[Jocasta]

Hi everyone I was reading the discussion about the OME install and how good it is, I’d like to ask opinions... I have ‘14 Pro4X and just at 80k, I do a lot of towing, just got a 3100 pound camper. I want to know what should I get to ease my ride, make these 2 hour trips better towing it. I have a great local place to take it in but need to know options to save my X from bottoming ou and having my front end up higher than the back, what’s good for the 4wd, etc. Should I just get new leafs, go with a lift and if so how much lift, springs shocks shackles, it’s all Greek, should I get new tires and brakes along with it all, tires have some life left, I really don’t want to be “the girl at the 4x4 shop not knowing anything,” I restored by hand an old Jeep long time ago so ... lol... just don’t have suspension knowledge. thanks in advance.

 

[Just a Hunter]

If your current suspension needs an upgrade and towing is your main focus:

I would consider a set of General Springs (possibly heavy duty) and or Sumosprings.

An upgrade to your brakes is always a positive choice regardless if your towing or not.
There is an extensive review of brake pads and rotors found in the below link

Nissan Xterra Stock and Heavy Duty Leaf Springs | Nissan Leaf Springs

Nissan Xterra heavy duty OEM Replacement Leaf Springs available from General Spring. Give us a call today for more info on a Leaf Spring for your Nissan Xterra!

www.generalspringkc.com

SumoSprings® by SuperSprings® International, Inc.

SumoSprings® are a patented suspension product designed to enhance load carrying ability, stabilize sway, and improve overall driver control and ride comfort. They are maintenance free, do not leak air, and do not require airlines or compressors. SumoSprings® are manufactured in a variety of...

www.supersprings.com

Where did we Land on the Best Rotors and Pads?

Brakes, like exhausts - everyone has a favorite. Did some searching and I see suggestions all over the place. My brakes are coming due - honestly I haven't found too much an issue with the stock setup, but I figure for the same money (dealer costs) I can improve upon the setup doing it myself...

www.thenewx.org

 

[Mastermind46]

The ome are great for towing. They are loud though if you don't greases them all of the time. I'd also check out all dogs off-road. I know they have a heavier duty leaf pack as well.

The oem springs are straight trash for towing or really just driving down the highway over bumps after 70k miles. Mine bottomed out with just me in the truck. I'd replace the leaf pack. I towed a 5k lb trailer from Los Angeles to Denver last year and it did much better than the oem with a 2k trailer.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

 

[saint urho]

Hi. I'm towing a 3,000 lb trailer (rpod 171) with my 2010 Off- Road. I have an Old Man Emu lift with Add-a-Leaf on the rear springs.

What trailer are you towing?

I've re-installed my rear sway bar. The biggest improvement to towing and handling is using a weight distribution hitch. Also electric trailer brakes.

I find it hard to take a good photo of a black truck with a white trailer, but it is sitting nice and level. I've got 1.5" lift planned for the trailer this year.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2gexZx2]168 by robert, on Flickr[/URL]

 

[Brian086]

Quoting myself here from a different thread

The really important thing when towing heavy with an X is the weight distribution hitch. It's a little truck with a short wheel base and a long tail so it needs a lot of tongue weight to drive correctly. But without the weight distribution it overloads the leaf springs and picks up the nose so it steers like crap and can't stop. Without the tongue weight the trailer pushes the X all over the road dangerously.

My trailer gross is about 4,600 and the X is about 4,400 when I'm hauling. I load the car forward to get all of 500# on the tongue and heavily preload the spring bars. It's amazing how much difference two inches makes when positioning the car. With that combination the X squats the rear about 5/8" and the front about 3/8". The trailer stays well behaved behind me and I can let go of the steering wheel for extended periods even coasting downhill on straight roads. I don't see any benefit to air bags or helper springs when loaded out with the weight distribution system.

My X has Bilstein shocks at all 4 corners. A nice improvement from the 180k mile OE shocks I used the first year. I get about 16mph towing with a 2wd MT and an open car-hauler. It cruises comfortably on the highway in 6th. 5th can climb up to about a 3% grade and I don't think I've ever gone below 4th to pull a hill on the highway. 3rd gear can engine-brake about a 6% grade without touching the brake pedal.

Even with bigger springs or airbags to prevent squat, it doesn't change the physics of the tongue weight unloading the front axle.

Note that I'm on stock 200k mile springs and haven't had any problems. I've logged about 11k miles with the car on the trailer.

Trailer brakes are obviously a must as well when towing heavy. The X has somewhat undersized rotors to begin with.

Crosswinds are a concern with a camper. My car hauler doesn't present much of a profile, but a camper taking some serious gusts of wind can really push a short little truck like ours around. Personally I wouldn't be comfortable making long hauls with anything but a popup or a very compact camper.

 

[Brian086]

 

[bschiek]

I tow an 18 foot hard sided A-frame style popup with my 2006 Xterra. All loaded its probably around 2800 to 3000 pounds.

Like Brian086, I've got over 200k on my OEM springs. What makes the big difference is the Andersen weight distribution hitch I use (Andersen Hitches). Its pricey, but makes a huge difference. It is infinitely adjustable (easy to level out the trailer and Xterra), silent in operation and has built in sway control and anti-bounce. The Xterra pulls it without issue and there have been no "white knuckle" moments due to trailer sway or misbehavior.

 

[Jocasta]

Hi saint
I’m towing a 16 foot wolf pup, have the stabilizers on the hitch, the ReCurve R3 Weight Distributing Hitch with Sway Control, 1200 lb. Tongue Wt. Hitch Kit, electric brakes, all the good stuff. I keep it as empty as I can to keep the weight down. Normally I’m dragging around my HF 4x8 filled with junk, don’t even know it’s there, but the camper is a whole different beast. Thanks for all the ideas everyone keep it coming I have research to do

 

[Brian086]

The Anderson system is clever. I'd never seen it before. It looks like it's somewhat limited in how much torque it can apply, but is probably just about right for a 3,000ish pound popup. I'm not sure how I feel about the chains putting all their load against the ball locking key.

I have a Reese 49901 kit rated at 10,000 trailer gross, 550 tongue. I do not use the friction sway control bar and have never seen a reason to install it. The chain spring bars provide some sway control since the system 'tightens up' harder when turning. The practical jackknife limit is probably about 50-60deg in tight maneuvers with the chained spring bars.

The bars sit a little closer to the ground than I would like, but they almost never scrape, and when they do it's pulling across the transition from a parking lot to the road. The A-frame tongue on my car hauler is lower than most trailers.

The trunnion/sliding bar kits give much more ground clearance than the chain linked kits, but are tricky to adjust, make a lot of creaking/popping noise when turning, and lack inherent sway resistance.

It took me a good 2 or 3 hours to get it adjusted right the first time. Now it adds perhaps 10 minutes to mount the spring bars when hitching up.

In the pic above I was a little overweight. Normally I haul an e36 for my 4,600 trailer gross number. The e91 4wd wagon is a hog at probably 3,800 empty, so I'd guess I was in the 5,250 neighborhood while bringing that car home.