Nissan Armada & Infiniti QX56 Forums banner

2500 mile road trip with trailer

4K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  rickyfsu 
#1 · (Edited)
Just returned from a 2500+ mile road trip with our Armada and 26' travel trailer. We left last Tuesday, June 16 from home in Southern California, went up I-15 through Las Vegas and St. George, UT (115+ degrees through the desert), then along I-70 through Grand Junction, CO (James M. Robb State Park is a beautiful place to stop overnight, right on the Colorado River), over the Rockies through Vail Pass and Eisenhower Tunnel to Denver, then south on I-25 to Colorado Springs. We spent three nights in Colorado Springs getting my older son situated for his second year as a cadet at the US Air Force Academy. We stayed at the campground on the Academy, which is absolutely beautiful, until a train goes by. And, wouldn't you know, the majority of them seem to go by between 2 and 5 AM!! Crap, those things were loud! After saying our good-by's to our son on Sunday morning after church at the AFA Chapel, we headed back north to Rocky Mountain National Park, for 5 nights of camping, hiking, exploring, a bit of mild off-roading, and sitting around the campfire. On Friday, we headed back home, stopping again at James M. Robb State Park near Grand Junction, finding a great local brewery for dinner with my brother and his family, who were heading up for a week of white-water rafting near Aspen and Breckenridge. Yesterday morning we were up pretty early, and drove 14 hours home, 751 miles in one day.

Overall, the Armada did extremely well. Averaged 10.3 mpg according to the computer, probably a bit less when I do all of the calculations by hand. The temperature gauges never budged, even when stuck in bumper to bumper traffic between Mesquite and Las Vegas for 30 minutes in 115 deg temperatures due to a crash (a real nasty one, a guy driving a late model Tahoe towing a horse trailer somehow rear-ended a Nevada State Trooper vehicle that looked like it was parked on the shoulder; the police cruiser, a Dodge Charger, was almost destroyed, and the Tahoe was also pretty smashed. The horse trailer was upside down on the shoulder, it looked like it might have flipped a couple of times. Amazingly, the horse was standing on the shoulder of the highway, looking completely unscathed. We said a prayer as we went by for all that were involved). We had no mechanical issues with either the Armada or the trailer.

Now, the not so fun part. Both the truck and the trailer are a complete mess. It's going to take the best part of next weekend to get them both cleaned up how I like them!!

Once again, I'm impressed with how well the Armada works as a tow vehicle, and how comfortable it is to drive long distances. I was once again reminded how bad the stereo sounds, even with the supposed "upgrade" that comes with the Platinum. I've had $20/day rental cars from Hyundai with better stereos! We now know where Nissan really cheaped out.

Keith
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Great trip you had there! Thanks for sharing. I look forward to making trips with a travel trailer at some point. Meanwhile I'll be heading back to Washington from Utah again in late July for a week. You're right about how comfortable the Armada is as a travel vehicle. The stereo (bass mostly) could use some enhanced, tighter bass for sure. I intend to remedy that as some point with a Polk subwoofer and Rockford Fosgate amp I already have from my previous vehicle. I too hate how messy cars get from a vacation trip. Pain to get it all back pristine.
 
#3 ·
Nice report indeed. Wish we could see some pictures. Share pictures if you wish.

I agree too about it being a great travel vehicle and a lot of work to clean up after a very long trip like this.
 
#4 ·
Sounds like a great trip. I agree the Armada is a very robust vehicle.
 
#5 ·
What's the weight of your travel trailer? I've towed my parents 27' foot trailmanor a few times and now they have a 31' travel trailer that is rated for a 1/2 ton, but I'm feeling a little hesitant about the armada's abilities. Thinking of borrowing their Yukon xl 2500 win the 8.1 instead of using the armada. I hate the way the Yukon drives and the seats are tighter, but it has more torque and weight.

How did you like ascending and descending I-70 / Eisenhower?
 
#6 ·
Dry, my trailer is about 4,400 lbs, loaded about 5,600. It's 26' long tongue to rear bumper. I had no issues on any of the grades we have towed this trailer over, including Eisenhower. We've also taken it over Independence, and over the Trail Road through RMNP.

How much does the 31' trailer weigh? What is the GVWR of the trailer? And, does your Armada have the factory tow package?

Keith
 
#7 ·
Keith, what was your speed up the incline out of Vegas? My 2500 trip towing lighter then yours wasn't so good up those incline. I was crawling up at 25-30mph maybe. My temp was crawling up and I had to turn off my ac. The outside temp was the same 115+ . both my transmission temp and engine temp just going up and up and not staying in the optimal range. Was in 4th and 3rd sometimes in 2nd.
 
#8 ·
Worst case, 40 mph in 2nd gear at about 4000 rpm. Once, I got caught behind a very slow truck (going about 10 mph), and I had no issue getting back up to 40 mph once traffic cleared enough for me to make the lane change. None of my temp gauges even budged, and I had the A/C on the entire time.

When you are towing, do you manually shift down, or do you let the truck do it for you? I always try to anticipate when the truck is starting to labor, and then shift down manually. This way I'm assured that the torque converter doesn't unlock, which can quickly lead to higher temps in the transmission.

Keith
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top