Towing a TT while not quite broken in?

Yahooligan · 12-09-2006, 08:21 PM

Ok, so here's the deal. I have 960 miles on my '05 CC 4x4 BT and will be towing a TT to Arizona in a week and a half. By that time I should be at...maybe 1100 miles, give or take. The TT is my friend's Weekend Warrior Superlite FS23 (23' toy hauler, should be around 5,000lb with our gear and no toys), what are the general opinions on towing at this stage of the game? Would 1000-1100 miles be "close enough" or should I still go easy on it?

The first 300 miles of the trip are highway/freeway, the last 100 are the state routes and mountains, so if I haven't reached 1200 miles before we leave I'll definitely hit it during the first half of the drive.

I figure the 1200 mile number is a very safe number given by Nissan and full break-in has already been reached, but I just want some reassurance that I'm not going to be doing too much too soon.

AgTitan06 · 12-09-2006, 08:30 PM

Just make sure you vary your speed. Don't stay at a consistent speed the whole time...Alternate 5-10mph every 30 minutes or so...The manual also says don't go above 50 (I believe) for the first 500 miles of towing.

If it were me, I'd alternate between 50 and 55 mph every 30 minutes to an hour.

MuskyHunter · 12-09-2006, 10:22 PM

Keep the speed down as well. Note the instructions in the owners manual:

Do not tow a trailer or haul a heavy load
for the first 500 miles (800 km). Your
engine, axle or other parts could be
damaged.

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.

Yahooligan · 12-09-2006, 11:05 PM

Thanks guys, just scanned through the towing guide and saw the part about not driving faster than 50mph during the first 500 miles of towing. That will make things...interesting.

**loufish** · 12-10-2006, 07:41 AM

You're breaking in the rear end, not the engine...a little different way with the rear end, take it easy getting up to speed, and on hills get to the right and become the turtle...

Steamguy · 12-11-2006, 12:19 PM

^^^^ Amen to that. Remember you're now a combination vehicle, not a fast pickup anymore. Think like a semi-driver, and you'll be okay. Lots of space to get started, lots of space to stop.

Learjet · 12-11-2006, 12:37 PM

I had a little over 800 miles when I first towed my TT. My first trip towing we went on a 2000 mile trip with the TT. I keep it under 60 for the first 500 miles and was real gentle as mentioned above. It is kind of hard to do 50 mph on I-10 and not get killed.

4000 + miles towing the trailer now and 12,000 total on the truck with no problems.

Imp · 12-12-2006, 06:42 AM

So, I should just hook up my car and trailer and go for rides around town until I hit 500 miles? Up here (SE New England/Boston/Providence), you DO NOT want to go 50 on the highway unless you have a death wish.

It WILL cause an accident.

--kC

Yahooligan · 12-13-2006, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steamguy

^^^^ Amen to that. Remember you're now a combination vehicle, not a fast pickup anymore. Think like a semi-driver, and you'll be okay. Lots of space to get started, lots of space to stop.

Yup.

Thanks. Not new to towing (Done a bit of towing rock crawlers to the Rubicon with an F250 and Cummins Ram in the recent past. Steep freeway grades, winding mountain roads, all that good stuff), just new to towing with the Titan.

Looking forward to it, too!

I just crossed 1200 miles today. Drove to Burbank instead of taking the train just to get some extra seat time. Mmmmm

Wildmike · 12-13-2006, 10:39 PM

I would try to get some towing miles on it before the trip. And on the trip closely monitor the rear end temp. If it was me I would stop every half hour and let the rear end cool. I have read on here that the gears need to be heat treated. And that would do it. I have not towed anything more than 2500 lbs so my rear end has never gotten very hot. But plenty of other guys rear ends on here have gotten very hot (180+ degrees) when towing 5000+.

just my .02

Learjet · 12-14-2006, 12:01 PM

FYI...After I towed my Travel Trailer a few thousand miles and had a total of 4000 miles on the truck I changed the rear diff. fluid and it looked great.

whiteLE · 12-14-2006, 07:07 PM

Lear--were you able to squeeze the full liters in? The rear end temperature gauge sounds interesting.

white

Yahooligan · 12-16-2006, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wildmike

I would try to get some towing miles on it before the trip. And on the trip closely monitor the rear end temp. If it was me I would stop every half hour and let the rear end cool. I have read on here that the gears need to be heat treated. And that would do it. I have not towed anything more than 2500 lbs so my rear end has never gotten very hot. But plenty of other guys rear ends on here have gotten very hot (180+ degrees) when towing 5000+.

just my .02

I'm not sure why 180F is considered "very hot" for an axle, normal temperature is 200F-295F, with moderate load and speed producing heat in the 225F area, heavy load reaching the upper end of 280F.

Learjet · 12-16-2006, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiteLE

Lear--were you able to squeeze the full liters in?

Yes, Went in a little over 2 qts just like the book says. I used the Nissan fluid. The drain plug had gray sludge on it @ 1/8 inch thick with no metal filings visible.

Yahooligan · 12-21-2006, 05:11 PM

Alright, so the first part of the trip is done! Drove ~400 miles from Carlsbad, CA to Prescott, AZ with a 23' TT (Weekend Warrior FS2300).

Observations:

No problems with rear diff temp, always cool enough to touch without getting burned.

The truck purrs along in 5th gear at 55mph/1500rpm quite nicely on level ground, trans temp gauge doesn't move.

Some long grades warranted shifting into 3rd gear to keep the trans temp down. Once reached the upper end of normal and cooled down immediately once the top was reached. From then on out, whenever the trans temp gauge reached halfway I'd shift into 3rd and it'd drop almost immediately. Had to do this maybe 3-4 times over the 400 miles.

I made it all the way to Blythe on a tank (210 miles), averaged 9.4mpg and most of that was uphill (slight) with some long hills/grades.

Otherwise, everything else went great! Truck drove really nice, everyone was comfortable and the tow mirrors helped the visibility.