New to towing- need advise

ducatidoc1 · Jul 17, 2018

Hi all,
I have a 2005 titan LE, with the following;
long tubes with full system exhaust, tuned.
bilstein shocks (not the hd's)
285/60-18 NITTO TERRA GRAPPLER G2 ON STOCK WHEELS
no big tow package.

NEW TO ME;
24 FOOT CAR HAULER W/ heavy duty axles 10k lb. rated
prodigy p-3 brake controller
Equal-i-zer 4 point hitch 1000/10,000

I will be moving to Az. from L.I. NY with 6 m/c's plus garage full of tools and whatever else.

What else do you suggest???

Thanks,
Doc Scott:wink:

dubyam · Jul 17, 2018

Well, since you're not sporting the 3.36 gears, the first advice is stay below 7000lbs trailer weight, minus any extra gear and stuff in your truck.

How much do your tools and motos weigh?

racinjason · Jul 17, 2018

Tow in 4th gear. Keeps the transmission much cooler.

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dreep · Jul 18, 2018

Concur with Dub' and Racin' ^^^^. Max towing capacity is well below what your trailer is rated. Keep an eye on Trans temp, and pay attention to the tongue weight, as well as what you load in the Titan to keep well below the max gross combined weight. 2014 towing chart is below, FYI...

ducatidoc1 · Jul 18, 2018

I believe I'll be well under the 7k lbs. 3 dirt bikes under 700, 3 street at about 1300 prolly another 2k in tools plus some house stuff maybe another 2k being generous 6k total. My bigger question is should I install tranny cooler, bigger pan &/ or tranny temp gauge? Or anything else?
Thanks for the replies so far,
Doc Scott

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Quartz · Jul 18, 2018

ducatidoc1 said:
I believe I'll be well under the 7k lbs. 3 dirt bikes under 700, 3 street at about 1300 prolly another 2k in tools plus some house stuff maybe another 2k being generous 6k total. My bigger question is should I install tranny cooler, bigger pan &/ or tranny temp gauge? Or anything else?
Thanks for the replies so far,
Doc Scott

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

6,000 lbs, 4th gear, reasonable speed, level roads you should be fine. Change any one of them, watch closely and be careful. Change any two and you are pushing it.

racinjason · Jul 18, 2018

ducatidoc1 said:
I believe I'll be well under the 7k lbs. 3 dirt bikes under 700, 3 street at about 1300 prolly another 2k in tools plus some house stuff maybe another 2k being generous 6k total. My bigger question is should I install tranny cooler, bigger pan &/ or tranny temp gauge? Or anything else?
Thanks for the replies so far,
Doc Scott

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

If you were going to continue towing like this I would definitely suggest the transmission cooler and gauge. But if it's just for this move then I'd say it's not worth it

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timthescarred · Jul 18, 2018

ducatidoc1 said:
I believe I'll be well under the 7k lbs. 3 dirt bikes under 700, 3 street at about 1300 prolly another 2k in tools plus some house stuff maybe another 2k being generous 6k total. My bigger question is should I install tranny cooler, bigger pan &/ or tranny temp gauge? Or anything else?
Thanks for the replies so far,
Doc Scott

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

You're not considering the weight of the trailer itself, depending on if it's aluminum or steel/wood, that trailer empty is anywhere 3k-6k lbs, add that to the stuff you're putting on it and you're talking 9k-12k lbs being pulled by a truck rated to 7200lbs

ducatidoc1 · Jul 18, 2018

You are correct the trailer weight is 3k lbs. which would bring me to 9k total, if it really is that much. I have only spec weighted the bikes, and gross estimates on the tools and miscellaneous, which could realistically be much less.

Thanks again

dreep · Jul 18, 2018

ducatidoc1 said:
You are correct the trailer weight is 3k lbs. which would bring me to 9k total, if it really is that much. I have only spec weighted the bikes, and gross estimates on the tools and miscellaneous, which could realistically be much less.

Thanks again

That's about 2k too much... I inserted the correct "no tow package" chart in my post above - my bad, I inserted the wrong chart the other day.::bangit:

Max is 7k or a bit above as Tim' and Dub' said, depending on the exact configuration.

Recommend the Long True Cool 4588 or the somewhat larger 4590 transmission cooler. There are a lot of good install threads on the forum. One good one that seems to have disappeared from TT but which is still on CT is here: http://www.clubtitan.org/forums/12-performance-mods/61980-long-tru-cool-lpd-transmission-cooler-sr4588-install-radiator-bypass-mod.html.

dubyam · Jul 18, 2018

Yeah, if you're thinking that much stuff, you're asking for trouble. Also, towing 7k requires you are a fairly light guy (160lbs is what I think they use as a figure for driver/occupant weight) and you have zero other stuff in your truck bed or cab. No passengers, no flashlight, no cheeseburger and fries, no tools, no boxes of stuff, etc. You're going to either need to trim your load, make two trips, or get a bigger truck with more towing capacity.

4mula1fan · Jul 18, 2018

Ooo wee. I'll be watching this one unfold...

MTSBoom · Jul 18, 2018

OP: Sorry if this hijacks your thread, but how difficult is it to have 2.94 gears swapped for the "Big Tow" 3.36 gears?
I just recently found the 2.94 tag on my rear end pumpkin, and realized I was duped when I bought my '15 Titan that I was told could pull 9400lbs...

dreep · Jul 19, 2018

MTSBoom said:
OP: Sorry if this hijacks your thread, but how difficult is it to have 2.94 gears swapped for the "Big Tow" 3.36 gears?
I just recently found the 2.94 tag on my rear end pumpkin, and realized I was duped when I bought my '15 Titan that I was told could pull 9400lbs...

Not terribly hard, just some $$$. Keep in mind, if you change the rear and you are 4x4, you have to change the front diff to the identical ratio. Also recommend trans cooler.

MTSBoom · Jul 19, 2018

dreep said:
Not terribly hard, just some $$$. Keep in mind, if you change the rear and you are 4x4, you have to change the front diff to the identical ratio.

When you say "$$$", what are we talking here? $800, $2k, $5k?

dreep said:
Also recommend trans cooler.

In addition to the factory installed tranny cooler?

Thanks for the help! Really appreciate it!

Cheers!

dreep · Jul 19, 2018

MTSBoom said:
When you say "$$$", what are we talking here? $800, $2k, $5k?

Search the web for Nissan Titan ring & pinion gearing. A full set (front M205 and back M226) of 3.36 gears with seals will run around $1000-$1300 for the set for name brand. Labor can easily double that. The front set is more expensive that the rear, BTW.

MTSBoom said:
In addition to the factory installed tranny cooler?

Yes, auxiliary cooler in addition to the factory unit. As I posted yesterday, recommend the Long True Cool 4588 or the somewhat larger 4590 transmission cooler. There are a lot of good install threads on the forum. One good one that seems to have disappeared from TT but which is still on CT is here: Performance Mods - Nissan Titan Forum.

Also consider the radiator bypass mod in that thread. There is a known failure mode of the transmission circuit in the OE radiator that allows coolant to enter the transmission, which is catastrophic (for the transmission). Search the forum for other 4588 and/or 4590 installation threads.

MTSBoom · Jul 19, 2018

Thank you for patience with us newbies, and the wealth of info.
Mrs. MTSBoom and I are (maybe "were") close to pulling the trigger on a Coachman Freedom Express 275BHS, and now learning this, we're going to have to decide if a new rig might be a better route than a bunch of mods to my beloved Titan. Finding that 2.94 tag was a huge blow.

dubyam · Jul 19, 2018

Since you already have the Titan, consider that there are a number of good options in 25-28' travel trailers which would come in under the weight limit on your truck. Proper planning and good setup will make the package work well. But if you need bigger, by all means, buy bigger.

MTSBoom · Jul 19, 2018

I won't bore all of you with the exhausting details, but in the end of a year of online and in-person research, the Coachman is the one. With two adults, two teenagers, a toddler and now news one on the way, separate sleeping spaces are a precious.

With the news of "the one on the way", a truck with seating for 6 might be the straw that breaks the 2.94 gear swap's back. Sucks bad...I really love this truck.

HRTKD · Jul 19, 2018

The older my Titan got, the more it seemed to heat up when towing. When I first got it I pulled a dual axle enclosed utility trailer that weighed around 6K in the mountains without any issues. A few years later, that same trailer would heat up the transmission quite a lot. I did two full fluid exchanges on the transmission and the fluid looked OK each time.

If you're towing on the flats it won't be too bad, but certainly not fun. Add hills into the journey and you could be in trouble. The extra transmission cooler is going to help. The radiator bypass will help. But that radiator bypass in cold climates may not be good for the transmission. Mine wasn't bypassed but it was routed wrong so in the winter my transmission gauge wouldn't come off the very bottom mark. Transmission fluid works best at temperature and the Titan transmission doesn't have a thermostat in it to allow the fluid to come up to temp.

The only time you'll complain about having too much truck is at the fuel pump.

New to towing- need advise

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