# Can I tow a 2,400 lb boat????



## fratri (Nov 25, 2009)

Hi there, I know that my 06, 2.5 gas engine auto x-trail is only rated for 2,000lbs, but can or should I pull my 2,400 lb boat... I just purchased my boat used and thought the weight was under the 2000lb mark but I went to a weight scale house it comes out a an even 1,100 kg, which works out to 2400 lbs... any thoughts, what would you do????....I would be towing it anywhere from 80 -200 km trips, once or twice a week. Your experienced input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Frank


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## fratri (Nov 25, 2009)

Any thoughts????


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## 05Pathfindr (May 21, 2010)

I have zero towing experience but heres my thoughts

There will more than likely be extra stress on the brakes, transmission and suspension especially if you load the car up with stock at the same time. So I would consider (after some more real input from someone) upgrading those items to accomodate the extra load. Although its not like you can just upgrade a transmission so maybe just upgrade the fluid. I think you will be fine if you dont adjust anything but it will definately wear down everything faster and I would expect, whether or not the weight is over, to change fluids and parts more often.


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## sonniejim (Jun 19, 2010)

fratri said:


> Hi there, I know that my 06, 2.5 gas engine auto x-trail is only rated for 2,000lbs, but can or should I pull my 2,400 lb boat... I just purchased my boat used and thought the weight was under the 2000lb mark but I went to a weight scale house it comes out a an even 1,100 kg, which works out to 2400 lbs... any thoughts, what would you do????....I would be towing it anywhere from 80 -200 km trips, once or twice a week. Your experienced input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Frank


Hey Frank, in leiu of changing the boat / car, this is what I would do; check with the towbar manufacturer what the tow capacity actually is, esp. the weight on the tow_ball_ & don't exceed that - it's better for the car to just have to pull the weight rather than carry it too. At 1100kg I assume it's a tandem axle trailer with brakes, so adjust where the boat sits so as not to place too much weight on the ball, also make sure the trailer brakes are doing their fair share that way you're not asking the car to to everything. Finally, if you're towing in warmish to hot weather, I would definately be looking at fitting a transmission oil cooler. Hope this is of some help


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## tbk (Dec 29, 2008)

Frank, in OZ, the xtrail is rated for 4500lbs, while towing a load with its own brakes. I am not saying that you should tow 4500 lbs, but the motor and tranny should be good for the load. I do a lot of towing with my exy. I even had a class 2 hitch fabed and installed. If you are smart when you tow, give yourself and the car a lot of time to speed up and slow down. Don't carry excess cargo (remember your tow weight includes all the stuff in the car too not just the load) keep your tongue weight to around 100lbs and you should be fine. If it were me, I would be fitting electric/hydraulic brakes to the trailer.


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## speedo6 (Oct 21, 2009)

More to the point you need to check what your rating is on your tow ball. It is very dangerous to exceed the rating of your tow ball and highly illegal. It is not good to overload your X-trail either. This will cause serious thermal overheating of your engine and transmission. Whilst you can tow on the flat, any hills will seriously decrease the life of the vehicle. To tow big loads properly you need at least a four litre vehicle like a Nissan Patrol or Land Cruiser.


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## tbk (Dec 29, 2008)

Well, the rating on the ball is pretty inconsequential. Even a 1 7/8's ball has a minimum cross sectional area of 1.75sqin at the threads. So your load rating on the ball is more of an indication of the class of your hitch. If you have a class 1 hitch, the hitch will be good for 2000lbs. The ball will be good for maybe 20,000lbs in single shear.


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## Rick N Roll 007 (Nov 13, 2009)

tbk, you can't compare the exy from OZ to NA.
It appears there are big differences between our vehicles.:givebeer:


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

The 4,500lbs load rating of the xtrail in Australia is WAAAAAY over-rated and it is exactly the cause of many problems that are happening here to xtrails with premature clutch wear and transmission problems, not to mention the soft construction of the rear chassis in the T30 xtrail which would simply crack (and have cracked) under heavy load. In actual fact I wouldn't recommend the xtrail for towing anything heavier than 800-900Kgs (around 1750-200lbs) and I believe Nissan Canada (and Europe) have made the correct load rating classification for the xtrail.

The engine is the same in the T30 xtrail across most countries, it is the towbar type used and mounting points that are different, but that still doesn't give Nissan Australia any right about misleading its customers into believing that the exy is capable of towing loads of upto 2000kgs (4400lbs)


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## tbk (Dec 29, 2008)

Sure, I wouldn't want to put 500lbs of tongue weight on the xtrail, it is just a unibody. And yes, thinking you can pull 2000kg with a small SUV is pretty silly. However, the original post indicates the guy wants to pull 2400lbs. So like I said. If you are careful with how you tow, do your best to reduce stress on the tranny I don't think they guy will have any issues. You put alot more stress on your transmission and drivetrain when you put your foot to the floor, and try to launch the exy off the line at a light, or when passing, than you will by slowly accelerating a towed load. I also mentioned he would be wise to use electric brakes. 


As far as the exy being different, like Jalal says, it isn't. It is the same vehicle. The mounting points for the tow bars also appears to be the same. I dl'd a bunch of install sheets from OZ, as well as in CND, and installed my own. They all have the same type of install.


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## ERBell (Aug 7, 2005)

Get a bigger SUV. 

or

Maybe look into surge brakes for the trailer. You'll also need a trans. cooler. The X Trail's brakes and suspension aren't designed for stopping that much weight so be careful.


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