Weight Distribution & Transmission Cooler for 2012 Nissan Pathfinder V6 Towing 4K-lb Travel Trailer  

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I reviewed the online edition of the owner's manual for your 2012 Nissan Pathfinder V6 and on page 9-21 it notes that the listed maximum towing capacity of 6000-lbs for the V6 presumes only a driver in the car. Additional passenger and cargo weight will reduce the towing capacity. You can estimate the total weight of the additional passengers and cargo to determine your net-available towing capacity. Since you have 2000-lbs more towing capacity than the trailer's actual gross weight you should be just fine.

Nissan also recommends using a weight distribution/sway control (WD/SC) system for trailers whose weight is over 5000-lbs; but certainly you can use one even if your trailer GVWR is only 4000-lbs. We recommend using WD/SC when the trailer weighs more than 50-percent of the vehicle weight. Using a WD/SC system will make for a much more pleasant towing experience, especially for a long trip, by restoring your front-axle steering and braking performance and by eliminating most of the effects of passing trucks and wind gusts.

The key to selecting a system is knowing the fully-loaded trailer's actual tongue weight (TW), by measuring with a scale like # e99044, and to this adding the weight of anything in the tow vehicle that sits behind the rear axle (say a generator or loaded cooler) since that weight behind the rear axle will act just like trailer TW. Knowing this total effective TW will allow you to select a system that provides the desired weight shift to the front axle without creating any weird handling effects from the trailer. Ideally your total TW figure will fall near the middle of the operating range for the WD/SC system you select.

A properly-loaded trailer's TW should be right about 15-percent of the trailer gross weight. For a trailer with a GVWR of 4000-lbs that is loaded up to full capacity the TW should be in the range of 600-lbs. The linked page displays for you all systems for this TW. An excellent choice is the Reese Strait-Line # RP66083 which works over a TW range of 400- to 800-lbs (making it ideal for a 600-lb TW). This advanced system actually prevents sway, rather than trying to stop it after it starts. It includes everything needed except for a hitch ball. Use either 2-inch ball # A-90 or 2-5/16-inch ball # 19286, depending on which coupler size you have on your trailer.

The more economical Pro Series # PS49582 that you referenced is also suited to this same TW but it will not deliver the same anti-sway performance using the sway bar # 83660 as the Strait-Line since it uses a simple friction-style sway control arm that only starts to work once trailer sway begins. The Strait-Line stops sway before it starts. Also, please note that you cannot back up the trailer with a friction sway control unit engaged; you must first release all tension on the arm (or simply remove it from the ball) before you can reverse the trailer.

Vehicles that will tow a trailer will also benefit from installation of a supplemental transmission cooler which helps offset the extra heat generated within the transmission from the trailer's weight load. You can also add supplemental fluid coolers for your power steering and engine oil systems too, to take away some of their towing-related heat burden. However, the first priority for towing is the transmission.

In your V6 you can use Derale's Class III transmission cooler # D13503. The linked install video shows this unit being installed in a 2007 Nissan. The best place to install this is in front of the AC condenser since there it will get maximum air flow.

expert reply by: Adam R

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