ASD Dad

I would agree to a point about towing weights. I wouldnt go any higher than what I am pulling (around 7600# estimated on the high side) along with a full van. The chassis handles the weight just fine, the tires and axles can more than handle the weight as well. The motor is just a wee bit under-powered! Of course years ago this would be a super stout motor and you just got along with things the best you could. I still dont understand how these others are pulling over 8000# easily up grades. My van wont do it as it sits and I hope that adding the tuner will help a little. Does that mean that everybody should be pulling a camper with a big diesel? I dont think so. If you go somewhere like RV.NET and browse the towing section it gets a little ridiculous at times. Pretty soon they start recommending a F450 for a pop-up! OK, maybe not that bad but close... Jerry's rig at 11,000# is definitely into 3/4 and 1 Ton territory. I am sure the new alum F150 Max Tow with Max Payload package "could" pull it but it may not be pleasant. They say for the most comfortable towing experience to stick to around 15-20% of your max capacity. That gives you plenty of overhead. With the Nissan NVP the limiting factor is the motor. With my old Tundra it was the chassis. There were guys hauling big 5'ers with the Tundra because the motor would pull the weight easily. They were also overloading their rear axles and frame... If you go by the 15% rule of 8700# in tow capacity you should look for a camper in the 6400# range empty. Most people add up to 1000# of "stuff" when camping and it just adds up over time. My Toy Hauler was 6404# empty and loaded for camping it does great on the flats but hates hills.

Want to know the exact weight you can tow? Go weigh the van. It really is that simple, you need to load the van as close as you can get it to "camping weight" and then go find a scale somewhere - CAT is the easiest and they have a locator on their website - but you can also find scales at rock yards, farm supplies, and some states dont mind if you use their highway scales when they are closed or not busy. I just use a CAT scale. This details everything quite well - http://www.learntorv.com/p/what-can-i-tow.html

Do all the V8's come with the big aux coolers mounted in front of the radiator like the transmission cooler? I am not sure about the actual transmission - but you need a Class IV hitch, you need a way to see behind you (add on tow mirrors or factory), you need the 7 pin (which you have), you need a brake controller wired in (need to see if the factory pigtail is down by the emergency brake - it's a good sized, white connector that is taped up) and you need to keep the engine and tranny cool. The shift points you can do in manual mode. Tow mode just holds onto gears longer and will downshift when breaking going downhill. I do not know if it can actually change torque converter lock up points or things like that. How much weight do you think you will be towing? Camper, boar or some other trailer? How far will the trips be? Flat terrain or hilly? Radinson is right - back in the day you'd see a Chevy full size wagon pulling a good sized Airstream. That full size wagon was a framed body with probably a small block V8 under it but it still had nowhere near the tech or strength of a modern vehicle.

NVP is definitely a daily but we camp 4-5 times a year. The mods are all for power when towing. I was quite shocked coming from the Tundra's 5.7 motor and lighter weight. That motor produces a lot more HP and TQ stock than most modded 5.6 Nissan motors. I dont expect to gain much if any MPG vs. the 14-15 I get now. I sort of hope for a repeatable 1 mpg difference since the snorkel mod worked. The snorkel mod really just confirmed suspicions that the intake is restrictive from the factory.

CA has VERY strict emissions laws. You cant touch anything that could be possible emissions related or they wont pass you. Just look at a Bully Dog tuner - the 49 state version is about $100 or more cheaper than the CA version! If you are an aftermarket tuner you have to make things extra for CA. I would be shocked if their full intake was CA legal but it could be. Here in SC they could care less, I could run open headers with no catalytic converters all day long. I had another brand washable filter in my Tundra. I bought it since it was a lifetime filter and I used it since new. I could simply wash it, dry it and pop it back in vs. buying a new filter. They claim a small horsepower increase from better flow on most but you'll never be able to tell that small of an increase unless the stock filter was super restrictive. It's really up to you - spend $15 every 30K miles for a factory filter and you would need to keep the washable filter for 150,000 miles to equal the price! If you go that route anyway, I would search online to see if you can find it for less. My Tundra filter was $80 from the company and I think I only paid $50 for it. Lastly - I dont recommend the oiled filters. Some can flow a lot more air but it can be tricky when it comes to re-oil it after cleaning. Too little and you lose filtration. Too much and you can start fouling your MAF and throwing CEL's. The Airaid intake oiled filter flows a lot more air than my dry Synth filter but I didnt want to mess with the oiling.

You are exactly correct. I paid $300 on Amazon just watching the price go up and down which was the lowest I could find it, plus I can return it if I find it doesnt do what I hope. The Airaid tube and filter and HUGE compared to stock, I can take a photo of it in the engine bay but you can see photos online of it installed on Titans or Armadas. The tube is 4" in diameter vs. what I believe is 3" stock. Yes it reduces down at the throttle body but there is a massive volume of air flow over stock. There are many guys with their own dyno tests with this intake vs stock or other companies and the Airaid beat them all easily. You can definitely feel the difference in the mid to upper RPM range and it's not just from the additional noise. I've been playing with modding engines for a long time and the gains on this intake are honestly surprising. Most modern engines are pretty much tweaked from the factory and you may gain a tiny bit here or there. The 5.6 Nissan motor really wakes up with intakes and exhausts. Next on the list - Bully Dog GT tuner. This actually flashes the factory ECU with a new set of parameters to do everything from firm up shift points, change engine timing, etc. There are three good ECU tuners for the 5.6 with the UpRev being the best. UpRev is the highest cost but can be fully custom and is normally only recommended if you go full header, b-pipes, exhaust plus custom intake. BD GT and Superchips are similar in what they can do. I like that the GT is also a visible "scan gauge" you can setup to monitor any number of things along with engine codes.

The only mod needed on the Airaid was a simple 4" rubber coupler available at Home Depot or Lowes for $6. The Airaid coupler is about an inch too short. Everything else bolted right up as on a Titan/Armada.

Thank the many Titan owners who've been doing this since they came out! 22mpg is crazy good for a van this size. My wife's Sienna gets around 23. I'm guessing you have the V6... I have since installed tge Airaid intake but have only taken it on two trips towing so can't tell if there is any mpg increase. There is most definitely a horsepower increase along with noise especially under load. When not towing it's fairly quiet but when towing it can get loud on hills. I'll do a report on the intake once I get some some mileage on it.

Got back from our trip through the mountains. I would LOVE to know how all you heavy haulers are making it effortlessly up grades pulling weigh more weight than I am. I am guessing I am at 8000# absolutely maxed in my new camper and I bet that is pretty high. I also installed the Airaid intake prior to this trip as I had issues with my lighter camper at times. That intake is the best reviewed for our motors on the market with decent gains in HP and TQ. On the way up 26 you cross over the Divide, it is a long 6% grade. I was floored in 3rd gear at 65mph at the start. By the time I crossed the Divide I had dropped to 55mph. Next test is the Green River Gorge which is 7% but only about a mile. Again, started off floored in 3rd gear at 65mph and I more or less maintained that at the crest, maybe dropped 1-2mph. In the van - 2 adults, 3 young kids and two large dogs. I would say 665 lbs for the group of us total. Had a 75# full cooler in the back and that was about it. The NVP does pull it well on gentle grades or flats. The ride is excellent with the camper in tow and it handles well. On those hills it was definitely not happy! The new Toy Hauler was excellent! Has way more room inside and it worked out really well for us and we're happy we made the switch.

Nissan of Greer - Greer, SC Only NV certified dealer in the Upstate area of SC. New service manager (need to find his name) is great and the NV techs are nice, met two of them so far.

So I can FINALLY update this thread... The seat was replaced yesterday under warranty! Took that long to get a seat cushion in and then I had to get time to make the drive up there. Huge difference! The service manager who said he didnt feel much the first time sat in it prior to the new cushion and then after it was replaced and he noticed it right away. So did the NV tech who drove it back, he noticed it before doing anything as soon as he got in the van. At least I know it wasnt all in my head (or rear)! Also the new service manager is a super nice guy. We were just talking about the NV's, the new Titans coming, the NV motors, etc. I have an Airaid intake installed on my NV and he was impressed to see it in there since they didnt think it would fit since the NV is wider than the Titan or Armada. We also talked tuners for a good while so I think a Bully Dog is also in my future. As long as he sticks around I think the dealership will turn out great for my service needs now.

KMG - my van is silver. We're looking forward to the first trip other than the heat. The day I picked it up it was 106 degrees! The mountains where we are heading the normal is in the mid to upper 80's. This weekend is supposed to hit the upper 90's. Guess we'll see how the upgraded AC unit works out, we were already warned the garage bunk area can get mighty toasty in high temps. My kids sleep back there so we'll be keeping a close eye on that. If I have time I may pull across a CAT scale while out just to see some numbers. Wife wasnt happy the last time I did that with the old camper so we'll have to see how that goes!

The RV bearing debate has been going on forever. Boat trailers are submerged in water all the time. Construction trailers tend to get overloaded a lot and can be dragged through dirt, mud, etc. The people that are "For" repacking that often say that there is a lot of weight and lateral stress being placed on them when parking which is also why they dont recommend LT tires vs. ST tires. ST tires are supposed to handle that lateral stress better. Me - I check my bearings once a year. I check for play in the hub, grease condition and any hanging up in the wheel. You can also get a simple IR thermometer to check the hubs at gas fill-ups while towing but that doesnt tell you much until you have a lot of miles on your rig to know what they normally run at for temps. I dont check my temps but may just for fun since the thermometers are so cheap now. I HAVE seen bearing failures on other trailers and campers. It's not pretty and it causes a lot of very expensive damage if they really seize up. Anything from new axles, to wheels falling off to the camper getting totaled can happen. I think if you inspect them and take care of any issues you'll be fine but you'll get a ton of opinions either way.

Wonder how much a OEM NVP 2015 radio/nav would set you back or if you can get them to swap it out. Mine definitely works better than yours which makes me think they are different part numbers. Doesnt make a lot of sense for Nissan, if you paid for the Tech Pkg then you would think they would keep SKU's the same for the radio. If it wasnt such a huge pain to get the radio out I would yank mine to tell you the info but they should have it in their system!

There's at least a dozen new ones today!

Picked it up on Friday - The photo is deceptive, the ground slopes on both ends so it really is level. Definitely feels bigger and heavier than my old Surveyor but there is a lot more room inside! Going this weekend back into the TN mountains so we'll see how it goes.

Car is gorgeous! Were you able to get the P3 any more flush than I did? I still may mess with it more but it's very functional the way it is right now. I loved my Tundra. Owned it five years and it had 83,000 miles on it when it was traded. I planned on driving it into the ground but we ran out of room! The NVP is doing nicely for the size and room it provides. Little less mpg, less power, but way more room and comfort for the family!

Thanks for the pic! Think I want something a bit larger but that gives a good visual.

Welcome John - I too got rid of a Tundra Crewmax for my NVP 3500 SL! I miss the power but love the room. Post photos of the 356 (and NV). That Porsche is a true classic.

Have any pics of your Yak setup? Did you build it from parts since they dont offer anything directly compatible? From researching it looks like it's fairly straight forward - Landing Pads, Q Towers and then bars. We're getting into kayaking more and need a rack to transport 3 of them.

Wife and I put a deposit down on this rig yesterday - http://forestriverinc.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=200&Image=5377&ModelID=871#Main Hyper Lite XLR 27HFS - it's a lightweight 30' towable Toy Hauler. Ours weighs in at 6400# according to the yellow sticker. Add in 40# of propane and a battery and we'll be around 6500# empty stock. We're adding in a Happijack rear bed/dinette that weighs about 100# so 6600# off the lot plus a little less tongue weight. We need two queen beds out back for the kids. Tongue weight is a minor concern as the manual specs out at 860#. I figure once we add in some shelving, our bikes and other gear in the back we'll probably have a couple hundred pounds behind the axle to help. It's rated to haul a full 2000# in the garage but we dont have any big "toys". I'm running a Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch and may up the bars to the next level. I think mine are rated to top at 800#. The next runs up to I believe 1200# but havent researched enough. I dont want them too stiff, too much bar can be as bad or worse than not enough! I'm guessing fully loaded for a long trip we'll be around 7500-7700#. Once we are loaded I'll try and find a CAT to stop at to see how things look overall. It really should only be about 1000# heavier than our old longer bunkhouse. Decided after the 1000 mile trip that the kids are getting bigger, we are taking more "toys" and we could use more room inside the camper. The 27HFS has a deep slide and the garage is huge with the bed up and dinette folded up. We can easily pack our dirty bikes, dirty dogs and all the other stuff in the back and then hose it out when done. Right now we were packing all that inside the camper and it was tight and messy. That is why I was looking at the big roof racks. Then we thought about getting 3-5 bikes up there along with other gear and thought a Toy Hauler made sense right now. They're adding the extra rear bed over the weekend and we get it next week. Going back to TN in a few weeks so into the mountains with the extra weight. We'll see how it goes! I'll post some pics when we get it.

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.

I did get two more quotes including my 4x4 buddy and the price was the same - about $2 grand the way I wanted it. I may go with the Topper galvanized contractors rack for $450 and mod it to my needs. Nice to see that the quotes were pretty much in line though!

You have seven NV dealers in 17 miles?! I have zero! I have one about 35-40 miles away where I bought mine. Takes about an hour to get there. Second choice is about 2-1/2 hours away! I have a Nissan dealer about 20 miles away but they don't do NV anything. Haven't tried servicing there but they told me to go to the other guy when I was shopping and said I'd most likely be stuck there for all service.

Have any pics with the 20's along with make of wheels and tires? I've been thinking they would look nice on a NV. Probably don't even look that big!