Couple Of Questions

Hi all considering a D40 dual cab 2006+ depending on dollars but have been hesitant due to needing it for a family of 4 and worried about rear leg room for the growing kiddies.

So couple of questions.....

1) How is the leg room in the front and rear I am 180cm's tall and would have two kids in the back 8 year olds and above.

2) I need it for a daily drive to work vehicle and towing a 2.5T van and a boat loader. What are they like towing and putting a boat loader on I have only seen one on this forum has any one else done it?

3) Are there any common expensive problems that can come up that I should be prepared for? Not to worried about servicing / brakes etc as I accept this with towing but just want to get an idea of anything that could pop up.

4) What is the carrying load limit of the D40 like the tray weight and all that?

Many thanks for any help!

Welcome to the forums.

1. I'm every bit of 180cm and don't have a problem with leg room in the front of an 09 and I don't think there was that much difference back to the 06 so you should be fine. As far as kids in the back go, I've had adults in the back and they haven't complained. It may never be as much space as a family car but it seems adequate for most people especially kids.

2. I don't take enough notice of reported problems that don't effect me but I think there has been talk that the clutches in the earlier models might have been an issue for towing (search for d40 clutch problems). My 09 auto has had no problems towing, I don't don't tow all that often but on a number of occasions I've pulled over 3 tonne with it and it's been no problems.

3. It's impossible to say what might pop up in the repairs column. There are a number of reported issues throughout this forum but in general I think they have been fairly reliable. Once again a search through the D40 section might reveal somethings to you but I don't think there is a large "known" problem list that you will have to be weary of with the 06.

4. The carrying capacity of the ute itself is only something like about 850kgs I seem to remember, but the 06 may vary slightly from the 09 I have.

Thanks for the info just had a look on red book.

GCM is 5805

Vehicle = 1975kg
Payload = 865kg
Van = 2700kg

Total = 5540

For my pay load I come in at 400kg's including the boat, motor, fuel, passengers.

"If" I have this right it should be enough

All that and the ability to "legally" use as much of the road as you need when turning.

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I'm also over 6' tall, and have had adult passengers in the back of my Navara, without any issues. Almost the same room in the back seat as my former car (falcon wagon), which impressed me for a dual cab ute.

I regularly tow upto 1.3t boat and also a camper trailer 1.0t est. and hardly know the trailer is behind me accept for 1st gear take off. Old.Tony regularly tows a caravan with his Auto D40, and reading between the lines of what he says - the Navara does a good job of that and suits his purposes very well.

Now that i've had my Navara towing the camper trailer even in off-road conditions, i would not hesitate to tow a heavier or larger load if needed. I know my Nav will be able to handle it - i would have to drive to the load that i'm towing of course (meaning being very sensible and dont expect to push to the limit).

WoodyD40 said:

(meaning being very sensible and dont expect to push to the limit).

Click to expand...

Ha Ha Ha sif!

KraftyPg said:

Ha Ha Ha sif!

Click to expand...

yeah well, not all of us drive like the old man u are KraftyPG

There is nothing wrong with driving at 70kph even on the highway.

1) I am about 170cm and have had in laws in the back, he was over 6ft and did not complain in the back. she is a little shorter and actually complimented the room. Must have been reasonable.

2) Have not done a huge amount of towing but on the several occasions I have, it was great. Power ship will help with the towing too, if you can afford it.

3) Many problems as with all vehicles but I have only ever had very small ones that were fixed under warranty. regular servicing and maintenance will keep it in check

4) check out red book for each individual model. They vary slightly but around the 800 mark depending on the year and model.

Thanks guys seems I will get my family into one and test drive it.

For the boat loader I spoke to a few people and it should be fine with a rear loaded boat loader if no canopy on the rolls bars and a side loader if I have a canopy.

Ohhh and 70kph on the highway is that mph?

How much does the boat weigh?

No it's 70kph and that drops to 40 if I see Woody in my mirrors, I like annoying people but annoying Woody is even better. Truth is though I rarely see him in my mirrors because he's always breaking his ute

Hahahahaahaha

Boat is 75kg only a small 3.5 tinnie but does the job and make for an even better holiday !

Not sure how the boat loaders work exactly but I think I'd want a rear loader and having seen home made jobs before I reckon I could adapt one to work with a canopy because side loading just doesn't seem like an easy option to me. Just be careful which canopy you get, not all of them have the same roof rack loading ability, most are 100kg but there are a few out there that are only 80KG and that might be a bit close to your limit when your heaving the boat onto the roof.

That's a good point of the 80kg limit.

Here is some picks of the loaders...

Custom Boat Loaders - Just Some of our Happy Customers..

This is the side loader.

Rhino Rack - Side Boat Loader - Take the Tinnie and Tow - RSBL

Welcome to the forum.

As Woody has noted, my wife and I regularly tour with our 1.8T van behind and our 2009 auto does a splendid job. I'm not big on speed or acceleration, I just like to get to some place, I generally don't drive while watching a clock, so if it takes me a little longer then it just means I had more time to enjoy the scenery.

The 2006 models did have clutch issues and if you're towing a heavy weight you should either NOT ride the clutch too much at all (ie you should get your foot off the pedal ASAP) or solve the problem before you start and get the auto. The auto is a lovely drive, I use mine as a daily driver as well and can't fault it.

The 2006 also had an axle issue which should have been rectified by recall, there should be some indication in the owner's manual regarding this. If not, you can take it to a Nissan dealer and get them to take a look. Here's the official Australian recall site, take a look for yourself.

Room in the rear: there's plenty. The D40 has 175mm extra cabin space over the D22 and most of that went to the rear seat. At 185cm myself, I leave my seat all the way back and still have room for an adult behind me.

It's also comfortable for long trips. We've done a fair bit of touring in ours, and have had 4 adults in it for day trips of 1,000km+ and we've come out feeling good at the end of the day.

As for roof loadings - I believe the max roof loading for a moving D40 is 95Kg, which includes the rack & bindings. Static load may be 2.5X that (I think), so you could put a roof-top tent up there.

If you're going to use a boat ramp I strongly recommend the auto. Problem with boat ramps is they're steep and you can't move too quickly, so in a manual you're constantly feathering the clutch and that's just going to kill it.

For heavy towing, particularly in mountainous terrain, I strongly suggest the auto for that too.

For off-road work, most people suggest the manual but I find the auto is satisfactory, even if I have less control for rock-hopping.

You should be able to put about 890Kg in the back (includes ball weight, or 10% of the towed mass). When you put your van behind, that means you can put about 600Kg in the tub. You should add the increased weight of any long range fuel tank (roughly, 1kg per litre of capacity over 80 litres). Add the weight of your canopy if any - say 80Kg.

With the average family weight of about 250Kg (2 adults, 2 children), you should (with the caravan on the back, canopy + long range tank) be able to put about 240Kg in the back. That could be a Honda Eu20si generator plus 10L of unleaded, an Engel fridge, aux battery + charging system, a few tools, recovery gear and folding chairs.

You will NEED to do something about the rear springs. The stock vehicle's rear springs are not rated for that much weight. Mine sags somewhat - but helper springs (Ironman Load Plus) do assist greatly but as you can see in this photo taken last Friday in Telegherry Forest Park, there's still a noticeable drop at the rear.



Hope that helps some!