Looking for real towing experience

steelhorse07 · 11-05-2006, 10:47 AM

I am currently on the edge of buying a titan king cab with tow package. I am looking for people who have towed at or near the 9400lbs max tow ,and how she does.I figure adding timbrens or airbags to help.I currently and since new, tow with a 97 F250HD 5.8L . My trailer is about 2000lbs and machines I put on it run about 7100lbs. I realize this is under the 9400lbs , but I wanted to hear from people who do it regularly. My F250 only rates at 7600lbs and GCWR is 13000 and handles the weight well just struggles on hills. I had very bad experience with a 2004 F350 and sold it due to many mechanical issues. So now Im looking at Nissan. Most of the time I will use the truck for transpertation and tools in the bed. The rear issue has me worried. Has anyone switched to full synthetic to help with the heat build up? Respond quickly my local dealer has a beautiful silver extracab with my name on it.

Burly · 11-05-2006, 11:26 AM

You should be looking into at least a 3/4 ton for that kind of weight IMO.

**Helinut1970** · 11-05-2006, 11:35 AM

I tow 7000# + almost daily and I have NO issues. The Titan will do it but if you are going to do it daily, and are going to be near the 9000 range most of the time its best to go with a 350 long bed for the extra long wheel base. The Titans wheel base is short so a 350 will feel alot more secure with that weight.

**konigfritz** · 11-05-2006, 01:28 PM

Or just wait till the HD comes out in a year or so. But heli is correct.

**loufish** · 11-05-2006, 05:48 PM

You do understand the the 9400 lb tow rating is with the truck empty, no real load. If really plan/need to tow that much weigh that often I highly recomend one of the new 1 ton trucks out there, it's not that the Titan isn't a great truck, but come on....

CHEIF · 11-05-2006, 06:15 PM

I tow about 7,000 lbs of travel trailer a few times a year. It's good around town, but the wind resistance kicks in and I feel it at about 50 mph on up. I guess you might feel that whatever you tow with. It does fine, but it's not a heavy duty truck, it's a light truck.

I wouldn't consider using my truck for that kind of work on a regular basis. I have the tow gears, class 4 hitch, etc. The rating would be around 9,000 lbs.

I don't recommend the Titan for what you need.

All diffs now come filled with synthetic from the factory. Overall, only a small percentage of owners have had diff failures, but they still fail with synthetic.

BroncoAZ · 11-05-2006, 10:25 PM

I tow my 5500 lb Bronco on a 2900 lb trailer with another 400 lb of camping gear in the Bronco. It will tow the weight, the engine and transmission work great together. I certainly would feel more secure in a 3/4 or 1 ton truck. I haven't set up my equalizer hitch or added airbags yet. Those two items should definately improve the illusion of security.

For me I compromised on the Titan. I just couldn't see driving a V-10 or Diesel F-250 40K miles per year for work (basically commuting and making sales calls) to tow with it once per month. The Titan suits my needs for now, but if I were towing even weekly I would've gone for the larger truck. When I reach the point that I can afford a commuter car the Titan may get traded for a 3/4 ton.

Mitch

ambiguousanomaly · 11-05-2006, 11:14 PM

I agree that for that much weight, you really need a 3/4 ton. BUT, I have towed 9K with my Titan on the freeway and it handled it admirably, better than my buddy's 3/4 ton Suburban with a 454. The brakes were capable, the suspension kept everything in check, and it had plenty of power to pull the weight.

BroncoAZ · 11-06-2006, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ambiguousanomaly

I agree that for that much weight, you really need a 3/4 ton. BUT, I have towed 9K with my Titan on the freeway and it handled it admirably, better than my buddy's 3/4 ton Suburban with a 454. The brakes were capable, the suspension kept everything in check, and it had plenty of power to pull the weight.

With a 2005 XE there was no big tow package available. Towing 9K with your setup is not recommended.

Mitch

steelhorse07 · 11-06-2006, 11:43 AM

Thanks for the input everyone. BroncoAZ Im in the same situation, I drive 1 + hr every day to my jobs with some tools or a 2000lb trailer, I would haul the 9000lbs 1 or 2 times a month job to job, so do I go with fuel mileage or tow capacity? My current 97 F250HD ,That tows fine but gets 9 mpg on avg, rates much lower then the nissan in every catagory except the rears and payload. I had a 2004 F350 6.0L Diesel that would pull a house down the road ,but after about 10000 miles the problems began and I was at the dealer a couple times a month.I realize the Nissan is considered a 1/2 ton truck but it rates much higher then my 3/4 ton with much better mpg empty.A V10 ford with the same options is about $7000 more and bad mpg but could carry the nissan in the bed. I guess I will keep looking for the perfect truck but I dont think its out there.

BroncoAZ · 11-06-2006, 11:56 AM

The 15.3 average mpg my Titan has achieved over the past 43K miles is definately better than 10 mpg I would've gotten with a V10 F-250. It you are towing the 9K once or twice a month locally I wouldn't hesitate to go with the 2007 Titan. When I tow my rig it's typically no less than 60 miles each way on the highway, usually more like 140 miles each way.

There is a huge difference between a 9K equipment trailer and a 9K travel trailer. An aquaintance of mine had an 04 Titan. For hauling his 9K equipment trailer with a small tractor on it he had no complaints city or highway. However with his racecar trailer (fully enclosed) that weighed about 7500 lbs he thought the Titan struggled too much on the highway because of the wind drag. He ended up going upgrading to a Dodge dually with the Cummings.

Mitch

steelhorse07 · 11-06-2006, 12:15 PM

Thats what im hauling 1 or 2 times a month (9000lbs) a utility trailer with mini excavator, and a small enclosed 6' x 10' tool trailer that goes about 2000lbs . The rest of the time just an in bed tool box. I had a nissan pick up about 10 years ago with over 200000 miles on it and I loved it , that truck made me lots of money.Since Ford had me frustrated with the 04, I am looking to nissan again. Its good to hear real experience , these dealers will agree with anything I say ,when I get into specs they just know what the brochure says. Well maybe I will take one for a test drive.

BroncoAZ · 11-06-2006, 12:51 PM

I would definately take one out for a test drive, along with the rest of the new trucks that are available. I drove everything 1/2 ton except for the Dodge products, and liked the Titan's power, transmission, and handling the best. The F-150 had the archaic 4 speed auto, the chevy handled like a wet sponge, and the Tundra wasn't a real truck. I drove the 3/4 ton Ford and Chevy. For 2005 the Titan had the same power to weight ratio as the V-10 F-250.

The 2007 F-150 Supercab with the 5.4 is tow rated for 9500 lbs, but they are still using a 4 speed auto trans. The 2007 GMC Sierra with the 6.0L is rated to tow 10500 lbs with their max trailering pack. The 2007 Dodge with the hemi is rated at 8850lbs.

Mitch

kvoman · 11-06-2006, 02:20 PM

Steelhorse -

Why not take your trailer to the dealer and hitch it up for a real test drive. That's the only way to see how it will really handle your towing needs!!!

The dealer will know you're serious and will make you a good deal on it too!

BroncoAZ · 11-06-2006, 02:26 PM

The dealer isn't going to let you tow your trailer with a not broken in truck, nor are they going to let you set up your WD hitch before the tow. If they do let you testdrive a brand new truck under towing conditions you probably don't want to buy from them because they are stupid.

I have seen some of the commercial truck dealerships allow trailer laden test drives with a similar demo truck that is already broken in, but not a new one on the lot.

Mitch