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Old 08-06-2008, 06:48 AM   #6
Mr. Adventure
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Williamsburg, VA
Posts: 668
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I share some of Bill's concerns about pushing the envelope with your Nissan Quest. For awhile in the late 90's I towed a 2800# popup (loaded weight) for 5000 miles or so with a Mercury Villager (cloned from the Nissan Quest), and that actually worked pretty well. But, a 3500# tow limit means travelling relatively light and not carrying much water while towing. Extra water in a 2720 or a 3124 are likely not possible within a 3500# tow limit.

Where I live, the ocean is less than 100 miles East and the mountains, such as we have them, are less than 150 miles West. In Texas terms, 150 miles is still pretty darned close to where you started. The point is that we use these trailers differently under different conditions and in different parts of the country:

- Towing several thousand miles per year poses additional durability risks for tow vehicles.
- Dry camping means carrying extra water and supplies, and often heavy hobbies compared to staying in a campground with hookups and a Costco nearby.
- Higher elevations rob horsepower and long grades create braking issues.

People with Trailmanors who tow many thousands of miles per year, people who want to haul their heavy hobbies along, and people of altitude need tow vehicles with higher ratings than people who don't. If you are going to tow with any of our lighter tow vehicles, it is important to know your limits and be careful about your vehicle loading. A weight distributing hitch is mandatory for most vehicles because of the heavy tongue weights, and you definitely need a heavier hitch receiver than a class II (a quick Google search finds several for the Nissan Quest).

There are lots of great stories here from owners with 3023's and smaller TrailManors who tow them with 3500# rated vehicles, but you have to do the math, watch your loads, and read the fine print in your owner's manual to see if that 3500# tow rating is before or after you load the dogs and the DW.
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2005 TrailManor 3023
2003 Toyota Highlander 220hp V6 FWD
Reese 1000# round bar Weight Distributing Hitch
Prodigy brake controller.

"It's not how fast you can go, it's how fast you can stop an RV that counts."
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