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Rear Riding Way to Low

35K views 47 replies 17 participants last post by  Navihar 
#1 ·
I've been towing around our new Rockwood 2280BH which is 2,200 dry, 280 at the hitch. Way under the 5,000/500 limit. Still the back is sagging way to much for my liking. Ideas?
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the replies. I've ordered (well looking into) an air bag set up. It just shows how soft the rear shocks are on these SUV's
 
#7 ·
#9 ·
In my opinion, the PF rear suspension is too soft. Particularly for the towing and tongue weight specs published by Nissan. I tow a 5000Lb loaded 500Lb tongue weight camper regularly where I use an equalizer weight distributing hitch. I tow a 3000Lb loaded 400Lb tongue weight boat often in the summer with a regular hitch. I have about 48000 miles on our 2013 PF. About 7000 miles are towing the camper. About 1000 miles are towing the boat. I have had no CVT problems. I always tow in tow mode, based on trans temp measurements I made on my previous vehicle. You can't really notice what the PF tow mode does unless you tow with a HEAVY trailer.

I always use #4118 airbags at about 25PSI when towing, about 5PSI when not towing. In my opinion, the #4118 bags are too short. I determined this by calculating the 'lift' in Lbs of the bags, the loaded and unloaded depression of the springs, and the tongue weight of my trailers (I regularly measure after loading up with a sureline hitch weight scale). Using the scale is fast and easy, particularly when I have helpers loading up and I didn't place items myself.

My friend has a Ford King Ranch that gets 18 MPG when not towing, 11 MPG when towing. My PF gets 22 when not towing, 11 when towing. Form your own opinion on that.
 
#11 ·
I finally got around to installing the 4118 kit purchased from etrailer.com On the site it states it is for 4WD only, but after looking at both rear ends I really can not find how this would make a difference.

So I also think the rear airbags are to short. It made a difference, no doubt, but its still not enough. Before the rear fenders where "tucked" into the tires. Now I have about 1.5" clearance. I did make a mistake and filled them to 20psi before loading the trailer. Not after like I should of.

Install was really easy. Just worked it in deflated. I ran the lines into one with a "T" so I always have them at the same psi and only have to worry about one valve.

I'll update it more once I tow again this weekend.
 
#12 ·
So the 4118 bags are too short, is a solution available to correct this? I'm guessing I'll need something as I plan to tow close to the max. On another note it is my understanding shocks being soft or hard have nothing to do with support of hitch load. Please correct me if you disagree. Springs do the support, shocks only dampen immediate change.
 
#13 ·
How much taller should they be? Should someone contact Firestone or the other company and request a taller part? I would normally say we just search for them but I have not found a list of dimensions and part #s .
 
#14 · (Edited)
Well I just found this"
4118 Specifications




If the 4118 uses 7"x4" air springs, perhaps a 8x4 or 9x4 would be better?


https://www.airliftcompany.com/shop/46129/
https://www.airliftcompany.com/shop/46130/

With some cross referencing, the airlift company part is 60774. I am trying to find a list for the dimensions on the air bags in that kit.

https://www.airliftcompany.com/shop/60774/
 
#15 ·
AIL60274 Specifications


  • Air Spring Diameter:4 inches
  • Air Spring Length:7 inches
  • Manufacturers Part Number:60274
So both kits are the same size. Now we just need to build or ask for one that is a little taller.
 
#16 ·
The width is spot on. The height should be 1" taller at least. Not more than 1.5" from what I can tell.

As for the springs, since towing my pop up the rear has sagged so much even without any load on it. I am looking for another Pathfinder to park next to for a side by side shot. My guess its 1" lower than it was 6 months ago. Even at 10 psi on the bags the rear lifted up .75 of an inch over from before. This is after flexing the suspension around the house driving.

In the shots below you can see the bag width is fine. (These have 25psi in them) but the lower valve line hangs to low off the rear trailing arm. Then the location where I placed the valve under the rear curve of the bumper. Taken at night so sorry about the clarity
 

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#17 ·
In image 2 of 4 you can see at the top the gap between the top of the bag and the bumb stop. There is about 1 to 1.5" there that the rear will sag before it even hits the airbag. With this car being so low, this needs to be addressed.
 
#18 ·
There are a two other issues I see with that kit that I do not like. The fill tube having to route through the bottom and them loop back up. It's going to get ripped off during the first trip out on the beach, any minor off roading, or simply running over some road debris. And the second issue I see is the right side tube being so close to the exhaust pipe.

Thank you for sharing the pictures with everyone. Hopefully we can now all find a way to improve the 4118 kit.
 
#19 ·
I agree with the tubing coming out the bottom being an issue. The tubing around the exhaust pipe really isnt a problem on how I ran that side. I could take more pictures but Im lazy. But you are right, when a new kit comes out this is going on craigslist. Until then, this is what im stuck with.
 
#23 ·
I 've been towing my coleman 3250lbs at 330lbs on hitch, does sag a bit. I have 40k miles on it, not a problem. Tow Mode did the job when slowing down off ramp, and holds suv in place on hill prevent rolling back. I did research i don't know why they put soft coil springs on back for towing at 5,000 lbs even it has a Tow Package. I saw one drove by where i live on interstate came from canada pulls 26 footer hideout with weight distribution hitch. so for my option more stable and more traction on front wheels instead of sagging rear. We just bought Jayco 24 footer weighs 4700lbs htich rating 440lbs. dropped pretty bad. So serivce ppl at prep says get WDH and surprised got back to level. drove it home notice has more control than my coleman. I'm still amazed how much power this PF has best thing ever owned.
 
#25 ·
I think the overall driving experience is fine, it's the excessive sagging which I have a big problem with. I know the car is low, I know the car isn't a true off roader, but for Nissan to sell this as a 5,000 pound towing vehicle is way out of line with the rear sagging so much.
 
#28 ·
Ok time to re-engage this thread. I finally purchased and installed the Air Lift 1000 #60910 with the 4"x 8" bags. I just put them in yesterday so I have yet to add a heavy load to truly test. After 24 hours, the pressure seems to be holding around 25 psi. So it seems I installed them correctly. The only downside I'm noticing immediately is they are very creaky/squeaky at the minimum pressure of 5 psi. This is constant over road imperfections. After a few more tests at 0, 10, 15, 25 psi they do not seem to be as noisy. I'm wondering if the bags are actually too tall, and the 4" x 7" bags would be less noisy. Can anybody comment on this experience? Sorry, some of the pics posted sideways.
 

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#32 ·
Thank you sir. So how does the WDH work? Would distrobute more weight to the front PF axle and the RV axle?
Saw a guy towing a Jayco WhiteHawk 24footer, this thing is 5600lbs+ dry...The Highlander was pretty low, but wheels were not turned in on the top like mine...plus this guy was from.Columbus Ohio and made it all the way here in the Rockies.of Colorado.
The Jayco White Hawk is two axle AND is very high, so there is plenty of room underneath. My RV, the Spree Escape by KZ is pretty low, so either
-I flip the hitch to rise, not drop and install the WDH. In thiw case though, the RV will be on an UP oncline
- OR I use the WDH and it is inches from the asphalt.
JMan - what about them airbags??
 
#33 ·
So how does the WDH work?
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-...itches/towing-weight-distribution-systems.htm

My RV, the Spree Escape by KZ is pretty low, so either
-I flip the hitch to rise, not drop and install the WDH. In thiw case though, the RV will be on an UP incline.
NO! You want the vehicle and the trailer tongue to be level. You can adjust a combination of the chain link and the ball height to achieve the proper level.

- OR I use the WDH and it is inches from the asphalt.
The WDH should actually help lift the back end of the Pathfinder.
 
#34 · (Edited)
I second Jay, you want your trailer to be leveled, you can buy an adjustable hitch ball mount/draw bar for this. Most WDH's are adjustable so you won't need a new draw bar if you decide to buy the first.

In simple terms, picture your PF with the two WDH spring bars on. Now think of a wheelbarrow, front tire are the front tires (duh..), the rear stands are the rear wheels and the handles are the WDH spring bars. As you slightly lift the wheelbarrow you reduce the weight on the rear and transfer more to the front. You get more traction and control on the front wheels and reduce the load on the rear wheels raising up the back.
Air bags will raise the back of the vehicle but won't transfer any weight to the front. As far as I know, only one member has tried them and I don't recall reading any definitive results.
You'll need to get accustomed to the ride with a WDH, the vehicle will now jump as a whole when your front wheels and/or trailer wheels go over a bump.
You want to find the right WDH for your trailer considering the height of the tongue so as you said, your WDH spring bars are not too close the to ground.
Other thing to check is that your trailer's tongue is rated for and can use a WDH, I know many pop-ups and small trailers aren't.
 
#35 ·
Other thing to check is that your trailer's tongue is rated for and can use a WDH, I know many pop-us and small trailers aren't.
The wheelbarrow is a great analogy, jman! With regard to the above, you probably wouldn't need to put the bars on for a small trailer.
 
#37 ·
Just towed my boat for the first time with my '17 Pathfinder. Overall, very happy with the performance. Doesn't pull quite as well as a full size truck, but I never expected it to. Had no problem going 65-70 mph and averaged about 14mpg round trip.

My boat weighs close to 4000lbs and the rear end only squatted an inch (measured with a tape). It does bounce quite a bit on bumps though.
 
#47 ·
Hello there, sir.
Well, I do think the rear is sagging still a bit (quite an improvement with the WDH). I guess compared to the vehicle that I had - I am concerned that with me at 210lbs, wife, grandma, dog, two kids and suitcases/gear it will be sagging quite a bit still on trips on trips here on Colorado. Don't want to hit something on our dirt roads up in the mtns... This is a family hauler and we have not yet loaded this as much as we normally do going on long trips (see pic of trip to Jackson Hole, WY, in Feb 2017 with 3adults, 2 kids, suitcases and even the cargo box full of food/cargo. See any sag?! I don't.)
To be truthful, I am feeling much better after we towed with the WDH. I am still getting used to the fact this is not a truck based vehicle but a blown up Maxima... The PF drives awesome, the family loves the room and the amenities. I love the agility. The wife has a point, let's modify the car unless we run ito an issue. She won't need airbags 99% of the days taking the kids to and from school...
So, to answer your question, let's see if we need those air bags in the coils as well or not...


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