According to the owners manual, the towing limit is 1000 pounds. My question is, what have you found to be the actual case? Will the car safely and efficiently tow nearly 1000 pounds?

The largest load that I can see would be my 425 lbs motorcycle sitting on a 400 lbs trailer. Once I add all of my gear I'd estimate it'll be approaching 950 lbs.

For what it's worth, the car has just over 90,000 miles on it. Please enlighten me with some of your towing tales!

 

I also have a 98 GLE. I have towed an aluminum trailer (550 lbs) and a partially assembled TR6 Triumph (about 2000 lbs). I wouldn't suggest this at 70 mph for hours but I had no problem. The trailer does have brakes and I have the Tokico Illuminus all around.

Mororcycle and trailer, you probably won't notice they are back there.

 

Main thing is your brakes, how good are they?

 

Good info. Thanks!

If I begin towing with the Maxima, what items do I need to pay special attention to so as to prevent any damage? Is tranny fluid the best indicator?

In reality, I'll probably be towing with the above setup about 6 times per year. So outside of trips to Home Depot for plywood or drywall, I don't see much, if any, other towing.

Basically what I'm trying to figure out is if I can get rid of my F150 and not be put out too much by using a car for my hauling needs.

 

They're just the stock brakes with replacement pads. Basically not upgraded at all. But not downgraded either. Good enough? Keep in mind that I'm in MN where our ski hills are smaller than most burial mounds...

 

Go put it all on and see how it feels, and it doesn't feel bad on a short drive it should be good on a long drive. Just avoid quick stopping situations.

 

In a perfect world, that's what I would do. However, my wife will be getting a new car in about 2-3 weeks. Up until recently we planned on ditching the Maxima. Now, like I said above, I'm contemplating ditching the F150 instead. So there's really not time to do all of that considering I don't have a hitch or a trailer and the bike is in storage. That's why I'm hoping to gather enough info before I make my decision so that I'm not sorry that I got rid of the truck.

But from what you guys have already said, it sounds like I shouldn't have much of a problem so long as I leave the aggressive driving to the track using the motorcyle on the trailer.

 

With the GLE being auto, if you havent already, add a tranny cooler. It'll save you a lot of trouble. I pulled a trailer with my old 96 auto and with my 99 5spd. The 5spd pulled better probably because I could control when to shift. With the auto and the weight being pulled it seemed the it wanted to keep shifting to maintain my speed. For short distances and the amount of weight you'll be pulling you should be fine. I was able to tow my 96 with my 99 and couldnt really tell it was behind me. Good luck.

 

I would never tow with a Maxima if there is an F-150 around. Never.

Dave

 

Fo real do'.....

 

Yeah, obviously not! But the whole point of this thread is that one vehicle has to go: Maxima or F150. If I can tow what I need to tow using the Maxima, then the F150 will go. If I can't tow what I need to, then the Maxima goes. Of course there's more that goes into it than towing, but that is one of the big items.

It sounds like the Maxima will pull it just fine. that brings me to my next question: Which hitch should I get? It looks like the Hidden Hitch bolts right to the frame and has a 200 lbs tongue limit and a 2000 lbs towing limit. Is that a decent rig to get?

 

What kind of bike are you towing? The hitch you're looking at sounds good. Don't forget to add your own weight and the weight of others if anyone rides with you to the equation. Personally, I think you'd be pretty close to the limit tho. I like having a decent safety margin.

 

95% of the time the bike will be a 1999 Suzuki GSXR600 in race trim. I suppose there might be a need to haul my streetbike (2003 GSXR1000) once or twice.

I think there's 6 races scheduled for next summer. So figure 6 275 mile round trips plus 1 or 2 trackdays (40 miles round trip). That gives me a rough estimate of 1700 miles while towing over the course of a year. 75% of that is freeway mileage.

 

The main concern with towing is the damage it does to your drivetrain. The transmission takes a beating so installing a tranny cooler should allow you to cheat a few pounds, but don't expect the auto to keep allowing abuse of 1000+ pound trips.

How much do your bikes weigh?

 

I'll be hauling only one bike at a time. They both weight under 450 pounds wet. Figure roughly the same for a trailer for a total of +/-900 pounds. Add a tent, some tools, gas can and a cooler and I'm guessing I'll be right near 1000 pounds.

If I notice that it's shifting too much, I could just shut off the OD. That would help. If I decide to keep the Maxima and tow with it I'll probably hook everything up and try it out. If need be, then I'll install the cooler.

I really appreciate everyone's input and discussion as I don't know much about towing with cars. I've only done it with trucks before and nothing that ever approached its limitations.

 

Well I guess one thing is not yet addressed: does your trailer have an electric brake? If you don't (since an F-150 really doesn't need one to pull 1000#), then buy one - a tekonsha prodigy is a great choice IMHO.

As for the duration of the trips, if it's mostly flat land, and it's mostly not scorching hot, you may not kill your tranny right away. But it will most certainly shorten its life, and adding a tranny cooler won't completely solve the problem.

Please do be careful. Do not fill the car with other stuff - every total pound counts. It's no crown vic station wagon when it comes to heavy work. This car is not designed to handle much rear load, which means panic stopping situations could have you going a whole lot further than you are used to. It all sounds easy until someone pulls out in front of you, and deer pops out, or a traffic light goes red (esp. if you're following a big rig that rolls thru the light after it went from yellow to red).

Dave

 

a bike should be fine, i've pulled our jet ski on a single place trailer with no problems before

 

Luttersj, just my .02 but you should keep the truck. I'm guessing you'll be going to Brainard or Elkhart Lake with the race bike and those are not exactly short trips from where your at. I'm sure you know the roads aren't the best in Northern MN and what if your needs change (boat, camper, etc) Trying to keep the Max as a daliy driver would be ideal.

 

I'm beginning to think that you're right, Sam. Being a home owner, there's always something that I'm hauling, too. Whether it's plywood, landscaping items, wood for the fireplace, or just throwing the sleds into the back of the truck and taking my boy to the sledding hill. I think I'd regret getting rid of the truck. I'm gonna hate to see the Maxima go though, too. We've had the car for about 6 years and, outside of routine maintanence, we've only had to replace a bent tie rod. And even that's probably more due to roads or driving than it is the car's fault. it's been flawless mechanically speaking. The truck, on the other hand, has had it's issues. But then again, that's why I bought the extended warranty. On the other hand, if I got rid of the truck I'd also get rid of the truck payment. The Maxima is paid for so it wouldn't take long of having no truck payments (+/- $260/month) to cover any repair costs that might pop up with the car.

Decisions decisions...

You're right about the tracks, too. All of the races are at BIR this summer. However, I'd like to make it over to RA for at least a track day. I've never been there and I hear nothing but good things about the place!

 

Well the problem has been solved. I've decided to keep my F150 for all of my hauling/towing duties. The Maxima has been sold and will be picked up in 3 days. It has been replaced with an '03 BMW 325i.

Thanks to those who have helped me out over the years. Maybe we'll meet up again in a few years...

 

Not towing with the new Beemer are you? Just kidding.

 

hehe. No, that's not gonna happen. Just out of curiosity, I looked up the towing rating for the 325. It just said "N/R". I guess that doesn't leave much room for discussion!