ronwagn Posted August 26, 2017 (edited) Thinking about buying a 2017 Nissan NV passenger van with the 8 cylinder engine and 7 speed trans. My wife wants a big trailer. I want a small one, we will have to compromise. What would be the best trailer weight limitation for heavy mountain use? Rockies, Appalachia, trip to Alaska etc. I know we will be buying a lot of gasoline! We are not experienced trailer users. We recently went on a trip through northern Wisconsin and Michigan pulling a small 12 foot cargo trailer that I converted to an RV trailer of sorts. Good for me, but not my wife. We pulled it using my 1999 Dodge fancy van with a 318 engine and a 3 speed trans. It had to work too hard and burned a quart of oil every fill up. It only has 99,000 miles on it. Will be giving it to the kids! If any of you have driven to Alaska let me know what you think about the idea. I have told her it would be better to fly and rent a vehicle up there. We have done a cruise there. Would I ruin a nice new Nissan NV? Is the clearance OK? Edited August 26, 2017 by ronwagn 1 andy_george reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted August 26, 2017 Welcome. You will love your NVP if you buy one. I think Andy George put it best: "It's a truck with van capabilities..." or something like that. In late May 2013, we drove to Alaska from Tucson, spending 2 months in our camperized NV. The roads generally are in good shape, except for well marked gravel breaks and construction/repairs. There is very little in terms of elevation gain in part because the road was built for military use. You will not tear up your NV. Check out Mile Post that describes the route. You don't need to buy this, as the many visitor centers will give you all the information you need. You will use lots of very expensive gas. Drive the top 1/2 of your tank as gas stations are far apart. The good news is that they are often family owned and include a restaurant, bar and campground. No problem with credit cards. They were using chipped cards long before the US. The drive can be tedious which is why many use the ferry system. Same reason many fly and rent. Since you and your wife appear to be planning to buy a trailer but have differing views on size, have you considered the Titan XD? 2 andy_george and ASD Dad reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fatherof5 Posted August 27, 2017 I have a 99 ram 318 and a v8 nvp. Dodge works pretty hard to tow a 5k kubota on trailer... the Nissan would pull the tractor, the dodge, and a van full of kids and gear and it would be a reasonably relaxing drive 1 andy_george reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ASD Dad Posted August 27, 2017 Welcome to the site! Do you need the interior space/passenger room of the NV? Depending on that answer you can pick and choose trailers from there. 1 radin2son reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
