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Best mods to increase towing capacity?

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speediq99

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hello,

I have an 06 Titan SE Crew-cab. I was wondering what suggestions people had on the best mods to increase towing power/torque on this truck.

I have done the timing advance and I am thinking of buying a programmer. Is there anything else that would make a difference.

I plan to tow a 7500lbs travel trailer. My main problem is going uphill. The truck simply bogs down (45mph at 3800 rpm). Stepping on the gas after this point is useless, the rpms go through the roof and truck goes into 2nd gear. It sounds awful and it feels like the truck needs a bit of something.

Mike
 
#2 ·
speediq99 said:
Hello,

I have an 06 Titan SE Crew-cab. I was wondering what suggestions people had on the best mods to increase towing power/torque on this truck.

I have done the timing advance and I am thinking of buying a programmer. Is there anything else that would make a difference.

I plan to tow a 7500lbs travel trailer. My main problem is going uphill. The truck simply bogs down (45mph at 3800 rpm). Stepping on the gas after this point is useless, the rpms go through the roof and truck goes into 2nd gear. It sounds awful and it feels like the truck needs a bit of something.

Mike
Click to expand...
Helwig helper springs
Helwig rear sway bar
Maghytec differential cover to increase capacity
PML transmission pan to increase capacity

and a 1 ton truck if you're doing that kind of hauling on a regular basis...
 
#3 ·
speediq99 said:
Hello,

I have an 06 Titan SE Crew-cab. I was wondering what suggestions people had on the best mods to increase towing power/torque on this truck.

I have done the timing advance and I am thinking of buying a programmer. Is there anything else that would make a difference.

I plan to tow a 7500lbs travel trailer. My main problem is going uphill. The truck simply bogs down (45mph at 3800 rpm). Stepping on the gas after this point is useless, the rpms go through the roof and truck goes into 2nd gear. It sounds awful and it feels like the truck needs a bit of something.

Mike
Click to expand...
You don't say if you have the tow package or not. But if you do, and you're having trouble hauling a 7500 LB camper, then either you have a problem or the trailer is significantly heavier that you think. Mine is about 8500 LBS loaded and will take hills at 70.

Even if you don't have the tow package, you should not be bogging down to 35 MPH on hills....unless maybe you're climbing 45 degree hills. Do you use TOW MODE and keep it in 4th gear? That's the correct way to tow.
 
#4 ·
Increase power for towing? If our Titans can't pull that kind of load stock, I am unsure if modding it with performance parts is the way to go, might be a waste of cash, but do not quote me on this. I agree with Kronos on his list of parts to help tow and cool the tranny and rear. My main question would be do you have the 3.36 gear or 2.94 gear? I know after driving my brothers big tow Titan uphill with loads, it does move much better than my non-big tow Titan. Makes me wish I purchased a big tow....

Hudson is also correct and you can find that info in the owners manual. It states only to tow in 4th gear and use tow mode to help the truck off the line, but I am sure you already know all of this since you tow often.

It kills me to think that the Titan bogs down at 3800rpm because that, to me, sounds pretty dangerous. Could it be bad spark plugs or loss of compression or something else? I will ensure to follow this thread until you resolve this issue.
 
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Discussion starter · #5 ·
Thanks for the responses.
Here is some more info:

- It is a 2006 4x4 SE Crewcab w/ the tow package. I am not sure about the gears. Does the tow package tell you one way or another? If not, how do you tell?

- I am pretty sure that the weight is around 7500 lbs. The travel trailer itself is 5800 and I don't have much in it at all.

- The hills around here are 6% incline and some are long. I do use tow mode and 4th gear, however as soon as I hit any kind of hill, the truck goes to 3rd gear. If I push hard to keep 55mph, I go to 2nd gear and rpms jump over 4500, which I don't like. At that point, the truck picks up speed quickly, shifts up, bogs down again, shift down again and so on... This causes the tranny to overheat quickly. It is very hard to keep it in 3rd gear w/o it dropping to 40mph in the big hills. Driving in 2nd gear is out of the question, the truck works too hard. It really feels as if a tad more power would do the trick to keep it from shifting down to 2nd gear.

Other than this, the truck works great. I tow a boat that weights around 4000 lbs and the truck doesn't even know it is there. As soon as I put the travel trailer behind it, the picture changes completely. I use an equalizer hitch to tow the trailer.

Besides it bogging down, as described above, the tranny gauge goes almost all the way up when climbing. It is tough to deal w/ the tranny temp at that point since I am usually in 3rd and at times 2nd gear so reving up the engine is not much of an option. Once I get to the top of a hill, if I don't have to stop, things cool off quickly. This is very problematic here in Arizona in the summer.

Regarding the tranny heating problem, I posted another message. Someone mentioned a fan clutch being the culprit, however I have no idea how to test this and a trip to the dealer is likely to leave a scar. I may try a larger pan for the tranny fluid to see if it helps.

Yes, a 1 ton truck would be the answer, however I would rather buy a popup than selling my Titan.

Does anyone know if a new exhaust system, combined with a programmer makes a significant difference? I have not replaced the stock exhaust b/c most of the stuff I read here makes the truck very noisy.

Mike
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
One more question.
I have never changed the plugs on my truck. It has 76K or so.
Any reason to change them now?

Mike

8ball said:
Increase power for towing? If our Titans can't pull that kind of load stock, I am unsure if modding it with performance parts is the way to go, might be a waste of cash, but do not quote me on this. I agree with Kronos on his list of parts to help tow and cool the tranny and rear. My main question would be do you have the 3.36 gear or 2.94 gear? I know after driving my brothers big tow Titan uphill with loads, it does move much better than my non-big tow Titan. Makes me wish I purchased a big tow....

Hudson is also correct and you can find that info in the owners manual. It states only to tow in 4th gear and use tow mode to help the truck off the line, but I am sure you already know all of this since you tow often.

It kills me to think that the Titan bogs down at 3800rpm because that, to me, sounds pretty dangerous. Could it be bad spark plugs or loss of compression or something else? I will ensure to follow this thread until you resolve this issue.
Click to expand...
 
#7 ·
You might change the shackles to an 08 or newer, and I agree, it might be worth putting the trailer on a scale at a truck stop. I bet it is heavier than you think.
 
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#10 · (Edited)
I am getting gears, truetrac and shackles very soon. If hauling a trailer that heavy this is what I would do.


PRG shackles
Roadmaster Active Suspension
3.73 or 4.10 gears depending on tire size
Eaton Truetrac
Intake
Exhaust
Superchips programmer running tow tune (definately woke my truck up) :eyebrow:

BTW are you 2wd or 4wd?
 
Discussion starter · #11 · (Edited)
It is a 4WD.

I am assuming that I have 3.73 gears.
Do they make 4.10 gears for this truck? What is the issue w/ tire size and how would 4.10 gear help?

That is quite a list of mods and probably a lot of $$$$$. The love affair w/ my truck may end soon unless I can find a middle ground<g>
What is the best order to do things in as far as most power/towing bang for your dollars?

1. Programmer
2. Exhaust
3. Gears
4. Intake???

Thanks for all the replies. This is very helpful.

Mike
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
hello everyone,

I called around and it looks like the shackles when done in conjunction w/ a leaf spring cost around $300 to install. I do have a question and I was wondering if someone has done this.

I was told by a couple of local truck owners that adding a leaf spring to the rear will buy you 600-700 lbs of extra towing capacity. It is not that I am planning to get near my limits, however, it is a buffer zone. I am hoping to solve a couple of things: 1. The trailer has a heavy tongue weight so my truck even w/ the equalizer hitch at max setting sinks a lot. 2. Extra cargo capacity since that is very small for the Titan.

A couple of questions:

1. Is this a good idea and does it work as intended?
2. I have Bilsteins 5100s in the rear and I really enjoy the ride on this truck when it is not loaded. Would the extra leaf spring make the ride harsh.
3. My truck used to be higher in the rear before I added the Bilstein. I think that the Bilsteins raised the noise 1/2 inch or so which leveled the truck. I like the rear-raised look. The shop that would install the extra spring told me that they could raise the rear as much as I wanted within 1-2 inches. Is this advisable for towing? Any issues with this?

Thanks again.

Mike
 
#13 · (Edited)
2006 SE 4x4? Do you have a transmission temperature gauge in the instrument cluster from the factory? If so, you have the lower gears that gives you a rated limit of 9200lbs (give or take a couple hundred). If not, you have the 2.94 gears and a rated limit of about 7400 lbs (again, within a couple hundred pounds based on installed options, etc). I know you said "tow package", but do you mean the actual "Big Tow" package as it would say on the window sticker, or do you just have the hitch and tow mode button (which every Titan has the tow mode button).
 
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#15 ·
Adding springs doesn't change the axle shafts or bearings. The shafts, even in 2004, are pretty beefy, 1.41" DIA, which is nearly the same as Dana 60 35 spline shafts. However they ride on non-floating Timken Set 10 bearings. So I don't think you can convert a half ton truck into a one ton truck by changing springs.

And of course springs seem to me to be unrelated to your main complaint, "The truck simply bogs down (45mph at 3800 rpm)."
 
#16 ·
I think a PML transmission pan is in your future to keep that fluid cool. Add in a PML Diff pan while you're at it.

I tow a big-one myself (not quite the sail you have, though). 5-8% grades recently through Virginia—had that beast loaded down; Titan handled the hills well between me pulling through 3rd and 4th gear.

The engine can take those high RPMs. I was towing heavy—still found it waay easy to get up to 75mph anytime I wanted even in the hills (and mostly, I didn't).
 
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Discussion starter · #17 ·
Would the additional spring help w/ sagging? This is another problem b/c of softness in the rear when loading this up w/ a trailer. It really does not have anything to do w/ power, however driving a trailer at night with headlights pointing to tree tops is no fun.

I am using a 10K equalizer (brand) hitch setup by the company itself to the highest setting. Even at this setting (all washers in), the truck is not leveled. Hitch weight of trailer is about 700lbs. Equalizer told me that the Titan has really soft rear springs, which contribute to this problem.

Mike
 
#19 ·
It may help w/ sagging. I think a lot of the guys that tow heavy run air bags to help w/ sag. My 2004 Titan came with an overload leaf that is definitely not soft. I replaced it with a Deaver spring pack to get a better ride as I don't tow heavy.
 
#20 ·
speediq99 said:
Would the additional spring help w/ sagging? This is another problem b/c of softness in the rear when loading this up w/ a trailer. It really does not have anything to do w/ power, however driving a trailer at night with headlights pointing to tree tops is no fun.

I am using a 10K equalizer (brand) hitch setup by the company itself to the highest setting. Even at this setting (all washers in), the truck is not leveled. Hitch weight of trailer is about 700lbs. Equalizer told me that the Titan has really soft rear springs, which contribute to this problem.

Mike
Click to expand...
Woah, that doesn't add up. Airbags will help with leveling (I have them), but a 10K equal-i-zer hitch (I had one) should level out that stated trailer and tongue weight NOOOOOOO problem.

Something sounds waaay wrong with your setup. We can help you out with the equalizer hitch setting if you post up some pix. And definitely getting on the scales to double check that weight would be in order.

In summary, you're not stating any facts about your setup that sound out-of-the-ordinary.

PICS PICS PICS
 
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