Break in period for towing ?

Sordidglow · 01-25-2005, 09:32 PM

I am going to be moving from central Nebraska to Rochester, MN next week. It's a nine hour drive at regular travel speeds. I will be towing a 12x6 U-haul trailer that will not be loaded down real heavy. I have 5,500 miles on my truck, and am wondering about the towing at 50 mph for the first 500 miles. Anyone know for sure why they recommend this? I'm cringeing at the thought of how long this trip will take at 50 mph. Any thoughts on towing at say 60 mph. Thanks for any thoughts guys. Great forum!

logicjunky · 01-25-2005, 09:57 PM

The nice guy answer:

Engineers at Nissan would like for us to properly break in the transmission, rear diff, engine, etc and towing puts an extra load on the gears so they give you a speed limit to ensure this. Same idea with the 1000 mile (can't remember if it's 1000 I'm guessing it is) break in for not going over 4000rpms. You will get better break in on your Titan. Better seals are formed, less excessive force early on keeps you from taking years out of your trucks performance for the older it gets the more it's likely to see performance loss sooner if you are harder on it without a break in period. If you get outside of the 50mph range a little over like 60mph won't hurt too much I suppose. They just don't want us to get carried away early on and feel invincible with the Titan's performance only to find out down the road that we can't get our truck to run like it used to. (This is true of any manufacturer, that is why they spend all that money on testing and design and research the durability of the components that make up our trucks.)

The smart *** answer:

Why listen to those "so called experts" from Nissan? They only built the truck and know every working piece in it and how it will react when we do various things to it like tow something at speeds faster than 50mph for the first 500 miles which goes against their recommended break in period for towing.

Just having some fun...you should be fine...most states (Illinois at least) has a speed limit of 55mph if you are towing a trailer of any kind, regardless of what type of vehicle you are driving. Come to think of it, on the wheel wells of that U-haul trailer it has the speed limit of the trailer printed on them for you to see in your side view mirrors (45mph).

You should follow what U-haul suggests just to be safe. J/K

Oh and make sure you change out the possibly blown fuse in your fuse panel under the hood for the running lights on the trailer. Most have had that fuse blown when they hooked up a trailer to tow...

MikeDeuce · 01-26-2005, 12:02 AM

Did it recently and it took ~11 hours (though there was severe traffic at one point). It was hard, but I feel better having done it... especially after reading in one magazines long term reports that they had to have their rear end replaced after not following the diff break in. Who knows how fast they were going, though.

dman · 01-26-2005, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sordidglow

I am going to be moving from central Nebraska to Rochester, MN next week. It's a nine hour drive at regular travel speeds. I will be towing a 12x6 U-haul trailer that will not be loaded down real heavy. I have 5,500 miles on my truck, and am wondering about the towing at 50 mph for the first 500 miles. Anyone know for sure why they recommend this? I'm cringeing at the thought of how long this trip will take at 50 mph. Any thoughts on towing at say 60 mph. Thanks for any thoughts guys. Great forum!

Maybe I'm wrong but I think they meant don't tow over 50mph during the first 500 OVERALL miles of the truck. You are at 5500 OVERALL miles and are therefore well over that initial 500 miles. I don't think they meant the first 500 TOWING miles. I wouldn't make sense the way you are interpreting this. That would mean someone that has never towed before and has 100,000 miles on their truck and decides to tow, that Nissan would not recommend going over 50 mphs?.? I wouldn't think was right.

Clint · 01-26-2005, 11:43 AM

Since my truck isn't here yet I too questioned this. One of the great members in here was nice enough to link me to a place to read the owners manual. It says do not tow anything in the first 500 miles. From that point towing under 50 mph for the next 500 miles would bring you to the 1000 mile engine break in recommendation. I'll wait until I hit the 1000 miles first before towing to play it safe.
Bottom line is I agree,with 5500 miles there shouldn't be any reason to have any worry. Still hesitant call the dealer and ask a mechanic or service manager. Good luck and have a safe move....

Clint

jdmartin · 01-26-2005, 01:31 PM

I checked this out and am reasonably certain that the recommendation is 50mph or less for the first 500 miles of towing, regardless of how many actual miles are on the vehicle. In other words, it matters not that you've got 5500 miles on your vehicle; if you've never towed anything, you should keep the speed limit at 50 mph or less for the first 500 miles you start towing.

Orange Crush · 01-26-2005, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dman

Maybe I'm wrong but I think they meant don't tow over 50mph during the first 500 OVERALL miles of the truck. You are at 5500 OVERALL miles and are therefore well over that initial 500 miles. I don't think they meant the first 500 TOWING miles. I wouldn't make sense the way you are interpreting this. That would mean someone that has never towed before and has 100,000 miles on their truck and decides to tow, that Nissan would not recommend going over 50 mphs?.? I wouldn't think was right.

For the first 500 miles (800 km) that you
tow a trailer, do not drive over 50 mph
(80 km/h) and do not make starts at full
throttle. This helps the engine and other
parts of your vehicle wear in at the
heavier loads.

dman · 01-26-2005, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orange Crush

For the first 500 miles (800 km) that you
tow a trailer, do not drive over 50 mph
(80 km/h) and do not make starts at full
throttle. This helps the engine and other
parts of your vehicle wear in at the
heavier loads.

Hmmm interesting...I stand corrected then. Still at 5500 miles, I think it would be fine to tow at a higher speed.

Zardoz · 01-26-2005, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dman

Hmmm interesting...I stand corrected then. Still at 5500 miles, I think it would be fine to tow at a higher speed.

No not unless you have broken in your rear axle by hauling heavy stuff
in the bed for some distance.

Zardoz

MikeDeuce · 01-26-2005, 02:01 PM

Breaking parts in doesn't always just refer to their mechanical interference. I think with the extra load on the differential there are heat issues that would never be experienced with truck alone. Even with spirited driving or hauling, I seriously doubt the truck or differential experiences any of the stresses it does while towing a decent sized trailer.

Sordidglow · 01-26-2005, 05:32 PM

Thanks for the responses guys, I really appreciate them.

*Squid* · 01-26-2005, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeDeuce

Breaking parts in doesn't always just refer to their mechanical interference. I think with the extra load on the differential there are heat issues that would never be experienced with truck alone. Even with spirited driving or hauling, I seriously doubt the truck or differential experiences any of the stresses it does while towing a decent sized trailer.

That is exactly how I interpreted it when I thought about what I had read.So I made short trips (less than 100 miles ) with a healthy cool down period.

skycruiser · 01-26-2005, 08:53 PM

I've often wondered if this 500 mile towing limitation is legitimate, or if it's just a CYA statement on the part of Nissan engineers. In other words, if it was really that important that it is broken-in properly for towing, I would think they would have listed a minimum trailer weight that we need to use for the break-in period. I'm sure they didn't intend on people meeting this requirement by using empty, light (under 1000 lbs) trailers.

Is it possible for Nissan to deny warranty coverage on something if it wasn't broken-in properly? For instance, let's say sometime down the road (no pun intended) while still under warranty, I experience a failure of a component while towing a trailer. The dealer asks if I used their recommended break-in procedure, to which I reply that I did, and with a 4000 lb trailer. Could they come back and say something to the effect of "sorry, you needed to use a minimum of 5000 lbs, so since you failed to follow our recommended procedure, we're not obligated to fix your truck under warranty."???

*Squid* · 01-27-2005, 01:12 AM

Hey Skycruiser anything is possible but here's why I do things the way I do. I'm going to be past the warrenty period by this Sept at the latest so I take care of my truck from the Get go. I'm already over 17,000 miles.

skycruiser · 01-29-2005, 08:43 AM

So does anyone have any opinions / facts with regards to the minimum amount of weight we should use for the towing break-in period? Somehow I doubt the dealer would be of any help...