Greetings All,

My apologies in advance if there was a thread like this in the past… I couldn’t find one though. The subject at hand is towing a boat with the Max. I know that the owners manual advises no more than 1000 pounds… I am looking at a drag-boat or jet boat, similar to the one in this thread. From what I can gather from the owners of these boats, is that I am just under 1000 pounds… of course that may or may not include a the trailer weight. You can see that these boats don’t have much too them… mostly engine, which is in the back on a jet boat, and ¾ back on a drag boat. With that being the case, I think I will be way, way under the 200lb tongue weight.

I am wondering how many others tow stuff behind their Max, and how it does. Any advise for me? My Max is a manual tranny, so I don’t even know that a cooler for it is available. I would definitely get a tranny temp guage though… maybe put it in a nifty pillar pod (those available?... Been a while since I was here… sorry). The lake that I plan to take it to is about 280 miles away from me… about 40 miles from the lake, are 4 huge, very long grades… this concerns me… don’t want to mess up my car. This is where the Armada would come in handy! Thanks in advance… any advise would be MUCH appreciated!

Wade

http://www.ramponi.com/Max/1.jpg
http://www.ramponi.com/Max/2.jpg
http://www.ramponi.com/Max/3.jpg

 

The engine can most definitly handle the boat. You have to worry about the frame on the car. Honest, if your looking at towing i'd try to find a cheap frontier or path to do the job. I have a hitch on mine but its for my bike rack or buddies jetski and yes it does well but the max isn't a truck and it shouldn't be used as one. Chris

 

I wouldn't think it would be a major problem....just gotta be careful with the clutch and keep the tongue weight at a minimum...hell, we used to tow a 22-footer with a 150 Evinrude with my parents' old Audi 90...that thing had a stick shift and coulnd't have been much over 120 hp if that....never caused any problems with the car as far as I know.

Personally, my main concern would be with BRAKING...we all know that the 5th gen's brakes are insufficient for the car itself (warping, etc...)...so add 1000 pounds and then try to brake DOWN one of those "long grades"....that's what I'd worry about, not the pulling - the max frame should be plenty stiff...just don't put any other major cargo in the rear of the car....

But I am not an expert on this....maybe check with your nissan dealer (although they are not experts either, usually) or better yet call Nissan usa....

 

We used to tow a 14 (16??) foot Starcraft with my dads old V6 Camry and never had any problems. Used to load it up with all kinds of vacation stuff too when we went on trips, dont know the gross weight, but I'm sure it was up there. The Maxima shouldnt have any problems, but I'd suggest calling the dealership maybe and get their recommendation. They might be able to tell ya if any Maximas or Altimas have come in with issues from towing. Never know, couldnt hurt

 

Thanks to all for the replies… very helpful! I only spoke with 1 dealer so far, but am going to try a few others as well. The dealer I spoke with advised that it is not so much the 1000 pound limit on the frame of the vehicle, but more the transmission. It will be interesting to see what other places say.

Regarding the Maxima’s brakes… I can DEFINITELY share the concern over that. I have to admit that it was a relief to hear the Camry and especially the Audi did ok. Dodge actually has a real nice site regarding towing at http://www.dodge.com/towing/D/weight_to_vehicle.html ... it is a calculator that is pretty slick. Although I was really surprised to see it list the Neon capable of towing 1500lbs and the Intrepid at 2000.

The good news here is that the weight of this type of boat is mostly in the rear from the engine. Unfortunately since most of these boats are fairly customized, it wont be as easy to get a good solid figure. I wish I could go get a cheap truck or something! I own a 98 Neon that is in showroom condition, but would never be able to tow it… I also own a 85 300zx… it is in no shape to even think about hitch. 

Again, THANKS to those of you who tool the time to respond… it is much appreciated!

-Wade
http://www.ramponi.com
MCSE, MCSA 2000
2001 AE fully loaded
MOMO Cobra Aluminum / Leather Shif ****
Painted Calipers
Covercraft hood bra
3% Tint on the back 5 windows
35% Tint Front Windows

85 300ZX Street Modified

 

I have a small sailboat which weighs about 750 lbs with the trailer. I have a drawtite hitch with removeable receiver on my manual-equipped Max. I have never had any issues pulling this trailer, even on hills, or with braking. I DID have brake problems with braking the car from high speed (warpage!); solved that by installing Brembo blanks and Axxis Metalmaster pads. Unless you go way over 1000 lbs, I think your Max will make a fine tow vehicle...

Enjoy the ride!

 

you will be allright. 1000lbs isn't really that much especially if the trailer is taking most of the weight.

 

yeah, just watch the tounge load and you should be ok. you might want to look into a trailer brake controller if the trailer has brakes.

 

the max is not designed for towing. it is capable, but its still not a good idea. plus youll have a stupid tow hitch out the back of your car!

 

Very cool... I think the tongue load will be pretty light... I am hoping anyhow. I am a little concerned about the brakes, but like you said, I could look into the brake controller if the trailer has `em. Since it is a manual, I think I could do a little clutch braking as well. Hey maybe I could call up Kenworth and get a Jake-Brake installed! haha

 

Check the Max's Gross Vehicle Weight and subtract the weight of the car itself and the driver and contents. The difference is the amount you can tow per the manufacturer. May be more or less than the 1000 pound limit states in the manual. People familiar with towing will tell you this is the most accurate and safest way to note how much your vehicle can tow.

 

Towing should not be a problem, but the tranny will probably get a little worm.
The biggest thing is STOPPING ABILITY you can pull it but what if you have to stop suddenly. Keep plenty of distance between other vechicles and drive slow.
SWAYING shouldnt be a big problem; now if you were a minvan pulling a 22' trailer big problem. A minvan can pull a trailer, but once it starts to sway you are very likely to lose control/flip.
Just play it safe and it shouldnt be a big problem

 

I towed a 16 foot boat with a 40 horse merc with my v6 berreta, it worked ok even better for getting the boat out of the water cause of the fwd.

I would definetley giver your self plenty of time to brake and get a tranny cooler.

 

I had a '87 max with a 5 speed and I used to tow stuff with it all the time. I always kept it under 1000 lbs (including the trailer) as spelled out by the owners manual. You don't need a tranny cooler for a manual, that's only for autos.

Like already said be cautious when braking as it will build some big time heat with the additional weight. I warped a rotor on my max on one trip when I went to pull off the freeway once and kind of forgot I was towing something (My trailer tows well). Just a little more heat on the rotors then normal and one of the front rotor warped.

Check the max towing weight on the car again. I thought the newer ones had atleast a 1,500 lb towing capacity. I would expect the boat and trailer combo would be pushing 1,500 lbs. (the 16 ft boat I've towed, not with the max, is 1500 lbs).

Oh by the way...I towed with my old '82 datsun 1000 lbs clear from utah to michigan (includes going through the rockies) and speeds of 75mph with no problems except for sucking down big volumes of gas =)

Just watch the braking distances.

 

DUDE! Don't do that. There's nothing worse than seeing a sedan tow a boat...and have fun at the ramp with your 5-spd.

I bought an '88 pathfinder SE (all options) with 127k miles on it for $2500. You can take a loan out and pay $100 a month and have a nice beater truck..pay it off in a year or whatever...but save you car! Heck, a hitch setup is 2-400 anyhow! If you look around, you can find some great deals

BTW- (And if you're really lucky, this will happen) Someone ran into my parked pathy and did $2200 worth of damage to it (bent the bumper...broke a light, basically nothing). Well his insurance company decided to total it...so I'm getting a check in the mail for $3500 (the value, minus the $750 they already took out of it for my re-purchase of the salvage). So I now own the truck outright and made $1000 on it! ($550 of which is going to hotshot headers for the max!) All I have to do is bend the bumper back and buy a new side marker light off ebay and pass the WA State inspection. Golden!

See, now wasn't that easy?

 

That's funny. I bought an '88 pathy to be my winter beater/off road machine/tow vehicle. Mines an XE with about 200,000 miles. Only paid $600 for it. I've had it for 3 years now and it is still going strong.