[jata02]

I don't typically tow anything substantially heavy. Usually a small 15-foot boat.

We are planning a trip to the Black Hills and will be hauling a rented 33' Travel Trailer (6500lbs) dry weight. Wouldn't add anything other than luggage As our trailing vehicle can carry all the beer and food coolers. I have an stock 2010 Titan SE Crew Cab (only real change is R20 wheels). Could someone with experience break down what I should do to prep my truck (if anything). I do not have a real budget for any major mods.

 

[Carbeaux]

I hope you're on the big gears. That's a lot of trailer. A good weight distributing hitch and a good brake controller. That's all i had on my truck. I pulled a 32 footer, usually between 6500 and 7000 pounds. I wouldn't want to pull more.

 

[4mula1fan]

33' will probably be the tail wagging the dog. Sounds like a white knuckle tow to me...Besides being on the ragged edge of the trucks limits. If you are not big tow equipped that is. I tow a 29' and added air bags for a little more stability. I don't want a bigger camper with this truck.

 

[jata02]

33' will probably be the tail wagging the dog. Sounds like a white knuckle tow to me...Besides being on the ragged edge of the trucks limits. If you are not big tow equipped that is. I tow a 29' and added air bags for a little more stability. I don't want a bigger camper with this truck.

Asking the big dumb question. How do i know if i have big TOW?

 

[4mula1fan]

Mirrors like the ones in my sig pic, 3.36 gear sticker on the rear end, sticker on the inside of the door jam...

 

[Carbeaux]

I've found the sticker on the door jamb to be a less than reliable way of finding out. The one on the axle should be accurate.

 

[FishnAlaska]

if you hit about 1700 rpm's @ 70 mh you do not have big tow gears, if you hit 2100 rpm @70 mph you have big tow gears. I have a 2010 SE, I would be willing to bet you do not have big tow gears, that puts your max towing at about 7200 pounds. One thing to remember about South Dakota, the Black hills aren't that bad for towing (depending on where you are staying- Keystone? Deadwood? Sturgis?), but the winds can be very strong, your pulling a lot of weight with a very high front and side profile, of your coming from the east, and the wind is doing its job, your going to be struggling.

 

[jata02]

Thank you everyone. I found another TT that is 4500 lbs unloaded. I'm checking now on the big tow but i'm not hopeful.

 

[jata02]

No luck on the big tow...as expected. I want to make sure

a) I don't ruin my truck
b) avoid a white-knuckled 5 hour
c) avoid death

 

[Carbeaux]

That sticker doesn't help. Look on the passenger side, back of the axle for a sticker. Or as previously mentioned, get it out on the highway at 70 mph (by the the truck speedo) and check your rpms.

 

[jata02]

So I need a brake controller. Any reasonably priced suggestions?

 

[Carbeaux]

Buy it once and not twice by going cheap.

Prodigy.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/TEKONSHA-FRONTIER-PATHFINDER-INFINITI-CONTROLLER/dp/B007O5GYWM[/ame]




That link includes the harness specific to the Titan that basically makes it plug and play.

 

[4mula1fan]

Tekonsha makes great ones. I have a Reese Pilot with no complaints.

 

[MartyG007]

Thank you everyone. I found another TT that is 4500 lbs unloaded. I'm checking now on the big tow but i'm not hopeful.

Good call. We pull our 25', 5000lb trailer everywhere. From our home in SC, through FL, and to KS and back. Our 2012 SE does a great job, I suspect I have "big tow." It is equipped with the heavy duty towing package. We are glad, however, for many reasons, that we didn't buy a bigger TT.
Don't know how far you are from SD, but we used to live there a few years back. Campgrounds are plentiful, but often in tight spaces. Spots can be small. You are in the hills, and there are a lot of hairpin turns. Definitely a reason for a smaller TT.
You'll need a WD hitch, a anti-sway bar, and a brake controller. The Titan's come with a brake wiring harness. If you don't have yours, get one from the dealer. Match the wires to the proper wires in the harness that plugs into the controller. Easy access by removing the two screws under the driver under-dash panel. You might have to replace burned or missing fuses to get the hitch working. I did. Some under the hood, and one in the passenger side under-dash. I'll defer to others to elaborate; each model is a little different. Good luck!

 

[Carbeaux]

Or you can get the Titan specific harness and plug it into the existing socket up above the parking brake. No splicing or matching required. And there shouldn't be any fuses to replace. There might be some relays that need to be added, but no fuses. If the relays are needed, go to a Uhaul place. Pretty darn cheap there.

FYI, when you hear folks around here refer to "big tow", they're referring to the package that gets you on the 3.36 "big" gears. It was called the big tow package on the early model years. Later, I believe the big gears came with the max utility package and the Pro4X trim level.

 

[chadp82]

Look on your local Craigslist. Get a P2 or P3 prodigy. People sell them all the time and you can save a few $$

 

[jfw831]

put your vin# information, lot's of information for your titan, VIN Decoder - North American Motoring

 

[Nick Name]

I've found the sticker on the door jamb to be a less than reliable way of finding out. The one on the axle should be accurate.

I can attest to that.....my sticker says CC29 and I have the 3.36 axle and no tag on it either. Here's how you tell without guessing, and it's independent of your tire size (which will give a false reading on the highway mph to rpm method) or anything else. Lift the drive wheel so it spins freely. Get under your truck and with a crayon or tire marker put a mark on the drive shaft yoke and the pinion end of the punkin so they are in line with each other. Put a mark on the inside of the tire. Now rotate the tire rev forward, not backwards, so the line on the driveshaft yoke is back to the index line on the punkin one full rev. If the tire mark hasn't made it back to where it started, you're running a 2.9 (less distance traveled per shaft rev = more revs per mile), if it went past, 3.3 (more distance traveled per shaft rev etc.). Easier to do than explain or crawl around looking for diff tags that disappeared long ago..... and doesn't take as long either.