Any one towing a 5th Wheel???

cnaimo · 07-10-2005, 06:57 PM

Looking for some guidance thinking about towing a 5th wheel i have heard it is not recommended i havent seen anything in the users manual of course the dealer is useless.

Any help would be great

Charlie

Tiburon65 · 07-10-2005, 07:12 PM

You are probably only limited on the weight. My folks got a big rig but they pull it with a Ford 250, its about 14k lbs. If you tow under the limit for your truck you should be ok no matter what method you use to tow.

TallTexan · 07-10-2005, 08:34 PM

If you have a crew cab it will not work. Bed too short. King cab o.k.

**HudsonValleyTitan** · 07-10-2005, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnaimo

Looking for some guidance thinking about towing a 5th wheel i have heard it is not recommended i havent seen anything in the users manual of course the dealer is useless.

Any help would be great

Charlie

I know a few who tow 5th wheels but they're both KCs. If you have a CC, the bed isn't long enough to put the gooseneck over the rear wheels and have room to slide. Otherwise, there's are LOTS of 5th wheels that the KC can handle weightwise. The lack of any sway seems to be the big benefit with a 5th wheel. I have the CC so, I couldn't do it.

SKIBUM · 07-10-2005, 08:48 PM

Cnaimo,
A 5th wheel trailer will tend to tow better than a conventional trailer because the pivot point and tongue weight is directly over the rear axel. But…turning sharp corners and backing the 5th wheel is compromised unless you get a hitch that slides back 12-18 inches behind the rear axel due to the short box of a titan. This is so the front end of the trailer doesn’t bash in the cab of your truck when maneuvering at sharp angles. Some hitches are manual slide, some are automatic depending on brand and $$$. If you have a quad cab, I wouldn’t even consider a 5th wheel, the bed is way to short. An 8 foot bed works best for 5th wheel towing.
I’ve towed both, conventional and 5th wheel (conventional only with Titan). When we bought our Titan, we had a small 5th wheel but decided to sell it and get a conventional trailer for a few reasons. I didn’t want to mess with a sliding hitch ($$$ & holes in the bed of a new truck), didn’t want to loose the bed of the truck for carrying camping necessities plus we were ready for a larger trailer. Here’s a site that explains the reasons for a sliding 5th wheel hitch for short bed trucks. Hope this helps…
http://www.torklift.com/turning_radius.htm

Clancy · 07-11-2005, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnaimo

Looking for some guidance thinking about towing a 5th wheel i have heard it is not recommended i havent seen anything in the users manual of course the dealer is useless.

Any help would be great

Charlie

Here's a member towing a 5th wheel (and then some)...

Double towing

ned946 · 07-11-2005, 08:26 AM

http://www.rv.net/forum
search for titan...lots of discussion.
Don't tow a 5th w/ a titan (or any other 1/2 ton for that matter).
Stick w/ a travel trailer....in the 3500 dry weight range in my opinion (for long term, happy and in control towing).

ptgarcia · 07-11-2005, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ned946

http://www.rv.net/forum
search for titan...lots of discussion.
Don't tow a 5th w/ a titan (or any other 1/2 ton for that matter).
Stick w/ a travel trailer....in the 3500 dry weight range in my opinion (for long term, happy and in control towing).

Boy, that sounds like an ultra-conservative weight to me. You could pull that with a minivan...

RV.net is a good site, but look out for the "weight police"! Most think you need a 3/4-ton diesel to pull a pop-up! And I learned 1/2-tons aren't "real" trucks, and if its not Ford, Dodge, GMC or Chevy it's crap!

**HudsonValleyTitan** · 07-11-2005, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ptgarcia

Boy, that sounds like an ultra-conservative weight to me. You could pull that with a minivan...

RV.net is a good site, but look out for the "weight police"! Most think you need a 3/4-ton diesel to pull a pop-up! And I learned 1/2-tons aren't "real" trucks, and if its not Ford, Dodge, GMC or Chevy it's crap!

You get that impression too? Thought it was just me! Most think you need a semi to pull a Triton ATV trailer! Unbelievable the misinformation that flies around!

ned946 · 07-11-2005, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ptgarcia

Boy, that sounds like an ultra-conservative weight to me. You could pull that with a minivan...

RV.net is a good site, but look out for the "weight police"! Most think you need a 3/4-ton diesel to pull a pop-up! And I learned 1/2-tons aren't "real" trucks, and if its not Ford, Dodge, GMC or Chevy it's crap!

What you and many people forget is the <<BLING BLING>> 9500 lbs <<BLING BLING>> isn't all that you need to keep in mind.
Most importantly is the fact that you can only load about 1500lbs onto the titan (or most any 1/2 ton). If you wanna be safe and w/in spec's AND include all the stuff you're gonna take (water, propane, you, your family, your generator, wood for the camp fire, food, fuel, and on and on and on) you'll probably be below the 9500 towing capacity...but way OVER the GVWR numbers.

Do what you want, but the titan is a 1/2 ton truck. It only has a D44 axle (yes, I know people will chime in saying its some sort of "special" or "reinforced" version of a 44....its only a 44 though).

Be safe and good luck.

Have you taken your truck to a scale for real numbers? Do you KNOW what you are talking about?
I have.
I had 600 lbs left for the trailer w/ just me, the family and a full tank of gas...and we ain't THAT fat.

Your TT (a very nice model I'd like to say) has a DRY tongue weight of 700 lbs :

Unloaded Vehicle Weight 6900*
Gross Carrying Capacity 3100*
Hitch Weight (lbs) 700*
Fresh Water Capacity 56
Black Water Capacity 40
Gray Water Capacity 80
LPG 14 gal
Overall Body Length 28' 8"

Your trailer is nearly 7000lbs plus you'll add 8lbs per gal of water (you can carry 56) plus 120 gals of waste water (I know this set up wouldn't happen often w/ both tanks plus fresh all full) plus your LPG...
Dude, your getting up around 9000lbs once you have all your gear. I can say w/ absolute certainty that you are over the capacity of your titan.

It is your choice to do this, but I think it is poor judgement to tell others that this can be safely done.

ned946 · 07-11-2005, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HudsonValleyTitan

You get that impression too? Thought it was just me! Most think you need a semi to pull a Triton ATV trailer! Unbelievable the misinformation that flies around!

Its called safety and staying w/in specs.

The original post was regarding 5th wheels.
If you know about towing, then you know that a 5th puts quite a bit more weight on the king pin than a TT...most are in the 1000 to 1500lb range. Right off the bat you are over the limits of the titan.

I'm sure you also know that Nissan does not support towing a 5th w/ a titan.

Who's full of misinformation here?

uititan · 07-11-2005, 06:22 PM

I don't own a travel trailer, but spent about an hour last night reading the conversations on the RV web site. If I'm not mistaken, a couple of TitanTalk members were really defending the Titans against some pretty close-minded Big-3 folks on that site. Some were insisting that the Titan doesn't have a boxed ladder frame and that the Titan won't hold up nearly as well in an accident at those of the Big-3. What a joke. Glad to see you guys were defending the Titan -- and using facts!

ned946 · 07-11-2005, 06:45 PM

Agreed! I do think the titan is the BEST 1/2 ton truck out there.
I DO try to keep it all in perspective however and remember that it is NOT a 3/4 or 1 ton.

Go titan!

ptgarcia · 07-11-2005, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ned946

Have you taken your truck to a scale for real numbers? Do you KNOW what you are talking about?
I have.
I had 600 lbs left for the trailer w/ just me, the family and a full tank of gas...and we ain't THAT fat.

Your TT (a very nice model I'd like to say) has a DRY tongue weight of 700 lbs :

Unloaded Vehicle Weight 6900*
Gross Carrying Capacity 3100*
Hitch Weight (lbs) 700*
Fresh Water Capacity 56
Black Water Capacity 40
Gray Water Capacity 80
LPG 14 gal
Overall Body Length 28' 8"

Your trailer is nearly 7000lbs plus you'll add 8lbs per gal of water (you can carry 56) plus 120 gals of waste water (I know this set up wouldn't happen often w/ both tanks plus fresh all full) plus your LPG...
Dude, your getting up around 9000lbs once you have all your gear. I can say w/ absolute certainty that you are over the capacity of your titan.

It is your choice to do this, but I think it is poor judgement to tell others that this can be safely done.

ned946,

All I said was 3500-lb is a very conservative weight, and it is. I have never told anyone to buy or tow a trailer as heavy as mine. In fact, I usually tell people to shoot for something at least a 1000-lb lighter.

And "light weight" doesn't automatically correlate to "safe towing". I think pulling my 8000-lb trailer at 60 mph is safer than the guy pulling his 5000-lb trailer at 75 mph.

Finally, thanks! My wife and I really like our trailer. Happy RV'ing!

**HudsonValleyTitan** · 07-11-2005, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ned946

Its called safety and staying w/in specs.

The original post was regarding 5th wheels.
If you know about towing, then you know that a 5th puts quite a bit more weight on the king pin than a TT...most are in the 1000 to 1500lb range. Right off the bat you are over the limits of the titan.

I'm sure you also know that Nissan does not support towing a 5th w/ a titan.

Who's full of misinformation here?

One of the people I mentioned towing a 5th wheel, is the service manager at my local dealer. And he purchased the gooseneck hitch MADE just for the Titan. And no, "most" 5th wheels within the Titan capabilities (lets not get stupid here...no 35' tri-axles) are not that close to the 1500 LB payload the KC can handle. So you would have to be the misinformed I was mentioning.
This particular 5th wheel has a pin weight slightly shy of 900 LBS and a dry weight of about 7800 LBS (and you CAN get them smaller and lighter). So to say you can't tow or shouldn't tow a 5th wheel with a Titan is moronic at best. Nissan does not say you cannot tow a 5th wheel, nor will it void any warranties. You just can't do it with the CC because the short bed won't accomodate the slider. You can call your local dealer if you'd like.
If done correctly, with the proper equiptment (meaning a KC, not a CC), it makes absolutely no difference if it's a TT or gooseneck. If the Titan can handle a 1500 LB payload, it doesn't care what it is!