[BEEMSANG]

I have a 2005 nissan Titan SE crew cab without a tow package. My college organization asked me if I could tow the school trailer to our conference. I am a little weary about it though. The GVWR for the trailer is 7,000lbs and a tongue weight around 400. The trailer will house a concrete canoe and steel bridge along with other competition events, since it is going to an civil engineering competition. My main towing job will be from Las Vegas to Southern California then back. Some of you know that this is a mountainous range. I am getting a Class 3 reciever hitch installed by Uhaul, and this is where the questions start:

Is a class 3 reciever sufficient?
Will i need a weight distribution hitch?
Many are saying I will be able to pull 10,000lbs with a tongue weight of 1,000lbs with a WD hitch? Is this correct?
Will that stop and swaying and any fish tailing that may occur?
Will I need a transmission oil cooler?
Whats up with the gear ratios?
general advise will be helpful as well.

Appreciate all the help,:smoke: :cheers:

Vik Sehdev
ASCE president
[email protected]

 

[tutttitan]

you will be fine with that set up

 

[tiller87]

thats gonna suck some gas, hows about trailer brakes too? just thought I'd throw that one out there

 

[BEEMSANG]

Sorry the trailer does have electric brakes.

 

[TitanLou]

I tow a 7000lb TT in the mountains of New Mexico with no problems. You do need a weight distribtion hitch, and possibly an anti sway bar. Tow in 4th gear and you should have no problems.

 

[Tony]

Vic,
You already have a transmission cooler. As T-Lou says; just tow in 4th gear. You will need the brake control relays that are part of the trailer hitch kit from Nissan. They can be purchased separately. U-haul may have them too - I don't know. Also, you need the brake controller itself. The higher end Prodigy brand units are very good. (http://www.etrailer.com/pc-BC~90185.htm)
W-D hitch, extra fuel to pull that weight… This seems like quite an expensive favor.

Maybe just rent a good size moving van/truck from U-haul instead? You may end up saving money.

 

[bighitter]

Put my answer after your questions below.

I have a 2005 nissan Titan SE crew cab without a tow package. My college organization asked me if I could tow the school trailer to our conference. I am a little weary about it though. The GVWR for the trailer is 7,000lbs and a tongue weight around 400. The trailer will house a concrete canoe and steel bridge along with other competition events, since it is going to an civil engineering competition. My main towing job will be from Las Vegas to Southern California then back. Some of you know that this is a mountainous range. I am getting a Class 3 reciever hitch installed by Uhaul, and this is where the questions start:

Is a class 3 reciever sufficient? - No
Will i need a weight distribution hitch? - Yes
Many are saying I will be able to pull 10,000lbs with a tongue weight of 1,000lbs with a WD hitch? Is this correct? - You may be able to but you will exceed all the factory speced weights, which would be an insurance problem if something were to happen.
Will that stop and swaying and any fish tailing that may occur? - Depends on the hitch, if the equlizer brand one that is popular yes, just a standard WD hitch no it won't.
Will I need a transmission oil cooler? All titans have trans coolers, non-tow package trucks just don't have the guage.
Whats up with the gear ratios? You have 2.93, tow-package is 3.36
general advise will be helpful as well. - Be careful and I would suggest the factory Class IV hitch with the relays included and then get a good WD hitch to go with it. Also I would look at adding either an Airbag Helper Spring setup or the Roadmaster Active suspension to help with the weight as Non tow package SE's and XE's have the weakest leafs.

 

[Z-Hauler]

with all that being said, make sure the weight is evenly distributed over the trailer's axles, and weigh the actual tongue weight before towing.

 

[BEEMSANG]

First of all Thanks to everyone that helped me out on this.

I have decided to go with the Class 3 Reciever, Weight Distribution Hitch by Equalizer(I chose this becuase its a rigid connection, which will help with the sway control), and Brake controller either prodigy or the one from uhaul. I am betting on that this will be sufficient on towing the 24' Trailer with a GVWR of 7000# and a tongue weight around 400#? Is there anything I am forgetting? This is going to run around $800.

Appreciate all the help and Ill keep everyone updated,

Vik Sehdev
UNLV ASCE President
[email protected]:cheers:

 

[BLBJBranch]

As someone who works for the government, I'd just like to throw out a HUGE caution. If you damage the trailer, they're going to come to you for the bill (if the state owns the trailer). I'd get a damage waiver signed by the school (or for that matter, whoever owns the trailer) before I towed it.

Also, if you damage your truck by pulling it, I'd bet the school won't cover your damages. They'll throw some bogus claim about using a non-government vehicle to tow government property.

I know this sounds cynical, but I don't take ANY chances when dealing with any level of government in situations like these.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[BEEMSANG]

So I went to U Hual and got everything from them except for the brake controller and the wire that connects the brake controller to the harness under the dash? They are setting up all the wiring and relays so I can get all the lighting to work. My question now is what kind of brake controller? I will be towing around 7000lbs. Is the P3 Tenkosha easy for me to install?

 

[TitanLou]

I have the Tekonsha Voyager, and it works just fine. Most on here prefer the Prodigy. You should have the trailer brake pigtail under your dash. Look in the owners manual it will show you where it's at. Just mount the controller, plug it in, and go.

 

[Walrus]

Is the P3 Tenkosha easy for me to install?

Yep.
Plug and play.
THe hardest part is finding the plug under the dash.