What's up guys, I have a 2007 V6 4.0 Xterra and am wondering what advice you have regarding towing. I have Googled it a number of times and the opinions seem to swing between, "Psh, I've towed 1,000 pounds over the limit, no issue" to "Dear God, I would never use my Xterra to tow anything".
It's rated for 5,000 pounds and I am looking at 2,000 to 3,000-pound dry weight travel trailers that are 16 to 20 feet long. I will have very little cargo, but generators alone are quite hefty. This would be a full-time thing in various climates and altitudes. Thoughts? Experience? Suggestions? I have been reading about sway bars, leafs, and air bags, but all of that is new to me so feel free to be detailed in your responses.
Thanks, all!
Cage
5000 lbs INCLUDES towing weight, cargo, full fluids, and passengers.. keep that in mind. When it comes to smaller trucks and SUV's everything immediately becomes weight conscious, as it should. In my belief as a more serious overlanding vs just simply camping or offroading, a minimalist approach is and always has been best practice. Think about what you really need, and then what can you do without. As an example. You stated "Generators alone are quite hefty"
Bare with me on my example.
I dont know if the plural sense of "Generators" is useful or if you're only considering one. But in my world of Overlanding we really discount the use of 'replaceable battery use' into more rechargable items that can have charging stations. Cameras, cell phones, Laptops, Flashlights, head-lamp lights, Go-Pro's, hell even electric tooth brushes and shavers with lithium batteries. Even though many of the vehicles we share may or may not have an AC/DC convertor, they all run off the Cars system batteries or for those of us with a substantial amount of gear or tech.. 2ndary Battery systems where you have a dedicated crank battery and then 1-2 batteries used as AUX only. These can be charged via vehicle but.. doesnt mean I have to use a Generator, I have small solar panels that i can put to work to charge the batteries without having to start the trucks up, carry heavy generators and or the extra fuel for them. I have one trail friend who even has a small stove that he can burn things in and the stove takes the heat and converts into low voltage power, enough to charge up tablets or a small laptop even. A generator is often unnecessary.. even for emergency purposes. My point being is if the idea is to go camping (?) dont bring the whole house find a size that works for your needs, the smaller the better as you can actually compact things very well and with smaller, often get farther away. That is suppose to be the object of camping.
I have a 42 ft 5th wheel trailer, I also have a 93' Ford Ranger with a Flip-Pac on it loaded with all sorts of gear and tech to survive 30-60 days out & about with.. And then there is the 13' Xterra that I could be fine with my Glock, a tote with recovery gear, a 72 hr bag, a ground tent, and walk it from there if need be.
So I'm just offering perspective input with facts to what I already know. You werent specific on the exact use of trailer or what you wanted to do, just what others opinions were on some basic info.
Sorry for the rambling.. too much caffeine today..
