2 part question. Year and towing capacity

[Eskay1]

Hello!
I have two questions that I was hoping someone could shed some light on for us. My family and I (brand new at rv's) are looking at a used 1990 2619 very soon. It's been garage kept, only used a handful of times and looks to be very clean. My 1st question is based on these details, is there anything about this particular year or the fact that it's old that we should look out for? 2nd question. I apologize as this one is a bit lofty but we are also looking to purchase a new tow vehicle. I've seen in other instances where people tow these with mini vans and smaller SUV's etc. We are looking at an F-150 - 5000 T.C., which I know is plenty sufficient. But would a vehicle with 3500 T.C. be ok as well? Owner of the one we will be looking at has used a minivan and says it's been fine Wife would like a vehicle we can fit in the garage. Thank you for any insight.

[Bill]

Eskay -

Tow rating gets a lot of attention. As unlikely as it seems, the vehicle manufacturer gives you a single number, and expects you to believe that applies to all situations. Really? Before going down that road, the first question should always be "Where you will be towing?" The flat country of Florida or Indiana is not the same as the Rockies of Colorado or the Sierras of California.

Several Forum members tow with a 3500 pound rating. They say it works, especially if you pack light, don't load a seven-passenger SUV with seven people, and plan to stay away from the biggest mountains. General consensus has been that 5000 pounds is better for most situations.

You didn't say how big your family is, or how much stuff each family member will want to bring. In this regard, you should be aware that the tow rating of a vehicle always comes with a manufacturer's statement, sometimes hidden rather well, that every pound you put in the tow vehicle - people, cargo, and luggage - has to be subtracted from the tow rating. So if you put 600 pounds of people and 400 pounds of cargo in your tow vehicle, your 3500-pound rating is now 2500 pounds. Considering that a loaded and ready-to-camp TM usually weighs well above 3500 pounds, that's pretty thin.

You might use the forum's Search tool to find discussions of "tow rating" here on the forum. You'll find some good experience and advice. You will hear from people who tow with a 3500-pound vehicle, often a minivan, and are quite satisfied with it.

Bill

[Eskay1]

Hi Bill, thanks so much for your reply. It's exactly what I was looking for. There are 3 of us. Me, wife and my 4 year old. So small family. We will be going wherever and everywhere. So mountains are a possibility. I think I've seen enough now to keep 5000 as my minimum capacity. Thank you again.

[tentcamper]

We towed a 2720 with a minivan 3500 tow capacity for 4 years. taking trip over 4,00 miles lone. It was fine and the only reason we change was it was reacking 250,000 miles. We now tow with a highlander.

1990, other than checking out the systems tires age, etc... The only thing I would pay close attention to is the roof. It could be just fine with no issues. But until around 2003 the roof truss were wood and than were changed to aluminum. I would be looking for signs of leaks which could cause rot.

Older TM's can be very affordable. If its in good condition and the price is right. I would not think twice about buying it. If you keep it in good condition 4-5 years later you should be able to sell it very close to what you paid.

[Larryjb]

We tow with either a Tahoe or my wife's 2008 Explorer. I'm not sure I'd tow with a 2011 and up Explorer because they are FWD based, but that's my personal opinion. I chose these two vehicles because they'd fit in my garage. I also chose them because they have V8 engines. They won't be great for fuel economy, of course. The V8 Explorer had not trouble going up and down the Grapevine into LA.

[Eskay1]

Thanks so much everyone. Busy weekend here. We did buy the TM and are very excited. It's definitely a 1990 but it's in excellent shape. Very well cared for and zero leaking or roof problems. New AC as well. We also bought a new Nissan Pathfinder which should be more than sufficient for our travels. Thanks again and see you out there!

[Craigrrr]

Eskay1, does your New Nissan Pathfinder have a CVT transmission? I have heard that the CVT's were not really great trans for towing. just an FYI...http://www.popupportal.com/threads/c...-towing.95569/

[Eskay1]

Originally Posted by Craigrrr

Eskay1, does your New Nissan Pathfinder have a CVT transmission? I have heard that the CVT's were not really great trans for towing. just an FYI...http://www.popupportal.com/threads/c...-towing.95569/

Hello,
It appears so. I did come across this in the past and did some research. I found that some report no issues and some won't touch them . I'm going to roll with it. Let's hope for the best.

[Larryjb]

What a number of us do is connect a Scanguage2 to the OBDII port and monitor the transmission temperature.

From personal experience, I did find that keeping speed and RPMs up did not always keep the temps low on my Explorer. I may need choose to install a bigger transmission cooler in the future.

[Padgett]

My Jeep can display the trans temp on the dash. The key to keeping a trans cool when towing to to keep the torque converter locked up. When unlocked it looses efficiency and the loss is turned in to heat. By dropping a gear when needful I keep my TC locked up and the trans temp stays down even in the hills of North Carolina.


Now the Nissan XTRONIC CVT has a torque converter and is designed to lock up when not needed. What I could not find was the criteria to unlock it.


CVTs have been in cars since the 1962 DAF Daffodil and have been greatly improved since but still are limited in peak power. A 3.5 liter engine is about the max.


So it can work very well if the logic is to lower the pully ratio when more power is needed and not to unlock the torque converter. I just do not know which it is.