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Old 08-14-2012, 12:25 PM   #1
JCZ
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Tow vehicle.....

Not sure if anybody is in the market for a new tow vehicle but you might want to take a look at the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. Nissan has really bumped up the mileage in the Altima and Pathfinder this year.

The Pathfinder V6 is rated at 20/26 miles per gallon (19/25 mpg in the 4x4 version!) with 18" wheels and a 5,000 lb. tow capacity. Pretty nice for an SUV and looks good, too! http://www.nissanusa.com/all-new-pathfinder/


I suspect the Frontier and the Titan will get their mileage bumped up in the next year or two.

Disclaimer......I'm not connected or affiliated with Nissan in any way....was just surprised at that mileage when doing a search for mileage on a 4x4 so thought I'd share it with you folks here.

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Old 08-14-2012, 06:28 PM   #2
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Re: Tow vehicle.....

just checked fuel mileage on maiden trip with 19 ft and 2000 chev 3/4 tonwith 6L , no trailer from St.Albert Alberta to Chilliwack BC, was 17.5 mpg. towing reasonably flat to seattle was 14 mpg and while going highway 2 from seattle area to kalispell montana was 12 mpg highway 2 had some serious hills. with our old trailer in the big hills was ushually 8-9 mpg so i am very happy with the results, I know most of you will be apalled at the mileage but i can go up those big hills and pretty much maintain the speed limit. we are planning to investigate a chev tahoe with a 6 speed auto trans for next year as a tow vehicle.
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Old 08-14-2012, 07:30 PM   #3
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Re: Tow vehicle.....

I have a 6 speed auto in my Ram and last week got 15.5 towing flat and this weekend up in the mountains I got 13.5, I did not tow in "tow mode" which limits it to 5 th gear. This is about a 2-3 improvement over my SOB trailer.
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Old 08-14-2012, 08:58 PM   #4
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Re: Tow vehicle.....

You guys are in the same boat as me......the mileage on this new Pathfinder puts ours to shame.
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Old 08-14-2012, 11:34 PM   #5
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Re: Tow vehicle.....

keep in mind there is a huge difference in horsepower and torque if one is going to tow in severe mountain hills. I can pass a pathfinder or any of the 5000 lb tow rated trucks on those hills. But if where you live or are planning to go there are not severe hills i am sure theyare just fine. We always seem to have mountain passes on our trips.
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Old 08-14-2012, 11:37 PM   #6
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Re: Tow vehicle.....

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dmac
keep in mind there is a huge difference in horsepower and torque if one is going to tow in severe mountain hills. I can pass a pathfinder or any of the 5000 lb tow rated trucks on those hills. But if where you live or are planning to go there are not severe hills i am sure they are just fine. We always seem to have mountain passes on our trips.

Thats one reason I'd want to keep the trailer as lightweight as reasonable. I really don't want to strain the TV.

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Old 08-15-2012, 09:40 AM   #7
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Re: Tow vehicle.....

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dmac
keep in mind there is a huge difference in horsepower and torque if one is going to tow in severe mountain hills. I can pass a pathfinder or any of the 5000 lb tow rated trucks on those hills. But if where you live or are planning to go there are not severe hills i am sure theyare just fine. We always seem to have mountain passes on our trips.
Yes, you're so right! A couple of trucks back (when the $$ was flowing a bit better) I had an 04 Ford F-350 Dually, Lariet. Loved that truck and still miss it's size and power. You talk about horsepower and torque. Sacramento is at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountain range so we go from 35' to over 7,000' in 70 miles. I could pull my 32' twin engine Sea Rey up over the mountain and still be passing everything on the road.

However, not without risk. California has a max. speed limit for any vehicle pulling a trailer of 55 mph. You can usually get away with 65 mph but anything over that you're going to be seeing the pretty lights flashing in your rear view mirror.

Using my Nissan and towing both mine and my wife's Harleys (with trailer it was 2,500 lbs.....I suspect the 5.0 will be about 700-800 lbs. more, loaded) still am able to climb up over that mountain at 65 mph without any issues, in tow mode.

Everything has a trade off. More power and torque or far better mileage? In traveling this continent (we rode our motorcycles in Canada, US and Mexico.....I suspect we'll do the same with the 5.0) I expect we'll only spend 25%-30% of the time in the mountains. If the Nissan Frontier 4x4 can get up close to the 19/25 mpg that the new 4x4 Pathfinder gets, I'll be happy to settle for a bit less HP and TQ for the increased savings in $$.

Aside from the $$ side of it..... when I retire, I look forward to just not ever having to be in a hurry to get anywhere. The past five years of riding I realized I was missing so much by staying on the interstates and riding 80 mph everywhere. The two lane roads have so much more to offer and at a bit slower pace of 60-65 you just get to see so much more. Just my experience.

Having said all that, I can still understand and respect those that just want to crank and burn for whatever reason (maybe they're still limited on time by a full time job with limited vacation, etc.) and I'll move over and let them go on by.

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Old 08-16-2012, 09:15 AM   #8
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Re: Tow vehicle.....

I don't have to crank and burn or anything like that but I have been the guy with a big trailer chugging up the mountains and working the truck really hard and I don't want to do that anymore. Just want a truck that can maintain a respectable speed in the mountains and not have to be working too hard. A couple of days ago through Washington we were on highway 2 going easy and it was 37 c lets just say those were some really long hills I wouldn't have wanted to try that with a much smaller truck
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Old 08-16-2012, 10:42 AM   #9
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Re: Tow vehicle.....

I have no trouble going through the mountain passes with my Pilot with its 4,500 lb towing capacity. It is a touring model, set up for towing right from the factory, all I had to do was add a brake controller. There is the odd place that when fully loaded, I have had to slow down a bit below the speed limit to keep the revs down, but that is rare. I have learned that if I keep all 3 tanks empty, I can then do the speed limit on all highways. Plenty of traveling in near 40°C weather too.

I have a F250 with a Powerstroke Diesel that I could use (and have when I needed to haul a lot of other weight too, and in the tough slugging it likely gets even better mileage than the Pilot, but that would account for about 5% of the driving on most trips. Plus, it is way more of a pain when tripping around when the trailer is left at the campsite.

If you wanted to carry motorbikes, or other heavy stuff like that too, it would be a totally different story. I have zero plans for anything like that myself, as I have a car to drive around in, and my feet or mountain bike should I want.

Bottom line for me is that I will trade of the unlimited power for overall fuel economy, and ease of use to pull the 19.

Now, if they would just bring a decent diesel powered light truck (like the new Ford Ranger) to North America, it might just get my attention.
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Old 08-16-2012, 04:17 PM   #10
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Re: Tow vehicle.....

Gm had a baby duramax in the works a few years ago for the half tons but Unfortunatly havnt heard anything about it lately. I too would be all over suv with a diesel
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