Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

[JCon85]

I'd like to hear if anyone hear uses a Nissan Murano as a tow vehicle. How does it handle a trailer? Sway? Mtn. climbs? Steep slippery ramps?

My boat is 3200lbs and the Murano manual says 3500lb trailer limit, and I intened to use it to tow just want to make sure it can handle it before I buy the hitch and wires etc.


Thanks.

 

[ckone0814]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

Is 3200 the total weight of boat, trailer, motor, beer, and all other goodies?

I say that's way too close. If it were me I would not tow that unit with a Murano. I'm around 4000 all loaded-up and think my 05 Pathfinder is at the limit even though I'm well under all the numbers.

There's a lot more than tow limits. You better look at tongue weight, gcvw, etc. Also braking - that's a lot of weight for a Murano to stop. Does your trailer have brakes?

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

Could be to close for comfort. Remember you have to stop as well as go.
As said above, add up all the "extras" like gear, fuel etc and see just what you have.
Welcome to iboats

 

[11rufus11]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

What is your boat and motor exactly? Does the trailer have surge brakes or electric brakes? They are recommended for towing anything over 2000 lbs. But be very careful here. If you have the Nissan towing package installed on your Murano, they will install a Class II hitch. A class II hitch is rated at 3500 lbs max and 300 lb tongue weight. If the total weight of your boat, motor, gas, gear, and TRAILER is 3200 lbs like you say, you are ok barely. If you are in any doubt of total weight, DO NOT TOW. It could be a disaster. I assume you have the CVT transmission. I have heard of issues with them slipping going up steep ramps and backing up steep driveways with large towing loads in other forums, but maybe those people have exceeded the weight limits and did not know it. Your Murano has sufficient power and torque anyway for 3200 lbs towing. Not sure of axle or tranny durability though. If your weight is correct, give it a try. If you experience any problems, give it up. Buy a used truck.

 

[cribber]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

Your Murano is similar in class to my Pacifica and I tow a Glastron GT-185 with no problems and can comfortably tow near to 5000 lbs with my setup. I'd be pulling the same setup with a Murano if my local Nissan dealer would have come down just a touch on price. I wouldn't want to exceed the recommended capacity since I enjoy my ride. The Murano is rated at 3500 pounds and if you use load leveling it can take 5000. Just make sure whatever you get... the trailer has surge brakes and you'll be fine as long as you don't exceed the maximum tow capacity of your setup. Just be cognisant of your distances and you'll be fine. Why ruin a great weekend out on the water for a "what if" situation on the road. That's why we have insurance to back us up...

 

[JB]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

Amatuer drivers of tow vehicles shouldn't try to manage over about 70% of the rated tow.

A 3,200# boat will make a load close to 4,000# when loaded with normal take-alongs, fuel, batteries, etc, and then placed on a steel tandem trailer with good brakes.

That makes your Murano too small and too light.

Get a tow vehicle rated for at least 6,000# and make sure the trailer has good brakes.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

Amatuer drivers of tow vehicles shouldn't try to manage over about 70% of the rated tow.

A 3,200# boat will make a load close to 4,000# when loaded with normal take-alongs, fuel, batteries, etc, and then placed on a steel tandem trailer with good brakes.

That makes your Murano too small and too light.

Get a tow vehicle rated for at least 6,000# and make sure the trailer has good brakes.

And so say most of us !!!!

 

[DixieBoatN]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

Call me old fashioned (even though I am only 33 years old) but I just don't like the idea of towing anything with a vehicle that is unibody designed. I like my trailer hitch to be bolted to a frame. I don't trust a vehicle that depends on specially formed sheet metal as its backbone.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

Call me old fashioned (even though I am only 33 years old) but I just don't like the idea of towing anything with a vehicle that is unibody designed. I like my trailer hitch to be bolted to a frame. I don't trust a vehicle that depends on specially formed sheet metal as its backbone.

I have to pretty much agree with this one with a few exceptions.
My full size Dodge 3500 Van tows just fine, it's only problem is traction with it's highway tires, Jeep Cherokee is a unibody and it's a pretty capable tow vehicle up to a point, and my old Ford Aerostar, also a unibody, towed my 2,200lb boat for 12 years with no issues whatsoever.

I agree that when it comes to real weight, anything over the weight of the tow vehicle in most cases, it takes a real frame and a truck or SUV designed with towing in mind. Forget front wheel drive anything in my book, forget crossover vehicles, and forget most small import vehicles.

 

[sleeper]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

I'd like to hear if anyone hear uses a Nissan Murano as a tow vehicle. How does it handle a trailer? Sway? Mtn. climbs? Steep slippery ramps?

My boat is 3200lbs and the Murano manual says 3500lb trailer limit, and I intened to use it to tow just want to make sure it can handle it before I buy the hitch and wires etc.


Thanks.

trade it in for a pathfinder. I would not tow that close to the rating, especially with a CVT transmission and FWD.

 

[ckone0814]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

I forgot about the cvt trans...

that really puts me on the "no" side now. I just did a lot of research on towing vehicles and decided that the "smallest" I'd go was Pathfinder, 4Runner, Tacoma, Frontier; body on frame, good torque, trans fluid/oil coolers.

 

[Adrift]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

Your Murano is similar in class to my Pacifica and I tow a Glastron GT-185 with no problems

I tow a GT 185 4.3 Volvo with my 03 Murano. I do have surge brakes. It tows just fine, in fact better than I expected. I have the 4WD which gives piece of mind at the ramp. My usual tow is about 45 minutes and the tow and ramp are pretty flat.

I bought the boat specifically because I didn't want to buy a tow vehicle and a boat (plus the boat fits in my garage).

Others raise good points about unibody, tow rating, CVT etc. IMO if you already have a Murano and want to know if it will tow 3200lbs the answer is yes. If you have a boat and want to buy a tow vehicle, the Pathfinder is probably better (it's on my short list if/when I get to that point).

 

[tnduc]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

Two years ago I was in the market for a midsize SUV. Criteria was that it had to comfortably seat 6 and tow my boat. After much research and trials, I settled on the Pathfinder. I have been very happy with it. The Murano was initially on the list, but seemed iffy on towing my boat.

 

[JCon85]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

Thanks for all the replies. Good and informative. Ideally I would buy a new tow vehicle with a higher towing capacity. Let me explain my situation a little more:

I purchased the vehicle back in the fall. I've had the boat for a few years now and it is on its last leg. My aunt gave it to me a couple years and the motor needs to be rebuilt but still runs very strong. That is a whole other issue and please, don't lecture me on that. It runs and I don't have the money to put into it to get it fixed right.

I drive 50mi one way to work every day, so I put around 600mi a week on the vehicle. My main priority when choosing a vehicle was a nice comfortable ride and good gas mileage. Also wanted it to be able to tow the boat on the weekends 20 miles to the lake in flat Raleigh, NC. I don't have the money to buy another vehicle. If I don't feel comfortable I guess I can rent a truck for the day to run it to the lake and back.


If you were in my shoes you would still tow the boat provided it felt comfortable behind the vehicle right??

 

[jayinpa68]

Re: Murano As a Tow Vehicle?

I would say as long as you are not going over your weight limit for vehicle and hitch you should be fine as long as you drive with a little common sense. longer stopping distance etc.