[markmark]

Hi Folks,

I have been studying the forum for some time and learning from all the members. I am curious about heavy towing experiences with pictures if you like. I have seen the post with what people are towing and that has been great.

But what I am really looking for is more detail about things like actual weights, length of tows, type of w/d hitch if used, terrain, gas mileage, any problems, etc. Like I said, if you have a pic of your rig that would be helpful too.

As you can see in my sig, mine is a 2010 se with the tow and I am looking at toy haulers. Most that I like will run close to 9000+ pounds loaded.

Coming from three previous super duty diesels (that were never any good at towing) this is new to me. I have been towing a 5000 pound trailer with no problem at all and getting about 9mpg.

Thanks for your insight and help

 

[nascarjody]

My personal experience with a TT. The rig you see attached it 7800 LBS dry weight. I had a 2010 big tow titan. It pulled it but not well. I would get 150 miles to a tank. Pretty much flat roads. It is 35 ft long tongue to bumper. I was using the equilizer W/D hitch 1000/10000 but changed to the Hensley hitch. I had a lot of sway or side push with the equilizer W/D hitch when I had a side wind or a rig would pass me. I did not have this with the hensley. I had to put air bags on the titan to get a level ride even with the W/D hitch set to its max.
Also if you are going to pull that much bumper pull then find one of the 09 or older hitches. The welds broke on my 2010 OEM hitch with very few pulls on it.

Good luck, pass you down the road.

 

[markmark]

thank you nascarjody

 

[DeadRiver]

I move about 14k +- a mile a few times a year. Braking is difficult and I don't have big tow mirrors but the trailer does have surge brakes. The Titan pulls it all up the ramp without issue in 2wd. Everything on the truck is stock as far as suspension and it's non-big tow. Most of the weight is on the trailer axles and I just supply the moving force. The boat is a 26' Welcraft with a 9' beam and is estimated at 11k, the trailer is 3k. Unloaded the truck pulls the hell out of that trailer.

All that being said I wouldn't suggest pulling this weight at highway speeds, it wouldn't be safe.

Here's my smaller tow:

 

[Shane06fl]

Your going to get a lot of different responses and opinions with this one.

So here is mine. Stay with in your trucks limits. A 8000lb TT loaded and your truck loaded will probably put you over the limits.You need pay attention to yiour CGVWR, This is the total amount of weight your truck can be when fully loaded. Includes fuel, humans, pets, loaded in the bed & TT weight. Also what consist of your tow package? Nissan goofed and was selling the ''Tow Package'' with mirrors and a hitch but not the tow gears unless you got some other silly option. (reason I won't buy another Titan)
The longer the TT you get the more push and ill handling your going to have. Weight isn't the only factory, long trailer means more leverage to throw your light 1/2 truck around. IMO under 30ft is best pulled with a 1/2 ton. 2010 and newer Titan hitches suck! I called it when I seen them and Nascarjody proved, his hitch broke. It's piss poor design similar to the GM hitches that had a rash of failures.
WD hitches, once again a lot of opinions. The old standard of WD hitch with separate friction control anti-sway works and works well when propery set up and IMO can handle loads and sway better. The Equalizer hitch has built in sway control. Common with these hitches, a lot of folks add air bags and other tricks to help out. Go and compare both hitches in person and put your hands on them, the EQ hitch seems wimpy to me as far as materials go. Also get a hitch that is one step heavier than your TT calls for. I use a Reese 1200/12000lb WD hitch with Reese sway friction sway control for a TT where a 1000/10000 hitch would work. Price is negligible and if you upgrade to 3/4 ton and heavier TT you have the hitch.
Also sorts of good info about setting your Hitch up. It may take a few road trips to see how yours pulls best. The most absolute best way to have your truck/TT set is level. The TT tongue can be a little high or low but not drastically either way and sometimes a different ball mount shank can be used to get it lower if it needs to be. My WD is set with a full load in the bed, TT and cab. The distance from the top of the front/rear tires to bottom the fender is even. My TT tongue is 1.5 inches high at the ball than the most rear part of the frame. Tight friction control and I get 0 sway from any vehicle that passes me, ever. No air bags, no helper springs, stock shocks and stock Goodyears.

That last time I hit the CAT Scales in Zellwood Florida with a full load I was tad under 14,000lbs and that can change when I had 5 person in the cab, a 5 bicycle, more or less firewood ect. I have a little wiggle room.

I have been following my advice for 20 years of pulling TT's since it was taught to me. Been doing well so far. Good luck with your adventures!!

 

[jeephauler]

I'm kinda floored that your trying a 1/2 Titan when weren't pleased with some super duty's. If your towing more than any vehicles posted manufacturer limits and or without the vehicle eguiped exactly as they state it needs to tow at the limited, you are a ambulance chasers WET DREAM. If involved in any accident, including one not caused by you, you will be liable to some extent.
Titans are great to 7000lbs. Above that it really depends on how far yur going or how hilly.
You didn't say how the diesel super duty's dissapointed you, power, mileage, braking. I gotta think that they would still perform better than a Titan when pulling 9000lbs plus. A friend has a 7.3L super duty, bought it used with 25,000-30,000 miles on it. Emediately put a Banks kit on it and loves it. Well over a 100,000 miles later still loves it. Tows staight up steep hills without any slow down or downshifting.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[4mula1fan]

I sure as hell wouldn't pull a trailer like that with my T...It just isn't made for that kind of weight. DMV is pulling over more personal vehicles and checking them out, even putting them on the portable scales, and writing over weight, over gross tickets. They are not cheap either...

 

[markmark]

Wow you guys are doing exactly what I needed and am still looking for more. Thank you so very much.

Jeephauler: I just wanted you to know that I owned (all brand new) three super duty diesels all with the 6.0 diesel. An 04, 05 and an 06. None were ever reliable and the first two were lemoned out. The 06 also qualified to be lemoned based on the failure of the turbo units 3 times within the warranty period. Each of those times if I had had to pay would have been over $5000. So for me, the Fords have been absolutely HORRIBLE. Another owner of the same type vehicle described them as "gutless pieces of sh**". I had to agree. The 7.3 on the other hand is solid as a stone except for blowing off turbo hoses under pressure. Again, doing what the Ford was supposedly designed and purchased for. The other problem with the Fords was that they would leave you stranded just about without warning and it could be anywhere. Just not safe and when a diesel breaks, there is just about nothing you can do yourself in the middle of no where to make it run again to get you to safety.

As for my dilema, I am shopping for a toy hauler that is as large as the Titan can safely pull. The more I learn from others here about their experiences, the better my shopping experience will be. I am thankful to the owners here that are sharing their experiences with me.

Again please keep them coming and you are doing an awesome job

 

[4mula1fan]

An interesting post from another forum.

I bought my '05 Titan last summer (4x4 SE King cab) with the intent of towing a decent sized travel trailer. I love the truck, but when I start calulating what I can really tow without overloading anything, I can't get anywhere near the 9300lb/930lb(hitch) ratings. I'm new to this, so hopefully someone can tell me I'm doing this wrong:

Max truck weight (GVWR) = 6522lb
Max Combined truck/trailer weight (GCWR) = 14822lb

My Titan empty curb weight = 5205lb (I had it weighed)

OK, that gives me 6522-5205 = 1317lb payload capacity, empty

Now fill the gas tank (175lbs), add driver, passenger, & toothbrushes (370lb), and the payload reserve becomes: 1317 - 175 - 370 = 772lb

So now, my max hitch load is 772lb. Lower than the 930, but still decent.

Now, assume I'm going to use a weight distributing hitch (100lb), and fill the propane tanks (60lb) - both of these add directly to the hitch weight. My hitch is reduced to 772 - 100 - 60 = 612lb.

So assuming the travel trailer hitch weight is 10-15% of the total weight, I'm looking for a travel trailer with the following specs:

Hitch weight = 612lb
total weight = 4080 - 6120 lbs


And that should be loaded with gear. That's a far cry from the the 9300lb/930lb vehicle ratings.

Am I missing something? I've already checked the Titan axle loads, and that's not an issue, nor is the GCWR. The real bottleneck is the truck's GVWR.

I wish Nissan had a 3/4 ton Titan. I couldn't bring myself to buy a truck from the big 3 (reliability).

Anyone have any suggestions? Other than buy a 3/4 ton?

 

[markmark]

4mula1fan - thanks and interesting and depressing too! that is why the real world experiences are so important to me at this juncture

 

[jeephauler]

I'm doing this wrong:

Max truck weight (GVWR) = 6522lb
Max Combined truck/trailer weight (GCWR) = 14822lb

My Titan empty curb weight = 5205lb (I had it weighed)

OK, that gives me 6522-5205 = 1317lb payload capacity, empty

Now fill the gas tank (175lbs), add driver, passenger, & toothbrushes (370lb), and the payload reserve becomes: 1317 - 175 - 370 = 772lb

So now, my max hitch load is 772lb. Lower than the 930, but still decent.

Now, assume I'm going to use a weight distributing hitch (100lb), and fill the propane tanks (60lb) - both of these add directly to the hitch weight. My hitch is reduced to 772 - 100 - 60 = 612lb.

So assuming the travel trailer hitch weight is 10-15% of the total weight, I'm looking for a travel trailer with the following specs:

Hitch weight = 612lb
total weight = 4080 - 6120 lbs


And that should be loaded with gear. That's a far cry from the the 9300lb/930lb vehicle ratings.

Am I missing something? I've already checked the Titan axle loads, and that's not an issue, nor is the GCWR. The real bottleneck is the truck's GVWR.

I wish Nissan had a 3/4 ton Titan. I couldn't bring myself to buy a truck from the big 3 (reliability).

Anyone have any suggestions? Other than buy a 3/4 ton?

I was told there would be no math in this posting.
Wow, way to go on actually doing all the math to see if you're within limits 4mul1fan. I went by guestimates and judging by how well it handles while towing I feel I'm doing so safely.
My only regular big towing is my CJ7. Guessing it weighs 4000lbs max (with a fiberglass body it's probably less) and a car trailer at 2000lbs max I'm at a total tailer weight of 6000lbs. One thing that helps me is I fold the windshield down while towing with no top on the CJ7. That made a big aerodynamic difference. Tongue weight is a moot point since I can move a vehicle back and forth to get it and my ride height where I want it to be.
Markmark if it's an enclosed toy hauler that your looking for than most of my experience won't help you. And I sympathize with your lack of realiability with your previous fords. I chalk it up to personal luck or lack there of with a person and certain make. I once had a '93 f150 and had very few problems with it. A friend had a f250 with the same engine but couple years older. He sold the truck after the dealer installed a 3rd engine in the truck because of lemon qualifying issues with the first 2 engines.

 

[HudsonValleyTitan]

I've been towing for many years and I've towed this TT with both my current Titan and my last Titan. It's a 32' Jayco with a loaded up weight between 8k and 8600k LBS. I use a plain old Reese 12k LB hitch with a friction type sway bar.

This truck has NO problems towing this trailer nor have I had any sway problems. I do have the longbed with an extra 20" of wheelbase so that doesn't hurt.
I also load the truck bed with bikes and stuff and the cab with people....no problems at all. Even through the hills of Vermont more than a few times.
There are those who'll go the whole "ohhhh....watch the GVCW etc...and yeah to some extent that's true. I mean...you shouldn't be towing 13k LBS with a 1/2 ton but to those claiming people are being ticketed and checked for weights, not on a passenger vehicle they're not. I don't know of any state that has laws allowing anyone to pull em' over and test weights on a passenger vehicle...although they probably should because I've seen some pretty funny shyt out there!
These trucks are way under rated and can handle a full cab AND tow capacity without incident, but you do have to use your head and SLOW DOWN.
In any event, regardless of how you feel about weights, limits etc, this truck will happily haul its' designated weights/capacities...and then some.
Now would I use a 1/2 ton to regularly tow over 9000LBS over a 3/4 or 1 ton?...probably not. Those are designed, not so much for better towing, but for longevity to hold up to more heavy duty stresses.

 

[markmark]

HudsonValleyTitan - thanks for your personal account and info. Comforting and appreciated and btw, you have a very nice rig! Now having owned 3 late model super duties with the diesel, they were all designed and sold to pull heavy weights without problem. They caused me nothing but problems except for the case of their mass. Their weight was great for getting good traction and not being blown around too much by winds. But as I have said, pulling they didn't really like it. They would heat up, downshift, lose power and eventually leave you stranded. The 04 went 30,000 miles and grenaded. the 05 did the same thing and the 06 also blew up at about 30k but we kept it until the 5 year warranty was about to expire. We looked into buying an extended warranty from Ford and they wanted $3600 for 15 months more coverage. That is the confidence they had in their product....none. These vehicles were never touched by anyone except Ford dealers and serviced exactly as the dealers and owners manuals said. Off track a little but my point is one product used exactly like it was supposed to be and wouldn't do it. My new Titan, I want to take to its limit of 9500 on occasion but not beyond.

Please keep your helpful info coming everyone and again, thanks so much for taking the time to share. Have a great day!

 

[titanmason]

i can relate to your ford problems. i have never spent more than 6,000 on any truck mainly becouse i dont have the money. i have a 99 33' camp trailer with a 18' slideout. i live in it when i go out of town to work(about 200 miles one way) i bought an 05 ford f-250 5.4 with 90k miles for 4,500 thought it was a good deal! pulled ok but it worked hard doin it. by the second trip it sounded more like a diesel than a gas motor.lifters were goin bad. got on the net and found out that hundreds of other people were havin the same problem. first and last ford i will ever own.got on line and spent 2 weeks bloging diffrent trucks. titan had the happiest owners with the least amount of problems.also the most for the money.bought an 08 4x4 king cab 53k for 20,000 3 year warranty on all moving parts and lubricated.not a great price but good 4 me.i pull in 4th gear on level ground but more times than not i am in 3rd.run at 3 to 3400 rpm.not good 4 it but its all i can afford. put over 5000 miles on it pullin my trailer with 0 problems.love this truck!!!!!!!!!! i take good care of it and it returns the favor and then some! anti sway friction bars and good tires a must!!

 

[HudsonValleyTitan]

HudsonValleyTitan - thanks for your personal account and info. Comforting and appreciated and btw, you have a very nice rig! Now having owned 3 late model super duties with the diesel, they were all designed and sold to pull heavy weights without problem. They caused me nothing but problems except for the case of their mass. Their weight was great for getting good traction and not being blown around too much by winds. But as I have said, pulling they didn't really like it. They would heat up, downshift, lose power and eventually leave you stranded. The 04 went 30,000 miles and grenaded. the 05 did the same thing and the 06 also blew up at about 30k but we kept it until the 5 year warranty was about to expire. We looked into buying an extended warranty from Ford and they wanted $3600 for 15 months more coverage. That is the confidence they had in their product....none. These vehicles were never touched by anyone except Ford dealers and serviced exactly as the dealers and owners manuals said. Off track a little but my point is one product used exactly like it was supposed to be and wouldn't do it. My new Titan, I want to take to its limit of 9500 on occasion but not beyond.

Please keep your helpful info coming everyone and again, thanks so much for taking the time to share. Have a great day!

No problem, and thanks. I have no experience with domestic brand trucks or Diesels. I do think you're going to be very surprised at how well the Titan tows for a "1/2" ton truck. Will it tow better than your last 3 HD models?....I don't know. I guess you'll have to be the judge of that..lol. I can tell you it's never left me stranded, overheat or anything close. Gas mileage will, of course, depend on what you tow but our Travel Trailer is like a sail so pulling it thru the air gets me roughly between 7 and 10 MPG depending also on terrain. Closer to the 7 most times. You'll be in that area most likely if you're towing a toy hauler since they're just as tall.
The biggest thing is to be sure your trailer and hitch are set up correctly!!! That makes all the difference in the world. It'll sway like crazy if not done right!

 

[dktitan]

I have no experience towing with my Titan, i don't even have a hitch on it. But a 3/4 ton or 1 diesel, a dodge cummins with a manual trans or chevy duramax would tow over 9,000lbs easily and probably alot be more controlled. Not trying to make anyone mad, i'm sure the T has plenty of power, that's not the possible problem. HD pickups GVWR and GCWR are mostly represented the braking capability and frame strength among other things. Also the 6.0 powerstrokes had bad problems with the head gaskets, oil coolers and EGR coolers, to my knowledge most were fixed under recalls issued by ford. Hope i could help.

 

[Hussar]

The problem for the heavy-duty style trucks you've owned may be the "FORD" on the truck. Of course I was raised in a family where my grandpa would drive as fast as he needed to to keep a Ford from passing him. So I may be partial. Although, I bought and have loved my Titan since my buddy started working at a Nissan dealership. Once again I may be partial to this whole argument.

 

[etalian2005]

Wow you guys are doing exactly what I needed and am still looking for more. Thank you so very much.

Jeephauler: I just wanted you to know that I owned (all brand new) three super duty diesels all with the 6.0 diesel. An 04, 05 and an 06. None were ever reliable and the first two were lemoned out. The 06 also qualified to be lemoned based on the failure of the turbo units 3 times within the warranty period. Each of those times if I had had to pay would have been over $5000. So for me, the Fords have been absolutely HORRIBLE. Another owner of the same type vehicle described them as "gutless pieces of sh**". I had to agree. The 7.3 on the other hand is solid as a stone except for blowing off turbo hoses under pressure. Again, doing what the Ford was supposedly designed and purchased for. The other problem with the Fords was that they would leave you stranded just about without warning and it could be anywhere. Just not safe and when a diesel breaks, there is just about nothing you can do yourself in the middle of no where to make it run again to get you to safety.

As for my dilema, I am shopping for a toy hauler that is as large as the Titan can safely pull. The more I learn from others here about their experiences, the better my shopping experience will be. I am thankful to the owners here that are sharing their experiences with me.

Again please keep them coming and you are doing an awesome job

You're problem is that you bought 3 6.0's and got unlucky all 3 times. The 6.0's were plagued with problems, mostly because Navistar built the motor and then sold the design to Ford. Ford decided to tweak it to save some money and ended up ruining it. Funny thing is, to make that engine mostly, all you have to do is spend less than $500 and replace the head studs. I've always loved PSD's and actually was looking at them before I ended up with a Titan. I almost bought an '07 F-250 outlaw edition before the 6.4 came out, but decided against it because I was worried about the 6.0 blowing up. And I was afraid that Ford would build another shotty diesel with the 6.4 so I ended up with a Titan. If I could do it over again, I'd have a 6.4 King Ranch, but that just wasn't in the cards.

Either way, best of luck with the Titan. :cheers:

 

[markmark]

Thanks for all the towing information. Still interested in seeing pictures and knowing stats for the Titan members who are towing 8000+.

etalian2005: you are right. i boought three lemons for $150K.

 

[colochoclab]

Hudson hit it pretty well on the mark as our rigs are very similar!

I've towed my '06 Jayco Jayflight 29FBS with 2 different Titans, my old '04 and my new '08. Bolth trucks did a great job with the load.

My tt weigs in at 8000# loaded for the road with 900# tongue. I use the Equal-i-zer 10K hitch and Prodigy brake controller. I have upgraded the tires on bolth Titans and it seemed to help A LOT especially with the '04 (Went to LT Silent Armors on that one. Have Cooper Zeon's on my '08 now). I keep my bed empty except for a bicycle and a bundle of firewood: Payload is your enemy. Watch out for the newer hitch design! See nascarjody on that one.

Mileage will vary, but I get around 7-10 when towing. It really depends on terrain, mountains vs flats.

As always, keeping it in 4th with tow mode on works very well and I will often shift down to maintain rpm. This engine loves to rev and I have no concerns stretching it out! I have towed all over the Rocky Mountains and into Canada with no problems. I can pull Rabbit Ears and Wolf Creek passes with no problems, no overheating, etc. I may not be the fastest rig, but I am not the slowest either!

Be smart, load light, slow down, and let the engine sing!

-Lab