My first 5th Wheel Install, I don't believe I'd ever do it for a living... lol 60 Minutes my butt, roughly 5 hours but got her done!! [emoji25] [emoji2]
I ditto the cab corner thought... the bed is so short, its gonna sneak up on you.
Buddy of mine.. who youd never think it would happen to, has done it twice.. but he's got a big camper, and a really screwy drivway to back it into... right off a major highway.. so always a rush..
It's not, 2.93 Gears, I watched the transmission temp like a hawk though just to see what kind of work it was doing. It never went over 195 degrees which is good when towing. Pretty I'm impressed, Nissan made a hell of a transmission. I'm going to change all the fluids to see how everything handled.
Changed the oil and transmission fluid. The transmission fluid came out the cleanest I've seen, looks like brand new fluid, oil came out clean with only 5,000 miles on it but wanted to change it to Amsoil. Installed Amsoil Signature Series 7 Quarts 5-W30, and 4 Quarts Amsoil ATF. Got Amsoil Gear Oil I'm going to do the front and rear differentials and the transfer case next week. Everything looks solid though even after hauling the camper.
Tranny might be ok, but you are putting quite the strain on your rear diff with the 2.93 ratio. Personally, I don't think I'd tow something that size with my Titan, and I have the tow package...
Lol, yeah I changed all the fluids everything looks good. I don't think I'm going to haul it again but I was pretty impressed that I ran into no issues.
2008 Nissan Titan: Once I made it to Maryland I changed all the fluids with Amsoil. The results were amazing!
Trans Temp:
-Before: 183° - 195°
-After: 168° - 178°
Engine Temp: Also used Wetter Water
-Before: 195°
-After: 190°
These Temps were watched very closely while towing 15,000 LBS. All the fluids changed came out clean like new. No metal shavings in the rear end, transmission fluid looked brand new, and the engine oil was clean. I installed Amsoil in everything and I can visually see the improvement. I don't plan on hauling anything that heavy again but I must say our trucks are insanely powerful. I never looked into Nissan before but after this one truck I'm very impressed. Yes I don't get gas mileage, especially when towing but it hauled like a dream. 3-4th gear 65-75 mph and all the temps stayed low. I averaged around 6 MPG but it is what it is!
Any truck hauling safely in their weight could turn into a bad dream, watching everything, using leaf assist, and checking tire pressure, monitoring everything is the safest way to do anything and I definitely kept an eye on everything. I watched the breaks, rotors, hubs, and kept an eye for anything out of place. Needless to say "I was as safe with this haul then most people with the right equipment ever are." The Titan is a beast... No it don't have Heavy Duty axles or driveshaft, it don't have bigger brakes but I had no issues with anything on the haul, I was impressed with the stopping power but then again I also had trailer brakes.
I imagine that was nerve racking at times. I towed my M35 on a uhaul trailer once and it pulled and braked no problem, but I'd never want to be road tripping with that weight. Truck just didn't feel good. And I was only at 7k lbs with that load.
The OP does not have the Tow Package. The Titan may tow that much weight with no problems, but God (and your insurance company) help you if you have to make a panic stop.
The tow package is smaller ring gear, and tow mirrors. No difference in brake size. Panic stops are for those towing with no regard to the surrounding traffic and tail gating. When you leave plenty of room for stopping and have your brake controller setup so the trailer pulls you when stopping then braking power is just fine.
Hey now guys, I could tow that with my mini bike, I have good oil, and gearing and breaks do not matter
Max,
Average tongue weight for a 5th is ~20% of load. If you are lucky its 15% but sometime as much as 25%.
SO ...
15% of 15000 = 2250lbs
20% of 15000 = 3000lbs
25% of 15000 = 3750lbs
Note that I did not include the weight of the sliding hitch ~ 150lbs - 200lbs
The payload is ~ 1500lbs and you have to remember that everything you add inside the truck subtracts from that weight (like a wife, kids, dog). Therefor, saying that you are over weight is an understatement.
I know, I know, you know more, and the gears and brakes don't really matter, the axles and frame can take it, and the transmission temp gauge... Oh wait, you don't have one of them.
Actually I had the trans temp gauge via Bully Dog GT, along with leaf assist that raise the weight by 2,000 lbs. Which put me well in range. Just stating that with the right precautions these trucks preform very well.
OK, see I was wrong, you have a trans temp gauge and that makes it all right
Please proceed as if the rest of what I told you does not matter.
I know, I see that you added a bigger spring too, but the frame, brackets, axles, connection points, bearings, seals, shocks, struts, and differential were not upgraded with that one addition.
My advice, and I already know what you will do with it, is to buy a bigger truck, or a much smaller trailer.
Adding a leaf assist does not increase the towing capacity or the cargo capacity of your truck. That little sticker on the door? Yeah, it didn't magically change with the addition of leaf assist. It might make it look less overloaded, but it's still overloaded. There's a reason for different frames, axles, springs, gears and brakes being underneath trucks of different capacities. You may have gotten away with that pull once, but I sincerely hope you won't attempt it again.