[Chaos Ready]

So I just bought a 2012 Titan SV 4x4 from a shady looking individual. I've been thinking of taking my Dads travel trailer off his hands. Total loaded weight of this bad boy is a hair under 8000 pounds. Only problem is I can't seem to find my gear ratio or towing capacity. 3 dealer phone calls later and 3 different answers ranging from 7000-9300 pounds has me scratching my head. So I thought I'd come on here and see if someone could help me out. Here's what I know...

2012 Titan SV 4x4
Has Trans temp gauge, but no Big Tow mirrors
Has Front tow hooks, receiver hitch, and rudimentary brake controller installed, all look to be factory OEM (but I'll admit I've always been a Chevy guy and I feel the only thing the previous owner ever hauled was his *** down to the meth store, so i don't see him installing these for any reason).

I've looked for the sticker on the rear axle and it seems to be long gone, I've tried doing 70 down the highway but I'm at 1800-1900 rpm just in between what everyone on here says is the difference between the 3.36 and 2.93

This might be a stupid question, but when my families safety is involved you can never be too careful. Thanks in advance.

 

[Walrus]

70 mph at 2100 rpm in fifth year is 3.36 final drive ratio.
1800 rpm is 2.94 gears.

 

[Indy]

I'm guessing you don't have big tow, but Walrus covered the easy way to find out.

But, 8k lbs dry is pushing it even if you have big tow. By the time you load in gear and supplies, you will either be almost at or over limit even if you have big tow. That's a heavy TT.

 

[RussianRedneck]

Dealers are absolutely useless when it comes to any kind of help, unless you buy the car from them they could give two sh*ts about you. Most of the time they are stupid and have no clue to what the hell they are saying. I've had so many issues trying to get general information from dealer that i gave up on their minimum wage asses long time ago. As far as your tow capacity, you might be in the low range due to the fact that you do not have the tow mirrors it was not a package that came with the truck. Look for the tranny radiator (little one) to see. The big tow will have the tow mirrors, the temp gauge, and the inter-cooler for the tranny behind the radiator. hope that helps.

 

[Golfnut Michael]

Here is Nissan VIN Decoder. If you scroll down it should tell you if you have the big tow package (4th from the bottom of the page is the Options installed) I put my VIN in and it was correct.

https://www.vindecoderz.com/EN/Nissan

Also search the web for the 2012 Nissan Towing Guide. It's in pdf format.

https://www.nissanusa.com/content/dam/nissan/pdf/techpubs/2012/2012-nissan-towing-guide.pdf

 

[RussianRedneck]

Here is Nissan VIN Decoder. If you scroll down it should tell you if you have the big tow package (4th from the bottom of the page is the Options installed) I put my VIN in and it was correct.

https://www.vindecoderz.com/EN/Nissan

Also search the web for the 2012 Nissan Towing Guide. It's in pdf format.

https://www.nissanusa.com/content/dam/nissan/pdf/techpubs/2012/2012-nissan-towing-guide.pdf

That was very helpful!! Saw mine and happy to say I have the Big Tow Package. That's the 9400lb. Thank you Michael.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HRTKD]

Chaos, on the flats an 8k trailer is heavy. In the mountains? Forget about it.

You'll also have to check on the tongue weight. Your Titan is rated for 940 lbs of tongue weight. Most travel trailers will have a tongue weight of about 10% of the trailers loaded weight. A toy hauler is different and will have a much higher tongue weight, especially with nothing in the garage part of the trailer.

At 8k you'll need a weight distributing hitch. It's not optional at that weight.

 

[Chaos Ready]

The trailer is 8000 loaded, Gear, water tanks, etc. 6500 dry. But, I used the Vin decoder, and took it for another ride on the Highway, and it's most definitely running well under 2K RPM's at 70. No way I can haul it safely. Looks like my sister wins again and gets the trailer. Looks like I'll be buying a new one since my imagination was running wild on how warm I'd be during deer season. No way I can go back to a tent and space heater now hahaha.

 

[HRTKD]

I hear ya on staying in a trailer for hunting. This will be my first year in my trailer at Elk camp.

 

[leukus]

Super old post, but i have a 2006 and just bought a travel trailer - The trailer we bought is 5847 dry weight and my truck lists 6522 GVWR on the door sticker... but i thought i have the tow package? I have the tow button and the hitch... Am i screwed??

 

[HRTKD]

GVWR is the amount you can load into and on the truck.

 

[dubyam]

You're confusing GVWR for the truck (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) with GCWR for the truck (Gross Combined Weight Rating). GVWR includes truck, passengers, gear, cargo, and tongue weight. GCWR adds in the trailer weight actually carried on the trailer axles (total trailer weight or GVWR for the trailer minus the tongue weight which is carried on the truck). What you need to determine is the following:

RPMs at 70mph - if it's 2k or above, you have the higher tow capacity; if it's around 1800, you have the lower tow capacity

Your actual tow capacity will be the factory capacity number minus all the gear, passengers, cargo, add-ons, and such. That means if you weigh more than 150lbs (I sure do!) your tow capacity is reduced by any amount over 150lbs, because the factory rating figures a "standard 150lb driver" as the only passenger. If you have three other people in the truck, their weights come out of the tow capacity. If you have a big aftermarket iron front bumper, a tonneau cover, step bars, added subwoofer, a cooler, or gas cans, or tool boxes, or anything in the truck, that comes off your towing capacity. Once you figure out your real towing capacity, then you can assess whether a trailer is too heavy for your truck. Here's an example:

I have a 2011 Pro4X with the 9300lb towing capacity. But I have to subtract for the following:
I'm 235lbs, so I lose 85lbs in capacity to my own weight.
I carry about 40lbs of tools and fluids in my truck when traveling.
I travel with my wife and kids, which combined weigh about 380lbs.
We bring the dog, who weighs 90lbs.
I have a fiberglass tonneau cover which weighs about 100lbs.
I have a WDH setup which weighs about 100lbs.

So my real towing capacity is 9300lbs minus the 795lbs of passengers, cargo, add-ons, and gear I carry in/on the truck, coming to a real towing capacity of 8505lbs. If I have a trailer which weighs anywhere under about 7500-8000lbs GVWR (the max weight the trailer is rated for) I should be good, as it leaves me some margin for error.

 

[leukus]

do all models have the tow mode button?

 

[leukus]

RPMs at 70mph - if it's 2k or above, you have the higher tow capacity; if it's around 1800, you have the lower tow capacity

i assume this is on a flat road?


d

 

[dubyam]

I think all Titans or perhaps all Titans except the base models have the "Tow Mode" button (I believe it's all Titans, but I'm not sure). That's not indicative of gearing at all. As has been said, if you are running around 1750-1800rpm at 70MPH in 5th gear on the highway (whether it's flat or not will not matter, as long as your speed is steady at 70mph on the speedo and you're in 5th gear and the torque converter has locked), you have 2.94 gears. If your RPMs are 2000 or above at that same 70mph, you have the 3.36 gears. This is pretty much standard across all Gen1 Titans with the RE5RO5 5spd Auto Trans (the only trans which came in Gen1 Titans).

You can also crawl under your truck and look on the passenger side of the differential snout and read the gearing on the sticker there. It will say 2.937 or something which rounded is 2.94, or 3.358 or something which rounded is 3.36. I can't remember the last digit of either number for sure, but it's pretty much as I've described.

 

[leukus]

I think all Titans or perhaps all Titans except the base models have the "Tow Mode" button (I believe it's all Titans, but I'm not sure). That's not indicative of gearing at all. As has been said, if you are running around 1750-1800rpm at 70MPH in 5th gear on the highway (whether it's flat or not will not matter, as long as your speed is steady at 70mph on the speedo and you're in 5th gear and the torque converter has locked), you have 2.94 gears. If your RPMs are 2000 or above at that same 70mph, you have the 3.36 gears. This is pretty much standard across all Gen1 Titans with the RE5RO5 5spd Auto Trans (the only trans which came in Gen1 Titans).

You can also crawl under your truck and look on the passenger side of the differential snout and read the gearing on the sticker there. It will say 2.937 or something which rounded is 2.94, or 3.358 or something which rounded is 3.36. I can't remember the last digit of either number for sure, but it's pretty much as I've described.

Thanks. My T is a 2006. No stick that I can find, but I am sure it is long gone.

 

[dubyam]

Well, get on the highway and do 70mph. It will become obvious which gears you have.

 

[leukus]

With the trailer - right? Or just in general?

no trailer I am at 1700rpm
But I am running 285/75/17 tires so that drops my rpm’s right?

 

[dubyam]

Doesn't matter, trailer or not, nor does the tire size, unless you've added a corrector to your speedometer drive. With 1700rpms, you have the 2.94 gears and a 7200lb tow capacity, minus your gear/passengers/etc.

And you'll need to know is what your trailer actually weighs, and the GVWR of it (as that's the max weight you should ever have it weigh). As long as the weight you tow is under your calculated tow capacity by a fair safety margin, you should be okay. Dry weight of 5800+ is likely to be overweight for your truck if loaded to max.