RHMax - Our trailer is one of those mesh flats with low rails on the sides, a mesh ramp in the rear, and two small wheels. My wife and I can lift the trailer (one on each side), so it can't be over 200 lbs or so. And most of the time, we probably have only a few hundred pounds cargo on it.

The key is we seldom have to haul it more than five or ten miles, and those miles are mostly on sort of a rural highway at speeds around 45 to 50 mph, and with few stop-and-go situations.

I certainly agree with you that those folks taking longer trips and carrying trailer/cargo loads in the 1000 pound range with the Maxima are pressing the limits of a transmission not designed for that type use.

 

Check out TSB 04049a, Trailor Light Wiring. The "Caution" states: "When splicing into the vehicle electrical system, a power-type module convertor must be used to provide power for all trailor lighting." I went to www.etrailer.com and picked out my parts. Depending on how you navigate through the site, you may or may-not be lead to powered convertors. Make sure you get a powered convertor which has it's own red wire for connection to +12VDC. Don't go cheap and by a standard convertor; you will burn out the car's flasher circuit. Uhaul sells P/N 13493 Trailer light power module for $40.00, which works file. I hit 2 hard parts; drilling the mounting holes and figuring out the wiring. The instructions provided with the hitch were not accurate as to the exact location to drill the holes; they were off by 2". I recommend fitting the hitch up to the frame rails and mark the exact location to drill. I placed a rolling jack under the exhaust pipe where the pipe splits from 1 to 2 pipes, which made it easy to move around depending on which side of the car you are working on. Page LT-95 of the factory manual clearly depicts the wires of interest. The problem is the wiring colors between the combination lamp bulbs and the first connector don't match the manual. From the first connector back to the Body Control Module (BCM) the color code is good. I soldered all my connections inside the trunk just under the drivers brake light after the first connector so the color code would match. Both left and right wire sets orriginate on the drivers side. If anyone is interested, I can provide more details/pics/schematics.

Later, Ralph

 

For those going to do this, great info...