2011 Xterra pulling Turtleback expedition - trail performance

[Hamlet]

Hello friends,

I'm new to the portal and am looking for some advice.

I have a 2011 Nissan Xterra Pro4x + 2.5" lift + 32" KO2 and am looking to expand the Overlanding experience for myself and my family (wife + 2 young kids).
We live in the mountains in CO and do quite a bit of wheeling (not rock crawling, but we push it) and dispersed camping around the state (hoping to start doing longer trips). We are about done sleeping on the ground and am pretty sold on the overland / off-road campers. Picking up a Turtleback Expedition in a few weeks.

My concern is if we will be able to confidently pull a 2000-3000 lb trailer (loaded) up a mountain pass jeep trail as we have in the past... or if I need to consider
a) changing my expectations
b) specific modifications to my X
c) a different vehicle to pull the trailer

I would love to know thoughts / opinions before I start investing into our dream.

Thank you,
Hamlet

 

[TwinStick]

I have never had a Nissan Xterra but I can tell you that torque is King when towing. I can also tell you that towing 3k lbs, the difference between 250 lb ft of torque and 350+ lb ft of torque is night and day. Huge difference.
We have towed the same 4k lb camper with a gas Hemi, manual shift Dodge Power Wagon that made it's 375 lb ft of torque at 5200+ rpms. It pulled it just fine but you did have to anticipate the hills or you would end up going down 2 gears instead of 1. Took more attention.

Our 4 cylinder Duramax diesel in our ZR2 just flat out is far easier to tow with. The 369 lb ft of torque is available from idle. It rarely downshifts on hills that I had to downshift on with the Hemi. Requires much less attention & therefore is easier to tow with.
You will most certainly know that you have 3k behind you. But if you are regeared or are not in a hurry, it will probably be fine. An additional transmission oil cooler/engine oil cooler would be good insurance. With a growing family, you will most likely end up in a bigger vehicle at some point anyway. I know we did. Kids are gone, we downsized. Good luck with your quest.

 

[Titan_Bow]

I’ve got an M101a2 and fully loaded with family camping gear, I’d guess it’s 2000-2500 lbs loaded and ready to go. I had a 2012 Xterra Pro-4X with stock tire size no lift, and I now have a new 4Runner, so have some comparison with vehicles towing it. The Xterra was so much better at towing something that size compared to the 4Runner. I wouldn’t worry about it. I towed it up I-70 and all over CO with the X and while you knew it was there, it didn’t really slow us down that much. Now with the 4Runner, it’s a different story. I’m in the slow lane with the 18 wheelers going up I-70 unless I want to red line it in 3rd and 4th the whole way! The X just had so much more power and didn’t seem to down shift so much.


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[highwest]

Even with a much lighter trailer, 1000-1200lbs, I enjoyed having a brake controller in all conditions. Highly recommend the Redarc Tow Pro Elite.

 

[(none)]

So you want to pull 2-3k slowly up and down off-road trails? Try it and find out. I imagine you'll discover it just isn't that much fun. Make sure you can monitor trans and coolant temps. I assume, you have an auto trans, which will help with the drivability. As mentioned, make sure you have a brake controller.
Start out on a few easier trails and see how it goes. You'll figure out what you need. I would say a re-gear will end up being easier on the driveline. Might need airbags to help with the few hundred pounds of weight on the hitch.

post some pics!!

 

[Hamlet]

Thank you for the recommendations. Very helpful.

I am getting a brake controller installed next week.
I am also adding an extra leaf spring and bump stops to the suspension. I was warned that airbags could get pinched and cause more of a headache on the trail than bump stops. Not sure how accurate that is.

i will look into regearing and additional transmission oil cooler/engine oil cooler too.

I do have a bully dog tuner installed that monitors my transmission temps and could see that being an issue pulling the trailer up hills.

 

[TwinStick]

We traded an awesome 2017 Toyota 4RUNNER TRD OFFROAD with 20k because it sucked for towing our EMPTY 6x12 enclosed utility trailer, in on our ZR2 diesel. Also traded a 08' Dodge Power Wagon w/G-56 in on our ZR2 diesel. It was putting us in the poor house in fuel, repairs & at the time, no dealer could get a new clutch for it.

I absolutely love the way the ZR2 diesel tows the same utility trailer and 4000 lb camper vs the 2 we traded in.

 

[Hamlet]

Quick update:

Picked up the trailer and towed it 1400 mi back to CO. No issues on the highway or taking into some dirt roads for quick overnight camping.
We then tested it behind our house on a jeep trail - a 3 - 4 on the trailsoffroad app and it was a champ (see pics below & video).
I'm getting the rear suspension upgraded with an extra leaf + bump stops + transmission oil cooler this week in preparation for the RimRocker trail from CO to Moab next week
I'm considering a re-gearing to 4.10 on the X to add some power for towing / offroad. Haven't pulled the trigger on this, but it sounds like it will help .. just a trade-off on highway driving.