[55mike]

A few weeks ago, I towed my 55 Chevy (on a 18' steel top open car hauler) across the US from the Florida pan handle to Central Oregon. The route was straight across Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Corner of Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho and finally Oregon.. whew..

A few weeks prior I installed a PML pan, and refreshed the trans fluid with Valvoline Multi-Vehicle "Max" This stuff covers even Nissan. I also changed the rear end oil, engine oil and installed a transmission temp gauge (non-BT).

The car/trailer was loaded with extra stuff and the bed was full. I'd say we were towing right at 5K pounds. The trans temp gauge stayed at about 165-170 degrees (I didn't use OD except down long grades). The only time the temp touched 180 was in Phoenix stop and go traffic with an ambient temp of 108 degrees. Most of the time I cruised at 65-70 mph. Some of the very steep hills were tough, so, I just backed it down and let 'er eat.

Biggest lesson learned...
Need rear air bags. Probably going with the no-drill Firestone's
The Titan was certainly up to the task... but... don't think you'll get much for MPG. I averaged about 11.

 

[Indy]

The Titan was certainly up to the task... but... don't think you'll get much for MPG. I averaged about 11.

I've been towing for a long time with lots of vehicles. You don't get good gas mileage out of anything when you are towing. Basically, anytime I've towed with something and managed double digit MPG, I've considered it good.

My father gets around 20 with his F150, he's lucky to hit double digits towing decent loads, so we are usually using my T.

 

[dkmura]

Second your suggestion on the Firestone RideRites. They certainly help the rear squat, as did the Bilstein HD shocks. Mileage wise, my '08 KC LWB 4X2 gets right around 8.5 MPG with my 24' enclosed racecar trailer and 8K load. That's still way better than my previous tow rig: '96 Chevy Silverado CC dually with 454 big block: 5.5 MPG!

 

[all torque]

A few weeks ago, I towed my 55 Chevy (on a 18' steel top open car hauler) across the US from the Florida pan handle to Central Oregon. The route was straight across Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Corner of Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho and finally Oregon.. whew..

A few weeks prior I installed a PML pan, and refreshed the trans fluid with Valvoline Multi-Vehicle "Max" This stuff covers even Nissan. I also changed the rear end oil, engine oil and installed a transmission temp gauge (non-BT).

The car/trailer was loaded with extra stuff and the bed was full. I'd say we were towing right at 5K pounds. The trans temp gauge stayed at about 165-170 degrees (I didn't use OD except down long grades). The only time the temp touched 180 was in Phoenix stop and go traffic with an ambient temp of 108 degrees. Most of the time I cruised at 65-70 mph. Some of the very steep hills were tough, so, I just backed it down and let 'er eat.

Biggest lesson learned...
Need rear air bags. Probably going with the no-drill Firestone's
The Titan was certainly up to the task... but... don't think you'll get much for MPG. I averaged about 11.

I just towed a 7k lbs trailer to Pensacola from SoCal last week and I averaged about 8 mpg. I wish I would have gotten 11 mpg, heck I would have been happy with 10 mpg. I was doing around 60-65 mph most of the way.

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[Indy]

I just towed a 7k lbs trailer to Pensacola from SoCal last week and I averaged about 8 mpg. I wish I would have gotten 11 mpg, heck I would have been happy with 10 mpg. I was doing around 60-65 mph most of the way.

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I must be lucky then. I'm over 8k loaded with my TT and been averaging 11.

 

[all torque]

I must be lucky then. I'm over 8k loaded with my TT and been averaging 11.

Do you have the 3.36 gears? I'm Running 2.94s right now but hope to upgrade sometime in the near future.

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[Indy]

Do you have the 3.36 gears? I'm Running 2.94s right now but hope to upgrade sometime in the near future.

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3.36. So I'm under my max and it handles it well.

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[all torque]

I was at my max as well. I thought it handled the load pretty good also. The only time where I felt the need for the lower gears was in the initial take off from a stop, other than that, I had plenty of power for uphills and passing.

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[HRTKD]

Before you guys install air bags, consider a Weight Distributing Hitch (WDH). It will help some with the squat and will almost certainly help with any sway you might have. The nice thing about a WDH is when you're not towing there isn't anything on the Titan.

 

[LUBECAKES]

HRTKD makes a good point. Weight distribution is just as important as any other part of the tow. It sounds like you made smart use of your transmission though. :thumbsup:

 

[dubyam]

Yes, the WD hitch is a wise addition. One of the often overlooked benefits to a properly adjusted WD setup is getting load shifted back up to the front axle. It helps with overall stability, responsiveness, and braking.

I've towed over 6k without a WD hitch setup, but I wouldn't recommend it. Under 5k, no problem, just load the trailer correctly. Between 5-6k, it kind of depends on the trailer and the tongue weight. Above 6k, my experience says get a WD hitch setup. You'll be thrilled and your truck will, too.

 

[55mike]

HRTKD makes a good point. Weight distribution is just as important as any other part of the tow. It sounds like you made smart use of your transmission though. :thumbsup:

I have to believe the PML trans-pan made a big difference. I was concerned about the wimpy stock pan... and adding 3.5qts more of fluid was a good thing!

 

[HRTKD]

Extra fluid is always a good thing. The problem is if the transmission isn't pumping enough fluid to stay cool. High engine RPM's = more transmission pumping. By not towing in 5th you maintained a higher engine RPM so that helped keep your transmission cool. I heated up my transmission pretty good in a blizzard. I was going too slow, towing about 2,500 lbs. over a mountain pass and letting the transmission pick whatever gear it wanted. Once I forced it to stay in 1st gear there was no problem.

FWIW, in my F-350 diesel I'm getting 9.5 MPG towing a trailer that has a GVWR of 11k lbs. So 11 MPG in the Titan is pretty good.

 

[LUBECAKES]

More fluid is a good thing, but it's all gonna get hot eventually. I'm sure it did make a bit of a difference though.
Keeping the rpm up in a lower gear keeps your torque converter from generating extra heat too. You still have to be careful not to get your engine oil too hot.

 

[HRTKD]

You still have to be careful not to get your engine oil too hot.

That's the problem I ran into. My truck wasn't at all happy with high RPMs (> 4500) for an extended period of time while trying to keep the transmission from heating up. I eventually settled on 45 MPH in 3rd gear which kept the RPMs at around 3,000.

 

[ForgedSpartan7]

Any issues with towing that beast? I have a 33 footer that comes in dry at 6500 and full around 8k. Im getting ready to drive from South Carolina to Yuma with my new to me 2015 Pro4x. Any advice?

 

[LUBECAKES]

Any issues with towing that beast? I have a 33 footer that comes in dry at 6500 and full around 8k. Im getting ready to drive from South Carolina to Yuma with my new to me 2015 Pro4x. Any advice?

Take it nice and easy. Use the gears and stay out of 5th. 8,000 lbs is really pushing it on a truck that's rated at about 9500.

 

[HRTKD]

Any issues with towing that beast? I have a 33 footer that comes in dry at 6500 and full around 8k. Im getting ready to drive from South Carolina to Yuma with my new to me 2015 Pro4x. Any advice?

Don't load up the trailer to its full weight. Travel with as little water in the tanks as possible. Every pound of weight added to the truck reduces your cargo capacity.

Use a good Weight Distributing Hitch that also has sway control. 33' is long and it will catch the wind easily so sway control on the WDH is going to be important. Do a test drive with the WDH and don't be afraid to tighten it up more. If the steering feels loose you don't have the WDH tight enough.

Slow down. Don't expect to go fast. Check the max MPH of the trailer tires. Some of them are only rated to 65 MPH anyhow. Most trailer tires are crap, so keep a close eye on them. Trailer tires older than about 5 years are a ticking time bomb.

cargo capacity - (tongue weight + cargo (people, stuff in the bed, etc) + weight of hitch) = remaining cargo capacity <- Don't let this number go negative.

 

[Nick Name]

What they said^^^^^ Two more things....keep the tires at the correct inflation so they don't overheat and one blows. Also, don't back up with a friction antisway hooked up.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...-193109.html&usg=AOvVaw0c-Ob6O-hqozBthr-FKaX0

 

[ForgedSpartan7]

The plan is to poke along in 4th at about 65mph. Im thinking I can get the camper loaded fully and come in under 7500 lbs. Im gonna install a PML trans pan next week and maybe the PML rear diff cover also just to keep the tranny and rear end temps down. My WDH is solid and Im using a P3 controller, so I think I should be good to go. Ive been pulling campers for the last 10 years or so, but always with a diesel. This is my first tow with a gasser, so I just want to make sure I get this right the first time. thanks again for the help.