new nissannv owner ..how do i tow. please help

[texcofarmer]

hello!!!  i just purchased a 2017 nv2500 high roof.  i would like to tow my travel trailer from houston to colorado, it is 6000 weight.  what do i need to accomplish this? any ideas suggestions for stability is appreciated.  thank you in advance!!! 

[texcofarmer]

i am a new to all of this.  coming from a pickup truck where everything is already there, so please anyone with  information on what the best way to get towing i would greatly appreciate it. thank you

[Mark Rogers]

I'll let the experienced trailer haulers answer the question, but I'll start by getting a couple of basic questions out of the way.

 

Did your van come with a hitch receiver?

 

Does your trailer have electric brakes?

Edited February 9, 2018 by Mark Rogers

[texcofarmer]

hello. thank you soo much for your response. 

 

i have a wire hookup in the clove compartment which says it is for electric brake,which i think i have to connect manually 

 

seven pin connetcor on the back 

 

and there is a tow hitch there on back already 

 

sorry, what is a hitch receiver? 

[texcofarmer]

we have the 2500 v8

[Mark Rogers]

The tow hitch you're talking about is likely the hitch ball.  I've heard this thing called a tow hitch or trailer hitch most of my life, but recently learned that the hitch is actually the bar on the front of the trailer that connects to the ball.

 

The hitch receiver is a black bar under the bumper that has a two inch square hole where the ball mount is inserted.  And the ball mount is a short bar with the ball mounted on it.

 

I'm pretty sure all of the V8 NVs come with a hitch receiver installed at the factory.  It should include an electrical connection to the left of the square hole where you can plug in your trailer.  This connection is essential for the trailer lights, and possibly the brakes (depending on whether the trailer has electric brakes or not).  Depending on the connector on your trailer, you might need to buy an adapter to make it work with the connector on the van.

 

If your van has an electrical connector for a trailer (and I believe yours does), the wiring for the lights should be ready to use.  But some extra work is needed if your trailer has electric brakes.  In that case, you'll need to install a brake controller.  This is a device that connects under the dashboard and tells the trailer's brakes how and when to operate.  There's usually a wiring harness tucked under the dashboard near the brake pedal for this, but it sounds like yours might have been left in the glove box.  It should look like a bundle of wires with a connector only on one end.  That connector fits a matching connector under the dashboard.  The brake controller will come with a similar wiring harness with a connector that fits the controller.  The idea is that you're supposed to use those two harnesses to build a cable that connects the van to the controller.  If you're not comfortable with doing electrical work, see if you can buy a pre-made cable that's designed to connect a Nissan NV to your model of controller.  If you do decide to do it yourself, please do quality work (i.e. no cheap crimp connectors or other things that might fail) because this is a very important piece of safety equipment.  For the same reason, don't buy a cheap brake controller.

 

The NV also has the option to mount a hitch ball in the middle of the step on the back bumper.  While cheap, this option should generally be avoided for two reasons.  1) The bumper can only handle trailers up to 2000 pounds.  2) The bumper is the wrong height for most trailers.

 

There's a lot to learn about towing, and I've pretty much exhausted my knowledge on the subject.  So, I'm going to defer to the experts on the site for the fine details.  In the meantime, please read Nissan's towing guide (https://owners.nissanusa.com/content/techpub/common/2017/2017-nissan-towing-guide.pdf) as well as the towing section in your owner's manual.  There's a lot of good information there.

[texcofarmer]

thank you Mark! this is awesome. i appreciate your for responding, it is very detailed, invaluable information and i appreciate you taking the time to post. i do have the electric harness with the plug in and i can see were it is suppose to go. i am perplexed that it was not hooked up already??? i have no idea. nevertheless, i think i can do this, but first, i am going to purchase the brake controller.  not sure where i can purchase this locally, so i guess i will have to wait to order online. 

 

i have been going through the threads on this site and reading the information that you sent, would you suggest the tekonsha p3? if not,any other suggestions are greatly appreciated! 

[Mark Rogers]

I've never actually towed a trailer, so I'm not the best guy to recommend a brake controller.  But I know the Tekonsha P3 has excellent reviews on Amazon.  And I believe you can also buy a Nissan-specific cable for it.  You only need it if your trailer has electric brakes.  I'm guessing yours does because it's 6000 pounds, but you should verify that before investing in a brake controller.

 

Does the 2500 have a tow mode?  Even though I don't tow, I still use my 3500's tow mode when descending long mountain roads.  One of its features is that it automatically downshifts when you touch the brake pedal, and then waits for you to touch the gas before upshifting again.  I find that's much nicer than fiddling with the shift lever to select gears.

[ASD Dad]

Tex - Many U-Haul stores sell brake controllers and the hitch you will need to hook up your camper but they are usually not the best priced or selection.  Do you have a Camping World near by?  Or any RV dealer?  Both will also have the parts you need and will be able to assist with installing if required.  Again, their price may be higher than getting them online.

 

If going online etrailer is a very common and huge source for anything towing related.  They offer videos to help install as well.  YouTube has a ton of videos on installation and setup.  There are also a ton of towing and camping forums with help (Rv.net or your brand campers forum, Forest River has a huge forum for example).  

 

You will need an electronic brake controller.  No way around that!  P3 is very popular (I have one) but there are many good ones out there from basic to ones that use GPS to detect trailer sway and stop it.  Best thing for you is to read read and read again.  Some are very complicated, some are a simple dial to set it up.  Some are very picky about placement, others dont care.  Again - read reviews and specs.  Make sure you read the manual and get familiar with it.  Mark is right that many companies will make a vehicle specific harness so you do not have to splice wires.  Tekonsha does make one for the P3 and Nissan NV.  

 

You will also need a decent hitch.  Not sure how long your camper is but you will most likely want one with sway control.  The cheap two round bar weight distribution hitches with the separate sway control do work and they are cheap.  Eaz Lift and Curt are two brands.  Just requires more work since you have to hook up two bars and the sway control separately.  Next up the price chain is a hitch with built in sway control - equalizer, blue ox, reese, etc. all make them.  All have pros and cons - read reviews and specs.  Some are very noisy, some require you to disconnect parts before backing, some are really messy (lots of grease), some are crazy complicated, etc...  Once you settle on one read the manual and how to set it up properly.  Most dealers do Not set them up correctly and just want you out the door.  

 

Check tires religiously on the camper (and van).  Many blow outs are due to error or cheap tires.  Make sure they are inflated properly (usually max old pressure on sidewall) and wearing evenly.  If they are cheap no-name tires do not go too fast on the highway or tow too heavy.  60-65 mph max is the normal towing tire max speed, over that they can overheat and blow up - literally.  They will also overheat if under inflated.  Google trailer tire blowouts and you will find many years of woe.  That is a whole long subject.

 

Finally - I would take that camper out for some test tows before you go on trip.  Make sure you have brake controller setup correctly, the van handles right, there is no trailer sway, etc.  Practice making turns and backing it up.  Watch the tail swing when turning in tight areas, you would be surprised how far it will swing.

 

Towing is not "hard".  Just be smart and you will be fine.  I started towing boats for work years ago.  Then little trailers for home stuff like mulch.  Had a small pop up camper.  Have a 30ft camper now and we tow several times a year upwards of a 1000+ miles per trip.  

 

Going into the mountains of CO you will absolutely want to make sure your brake controller is working right.  Going uphill you'll be fine but you will not be setting any speed records and most likely be in 3rd gear at high RPM.  Going down make sure you use the engine to help brake and dont cook your van brakes.  All trailer brake controllers have a manual over-ride you can push, slide, etc. to get them working stronger if needed (but dont cook those either!).  

[texcofarmer]

Mark Rogers and ASD dad, thank you both soo much.  the information above, as well as your suggestions are greatly appreciated. it is awesome to get information from other nissan owners, it makes the transition from pickup much easier. 

 

will do the research and read the manual to make an informed decisions on the brake controller and hitch.

 

thank you!!

[DesertTed]

In December, I bought a travel trailer with a max weight of 5500#. Since my van is still under warranty, I had my dealer install the brake controller, a Tekonsha P3. That way, if there was a problem, it would be their responsibility.

 

The trailer I have came with an EasZ-lift WD hitch and sway bar. It seems to work okay, but since I've never towed a trailer before, I wouldn't know better. I just don't like how heavy the thing is(the part that slides into the receiver), but I guess they're all heavy.

 

There is not much more buffeting with the trailer hooked up to the van (hightop), than without, so that's good. Towing that little bit of weight is not at all difficult for my van. I will have to get used to how wide the trailer is, about 8 feet, I think.

Ted

[rolliew]

Lot's of good info here. I prefer the Reese dual cam hitch. The weight distribution bars are also the anti bounce and sway control.