[Titan_Chica]

I have a 2010 Titan CC SE 4x2 with the Truck Value package. My truck has a class IV hitch, 7 Pin harness, & is prewired for a trailer brake controller, but it does not have the Big Tow Package.

I am looking at buying a travel trailer around 23" and GVWR of 6,000. I have listed a few I am considering at the bottom. I want to know what I need to do to my truck in order to tow the TT. I have never owned nor towed a trailer before. I am not sure what I need to buy, and I don't want to be BS'd at the dealer. Any tips or help would be really appreciated.

I want to tow the TT from Central CA to NV, AZ, NM, CO, and UT to visit national parks during the spring, summer or fall. I will make a few trips to Pismo before going, but is it too much of a trip for someone new to towing? I know I will be hitting a lot of mountains, windy areas, and tight roads. Any advice on areas to avoid? How will the Titan handle such a road trip?

Thanks for the help
:read:

Possible Trailers

Jayco

-Jay Flight Swift -198RD - 23'1"
Unloaded vehicle weight (lbs) 3,915
Hitch weight (lbs) 505
Gross vehicle weight (lbs) 5,900
Cargo carrying capacity (lbs) 1,985

-Jay Flight - 19BH - 22'5"
Unloaded Vehicle Weight (lbs.) 3,935
Dry Hitch Weight (lbs.) 520
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (lbs.) 6,000
Cargo Carrying Capacity (lbs.) 2,065

-Jay Flight - 19RD -23'3"
Unloaded Vehicle Weight (lbs.) 4,140
Dry Hitch Weight (lbs.) 525
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (lbs.) 6,200
Cargo Carrying Capacity (lbs.) 2,060

 

[loufish]

The good news is you are using the GVW trailer rating as a guide instead of the more popular but useless "empty weight"....

Sticking to no more then 6,000 lbs will keep you in the OK area...remember that with mountains also come altitude which means performance loss...adding to towing woes...

Tow in 4th gear and manually drop down to 3rd(or even 2nd)when needed...don't always wait for the trans to do so...

The Titan pulls well and is happy turning 3000-3500 rpm on grades and hills...

 

[Steamguy]

I'm with loufish, I would also add that you should get a good weight distributing hitch with a sway-cancelling system, rather than a sway-control system. Sway "cancelling" attempts to hold the tow vehicle and trailer in a straight line. Sway "control" is typically a little friction thing that doesn't do a lot. There are lots of good sway-cancelling systems out there: Reese, Strait-line, Blue Ox are three that I can think of that are reasonably priced. If you buy it now, you can always move it to a different trailer if you ever trade, and it will make the towing experience much more pleasant.

 

[humblerb]

Eight months ago, I was Titan_Chica. I had never towed before. The wife wanted to look into Travel Trailers. Having had a few good years in business, we had the cash to buy as nice a trailer as we wanted. I have a 2005 Titan without Big Tow.
On the advice of a TT salesman (1st mistake of many), all I needed to do was have an external/additonal tranny cooler installed. Other than that precaution, we would have no problem hauling the trailer we wanted.
We picked out a trailer that was supposed to be around 7000# dry. The first time out, tranny overheated and caused all sorts of problems. Once I discovered that the diff gearing was my main issue, we decided to purchase a new Armada (the wife's Sequoia was ready to be replaced, anyway). Before purchasing, we checked to be sure we would be able to pull our monster. The Armada pulled the TT just fine, but it seemed to be all it would do to pull the tralier. I took the trailer to a scale and discovered that actual weight was 8800#. The Armada is rated at 9100#. Needless to say, everytime we hooked up our trailer and put my large butt in the driver's seat, we were pretty much at capacity. I was always afraid to invite my grown daughter to join us because of the extra weight.
After 4-5 trips of white knuckle hauling and not really enjoying the experience, we made a decision to bite the bullet (financially) and trade in a 2011 TT. We went with an Ultra Lite and was very careful to stay below 6,000#. Every time they showed me something at 6800# - 6900#, I always steered them back away from it. We finally found a trailer that we liked and made the deal.
Last Saturday, I hauled the heavy trailer approximately 60 miles with the wind pushing us around and the trailer driving us. On the way home with the new trailer, I could hardly tell it was back there. It is still a 29' (34' overall) length trailer. It was just 3,000# lighter.
Like night and day.
I will pull this one with my 2005 some day, but will want to install a transmission temp guage before I do.
Reading these forums has helped me immensely. Some of the things I have learned are:
Don't tow in 5th. Stay in 4th.
Use Tow Mode (some people don't, but it can't hurt and you are a first timer).
If you don't have a transmission temp guage, get one.
Watch the temp guage for signs of potential problems.
If it starts to overheat, drop down a gear and let the engine run at a higher RPM. Doesn't sound right, but the higher RPMs should start cooling the tranny immediately.
Be cautious about backing. The trans does not cool when in reverse. Just keep an eye on temp guage again.
There are about 50 more items that could be listed, but you will find them from reading this forum.
The ones I have listed are, to me, the most important ones.
The main thing is do your homework before going to the TT dealer and don't believe a word they say.

 

[HudsonValleyTitan]

I have a 2010 Titan CC SE 4x2 with the Truck Value package. My truck has a class IV hitch, 7 Pin harness, & is prewired for a trailer brake controller, but it does not have the Big Tow Package.

I am looking at buying a travel trailer around 23" and GVWR of 6,000. I have listed a few I am considering at the bottom. I want to know what I need to do to my truck in order to tow the TT. I have never owned nor towed a trailer before. I am not sure what I need to buy, and I don't want to be BS'd at the dealer. Any tips or help would be really appreciated.

I want to tow the TT from Central CA to NV, AZ, NM, CO, and UT to visit national parks during the spring, summer or fall. I will make a few trips to Pismo before going, but is it too much of a trip for someone new to towing? I know I will be hitting a lot of mountains, windy areas, and tight roads. Any advice on areas to avoid? How will the Titan handle such a road trip?

Thanks for the help
:read:

Possible Trailers

Jayco

-Jay Flight Swift -198RD - 23'1"
Unloaded vehicle weight (lbs) 3,915
Hitch weight (lbs) 505
Gross vehicle weight (lbs) 5,900
Cargo carrying capacity (lbs) 1,985

-Jay Flight - 19BH - 22'5"
Unloaded Vehicle Weight (lbs.) 3,935
Dry Hitch Weight (lbs.) 520
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (lbs.) 6,000
Cargo Carrying Capacity (lbs.) 2,065

-Jay Flight - 19RD -23'3"
Unloaded Vehicle Weight (lbs.) 4,140
Dry Hitch Weight (lbs.) 525
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (lbs.) 6,200
Cargo Carrying Capacity (lbs.) 2,060

Everything you ever wanted to know about towing.


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