I think that's max tow weight but don't know for sure!

 

If I were you I would use a weight distributing hitch, and a trialer with brakes. That is a lot of weight for an X.

 

Max tow rating is 5000Lbs. I know that people have towed over the rated capacity before as well. Not that I would recomend doing that. But towing that close to the rated capacity means you have to get it set up right. Weight distributing hitch, proper weight distribution on the trailer, brake controller, etc. Dragging a home an old truck once I know the Xterra can be very unhappy if not set up right, that was only 10 miles of country roads.

 

I couldn't even imagine pulling 5500 lbs in an X. I know there are several people on this site that tow at our limit on a regular basis, I just don't see it being anything but stressful. Maybe it's that I tow offten in my 2500HD Duramax work hoopty or that I live at 4500+ feet? I tow a couple quads on my 5'x10' trailer in my X and even this little bit of weight <1800lbs makes me wish I had another 200FtLbs of torque under the hood! Only made worse with the 285's.

 

Are you using a steel car hauler? That has to be where all of the weight it coming from. I have towed 5000 lbs with my X, but I also had trailer brakes. I didn't see if you said if you did or not, but anything over 3000 without trailer brakes is dangerous. As said earlier, make sure that you use a weight distributing hitch too. I believe that specific car is too long to back it on the trailer with good results. Good luck!

 

Instead of starting another thread, I figured I'd add to this one.

I'm having trouble, for some reason, understanding the weight limit differences for the X when towing.

It says the towing capacity is 5000 lbs. Easy enough.

But,does this take into account GVWR of the trailer? Is the GVWR of the trailer completely separate from that of the X?
Basically, we are getting a new camper. We've been towing a pop up rated at around 2200lbs empty. Its regularly loaded up with a bunch of stuff which adds weight.

I don't know what the tongue weight is of our current pop-up. Its also a single axle.

Our new camper is larger. The "unit dry weight" is 2,872 lbs and the "axle weight" is 2,601 lbs. What is the difference between these two numbers (besides 271 lbs ) which is the "hitch weight". ?

What if I have the X loaded up with a bunch of other stuff, wife ,kids, dog ,canoe , supplies? Will that exceed the GVWR capacity of the X?

I'm confused and need more coffee

*edit--found the GVWR for the x is 9,658. Is assume that GVWR is the same as "Gross Combined Weight Rating"

**edit. Curb weight of the X is 4167. That leaves 5491 for the allowable difference in towing. So, if I have a trailer with a dry weight of 2872 lbs, that would leave me with 2619 lbs left to load up with stuff. Ie..fuel, people, pets. etc..

This is what happens when I research and post at the same time.

 

The "unit dry weight" is 2,872 lbs and the axle weight is 2,601 lbs. That leaves you with a toungue weight of 271 lbs. That is weight that is considered cargo IN the Xterra.

The GCWR is Gross Combined Weight Rating. That is total amount of weight rolling down the road, truck and trailer combined. Park the whole thing on a big truck scale with everything and everybody in it, that is the upper limit for what it is rated for.

The GVW/GVWR is the Gross Vehicle Weight (Rating). That is the weight of all 4 of the Xterra's tires on the ground, but not counting the trailer's axle weight. But it does include the weight of the that ever is sitting on the hitchball since that does push down on the Xterr'a axles. The GVW is printed on the VIN sticker in the driver's door jam. Should be something like 5400 Lbs. There are also limits for both the front and rear axles seperatly. They add up to more then the GVW so there is some range to the weight distribution. If they added up exactly then there would be no allowance to move weights around.

So you weigh in at 4167. That sounds like a 2WD. By the time you fill it with gear and people say 1,000 Lbs (4 people at 200 each and 200 of gear) you are tipping the scales at 5167. Take the 5400 limit, remove the 5167 and you have 233 of remaing payload capacity. Drop on you 271 toungue weight of the trailer and you are 38 Lbs overweight with a completely empty trailer. You have not exceeded the GCWR as you are at (5167+2872=) 8039 total. But the GVW of 5400 is 5438 which is overloaded. 4WD with a heavier curb weight is even worse.

Now take that 200 pounds of gear and put it in the trailer. With the 10-15% toungue weight rule that 200 pounds is now only 20-30 pounds of extra toungue weight. You just removed 175 pounds from the GVW and you are underweight and you are still under total GCWR.

So yes, it is possible to overload by putting too much in the truck.

I suspect the curb weight number you are using is a little on the low side. That sounds like a 2WD with no options. Don't forget that all the little things that always live in the truck add in as well. The tow strap, tools, flash light, etc. The weight of the hitch itself as they are not exactly light either. I roll across the scales at about 4500 pounds with just my normal stuff and just myself in the truck. That puts my curb weight a little over 4300 as it is parked in the driveway on any given night.

 

This is what I towed

Distance - 2467km (1542miles)

ETA - 3 - 4 days

Vehicle - 2012 Xterra Pro-4x (only 3600km on it) towing a 6' x 12' U-HAUL trailer ,
- combined weight 4071kg (8956lbs) - weighed on truck stop scales

no problems at all and some of the route had very steep up and downs

on a side not I use to own a 99 Dakota R/T . brand new. it said it could tow 5800lbs. It was a 2 seater, not even 4wd or extend cab, 5.9L 360 . lots of power etc. anyways about 1.5 years later I get a letter from Chrysler saying that because of a "accident" in the States, there was a lawsuit against Chrysler for false advertising about the towing capacity, I found out later that someone had tried to tow a 5500lb camper with the same truck, jack knifed it and got killed. Ya the engine had the power and torque to tow a trailer that heavy but the truck itself was half the weight. So just because I vehicle says it can tow something doesnt mean it should tow that item. Just saying. Oh btw They offered to buy back the truck at cost so basically I drove the **** out of it for 1.5 years for free (minus gas and insurance)...they even paid for all the mods I had spent on it as well lol

 

I'm not going to try to do all the math but my simple advice after towing an rv a bit heavier for the last few years is this...load as much crap as you can in the trailer and not the x and get a good WD hitch. You should be fine.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

My X is 4WD, so I may have looked up the wrong info online as far as vehicle weight goes.

The new camper we're getting is a double axle, so according to the specs on it, it can be loaded up with a bunch of stuff as the GVWR for the trailer is 4671 lbs. Not that I would load it with 2000 lbs of gear.

The trailer is being given to us from my dad who towed it since 2005 with a 2004 Nissan Pathfinder 2WD, with no helper springs. We will have a HD hitch set up with anti sway bars. I've also replaced the crappy helper springs I had installed for towing our pop up with new Roadmaster Active Suspension springs. That should help keep it level.