Towing Report and Questions

[flips805]

Greetings!

 

I finally have a towing report :) it's been an awesome summer and We've towed roughly 1200 miles to Yosemite and the sequoias.

 

The trip included the Cuesta grade which is a 3 mile 7% grade, the Grapevine (5% for 5 miles and 5% downhill on the other side for another 5 miles), and the Old Priest road which is a 5% grade for 5 miles with crazy switch backs. On the way home and climbing back up the grapevine the weather got ugly and we got hit with a crazy thunderstorm and wind.

 

I didn't weigh before I left but I'm guessing I had about 8200lbs. The NV did awesome! Plenty of power up the grades and I was able to maintain 60ish going up. I calculated that I was around 8.9 MPG.

 

Question regarding downhill towing. Dropping to 1st and 2nd ok to preserve brakes? I screamed the crap out of the engine.

 

I avoided these grades for many years with my Nissan Titan and Weekend a Warrior set up. Finally got brave enough to do it but I was scared to death going down hill. On the windy old priest grade I placed the Van on 1st and just coasted down hill at 30-35 mph and barely touched the brakes. On the other down hill grades I placed the van in 2nd or 3rd to keep it at 50ish. Barley touched brakes.

 

Other than that..awesome awesome awesome Van and towing experience.

[ASD Dad]

I have no clue how you guys claim to tow those beasts so easily.  You're pulling a flipping triple slide, 36', 7600 pound DRY camper up 7% grades with Seven people in your van?!?  My NVP is pulling a 7600 pound LOADED camper with what could count as seven with two large dogs along with the 5 of us and we struggle up 5-7% grades in NC and TN.  My last trip I had it floored going up the Eastern Divide and I started off at 65mpg in 3rd and when we crested I was pulling about 55mph.  My MPG was about 8.5 over two tanks.  

 

Plus you're out West with high altitude!!  I've only got high heat and humidity to deal with to sap HP.  

 

I really dont get it...  

 

Have you ever weighed your rig and your NV fully loaded with family for camping?  I'd wager you're pushing close to 9000 pounds in the camper.  Figure specs at 7600, add in propane and batteries plus most families throw in 1000 pounds of stuff (especially with a fam of 7) and I'd guess you're around 8700-8900 pounds.  I'd be curious what your NVP is scaling at with a full family loaded and stuff for the trip.  I'd be curious how close you are to maxing the 16000 combined weight rating we have.  

 

You've got the best hitch made for a bumper pull and I bet you need it with 36 feet of sail behind you!

 

Going down steep grades I normally use 3rd and brakes.  The brakes on the NVP are pretty stout and if your brake controller for the camper is setup correctly they should be taking care of their own duties.  If you just have drums on the camper you can and will smoke them on long descents so you can either upgrade to discs on the camper or drop another gear on the NV.  You just need to decide where you want the wear and tear - camper and NV brakes or NV engine.  Most say modern engines are designed to spin that high RPM and it can feel weird but there doesnt seem to be issues.  

[Chris_CommercialManager]

I don't condone this but I have some very good customers that are well beyond the limits of tow ratings, they are in the trades and at times need to pull around some very heavy equipment plus a few thousand in payload inside.  They all say the NV tows great and doesn't feel stressed even with the loads they have pulled.  

[ASD Dad]

If I am on flat land or gentle rollers then it tows fantastic.  Ride is great, body control is great and it never seems to struggle.  In the hills it's a totally different ball game.  Maybe I am just spoiled, all my past tow vehicles had way more power than needed for the load being towed.  I just dont like putting my foot to the floor and seeing the speedo go backwards!

 

Fortunately the pros outweigh the cons for the NVP so I'll just live with the power issues.  Either that or I have a dud of a motor but I doubt it.

[andy_george]

As a driving population we are a spoiled bunch, no doubt. My dad says 30 years ago it didn't matter what you drove, when you came to a hill, you lost speed. Now everything is so grossly overpowered (especially diesel pickups, OMG!) it makes nearly every hill effortless. It's an adjustment to own something that does loose a good bit of speed when towing up steep grades, but it's never worried me much....