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2006 Nissan Murano Towing Travel Trailer??? Have you?

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#22 ·
I have an 04 murano and have pulled a 6x10 enclosed trailer with quads inside. I do not think the murano is heavy duty enough to trailer with. The CVT is crap and I am in the middle of replacing my second Transfer Case. Only 76,000 miles. Lots of luck........
 
#23 ·
mymurano1 said:
I have an 04 murano and have pulled a 6x10 enclosed trailer with quads inside. I do not think the murano is heavy duty enough to trailer with. The CVT is crap and I am in the middle of replacing my second Transfer Case. Only 76,000 miles. Lots of luck........
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What is a "quad?" Not familiar with that term.

Also, did your towed weight exceed the maximum rated for the vehicle? In that case, you were taking a risk.
 
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#25 ·
mymurano1 said:
I have an 04 murano and have pulled a 6x10 enclosed trailer with quads inside. I do not think the murano is heavy duty enough to trailer with. The CVT is crap and I am in the middle of replacing my second Transfer Case. Only 76,000 miles. Lots of luck........
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AND, you wonder why your transfer case crapped out. Want to tow as you are doing, get yourself a vehicle that is set-up for towing a loaded trailer such as yours. Ever heard of the idiom, " You reap what you sow"....... You are having to replace that transfer case a second time for good reason!
 
#26 ·
BillArf said:
AND, you wonder why your transfer case crapped out. Want to tow as you are doing, get yourself a vehicle that is set-up for towing a loaded trailer such as yours. Ever heard of the idiom, " You reap what you sow"....... You are having to replace that transfer case a second time for good reason!
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You sound like a fear-monger. Do year really believe the act of towing caused the transfer case to fail? Think about it... unless you are towing on a surface that has limited traction the transfer case is never under load. You could pull a 3,500# trailer cross-country and the transfer case would never know.

The MO is more than capable of safely towing up to 3,500 pounds.

Many members have praised the MO for being an excellent tow vehicle.

-njjoe
 
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#27 ·
njjoe said:
You sound like a fear-monger. Do year really believe the act of towing caused the transfer case to fail? Think about it... unless you are towing on a surface that has limited traction the transfer case is never under load. You could pull a 3,500# trailer cross-country and the transfer case would never know.

The MO is more than capable of safely towing up to 3,500 pounds.

Many members have praised the MO for being an excellent tow vehicle.

-njjoe
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"Fear-monger", no, just not stupid. This fellow is towing a 6'x10' enclosed trailer "loaded" with Quads. We will assume multiple Quads at a few hundred pounds each plus fluids, tie downs, tools or whatever. Plus a tank of fuel and occupants in the vehicle. I would venture to say the trailer /the load is way more then this Mo should be towing. I did not mention any specific parts that were stressed but indeed the transfer case & more could be affected. Of course, then we get in to safe towing and if towing this trailer without trailer brakes, etc. is safe towing. No, not a fear monger but quite knowledgeable in regard to towing/safe towing. Want to tow a rig like we are talking about do it with the proper vehicle. No, I am not saying the MO is not a decent tow vehicle if done within recommended towing guidelines authored by Nissan in regard to this vehicle.
 
#28 ·
My concern was with your statement implying the transfer case failures were related to towing. There is no evidence supporting that supposition.

-njjoe
 
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#29 ·
njjoe said:
My concern was with your statement implying the transfer case failures were related to towing. There is no evidence supporting that supposition.

-njjoe
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I hear yah... but reality is something has to give when you tow as mentioned. I guess I did zero in on the transfer case specifically, but... If not the transfer case ... well, could be many things to include the transfer case. I myself tow a 4'x8' light weight, open aluminum trailer with a FatBoy on it. I would never consider towing an enclosed 6'x10' "loaded with just my Harley, let alone " loaded with Quads". My little 4'x8' open trailer with Harley Fat Boy on it is a fair / safe match up for the Murano but ........... Fact is, towing in general can be the precursor for mechanical issues with any vehicle, especially if you are towing close to or above limitations set by the vehicle manufacturer. Of course your driving, how you drive when towing also are at issue. Just because you can pull something doesn't make everything lets say safe and peachy.. In closing, this fellow went through two transfer cases and now needing a third.... could it possibly be due to his towing / the way he drives while towing.. I think so.. :)
 
#30 ·
All I can say without doing a bunch of research on the ATVs is that I'll bet that trailer was seriously overweight.

The trailer probably weighed a minimum of 1000 pounds (the U-Haul auto transports which I've used weigh about that much) and there's no way that four "quads" plus accessories didn't add up to more than another 2500 pounds.

There may be no direct evidence that the transfer case damage was due to this, but I'm not willing to rule it out as a contributing issue. (Edit...) Especially because if you overload or over-task your vehicle in one area of capability, there's a good chance you will overload it in others.
 
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#31 ·
Transfer cases do not fail because of towing. Your transmission, cv joints, driveshaft, drivetrain will all be your weakest link. Unless your a mechanic, you should really think about what you put on a forum. It puts out a great deal of false knowledge when people say" I think...or IMO". And yes, Im a retired mechanic. If you want a list of what can go wrong with your transfer case, bring you vehicle over, we'll talk about it.
 
#32 ·
Jamar said:
Transfer cases do not fail because of towing. Your transmission, cv joints, driveshaft, drivetrain will all be your weakest link. Unless your a mechanic, you should really think about what you put on a forum. It puts out a great deal of false knowledge when people say" I think...or IMO". And yes, Im a retired mechanic. If you want a list of what can go wrong with your transfer case, bring you vehicle over, we'll talk about it.
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Jamar, One other post on this forum / you are new here and you think you know what my knowledge base is... No, I am not a "mechanic" and am glad to say that mechanic, indeed was not my career choice. No, I just tinker with mechanical stuff/vehicles under the tree so to speak and have done so for many years. I do agree 100% though that transmission, cv joints, drive shaft... "drive train" are pretty much your weakest links when towing..... but towing in general, especially overload towing, can be detrimental to parts in general / lets say across the board. You do not need to be a mechanic to know this. Guess my mentioning towing, in a thread specific to transfer case failure was an error on my part.
 
#34 ·
My enclosed trailer weighs 900lbs as per the manufacture. My quads(atv's)weigh 400lbs each as per the manufacture. That comes to 1,700lbs. The Murano is rated to tow 3,500lbs with 350lbs of tongue weight. Even if you throw in an extra 200lbs for misc. gear I am well below the the vehicles capabilities. Also keep in mind the manufacture always under rates the vehicles tow rating. I am a conservative driver and I maintain my vehicles better than most. With that being said two transfer cases in 76k is ridiculous. I don't see how anyone can argue these facts.
 
#35 ·
I have actually been considering adding an aftermarket tow hitch on my 06 S and pulling sportbikes and dirtbikes usually not any trips over an hour or so... debating where to go for the install of the hitch since i am unable to do it myself... also wasnt sure how the Mo would handle pulling that type of load...
 
#36 ·
jules226 said:
I have actually been considering adding an aftermarket tow hitch on my 06 S and pulling sportbikes and dirtbikes usually not any trips over an hour or so... debating where to go for the install of the hitch since i am unable to do it myself... also wasnt sure how the Mo would handle pulling that type of load...
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I did the install of the uhaul round tube hitch myself but I did see a sign saying they offer installation. I've never had them install anything for me so I can't really comment on their quality of work. Probably varies from shop to shop anyway but their hitches have always been high quality.

I would go with the OEM Nissan part for your trailer wiring converter though. I went through 3 of the Curt ones before finally taking the time to tear one apart and realize it was never really designed correctly for the LED taillights on the 06+ Murano. The wire the Curt unit taps into for detecting running lights isn't even the wire that gets 12 volts when the running lights are on. They're instead relying on detecting a tiny voltage change on the brake light wire. My guess is it worked differently on the non LED taillight Murano and Curt just never updated their design.
 
#38 ·
I have a 2006 MO SL FWD.
I use this vehicle daily for towing a 1200lb 7ft by 4ft utility trailer. Landscaping business. Seats down, tons of secure tools, even shovels fit. It has about 125k on it, and still uses all 245 horses to climb me out of desert locations with full debris loads on shifty mountain roads. Trees, bushes, dirt, sand. I force my murano to do what a Ford v6 does. And never had problems. Heaviest scaled total ive seen with mine...6945lbs truck and rig. And I had not issues. Wouldn't recommend and cross country this way.

Key issues I've had....
‐A good class three hitch is a must.
-light kits for LEDS are a pain ask me how to wire a murano for trailer lights. 06 and 07 have a special harness needs.
-Doorman on the battery fails Alot, especially if you add accessory lines to terminal.
-Keep keyless ENTRY batterys on hand AT ALL TIMES.
- front Struts failed at 105k. Replaced.
-125k timing slipped. Oil change and timing correction, thank God it didn't break. replaced right lower control arm and left tie rod and rear shocks. $900.

I have found my murano to be a verifiable asset in towing and my LLC, however it is a family SUV. I'm not hauling a DUMP trailer. Or a 5th wheel. Let's be realistic.
 
#39 ·
JayS said:
I did the install of the uhaul round tube hitch myself but I did see a sign saying they offer installation. I've never had them install anything for me so I can't really comment on their quality of work. Probably varies from shop to shop anyway but their hitches have always been high quality.

I would go with the OEM Nissan part for your trailer wiring converter though. I went through 3 of the Curt ones before finally taking the time to tear one apart and realize it was never really designed correctly for the LED taillights on the 06+ Murano. The wire the Curt unit taps into for detecting running lights isn't even the wire that gets 12 volts when the running lights are on. They're instead relying on detecting a tiny voltage change on the brake light wire. My guess is it worked differently on the non LED taillight Murano and Curt just never updated their design.
Click to expand...
Theres a special kit made for 06 and 07 LEDS.i found only one that fits.
Its on earlier.com
 
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