Pathfinder Pulling Jayco 26BH

[eluwak]

Here we are towing our rental Jayco Jay-Flight 26BH this last weekend

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by eluwak

Here we are towing our rental Jayco Jay-Flight 26BH this last weekend

Thinking about buying ?

[eluwak]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

Thinking about buying ?

Yes, but we'll see. We've been researching pretty heavily the last few months. Some recent medical issues may have us re-evaluating things though.

[jpetrey]

Originally Posted by eluwak

Here we are towing our rental Jayco Jay-Flight 26BH this last weekend

How did your tow vehicle handle it?

[eluwak]

Originally Posted by jpetrey

How did your tow vehicle handle it?

We hauled it ~450 miles round trip. The first 100 were a little white knuckle as it had been 10 years since I towed a RV, and the remnants of Isaac we lingering blowing us around a little. In any case, I was stunned at how well it pulled. After that I barely noticed when semi's/vehicles passed as the reaction became more natural.

The way back I spent a little more time trying to adjust the weight because the dealer didn't level out the trailer properly. This helped quite a bit. If I had access to my tools I would have dropped the head on the drawbar another few inches. Somewhere in the last 50 miles I blew a tire on the trailer but didn't realize it until we were parking it back at the dealer.

The trip was mostly interstate going 60 mph in 3rd over over nothing but hills and mountains in TN. The Path didn't feel overburdened except when accelerating uphill, but it would maintain speed just fine. The V8 version ups the tow rating another 1000 lbs, but I along with others think this size/weight range is probably near the safe limits of the vehicle.

My only complaint is that I should have invested in better tow mirrors because the cheapos from Walmart were awful.

[tntrac]

Originally Posted by eluwak

We hauled it ~450 miles round trip. The first 100 were a little white knuckle as it had been 10 years since I towed a RV, and the remnants of Isaac we lingering blowing us around a little. In any case, I was stunned at how well it pulled. After that I barely noticed when semi's/vehicles passed as the reaction became more natural.

The way back I spent a little more time trying to adjust the weight because the dealer didn't level out the trailer properly. This helped quite a bit. If I had access to my tools I would have dropped the head on the drawbar another few inches. Somewhere in the last 50 miles I blew a tire on the trailer but didn't realize it until we were parking it back at the dealer.

The trip was mostly interstate going 60 mph in 3rd over over nothing but hills and mountains in TN. The Path didn't feel overburdened except when accelerating uphill, but it would maintain speed just fine. The V8 version ups the tow rating another 1000 lbs, but I along with others think this size/weight range is probably near the safe limits of the vehicle.

My only complaint is that I should have invested in better tow mirrors because the cheapos from Walmart were awful.

What year is that trailer you are hauling? Did you use WDH and sway?

[MtnGuy]

eluwak, it appears that the rental place did not set up a WDH for you. If that is the case, then your hitch might have been overloaded, as well as your rear axle rating. If you were able to enjoy that trip under those conditions, then a trip with the a proper setup will be much more enjoyable.

Did the dealer set you up with any kind of sway control ??

Be mindful when shopping for a trailer, that you stay under tow ratings for the Pathfinder, and also don't go too long of a trailer for the relatively short wheelbase of the Nissan. Using a properly setup WDH with integrated sway control will improve the towing experience big time compared to your past trip, and also be much safer.

Hope the medical problems are minor, and wish you a speedy and complete recovery.

[pappcam]

Originally Posted by eluwak

Here we are towing our rental Jayco Jay-Flight 26BH this last weekend

lol I don't see any WDH on that setup. Pretty sure your hitch weight was WAY over the max. Quite the knowledgable dealer you rented that from.

[jpetrey]

I zoomed in on the pic. I am pretty sure there is a wdh there and the OP talked about adjusting it in his post. Maybe I am misreading it.

[TeresaInCAL]

Maybe it's the pic, but the trailer doesn't look level. Was the pic taken after the weight adjustments were made?

How much weight can the TV pull, and what does the trailer weigh?

I wouldn't think a pathfinder could pull that much weight.

[eluwak]

Thanks for the concerns guys. I would have never left the dealer if I thought the setup I was using was unsafe. At no time did the performance of the rig feel like I was pushing the limits of the TV, and it was pretty gusty the first 100 miles.

There is a fairly beefy WDH with a single sway. My truck wouldn't look like that if it wasn't distributed. The bars are not parallel in that pic because the trailer is not level. About 10 miles into the trip I did have to tighten the sway control some. A second sway bar would have been nice, but it wasn't a problem to stay under control without.

I also won't argue that the tongue weight was more than expected on the trip out, but I managed to compensate it better on the trip back by adjusting gear placement in the trailer and dumping what water was in FW tank.

The unit is a 2012 model and the ship weight is 5104 lbs.
In this pic the trailer weight is estimated around 5300 lbs including what little gear we had. It was probably around 5650 on the way out.
The tow rating of the truck is 6000 lbs with V6 and 7000 lbs with V8. The truck also has air bags installed.

This trailer is not what we intend to purchase. My target is to have something that is ~5000 lbs loaded. Also I would like something that isn't as tall. I would also be investing in a much better hitch setup. I don't think the length was too much, but would prefer not to go longer.

[jpetrey]

Eluwak: I apologize for getting your post into a towing debate. I should have pm'd my question to you. You have a have nice looking tow vehicle and the trailer you rented is a great floorplan.

Best of luck in your search for the perfect trailer for you and your family.

Again I apologize.

[eluwak]

Originally Posted by jpetrey

Eluwak: I apologize for getting your post into a towing debate. I should have pm'd my question to you. You have a have nice looking tow vehicle and the trailer you rented is a great floorplan.

Best of luck in your search for the perfect trailer for you and your family.

Again I apologize.

No worries

Discussion is good. I try to learn something from everyone