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Towing Experience

3K views 19 replies 6 participants last post by  larry 
#1 ·
This past week I drove across country to pick up our new 21' travel trailer. It weighs 3,400lb and I used a weight-distribution hitch with an anti-sway bar. I didn't use rear airbags and although there is some squat the steering didn't feel light at all. I kept mostly to 65 MPH and it felt stable and under control. The route involved plains and the Rocky Mountains. For the last 120 miles of the return trip I had a full water tank and empty black and grey tanks. Filling the water tank gave a marginal improvement to the handling. I installed the OEM hitch and used a Tekonsha P3 brake controller.

Outbound: 1,053 miles, 26.5 MPG, 67 MPH average in 15h 36m, 80% Interstate

Return: 1,125 miles, 11.4 MPG, 53 MPH average in 21h 8m, 100% Interstate

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#3 ·
Right? WOW!

Just curious how many people in the PF and luggage?

It is amazing how much the fuel economy drops when towing anything. The engine and catalytic converters gotta get HOT when burning 2x the normal amount of fuel.
 
#7 ·
MPG depends on many factors...terrain, climate, number of passengers and wind resistance among them. Our mileage varies from 9 - 15 pulling our 3800 lb. trailer loaded with gear and provisions in a combination of highway and back roads driving.
 
#9 ·
Like I said, what I got depended on conditions. I got 15, probably mostly highway, flat terrain, and 9 when I had lots of uphills or back roads to traverse. I do anywhere between 55 - 70 mph on the highway.

One of the primary reasons we bought the Pathfinder was for the gas mileage and the ability to tow our travel trailer. That was in 2013. There are many more options out there now and I'm not sure I would buy the Pathfinder today.
 
#10 ·
Like I said, what I got depended on conditions. I got 15, probably mostly highway, flat terrain, and 9 when I had lots of uphills or back roads to traverse. I do anywhere between 55 - 70 mph on the highway.

One of the primary reasons we bought the Pathfinder was for the gas mileage and the ability to tow our travel trailer. That was in 2013. There are many more options out there now and I'm not sure I would buy the Pathfinder today.
Thank you so much for your reply. And what was wet weight and dry weight of your trailer, I research this because I want to buy a 17 PF to tow a dry weight 3300 lbs trailer (about 4500 lbs wet weight) mostly towing during winter season in mountains to ski. I hope you can provide me more information.
 
#11 ·
Right there I can tell you that the Pathfinder is not the vehicle for you! Being that it's not full-time 4-wheel drive, it would be extremely dangerous to tow a trailer on potentially snowy roads with the front-wheel drive being compromised by the tongue weight of your trailer.

Do you already have the trailer? The important number is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). That is the number you should use to figure how much of a tow vehicle you need.
 
#12 ·
Right there I can tell you that the Pathfinder is not the vehicle for you! Being that it's not full-time 4-wheel drive, it would be extremely dangerous to tow a trailer on potentially snowy roads with the front-wheel drive being compromised by the tongue weight of your trailer.

Do you already have the trailer? The important number is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). That is the number you should use to figure how much of a tow vehicle you need.
Thank you for your reply again. I don't have both trailer and PF now. I want to do some research before I invest. From your advice, I might just go for pick up truck. And another question for you if you could help me, How long does a travel trailer last, I read some comments that a travel trailer can't last longer, you need to replace a new travel trailer every 3 years, The brand I want to buy is Keystone and Forest river, but these brand seems like not last longer and have some repair issues according to some customers. I know airstream can last much longer, but they are so expensive, I can't afford it. If I use travel trailer for full time camping, how long would you think it last. Thank you again.
 
#13 ·
All travel trails are not of the best quality and have issues, most of them use the same parts, fridge, stove, toilets etc. etc. Its how you look after it and keep on top of the maintenance. Also even the Air Streams have there problems.

You mentioned getting a pickup truck, but keep in mind not all pickups are the same, even the same model will have a different payload depending on options . Two things are important with towing and pick ups that you must know your specs and dont trust the salseman becaus most don't know anyway but they will be happy to fake it for you.

1 Payload (how much weight the truck will carry).
2 Towing capacity (how much will it tow)

My Ram can tow 10,500 lbs. BUT the payload is only 1400 lbs so I can't really hall a trailer with a tongue weight of over 600 lbs. because you have to count people and gear. My wife and I are together approximatly 350 lbs. Plus gear, that would pretty much be it for us.
 
#15 ·
Rockwood 2509s...Bought new, that in its self may be a bad thing because all the bugs have to be work out of it. With a trailer 1 or 2 or even older a lot of the newish problems get worked out. As far as maintenance you have to keep it clean of course especially the roof. Keeping the caulking maintained around vents, joints and any hardware on the roof every once in while as well as the windows frames, doors and access panels. Then there is stuff I dont touch such as greasing the bearings, brake jobs, checking the batteries, tires etc. etc. Its like a car...look after it and it will be good to you
 
#20 ·
We are not full time. We still live in sticks and bricks and because of covid have not gone rving at all...last year we manage about 6 trips and only one of them was a 3 week trip, most were weekend trips
 
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