhere near the power of my old Toyota Tundra 5.7 hauling the same load and same hills.  I could pass people uphill with that rig.  Mileage was about the same, maybe a tad worse with the NVP.  I expected that, it is larger, heavier and more wind resistance.  

 

Overall we really liked the NVP for the trip.  Tons more room than the Tundra and it met expectations for what it would do towing.  It was pretty comfy and quiet for the trip as well.  That's not to say I wont be looking into helping out the motor before our next trip.  Already been researching the Titan and Armada forums for motor help and may be adding an intake, Bully Dog or UpRev and possibly even exhaust.  I dont want it to get too loud and there are no off the shelf intakes or exhausts so need to do some more research.  Intake will fit with minor mods.  Exhaust needs more tweaks.  BD and UpRev both have tuners that will work with the motor.

 

One slight hiccup - the manual mode stopped working on one leg of the trip.  The button wouldnt engage it to turn on.  Stopped for gas and started the van back up and it worked fine since.  

Edited June 22, 2015 by ASD Dad

[NVChattanooga]

What intakes are you considering?

[ASD Dad]

Really only one intake gets the best overall reviews - Airaid MXP with the dry tech filter. 521-284 is the model but we need a small extension according to some people, you can simply use a rubber plumbing coupler to extend it the needed distance.  

 

That intake has the most consistent dyno results across multiple tests for our engines.  

[andy_george]

Your towing experience seems very different from our van. I gave my towing review back in February, towing a 7000 lb. camper with our family of 6, loaded up for 2 weeks of camping. Traveling from Michigan to Florida, crossing the smokies in very similar circumstance you describe. It shifted a lot, but I, like you, controlled it a lot with the manual selector. 3rd gear was necessary for a lot of the hills, but in that gear I could pick up speed and pass anyone I wanted, at will. It felt surprising snappy IMO for the load we had on it. I didn't feel underpowered next to anything short of a diesel pickup.

 

How could we have weighed more going through very similar terrain and have such different results? Btw, my mileage was about the same as yours.... I saw from high 7's to mid 8's...

Edited June 23, 2015 by andy_george

[RICK]

Glad to hear your results from both of your towing experiences.  i take it you both have the v8 engines. 

 

As you know my mileage is in the 7 mpg with no trailer. maybe i need to tow a 30' trailer and i'll get better mpg's than carrying 2000# in a van rated for almost 3800# of cargo.  

 

Thanks for the real numbers.  

 

Rick.

[andy_george]

All the stop and go city driving you do must just kill your mileage, that's my best guess. But it almost seems so low that there has to be more to blame it on...

 

I'd love it if you could drag our trailer from Florida to California for us, as a little test. I've always wanted to RV out west. You may realize your best mileage yet!;)

[RICK]

Last time i went from Florida to L.A was via the Panama Canal on a 15 day cruise. with 14 of those days at the Captains table. I Guess the captain must have eyed my girlfriend. Plus at the time we were in our mid 20's and not on an oxygen tank like the majority of the ship. 

 

Something tells me the ship got better mileage than my van :gaah:

 

Rick.

[ASD Dad]

Your towing experience seems very different from our van. I gave my towing review back in February, towing a 7000 lb. camper with our family of 6, loaded up for 2 weeks of camping. Traveling from Michigan to Florida, crossing the smokies in very similar circumstance you describe. It shifted a lot, but I, like you, controlled it a lot with the manual selector. 3rd gear was necessary for a lot of the hills, but in that gear I could pick up speed and pass anyone I wanted, at will. It felt surprising snappy IMO for the load we had on it. I didn't feel underpowered next to anything short of a diesel pickup.

 

How could we have weighed more going through very similar terrain and have such different results? Btw, my mileage was about the same as yours.... I saw from high 7's to mid 8's...

 

I was telling my wife a few times how I wish we had more power.  We were loaded down inside the TT and NVP since we were going to be gone 10 days in two campgrounds.  Went up 26 to 40 and then up 75.  Through the Smokies and NC near Ashville it didnt matter if I floored it or not, it would just barely maintain speed at 60-65 in 3rd gear on the steep grades.  On just the rolling hills it would drop to 4th or maybe 3rd and have no problems at all.  

 

Wife wants a bigger TT and I am a bit worried about the power.  New TT we want comes in at 7700# dry so I am guessing we'll push towards 9K loaded.  

[andy_george]

Wierd.... I forget the longest, steepest grade we hit.... Mount Eagle maybe?... And I remember vividly being able to go as fast as I wanted in 3rd gear, with the only limit being how fast I wanted to rev it.

 

Maybe someone accidentally shoved his fuzzy bunny slippers in your air intake;)

[Tatunka]

I am with andy on this one as well. I have a Outback 301bq that is about 8500# maybe 9000-9300# loaded. I have no problems with the van pulling the weight and I have oversized tires. It's fourth at 65-70 most of the time sometimes fifth if the wind is at our back (rarely).  I do get 7.5-8.5 MPG regularly when towing.  What really gets me is if there is a head wind, if the wind picks up it's third gear and 55mph and about 4-5MPG. But that's what you get when ND blows and WI sucks!

[ASD Dad]

Never said it had a problem, I said going up a 6-7% grade pulling my TT I had to nearly floor it in 3rd to maintain 65mph. My Tundra had more torque and way more hp while weighing less so of course it would pull harder.

 

Had I lost speed going up those grades then I'd say I had a problem. Regardless I'd like more power so I'm still looking at options to help in that department.

 

I'm guessing since we all get close to the same mpg when loaded or unloaded we have the same amount of power.

Edited June 25, 2015 by ASD Dad

[Tatunka]

Without going straight supercharger we are stuck with opening up the exhaust (JBA long tube headers, and 3in exhaust), a decent tune (uprev), and an intake (air raid MXP). That runs about 2000-2400 bucks, it's not the 6000-7000 for the supercharger, but still a chunk of change. Pun intended.

[ASD Dad]

I'm looking at the MXP and almost ordered one today but we're going back out of town for the holiday and it would have arrived then so will wait until I get back.  I also read some complaints about noise when at full throttle like pulling a heavy load up a grade but others say it is by far the quietest intake for these engines.  I know all open intakes are noisy but I dont want it too loud.

 

Looked into Uprev and they are the best but seems only if you have the other additions - headers, full exhaust, engine mods, etc.  Superchips and Bully Dog's canned tunes both get decent reviews for relatively mild upgrades on this motor or even a stock motor.  I like BD's additional monitoring and support so would pick them if I go that route.

 

Headers and exhaust would definitely add in some noise unless properly tuned or adding a proper Helmholtz resonator.  I am not aware of any off the shelf exhaust that would fit so would need to find something close and a decent shop.  You can make a very free flowing exhaust with zero drone and similar noise as stock, just takes proper work to get it done and I dont know of any local shops to try it.  I am guessing the JBA's would mount with little mods needed.

 

I only know of one guy with a SC and he is on here.  Found him a while back, didnt he pop his transmission?  Not good but he was a guinea pig for the install.  

EDIT - http://nissannvforum.com/topic/276-stillen-stage-2-supercharger/?hl=supercharger

 

I know coming from the Tundra the TRD factory SC added serious gains with up to 550ft/lb of torque, you just needed to run premium.  It also kept the factory warranty!  If you went long tubes and full race exhaust along with a special BD tune you could all see gains in the 100hp range.  

 

For me, Intake will most likely be first followed by the BD if needed.  I've got 5000 miles and dont want to start pissing off my local NV dealer for warranty work just yet.  I am well aware of the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act but still dont want to test those waters!    

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

I'm also surprised the OP had such so-so sounding results. Or travel trailer is about 7500 loaded out. When the whole gang goes, it's up to 6 adults (grown kids) and a dog, all the luggage / gear for a week and about 250lb canoe one the roof - we climb the big hills fine just fine to maintain speed and enough power to jump out in the fast lane to get around anyone under 60 / 65 mph without impeding others.

 

We just got back from  a 4200 mile trip from MD,  a few other stops in Iowa / Minnesota and on to Black Hills / Badlands of SD area and back.   My biggest concern with the NV is the last 2 oil changes have been done on nothing but towing-heavy duty and I see the oil turning pretty dark for a gas engine in such a short time.  Oil looke wors than my car with 180K on it.  I'm not thrilled with the tiny oil filter they use - I actually found that 13 model year used the same tiny one that goes on the little 1.8L in my Cube - seems they bumped it up for 14.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Heavy Metal Doctor

[ASD Dad]

I'll be towing through the mountains again later this month and again in Sept.  I'll also be towing up and down some rolling highway next week...  AND, I will be towing heavier.  But that is another thread.  Guess we'll see how it goes if all of you are easily making steep grades with heavy loads.  I'll be right up with you weight wise.