BigSlick

Hi, this has been a great post... I know it's old, but want this group to chime in. Family of 7 (5 kids) here shopping for both TT & TV. I'm sold on the NV vs. the expedition, but haven't bought it yet. Have a price on the 2020 NV 3500 SL and planning to buy, but waiting for them to get the '21 and color the wife will tolerate. (Yep, I said tolerate with lots of rolled eyes... I hear "It won't even fit in our garage" regularly.) I'm extremely close to buying the Keystone 3400QD, 7525 LB Dry Weight, 38ft 4 in. Can the NV 3500 SL safely pull this TT loaded with a family of 7 and all our stuff?!?!?!? Based on total weights (based on my understanding is GCVWR) the NV can handle everything combined is 16k. 16k - van eight 6978 - TT @ 7525 - e4 WDH @ 100 - batteries/tanks @ 200 - family @ about 750 = 447. That leaves VERY little for everything we need in our camper... (chairs, food, water, bike racks and bikes, etc). I called a dealer in a mountainous area that does a significant amount of 4x4 conversions and add ons and talked the top mechanic. I told them "I'm buying a 3500 SL, but buying TT first and want to make sure I'm not overbuying trailer weight for what my NV will handle. Am I pushing it too far?" Explained the situation, told them I'd be pulling probably 9k lbs + payload of family and some items inside. My guess is that I'd probably be at 17k lbs total, 1k over. The assured me that Nissan drastically under estimates the towing capabilities and with the 1 ton chassis and breaks, the trailer wouldn't be a problem at all. Said they tell people they can pull 10k lbs with the van fully loaded too. They said the break are awesome and can completely handle that. I asked, if I'd have a problem pulling up hill in the mountains with that much weight and they said no. I asked again, should I buy a lighter trailer to make sure my NV can handle it (i.e. I'm sold on buying the NV, just not sure about the camper) and the mechanic and a couple of others listening chimed in and said it would not be an issue. The heaviest Dry Weight I've seen posted on here (or anywhere) for an NV 3500 towed is 7k lbs. @Robert J Spanarelli Robert, now that it's been awhile, have you weighed your total setup? How's it handle? @ASD Dad, I've read a ton of post on multiple threads on this forum from you that were extremely helpful, so hoping you'll chime in here too. Actually, you've posted so much information I really want to speak to you!