Nissan Armada for towing? (Yes, sorry - yet another tow vehicle thread; in my defense I DID do a search!)

[Dr_Doolittle]

Please be kind

We recently “lost” our beloved old Suburban: it was 30 years old, and we had been towing with it for 23 years. It finally gave up the ghost after delivering my “precious cargo” (homebred mare) one last time from one of my favorite competition venues in MD. (Since it was starting to fail on the haul home, I believe it “gave its life” to get her back safely - I have a real sentimental attachment to it and I cried when it was cranked up onto the tow truck…)

Luckily my BM was “on standby” during the ride back to come save us; thank heavens for cell phones!)

Apparently the rear gear box just “exploded” (according to our mechanic) - and catastrophically. We had always done regular maintenance, and it had gotten the thumbs up from the same mechanic a couple of months before its demise - but nothing lasts forever, and we certainly got a good long run from the old girl.

Anyway, SIGH, we are now looking for a replacement tow vehicle that won’t break the bank, but you know how it is recently with truck prices - and vehicle prices in general! UGH.

DH has some gearhead friends who suggested the Armada to him, but since NONE OF THESE GUYS HAVE ANY HORSE KNOWLEDGE!, I am automatically suspicious of anything they recommend. It’s like the car dealers who have zero clue about hauling and think “any truck can haul a horse trailer” just because they are rated to tow X amount of weight - not the case!

It seems like it has enough power to do the job, but the wheelbase seems pretty short at 121.1. We have also obviously been looking at pickups: crew cab short bed would be a preference - but anything that’s 3/4 ton is VERY spendy. The cheapest we’re finding is between 35-40K unless we want to take a chance on older, very high mileage, possibly needing maintenance and beat to death.

I have a BP Hawk, no dressing room - and would only ever haul one small horse (about 1,110 lbs.)

Local hauling only - the farthest venue we haul to is about an hour and 15 minutes away.

Thoughts? TIA!

[atlatl]

Sorry about your Suburban. We’re looking to replace our 20 year old Tahoe this year.

I think the Nissan Armada would easily pull the trailer and horse you describe. It tows 8500 pounds. I’m not a fan of shorter wheel-based tow vehicles, but how you drive is more important I think.

I’ve used the Tahoe to tow a 2 horse WB size straight load with a dressing room for years. It’s a half ton with a tow package. We also tow a 22’ travel trailer with it. Never had a problem.

I know there are folks that will say that you need that 3/4 ton truck, but that rating is for what can go in the bed. I think the real factors are the wt it will tow, and whether it has a tow package which is, IMO, where you get things like transmission gear ratio, transmission oil cooler etc that are what you need to tow safely.

Good Luck!

[enjoytheride]

A half ton truck would be fine for your needs with the right towing package, right engine, and toss in some sway bars

[Dr_Doolittle]

Thanks - that’s what I was thinking too.

[enjoytheride]

Just select the biggest motor you can find with stiffer rear gears. And a real truck please. Not the ones with the itty bitty 4 foot beds. The extra wheelbase will come in handy when you hit some wind, and you’ll put all sorts of stuff in the bed. I towed with a 1/2 ton for years. Will I ever go back? No! But it was a totally suitable set up for my needs.

[LCDR]

I just built and priced and read 2003 Nissan Armada reviews. In my opinion, given your horse trailer, it will be a very fine vehicle for your horse towing needs. I like the 12 inch screen too. Makes it easier to see and navigate your way to those horsey places you haven’t been to before. It does not seem to have a factory installed electric brake controller, but it appears to have the wiring connector for one already installed under the dash. And at around $53,000 with 4WD, it is a good price considering the way it is equipped, especially if you might ever need 8 seats.

Happy towing !

[atr]

I’m a fan of Nissan vehicles on the whole–I have a Nissan truck and have had several Nissan cars in the past, but IMHO, the Armada is a complete dog. I looked at it a few years ago and test drove one, and it was just horrible. My kids rented one when they were here on vacation and they hated it, too.

Maybe it’s just us. But do take it for a serious test drive before you commit!

[FitToBeTied]

I looked at the specs for a 2023. It’s got a lot of oomph from the engine but it has some towing deficiencies in my opinion. It has a fairly short wheelbase and has a lot of body overhang in the back. It is only rated for towing 8500 lbs. For a vehicle with that much power but little towing, I suspect the suspension, etc. are soft and light to improve the passenger ride. Like a previous discussion about the Nissan frontier, the Armada is a fairly light vehicle at 5600 lbs. So as in a previous discussion F=MA is not in your favor as your standard trailer plus horses will be getting close to your vehicle weight.

[luvmyhackney]

Go test drive one.
I drove a rental one and hated it. It sucked around Western Loudoun and that wasn’t hauling anything.

A little research will tell you they have issues with premature gear box failure, so not something I’d haul with.

Could you get a Tahoe on the bigger wheelbase?

[Jarpur]

Get a longer wheelbase vehicle. Last time I shopped, I could really tell the difference during test drives, even though I wasn’t pulling a trailer.

[FitToBeTied]

I looked this up. The base price for an Armada and an F-250 are the same. So why tow with a questionable vehicle.

[Dr_Doolittle]

Jury is still out (obviously), but FWIW the Tahoe has a slightly shorter wheelbase than the Armada - and though DH found some cheaper Armadas, everything half decent we look at (looking on Carmax) is over 40K.

I would love another Suburban - but 60-80K?!?! Yeah, no. We prefer a Chevy truck (to Dodge or Ford - see recent “death rattle” thread), but the expense seems comparable.

What we don’t want is a used truck that has really high mileage, has been been “beat to death”, and requires lots of maintenance and repairs to keep it roadworthy. Kinda BTDT, and we have racked up pretty much all of our CC debt over the past 25 years from car repairs! We don’t use credit cards for anything else. We just want something safe (and it doesn’t have to be fancy) for our relatively modest needs; hauling locally about 20 times a year.

(When I shared the saga of the Suburban on FB, I got a PM from someone who wanted to offload their old truck with 250K plus miles on it, LOTS of wear and tear - and they also wanted way too much for it! Obviously it was worn out and they wanted to replace it by pawning it off on someone else ) I do not want to buy someone else’s castoff vehicle and run up tens of thousands in repair bills - but obviously can’t afford anything new. A conundrum.

Around here (NOVA, land of the upwardly mobile self-aggrandizing gasbag), there are TONS of brand new SUVs and pickup trucks that are fancy, loaded, and in the case of the P/U trucks - used only for going back and forth the grocery store and maybe carrying some boards or mulch in the bed - they are all immaculate, and most don’t have hitches attached so are obviously not used for hauling. They have ALL the new fangled bells and whistles (who needs all these things on a functioning work vehicle? Oh, wait.), and with young guys, they seem to be “status symbols”. Or something.

DH and I are not “well heeled”, and we get by just fine but don’t spend money on the things others in our area do - our lifestyle is very modest by NoVa standards. I would be happy with an older vehicle (NOT beat to death) but safe, mechanically sound, and not fancy.

I don’t prefer the shorter wheelbase, but there is also an option of a weight stabilizing hitch (which we probably should have invested in for the Burby), and since our trailer has no dressing room we pretty much need at least a crew cab for my stuff.

Thanks to everyone for weighing in!

[luvmyhackney]

Tahoe is built on the same frame as the Suburban and Silverado truck. My friend has one and it pulls her trailer with one horse beautifully. Plus the engine is rated higher for reliability than the Armanda.

Gets you a similar feel as the Suburban.

[Dr_Doolittle]

I would consider a Tahoe.

[CuriosoJorge]

Conversely to many people posting here, I just had an Armada as a rental car and loved it.

If you like driving it, get an electric brake controller and be happy!