Just wanted to let you guys know about the experience my wife and I had yesterday towing a maximum load of 9500 lbs. with my new truck (550 miles) and going a distance of 28 miles with the "big tow" package. I also had installed before we left an electronic power brake control for the trailer. We started out great going 40 mph, but then all hell broke loose. As soon as I got her up over 40 mph the trailer and equipment that I was hauling started to fish-tail like crazy. Needless to say, my wife "flipped out" and I was not a happy man. The only way I could stop it was to use the manual brake control to get the trailer to stop fish-tailing. As long as I didn't go over 40 mph, everything went OK. Lesson learned.
Towing the maximum load
t-bone
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I wouldn't say anyone was harsh, he's lucky he didn't hurt anyone or himself. What was the load?StumpZ said:
Kinda reminds of this:
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Titans aren't designed to tow 9500 lbs-more like 7500.
I don't think any 5000 lbs pickup truck is really designed to tow almost twice it's weight.It isn't that they can't pull 14000lb +,they can do that,it is all the rest of it where they fall short;The mismatch in weight,steering,brakes,side surface area is just too much-the trailer ends up pushing the truck all over the road(the special hitches etc can help,but no matter how you cut it,you can't get more than a few hundred lbs of the load's weight on your tires-the CC only has 1200-1400 lb payload).The truck is just too light, has too little payload capacity,and has too little rubber on the road(with too little weight on the rubber) to resist all the side forces the trailer exerts on it.Yeah,a big rig truck has even more of a weight mismatch,but it was designed with that in mind,and it "carries" a good percent on the weight of the load on it's own tires-not the 10%(or a bit more with a 5th wheel or wt dist) or so that a pickup supports.
The Titan is probably great at 7500 to 8000 lbs.Towing the max-9400-is better left to short distances during low traffic hours.
Thanks to T-bone for posting his experience.I know I have had more than my share of vehicular goofs;T-Bone probably saved one or two of us from a similar "learning" experience. Thanks,Charlie
PS T-Bone,bet your wife wanted to bail out of the Titan,and exile you to the couch!!
I don't think any 5000 lbs pickup truck is really designed to tow almost twice it's weight.It isn't that they can't pull 14000lb +,they can do that,it is all the rest of it where they fall short;The mismatch in weight,steering,brakes,side surface area is just too much-the trailer ends up pushing the truck all over the road(the special hitches etc can help,but no matter how you cut it,you can't get more than a few hundred lbs of the load's weight on your tires-the CC only has 1200-1400 lb payload).The truck is just too light, has too little payload capacity,and has too little rubber on the road(with too little weight on the rubber) to resist all the side forces the trailer exerts on it.Yeah,a big rig truck has even more of a weight mismatch,but it was designed with that in mind,and it "carries" a good percent on the weight of the load on it's own tires-not the 10%(or a bit more with a 5th wheel or wt dist) or so that a pickup supports.
The Titan is probably great at 7500 to 8000 lbs.Towing the max-9400-is better left to short distances during low traffic hours.
Thanks to T-bone for posting his experience.I know I have had more than my share of vehicular goofs;T-Bone probably saved one or two of us from a similar "learning" experience. Thanks,Charlie
PS T-Bone,bet your wife wanted to bail out of the Titan,and exile you to the couch!!
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Very true Phoebisis. If you read closely, it states in the manual 9500lbs only under certain conditions, the actual max can be much less depending on weather, terrain, etc. Don't fool yourself thinking you can safely tow 9500lbs (or even close) through the Rocky Mtns in the middle of winter.
WOW someone brought up a good point, can't believe the rest of us overlooked. it..
Trailer weight distribution. Make sure you have %10 of the trailer's weight on the tongue (as someone else already pointed out), for our 1/2 tons, that's no more than 1000 lbs please!
Also, make sure the rest of the weight is firmly planted over the axles, not in the very rear of the trailer! CAn't believe I missed that.
But if he was towing a boat or something, than moving weight around is not gonna happen.
Trailer weight distribution. Make sure you have %10 of the trailer's weight on the tongue (as someone else already pointed out), for our 1/2 tons, that's no more than 1000 lbs please!
Also, make sure the rest of the weight is firmly planted over the axles, not in the very rear of the trailer! CAn't believe I missed that.
But if he was towing a boat or something, than moving weight around is not gonna happen.
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All this is useful though I am still a bit unclear as to the towing ability of my truck. I have a 04 kc with no big tow package. I had a local shop fabricate a hitch and install it. It is a class III/IV as I understand it. The installer said I can tow 6500lbs with just the hitch as is and 9500 lbs with a wd hitch. I will be buying a travel trailer soon and would like to know just how much I can tow! I asked this same question at the dealership and got nothing but blank looks! What would we do without our certified nissan experts! Thanks for the help
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I'm in the same boat. I want to get a 5400 lb dry wt ,TT ,toy box with a 650 toung wt. I have the XE 4x4, no big tow and also plan on using a WD hitch. I feel confident I'll be fine as long as I don't over load the trailer, but I would like some feed back from any one who has done it already.smu1023037 said:
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The max you can tow w/o the big tow package is 7500 LBS. This is why when people ask, I always say go for the BT package. You never know when you may need it, and it's cheap enough. ...even if towing wasn't the reason for buying a fullsize truck.
If you go by the Nissan towing guide, and the Titans GVWR of 6500 LBS, not many people can tow a travel trailer weighing much over that 7500 LBS anyhow. By the time you count the family, tongue weight, gas and necessities, you'll be overweight.
If you go by the Nissan towing guide, and the Titans GVWR of 6500 LBS, not many people can tow a travel trailer weighing much over that 7500 LBS anyhow. By the time you count the family, tongue weight, gas and necessities, you'll be overweight.
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Go to RV.net and do a search on the forums. You will find everything you ever wanted to know about towing and weights and hitches and......smu1023037 said:
Basically your truck is rated to weigh no more than about 6500# which is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and it is rated to tow between about 6500# - 7500# depending on what model it is and if it is 4x2 or 4x4.
Now you go and weigh your truck with a full tank of gas and you in the drivers seat and it weighs in at say 5200#. Since the truck is rated to weigh no more than 6500# you can still carry 6500#-5200# or 1300# of payload.
Your trailer should have about 12% of its weight on the tongue in order for it to tow safely. So say your trailer weighs 7000# fully loaded. Your tongue weight should be around 900#.
So say you have a tongue weight of 900#. You subtract that from the 1300# of payload room you had left and that leaves you with room for only another 400# of stuff. Put the wife, a few kids and a bed full of camping gear in and you are pushing the limit on the GVWR. A weight distribution hitch will shift some of that tongue weight back onto your trailer so you get a little of that payload capability back, maybe a few hundred pounds.
Can it be done safely...sure just understand the weight ratings and what they mean. Get a good brake controller and a good weight distribution/sway control hitch that is setup properly. Then go camping and have fun!
I always think about it this way....
$30,000 truck + $XXXXX trailer + your families safety $$$$$$$ and that of those around you on the highway equals a lot of $$$$$$. To me it is worth an investment in $$ and time to understand the capability of my setup so that I know that I am doing my best to protect my families safety and the investment in my vehicles.
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