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Reversing a boat up hill?


marksy

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i have a nissan pathfinder turbo diesel (might not be called that in the states?) i dunno.. anyway it has a 3000kg towing capacity right.

http://nissan.com.au/pathfinder/

I have a 30m long 40 to 50 degree uphill driveway. It would be much easier to put the boat away if i could reverse up this.

My question might be dumb but here goes. can i reverse my vtx up this hill using my pathfinder or is it only built to pull that amount of weight?

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If it's an auto tranny, being in reverse and putting a heavy load on the driveline is the worst thing you can do. Reverse isn't meant to have that much strain on it. Could you possibly put a hitch on the front of the truck, swap the trailer once you get back to the house and push it straight up the drive?

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Are you sure it's 40-50 degs ? That's extremely steep ! It's even very hard walking up 1m for every 1m travelled. If it's truely that steep I'd consider fitting a solidly mounted electric winch to the rear of your garage and using that to pull the trailer up the slope.

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i have a nissan pathfinder turbo diesel (might not be called that in the states?) i dunno.. anyway it has a 3000kg towing capacity right.

http://nissan.com.au/pathfinder/

I have a 30m long 40 to 50 degree uphill driveway. It would be much easier to put the boat away if i could reverse up this.

My question might be dumb but here goes. can i reverse my vtx up this hill using my pathfinder or is it only built to pull that amount of weight?

Probably pointing out the obvious, but do make sure the surge brake lockout is inserted (if equiped)

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We pretty much have to put our tahoe in 4lo when backing it up our driveway. Tried it once with my sisters explorer (on our old boat) and once I stopped I couldn't get it going again.

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Heavy loads in reverse are the worst thing you can do to your tranny. Period! Just like Pete said.

I would put a front hitch on and push it.

Good luck!

Pat

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If it's an auto tranny, being in reverse and putting a heavy load on the driveline is the worst thing you can do. Reverse isn't meant to have that much strain on it. Could you possibly put a hitch on the front of the truck, swap the trailer once you get back to the house and push it straight up the drive?

Plus1.gif

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Heavy loads in reverse are the worst thing you can do to your tranny. Period! Just like Pete said.

I would put a front hitch on and push it.

Good luck!

Pat

I have a friend that shot his automatic with a rifle..........now wouldn't that be the worst thing you could do? Biggrin.gif

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  • 4 weeks later...
If you driveway is that steep you'll probably have problems with hitting the prop guard on your trailer.

Does any one know what degree of driveway you can back up?

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What about pulling it up the driveway and turning it around at the top?? Is that even an option?? I mean, with the small turning radius of the pathfinder you could turn it around in a pretty small area and position it the way you want.

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What about pulling it up the driveway and turning it around at the top?? Is that even an option?? I mean, with the small turning radius of the pathfinder you could turn it around in a pretty small area and position it the way you want.

With a boat attached????

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What about pulling it up the driveway and turning it around at the top?? Is that even an option?? I mean, with the small turning radius of the pathfinder you could turn it around in a pretty small area and position it the way you want.

yeh not that much room to turn around hence why it would be easier to reverse it up there.

turns out a front hitch isnt road legal in NSW, Australia would have to take it on and off everytime i wanted to use it. Apparently it interfears with safety regulations as it messes with airbag deployment.

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That's interesting. I see lots of them on full size trucks over here in the states but, I bet it would mess with the airbag systems the same way in a frontal crash.

It always amazes me how different vehicle codes are in other countries like inspecting boat trailers. Here in California, they never inspect cars except for emissions once every 2 yrs. They never inspect motorcycles or trailers for ANYTHING, EVER.

Which, I don't agree with.

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i thought of something that would help me just dont know the name.

when you watch motorsport they sometimes in some categories put trolley jacks with wheels under the back tyres to easily swing the back of the car around.

what are these called does anyone know?

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I really think you'd be best off with a front mounted hitch.

I know they're not legal where you are, maybe you could disguise it? This link is actually for a 2007 Xterra, I didn't know what year your pathfinder was so, you would have to start the search over on this site or, do a completely new Google search for the term "front mount hitch nissan pathfinder"

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not worth disguising i dont think?, what if im in an accident one day. guyat the hitch shop said it does actually affect the airbag deployment if they come out too late and smack you in the face they can do alot of damage, best off not being one there at all.

its a 2008 pathfinder.

ill read up on that go jack link now. thanks

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I am curious about all of the caution about backing up with a load.

Automatic transmissions work by engagement and disengagement of ring, sun and planetary gears, all that changes in reverse is which set is locked. They are all bevel cut gears and so rotation direction should not be a concern. Reverse is a very similar ration to 1st gear.

Reading my Silverado owners manual, there is lots of information in the towing and loading section, but no caustions or warnings or other issues listed with backing a load. Discussions with engineers at Allison Transmission and Chevrolet did not identify any concerns.

So, the engineer in me is wondering "why the concerns and don't do it" are raised here?

Edited by MalibuFultz
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