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.
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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.