LE 4x4 with or w/o Offroad Package?

[SDGator]

Hey everyone,

I'm a new member here and I'm looking to pull the trigger soon on a LE CrewCab 4x4. Anyways, I am debating on whether to get the 4x4 stand alone or with the Offroad Package (and Big Tow). I plan on doing some offroading down here in Southern Cali, but I don't plan on towing anything. Can someone offer any insight on why you did or did not get this option? Thanks for your help. I'm looking forward to owning one of these rigs soon!

Sean

[evie_TITAN]

Just my 2 cents on the "offroad" tires. Reading tirerack.com user reviews on the BFG rugged trail is pretty sad. I think these are just highway all season tires, and to quote bfgoodrichtires.com. they have "authentic all-terrain appearance".

You might skip the package and invest the money on some 285/65-18 BFG A/T KO's on the stock LE rims.

[stephenson18]

when i bought my titan i didn't plan on towing anything either but over six months i could have used a couple of times. i suggest you get it just in case. may never use it but always nice to have!

[TitanicSE]

If you're going to off-road, there's MUCh more to the package that's beneficial than just the Tires. And by the way, I've been using BFG Rugged Trails for over 2 years and they've been AWSOME tires both offroad and in snow so....no idea what these others are comparing them to. (Keep in mind they're also different now than when I had them on my Frontier SC....tread design differs quite a bit)
The tow pkg is probably a good if for nothing else.....a good selling point down the road. It's cheap enough.

[tahoetitan]

At first I was contemplating not getting the Big Tow....but since I have it I have really fallen in love with the mirrors and like others have said, it is not that much and you have a truck that can tow like a champ. I keep my hitch in the side toolbox...it fits perfectly, that way I am always ready to hitch up a trailer if I need to.
I got an SE without the off road package. I live in Lake Tahoe and have recently been driving the truck in the snow with the 18's and Goodyear's. No problems with slipping and sliding at all. I will probably get something a bit more rugged when these wear out to give the truck a more aggressive look. I wasn't planning on taking the truck off road that much anyhow so it was a no brainer for me. Heck...I even pulled a F-150 out of the ditch the other day after our first snowfall...my tires didn't even spin, gotta love it. Hope this info helps.

Jonathan

[ruauman2]

If you can afford the OR and BT, go for it. That way you won't kick yourself in the butt later on for not getting it. I had a lot of tires on my old Dodge Ram and the BFG tires on my Titan are comparable. I've only got a 1000 miles on them so I can't tell you how they will do over the long run. Good luck.

[skyhammer]

The BFG Rugged Trail tires aren't rugged and should never be used on trails. They are a passenger car tire. A truck should have LT rated tires. The sidewalls on the rugged trail tires are paper thin. The same goes for the Goodyear tires also.
I had BFG Rugged trail tires on my Tundra and had so many sidewall flats that after 5000 miles they were shot. My Goodyear tires I have on my Titan are now shot after 8000 miles. The only reason they lasted 8000 miles is that I know they are worthless and don't drive the Titan on the ranch any more that I have to.
If you live in the city and or drive on the highway most of the time perhaps the passenger rated tires would be the way to go.
LT tires are heavier and your ride will be more harsh, but they will last longer off road and will carry a load much better.

[NorCal 4x4]

Originally Posted by SDGator

Hey everyone,
I'm a new member here and I'm looking to pull the trigger soon on a LE CrewCab 4x4. Anyways, I am debating on whether to get the 4x4 stand alone or with the Offroad Package (and Big Tow). I plan on doing some offroading down here in Southern Cali, but I don't plan on towing anything. Can someone offer any insight on why you did or did not get this option? Thanks for your help. I'm looking forward to owning one of these rigs soon!
Sean

What this comes down to is do you want VDC, E-LOCK®, or neither. I would go for the VDC based upon your intended usage. [Personally I would go for the SE with E-LOCK®, and maybe with VDC instead if they offered it on the '05 SE].

On the '05 Titans, (according to the nissanusa.com site's Design your Nissan section), the only way to get VDC, (search on VDC for the pros & cons), is on a LE, with the side-air bag package.

1) On the LE 2x4 with the Big Tow, (BT).
2) Or on the LE 4x4 without BT and without Off-Road, (OR).

If you get the 4x4 LE with BT, you must get the OR, (as you stated). And the OR comes with E-LOCK® which means you won't get VDC.

So, you must decide if VDC is worth more to you than the E-LOCK®. Sounds like it would be, for your case, but search and read the pros and cons of VDC and E-LOCK®, [a.k.a. e-locker, elocker, locking differential, lock, etc. for search].

BTW, for the LE models it looks like the final gear ratio is the same as the BT and/or OR Pkg. So you will get the 3.357:1 ratio "similar to a four-speed automatic 4.10:1", even without BT & OR.

So your '05 4x4 LE CC w/o BT & OR would have 7200 lbs. towing, 1162 lbs. payload. Side air bags can be added with or without VDC.

If you don't care about VDC, you can get more towing and payload with a SE, and still get the side airbag pkg.

Remember this is for LE '05 models only, and from the nissanusa.com website.

[SDGator]

Thanks everyone for your help. I ended up getting 2004 LE CrewCab w/ OR and BT. SO far I love this truck! Can't wait to take it out east into the desert now...