dfarrand

You may want to consider adding a Weight Distribution hitch to your tow vehicle. We have Reese WD hitch and bars and a Curt receiver on our 2016 NX 200t for towing our Safari Condo Alto R1723 (approx. 2000lbs loaded).
It makes a big difference. It tracks like a train when installed and I find the handling jerky when the bars are not on.

http://www.reeseprod.com/products/we...mjH4C2gQ0U38ci

gompka

iTrader: (6)

Thanks for the tip, i am first going to experiment with the rav4 adventures springs. The springs are the only change made on the 2018 rav4 that gets an increase to 350lbs tongue weight and 3500lbs towing capacity, it is a small $$ investment. The only thing that i worry about with the weight distribution is that it is not mentioned in the manual, now that doesn't mean toyota doesn't recommend it, but i am still not 100% sure about unibody designs and weight distribution setups. I will have to do more research. The trailer towed really great for the 5000 mile trip and i have put a few hundred more miles on since then without any problems. The rear of the car does squat a little more than i would like and i'm hoping to remedy this with the rav4 springs, the rear squat is expected and within an accepted level, but i would prefer to have more of a buffer while towing to be able to use a cartop carrier or put more passengers in the car in the future.

On a side note, the Lexus nx tow rating is based on SAE J2807 as is the rav4 (1500lb) rating, the rav4 adventure series 3500lb tow limit is not SAE J2807 certified as far as I can tell. The SAE J2807 is very important because it standardizes the way tow ratings are proven and prevents manufactures from basically making numbers up. The test is very rigorous and performed in conditions that most people will probably never encounter, so i am confident in our 2000 lb weight rating.

dfarrand

Here is a pic of the Reese WD hitch on the aluminum framed Alto trailer.
Out of curiosity, what is the weight of your Scamp 13 trailer?

gompka

iTrader: (6)

Thank you for the picture, i haven't had the scamp weighed, but based on what others have measured and my options i would say the scamp is probably 1800-1900lbs fully loaded with water and gear. Even then i can easily move it around by hand with a wheel on the tongue jack. I looked up the Reese system and it looks like it adds about 62lbs of weight, also I see you have a battery, propane tank, and a bike rack and bikes up on the tongue. It seems to me you would be way over the tongue weight if not for the weight distribution hitch, i have a group 31 battery up front, and a single propane tank, i am approaching the 200lb tongue weight limit and the rear of the car with 1 passenger and a few personal things in the trunk is already at about the lowest point I am comfortable with. I will try to reach out to someone at Lexus about using a weight distribution system, but it took me a long time to finally get someone knowledgeable enough to get me details of what the tow package on the nx actually includes, so I do not expect to get any clear answers from the manufacturer. I usually drive 60-65 mph, but the nx had no problems getting to 80mph with the camper and even 10,000 ft passes were not much of a challenge. The engine sits right at around 3,000 rpm when climbing hills etc and just chugs along. I do have electric brakes on the camper, and the only time i experienced a little bit of anything sway related is when i had to make a sudden movement while accelerating, which i felt the trailer pull on the car a bit, but i would consider that somewhat of an emergency maneuver.

gompka

iTrader: (6)

FYI, i looked into the Firestone coil rite air bags, they don't have them for nx for they do for rav4. I took a chance and ordered them since we use the same chassis. I have a post up on the main nx page if you want to take a look. They included a large rubber bumper/cover to take care of that large bolt protruding from the car near the top of the spring. So far so good, i haven't tested it with the camper yet, hopefully will get to go camping in the next week or two.

gompka

iTrader: (6)

Also, looked more into the weight distribution hitch, but for a scamp 13 the frame is not rated for weight distribution hitches and they are not recommended to be used. If i ever move up to a scamp 16, that one is ok for weight distribution hitch.

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

Awesome. Thanks for the follow up

Post some pictures when you get a chance.

gompka

iTrader: (6)

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/nx-...-air-bags.html