ASD Dad

You can check my username for my other posts on pulling campers. I had a 2010 Surveyor Sport 295 triple bunkhouse and we just got the 2015 Toyhauler in my sig line this summer. The SP295 was around 5500 lbs dry. My TH is 6400 lbs dry with a heavy tongue weight due to it being a TH. In my opinion and from years of towing that what you have listed, ESPECIALLY with 6 kids, parents and gear in the van - you will be way overweight with that Jayco. Will you pull it? Sure it will move. I doubt it will pull with any authority especially on hills, I had small issues on hills with my SP295 let alone my new camper. You're talking 8200 DRY. That is zip inside or on the front. Add a battery, add propane - thats all on the tongue. Even packing light we find we normally take 700 lbs of gear with us and on long trips we have had 1000 lbs of gear which is what the tell you to add on for an estimate. I have 3 kids and two dogs to pack stuff for, you have 6 kids... 8200 lbs + 850 lbs of stuff + 150 lbs of propane/battery = 9200 lbs. Tongue weight should be 10-15% - empty it is 13 % so lets figure 13%- 9200 lbs loaded @ 13% tongue = about 1200 lbs of tongue weight I know there are several here that pull campers up to 9500#. Personally I wouldnt do it, it is over spec but to each their own. I also dont know how many people they are hauling or how much gear is in the van. I believe we have 16,000 lbs of combined weight as a limit. That is camper, hitch, gear, van and people all together. I just found one of my old posts to a similar question. I am not sure how often you have pulled a camper either. A person who has pulled for years has a lot more insight to what they are comfortable with vs. somebody brand new. Our first camper was a small Pop Up... Here is my old Post, it was too a person who had a 1500 NV but the links are still relevant. Not trying to scare you off but I also dont want anybody going in blind and thinking things are great. Pulling a 9500# camper down a flat, straight road is one thing. Pulling a 9500# camper when Joe Idiot is texting on his phone, cuts you off and you are going 60mph around a corner is a whole different scenario! =========================== NEVER believe a trailer dealer, they're in business to sell campers not keep people safe. They tell people with 1/2 T trucks they can easily pull a giant fifth wheel since the manufacturer that makes the camper states its "1/2 Ton towable". Wrong. You really want to know what you can tow? It's not terribly hard it just takes some legwork. Before I continue I can almost guarantee you wont like the numbers, it just is what it is... Here is a good link - http://www.learntorv...-can-i-tow.html Another - http://bamarv.blogsp...eal-towing.html And a handy calculator - http://changingears....weight-tt.shtml All those links sum up things way better than what I can type in here. I can almost promise you that you will be over weight in at least a couple areas. Your van's payload probably took a hit with the mods that were made. Plus you have the smaller motor and 1500 chassis. I honestly dont know what all is different on the 1500 vs. 2500 vs. 3500 models as far as chassis, axle, hubs, etc. Since you already own the camper I would take it to get weighed as well and do the 3 weight process to get the total picture. You want the NV weight. The NV weight with camper. NV weight with camper and the WD bars NOT HOOKED, just it sitting on the ball. http://www.learntorv...cat-scales.html

Are you making a camper? There's a few guys on here doing the same that will most likely chime in. Panels, contact a NV dealership. Not sure if there are any resellers of NV parts yet, just not many around!

I've never found any tie downs at all in the rear and it is quite annoying for a large van like this to have NONE in the passenger version. For me I use the back seat row anchor points in the floor since we just have two rows in. The only other "anchors" I have used are the tether anchors on the back of the seats for kids car seats. I use them along with a small carabiner to keep my dogs from moving around too much.

Thanks for the link to the rack. Looks nice for the money and they sell bolt on kayak mounts already! I think the rear ladder roller would also be handy for loading boats up there. I could easily mod fork mounts for bikes. I'd probably go with the 3 bar system for more mounting options but it looks nice overall. Shocked at the running board costs. My kids climb in well as it sits stock but the boards would help. My polished stainless bars with a lifetime warranty were only $275 for my Tundra!

What roof rack are you getting? What running boards did you put on? I am still hunting for a good rack. Yak seems way overpriced for what I need to build a decent rack (and I have owned Yaks in the past). Aluminess looks the best but you pay for it! Contractor racks like Topper Mfg look "decent" and so far is my current possibly buy choice. I should be able to easily mod it for carrying what we want. My BT and Nav work together but only when you have a route running. When BT is active it just shows the next instruction on the screen - like turn left in 900 ft. Ideally it would show the map and and have the phone number small, the number is a lot less important than the map! The reflection bugged me a ton for a long time, especially the first time I saw it. When I tinted the windows it helped somewhat but it is still there. Now I honestly dont pay attention to it enough to really bother me and I tend to be really bothered by stuff like that! No clue how the engineers never thought of that happening. I am more bugged by the blindspot mirrors not having adjustment range. I am 6'2" and I cant get them tilted enough. The top of the mirror shows about midway down the van so rearward visibility stinks. When I am towing I dont mind as much as I can monitor my trailer tires and it helps when backing but in daily driving I wish I could see more of the lane next to me. The lights not turning on is a huge miss by Nissan. Commercial or passenger that should be part of the system. It cant be that hard to wire it in, when you open a door they all turn on together. OH - how did you flip the seats? I thought that wasnt possible due to the tracks being narrower in front vs. the rear.

I see waaaaay more new Transits vs any NV, cargo or passenger. Wife has noticed the same, especially on our trips. Last trip while in the Pigeon Forge area for a few days we saw 2 cargos, one was a shuttle and the other a Krispy Kreme van. Zero passengers. At least 10-12 Transits, with probably 8 or those passengers. On the road up and back it was the same. Saw one black NVP out of 8 hours of driving. Lost track of those ugly new Transits. Did see more Cargo NV's but still not enough to be meaningful.

Aluminess makes awesome racks and ladders. I love the side ladder design. You pay a lot for their stuff but it is very well made. I keep debating getting a rack made by them. My rack with all the options I wanted came out to $2500!! That was before adding lights too... I have seen their racks on other vehicles and they are super nice though. I was not going solid floor but standard slats with double hoop sides and boat rollers for loading kayaks from the rear. I also agree tires need upgraded for camping. The Transforce are fine for highway and wear but have no traction off pavement. For me they also tend to grab and sling rocks which isnt good.

Welcome! What color and trim level did you get?

That looks pretty crazy inside! Not sure how much weight was added or not with the removal of factory benches vs. the captains chairs. Very cool lighting and flip down screens.

NEVER believe a trailer dealer, they're in business to sell campers not keep people safe. They tell people with 1/2 T trucks they can easily pull a giant fifth wheel since the manufacturer that makes the camper states its "1/2 Ton towable". Wrong. You really want to know what you can tow? It's not terribly hard it just takes some legwork. Before I continue I can almost guarantee you wont like the numbers, it just is what it is... Here is a good link - http://www.learntorv.com/p/what-can-i-tow.html Another - http://bamarv.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-calculate-your-real-towing.html And a handy calculator - http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-trailer-weight-tt.shtml All those links sum up things way better than what I can type in here. I can almost promise you that you will be over weight in at least a couple areas. Your van's payload probably took a hit with the mods that were made. Plus you have the smaller motor and 1500 chassis. I honestly dont know what all is different on the 1500 vs. 2500 vs. 3500 models as far as chassis, axle, hubs, etc. Since you already own the camper I would take it to get weighed as well and do the 3 weight process to get the total picture. You want the NV weight. The NV weight with camper. NV weight with camper and the WD bars NOT HOOKED, just it sitting on the ball. http://www.learntorv.com/2013/04/getting-weighed-adventure-at-cat-scales.html

I have not but I am guessing that panel would pop off like all the others. Get the panel tool and wedge it in the seam and work your way around to see if it pops. If you dont want to buy the tools (they are dirt cheap) your next best option would be a plastic putty knife or scraper. The panel tools have a nice sharp edge to really wedge into those gaps though, plus their somewhat strong and wont just bend. Just read where your button actually went through. Stick your finger in the hole and try gently pulling out. See if you can get the tip of your finger up along the edge and just pull. It will certainly help if it doesnt pop off that way if you do use the panel tool. You can apply outward pressure while prying the seam open.

How much weight can they easily handle? I have to think even a fiberglass ladder would be much lighter than a large kayak. Some tandems can be 75+ pounds. That would be a cool idea if it worked. EDIT: Found this but would need modified to work on a rack that fits on the NV. http://www.rackwarehouse.com/malone-mpg351-telos-kayak-load-assist-module.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwvJqvBRCL77m2-uKczsIBEiQAkx8VjPeHYcKmEzg0jHFJyOH33NPOs8nlbWpTxPfvu58hhy0aAs5J8P8HAQ

I high roof van with a kayak rack that you can use from the ground? I'd like to see that! I am still trying to figure out the easiest way to carry kayaks on a low roof. I seriously would like to see suggestions... if it works on a high roof it has to work on a low as well!

My Tundra from the dealer was around $50 for both. Not happening! They have the newer beam style wipers. Go online and look up Trico Exact Fit replacements. Lots of places sell them. They fit like OEM (they make a lot of the OEM) and cost a fraction of a dealer. Amazon runs specials all the time with buy one get one free deals. They mount right up without needing adapters or anything else silly, they are literally the OEM replacement.

I just tell it like it is. I would rather be pessimistic about performance and get surprised vs. hope I get "X" and get less. I was pessimistic about the tuner, they normally dont do much if anything for a gas motor unless you have done a lot of other mods like headers, full exhaust, cams, etc. The Bully Dog was a pleasant surprise but it has a loyal following for the Titan/Armada crew so I bit and happy I did. I hand calc every tank. Doesnt take long once I am done filling. So far the readout on the tuner matches but it rounds up or down to nearest full MPG. My best in normal driving is around the low 15's. That is rare. I had a few tanks in the mid to high 13's. Now that my daily routine is pretty normal again with school open I am settling in around the mid 14's. I honestly am not going to worry about 1mpg either way. It's a monster sized van. All the kids love it when they are walking by during school pickups. They all point, stare and make comments about it being a huge car when they walk by. Pretty amusing. I do get bugged when I read about others who seem to be having a much better time of things with their van. I've been trying to eek out some extra MPG lately just out of boredom on the drive and it just isnt happening. The tuner shows instant MPG based off injectors, throttle position, MAF, etc. You can literally cruise along with your foot off the gas and it will read 35 MPG at say 50mph as you're coasting. The SECOND your foot touches the gas to even open the throttle - it will drop to around 10-12mpg. Instantly. I am not talking about accelerating or going up a hill, this is just to maintain speed on flat roads. It's a balance between 10mpg on gas to 30mpg coasting. Getting on an highway at full throttle to merge will get you 2mpg! Just going up a good hill will drop down to 6-7mpg. radin2son - I agree the mileage wont really change much with more weight unless you live in a hilly area. You never gain back going down hills what you use going up. The van is here to stay (unless the Cummins arrives) and it is what it is. A big box that meets the needs of our family. Thankfully we live in one of the cheapest gas states in the country. Filled up at $1.86 the other day! BTW - I am still looking at adding a roof rack and I fully expect to lose 1mpg or more. It happened with past vehicles, dont see why it wont with this one.

I am beginning to think my engine is a dud on power. I have a basic, no rack, no running board, no anything 3500SL V8 and I am lucky to get 15 consistently. Lately it's been in the mid to high 14's and that is fairly flat, pretty easy going roads at easy speeds of 45-55mph. wollip has a high roof, AC unit, ton of drag and heavy weight van getting better mileage. Others on here are towing way heavier trailers than mine and claim they have zero issues on hills where mine really bogged down prior to the tuner. I dont drive like an idiot either, I always beat the stated MPG on past vehicles fairly easily. I was getting 18mpg mixed consistently on my Tundra V8.

KMG - I had a Tundra with the Timbrens added on it. One of my favorite vehicles! I had a Taco too but only for 2 years, we outgrew it quickly. I had planned on driving my Tundra into the ground but we outgrew that as well...

Heavy Metal - a lot of vehicles now are geared towards comfort and not utility. Look at all the complaints about the newer 3/4T 'Burbs. Floating ride and terrible handling when loaded but nice and cushy when empty the way the soccer moms wanted it. My Toyota was the same. Ride empty was great. Ride loaded made it bouncy and saggy and that was with Bilsteins. OFF TOPIC - what roof rack do you have? I am still looking to get one.

Wonder if it will happen. My guess is not anytime soon, the new Titan hasnt even hit dealers lots yet and I still havent seen pricing. No way they are going to steal the thunder of a brand new vehicle from the ground up with a first ever motor in it. If it does happen and if the upcharge isnt insane like they are with domestics than my NV will be traded in! One nice thing, by the time the motor makes it to the NV (if it does) most of the kinks should be worked out by the Titan drivers!

Thanks for letting me know. I guess I wouldnt mind the gravel so much if I had better traction. If it is the least bit wet they dont grab anything. I figure MPG is pretty much a non-issue with these big vans so a more aggressive tread could be a nice upgrade. The Transforce are designed for long wear and being quiet which is good but I need better traction at times.

What tires did you go with? I am not a big fan of the Transforce tires I have. The tread likes to grab and throw gravel when we're camping.

I'm not aware of many, if any, mods that can be done to the 4.0 V6. All the Nissan tuners (Bully Dog, Uprev, Superchips, etc) work with the 5.6 motor only. I am not aware of any off the shelf intake either. I doubt there are headers for it. I just dont think that motor was tweaked by the aftermarket vs. the vast amount of 5.6 motors in the Titans and Armadas. Even with the 5.6 stuff doesnt quite just "Fit". I had to modify an intake (Airaid) to fit since the NV is wider than either the Titan or Armada. My Bully Dog GT needed tweaked by the company even though the motor is the same. Uprev charges extra for tuning a NV as well. Superchips doesnt even support the NV even though the motor is the same. 5.6 headers should bolt up but Titan/Armada exhausts dont fit off the shelf. Hangers and length are all wrong. You could of course make a custom intake somewhat easily as long as you could get the MAF installed right. Curious about the sharing suspension with a Titan. I wasnt aware of that and most parts that I see for a Titan do not list any of the NV's. The 3500HD like we have is a 1 Ton van, the Titan is a 1/2 T truck. Axles are definitely different as are the leaf packs out back. Not sure about up front. I do know Quigly 4X4 offers a mild lift for the NV when they do conversions. I'd like to know what those parts are. Could be as simple as a leveling style kit with a spacer or it could be totally new springs/perches, etc.

MPG update - I got bored after my last fill up so I wanted to drive around our local roads and follow the Driving Coach to the letter. You basically drive like a snail in accelerating and braking, coast a lot, etc. I was pretty much hyper-miling a big box of a van. Found out speeds of about 45mpg and RPMs at 1500 are fantastic for MPG. I drove 40 miles like that just checking out the local horse farms and lakes and I managed to average 18.1 MPG!! Definitely not doable on a day to day basis but it was fun to try.

Just follow the instructions. Update it first on your computer. Make sure your battery is nice and charged in the van. Turn off things like the radio, climate control, etc that would drain the battery since you will be sitting there for a while the first time. When you update it the tuner will download the files needed. Hopefully they added my 2015 file, if not you will get an error code on the tuner when it is done scanning the ECU the first time. Only install when they are open in tech support. They are NOT open on weekends. They are extremely helpful on the phone but you could be on hold a while. When the tuner is flashing the ECU your engine cooling fan will turn on full blast. That freaked me out the first time but it is normal! You can do things like change the timing, idle, red line, etc on the fly - meaning you dont have to flash again - but ONLY once the engine is warmed up. There will be way more menu's and customization then you can think of. You really need to just sit and play with it a while to get it laid out the way you like it. I have mine with MPG, timing, air flow and actual trans temp showing on my screen. For your first flash this is my recommendation. It is the one most used by the Titan/Armada group and my favorite as well. WOT Throttle Restriction - OFF - this alone makes the price worthwhile! Tune - Regular Throttle - Performance Timing - +2 You can tow with that and daily drive. Run good 87 octane or above and no issues will surface. The first time you really get on it from a dead stop you'll be in for a pleasant surprise. It really turns this big box of a vehicle into something much livelier than it should be! Forgot to add - if you plan on installing it off the fuse box so it turns off with the vehicle I used the 20A fuse used for the lighter plugs and chargers. The little fuse tap doesnt fit the micro fuses we have so I made my own just clipping apart a small tap until it fit. You could honestly just strip the wire bare and install it around one leg of the fuse. I have mine mounted on the left side of the dash, it was super easy to run the cable under the door weatherstrip, you will have a ton left over to bundle up and tuck under the dash.

At the top of the thread click on the "Follow this topic" button. That will send you notifications on the threads you want to keep up to date on. Thanks for the answer, looks like a nice model from online photos! How do you like the Air bags? Somebody was just asking about them for the NV on here, I bet they would like your review. On my Tundra I just had Timbrens helper springs and thought about getting those for the NV. My tongue weight on our Toyhauler is up there as we have nothing in the garage that is heavy like a vehicle. We bought ours for hauling things like bicycles, kayaks and having a nice play area for the kids and dogs that would be easy to keep clean!