Car/Truck to pull glider trailer

The CVT is an awesome transmission for towing. My Nissan Murano has a CVT, great stability and very short rear axle to hitch distance. The CVT smooths out the power delivery to the wheels. There is no jerking going up hills like when the automatic transmissions downshift. Just a slow and steady increase in RPM. A great towing vehicle.

Unfortunately, for the new 2015 model, Nissan has reduced the rated towing capacity to 1500 lb. I guess I won't be buying another one.

Anyone at Nissan listening? I won't be buying another one unless you fix that!

My wife has a Subaru XV and it is rated for 1500 lb and we found that an ASW-27 in a Cobra trailer was getting to the limit for the XV. Probably fine for short retrieves on back roads at 40-50 mph, but not out on the highway at 60-70.

On Thursday, March 26, 2015 at 12:33:12 PM UTC+13, Dave Springford wrote:
My wife has a Subaru XV and it is rated for 1500 lb and we found that an ASW-27 in a Cobra trailer was getting to the limit for the XV. Probably fine for short retrieves on back roads at 40-50 mph, but not out on the highway at 60-70.

According to Subaru Australia, the XV is tow rated for 1400 kg, not lb.

http://www.subaru.com.au/car-advice/...owing-capacity

From Canadian Subaru Website:
http://www.subaru.ca/WebPage.aspx?We...ModelYear=2015

Measurements: Towing Capacity
Maximum weight (kg) with trailer brakes (Review Owner's Manual for details)680


Very strange how the same car has different ratings on different continents.

I think you'll find the different in ratings is a function of different test requirements in each country. My understanding is that in some countries (can't remember which) it is simply how heavy a trailer you can pull from a stationary start on a specific gradient.

As such it really doesn't tell you much at all about how it tows. Best place for information on this stuff is the caravan sites. It's not like most glider trailers are very heavy.

Favorite tow car: Saab 900T

Current tow car: Hyundai Tucson - 2010, front wheel drive, 6 speed manual, 1000 lb tow capacity with out trailer brakes, 2000 lb tow capacity with trailer brakes

Great around town car. Would be excellent, if not for rearward visibility issues. 26-27 mpg freeway at normal speeds (around 75 mph). 22-23 mpg towing the trailer.

Adequate tow car. Normally tow Avionic/SZD 55-1 combo with an all up weight of 1700 lbs. (Yes, I did weigh it.) Have also towed Jantar Junior/Gehrline, 2-33/open trailer, 1-26/open trailer and single seat Grob/tube type trailer. Have towed to Montague, Ephrata, AirSailing, Logan, and Nephi. Have towed logging roads and freeway up to (shhhh! don't tell anyone) 90 mph. Front wheel slippage can be a problem towing up steep dirt roads in the rain. Recommend all wheel drive if you land off field a lot.

P9

I found the best tow vehicle I ever had was a Sububan. I have had Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford F-150 FX4, and Toyota pickup. The jeep, I got into. Swaying episode, recovered fine, but scared the daylights out of me. There are two problems with the Suburban, one is mileage is not good and the other was, I kept forgetting I was towing a glider as it towed it so well!

35 years of towing with a variety of vehicles , now a Nissan 4x4 frontier, best ever all round vehicle