barlie
Clovis Ca
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Joined: 01/20/2005
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Is anybody aware of the severe towing limitations on the Nissan Titan? We bought an '04 Nissan Titan to tow a 25' or smaller 5th wheel. Since Christmas we have been advised by Nissan that the truck is not engineered to tow any 5th wheel trailer. They further stated that doing so would void the warranty on the truck.
We have also been advised by Nissan that putting any after market produce on the truck could void the warranty if the dealership was to determine that that produced cause a problem. We called a Nissan dealership to see if Nissan made a brake controller for the Titan and were advised that they did not. So now we can not tow anything heavier than 3000 lbs without risking our warranty.
The Nissan dealership provided us with a compilation of articles from several magazine comparing the Titan to other trucks. All of the articles talked about the 9500 lbs towing capacity of the Titan. In none of these articles did they state that the Titan can not tow a 5th wheel. The owners manual does not state this restriction on towing nor does Nissan's towing guide.
We only found out about it because we requested the towing guide and the salesman gave us a photo copy of the towing information provided to salesman. It shows pictures, tent trailers, travel trailers, 5th wheel and gooseneck trailers and the bottom of the page in small print it states Nissan does not recommend towing 5th wheel or gooseneck trailers.
When we called Nissan that when were advised that towing a 5th wheel would void the warranty.
We have contacted other truck manufacturers and they have no such restrictions. Nissan has raved about the fact that the Titan can tow up to 9500 lbs. but they have not publicized that you can only tow a trailer of less than 3000 lbs or put your warranty at risk.
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thekoenigs
Georgia
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Joined: 04/24/2004
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When we bought out Titan (ours doesn't have the Big Tow Package), we read the towing guide front to back. Our Titan is rated to pull up to 7500 pounds. With the Big Tow Package, it was going to be 9000 pounds. The dealer we bought from called our RV dealer to talk to them about scheduling the hitch and brake installation. At no time did we ever read, or hear anything about a 3000 pound limit that would put our warranty at risk. It's a great truck, but I can't imagine thinking you would want to pull a 5ver with it.. that would be like using an F150 or Dodge 1500...
Jayco Jay Feather Lgt 31V
Nissan Titan
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blackandredwarrior
Clovis, CA
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Barlie I don't believe that a brake controller would void the warranty. They are probably talking about aftermarket performace products: superchargers, chips, gears, lifts, etc.
I would fight tooth and nail if their brochure shows a 5th hooked up to the truck but then they say that it would void the warranty to do what it is advertised doing. Does the fine print say "Nissan does not recommend towing 5th wheel or gooseneck trailers." Find your warranty and see if it specifically says that towing a 5th would void the warranty.
And in CA to toy a TT over 1,500lbs requires a braking system. Regular trailers (utility, flat bed, etc.) require brakes at 3,000lbs.
As koenigs says, it's probably not the best towing a 5th. These 1/2 tons are really stretching it to make their tow ratings. One person I helped calculate towing for would have to have weighed like 70lbs or so to make the tow rating.
2004 F-150 XL St. Cab Short Bed 4.6L/AT/3.55:1 (Gotta love a cool boss)
2003 Yamaha Warrior (take a guess on the color)
3 person tent and way too much camping gear for one guy (no longer feeling out of place: tent forum!)
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Zardozchalet
Corvallis ,Or,USA
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Joined: 06/17/2004
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Quote:Is anybody aware of the severe towing limitations on the Nissan Titan? We bought an '04 Nissan Titan to tow a 25' or smaller 5th wheel. Since Christmas we have been advised by Nissan that the truck is not engineered to tow any 5th wheel trailer. They further stated that doing so would void the warranty on the truck.
We have also been advised by Nissan that putting any after market produce on the truck could void the warranty if the dealership was to determine that that produced cause a problem. We called a Nissan dealership to see if Nissan made a brake controller for the Titan and were advised that they did not. So now we can not tow anything heavier than 3000 lbs without risking our warranty.
The Nissan dealership provided us with a compilation of articles from several magazine comparing the Titan to other trucks. All of the articles talked about the 9500 lbs towing capacity of the Titan. In none of these articles did they state that the Titan can not tow a 5th wheel. The owners manual does not state this restriction on towing nor does Nissan's towing guide.
We only found out about it because we requested the towing guide and the salesman gave us a photo copy of the towing information provided to salesman. It shows pictures, tent trailers, travel trailers, 5th wheel and gooseneck trailers and the bottom of the page in small print it states Nissan does not recommend towing 5th wheel or gooseneck trailers.
When we called Nissan that when were advised that towing a 5th wheel would void the warranty.
We have contacted other truck manufacturers and they have no such restrictions. Nissan has raved about the fact that the Titan can tow up to 9500 lbs. but they have not publicized that you can only tow a trailer of less than 3000 lbs or put your warranty at risk.
OK you have some things wrong here. First of all lets settle some
things. Nissan actually supplies you with the parts to hook up a
brake controller when you buy the tow package. You supply the brake
controller and wire it in. If the brake controller you put in the
vehicle malfuntions and hurts something on the Titan yes that would
void the warranty. Having a brake controller on the Titan would not
in fact it is designed to have one. IT DOES NOT VIOLATE YOUR WARRANTY
TO HAVE ONE.
Now Nissan says you can tow over 9K lbs with the Titan and that is
true but just like any other 1/2 ton you still have to stay within
the limits of the front axle (FAWR), back axle (RAWR), and the total
weight of truck, fuel, people, and cargo (GVWR). You also have to
stay within the weight of the truck and trailer (GCVW). If you have
a 9K lbs trailer with 10% of that weight on the hitch that would be
900lbs going on the hitch. My Titan weighs 5650lbs with driver, full
fuel tank, and aluminum canopy. So if the GVWR for my Titan is 6500
lbs and I add 900 lbs to the hitch. I am now 50lbs over my GVWR before I even have a passenger in my truck or any cargo. So yes the
Titan can pull 9K lbs but not with any passengers or major cargo in
the Titan. All half tons are like this. I have no idea where you got
this 3000lbs limit but it is wrong. The Titan can pull up to whatever
the limit is but you do have to keep within the various ratings of
the tow vehicle. (Edit add: You also need to have a brake controller
and a load equalizing hitch to tow this kind of weight)
Now as far as the fifth wheel thing that is a complete seperate
issue. Fifth wheel pin weights can be very high and maybe they know
it would overload the axle or maybe the fuel tank is underneath the
bed and has no room for mounting the hitch to under the bed. I don't
know but Nissan obviously doesn't want you using a fifth wheel or
gooseneck trailer.
I now return the discussion back to the fifth wheel issue and I
hope I have corrected some of the incorrect issues stated in the
base post.
Zardoz
* This post was
edited 01/20/05 03:28pm by Zardozchalet *
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blackandredwarrior
Clovis, CA
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The 3,000lb limit is probably in the owner's manual as being the limit w/o brakes on the trailer (it's also the law in California.) I previously drove a '91 GMC Sonoma that maxed at 1,000lbs towing w/o brakes.
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GreenRiverGroundsHunter
Glen Carbon, IL USA
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Joined: 08/24/2004
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I believe he is getting the 3000# from "the fact" that the brake controller would void the warranty. So, you would be limited to the towing w/o brakes limit of 3000#.
I need to type faster!!
2005 Jay Feather 29Y
2004 Nissan Armada LE 4x4
5 Happy Campers
2 Camping Labs
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penguin149
Monroeville, AL USA
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I saw a SuperCrew F150 towing a 5th wheel this past fall. He had a slider hitch; I'd think that you could get the same for the Titan. He backed into a VERY tight spot and didn't hit the truck cab. But as someone else pointed out, you're limit will be the hitch weight before you exceed the GVWR. A Scamp or very light/short 5th wheel might be OK, but with only 1000-1300 pounds for people, cargo & hitch weight, it will be tough.
Good luck,
Jim
2007 F150 5.4L Supercrew, 3:73LS & 2002 Keystone Bobcat 293EBS
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walterinbaja
Edmonton,Alberta
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Joined: 01/03/2004
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We have run into the fifth-wheel hitch issue on the Titan a few times. The problem isn't where to install the hitch because of the size of the bed. The main reason that you can't install a fifth-wheel hitch in a Titan is because the frame is too light. We have a few clients that were very mad about this, but if you actually take a close look at the frame, you will see why Nissan doesn't want you installing a fifth-wheel hitch. The frame is very light. This certainly explains why the Titan and Armada have such high tow ratings.
Tow ratings are calculated by subtracting the weight of a truck from the GCWR.
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ssouder
Shippensburg PA
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Joined: 11/04/2004
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Quote:Quote:Now Nissan says you can tow over 9K lbs with the Titan and that is
true but just like any other 1/2 ton you still have to stay within
the limits of the front axle (FAWR), back axle (RAWR), and the total
weight of truck, fuel, people, and cargo (GVWR). You also have to
stay within the weight of the truck and trailer (GCVW).
Isn't this the same for all trucks not just 1/2 ton trucks?
GCVWR-empty truck weight= towing capasity.
1/2 tons are always being flamed, but in fact if you look at trailer life's tow rating pages you can find some 1 ton trucks that have lower tow ratings than some 1/2 ton trucks, its all a matter of how they are configured.
All trucks must stay within GAWR,GVWR and GCVWR
2007 3500 Dodge 4x2 QC 5.9 CTD 4.10
2005 HitchHiiker Discover America 31 1/2 LKTG
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blackandredwarrior
Clovis, CA
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ssouder you are correct. It's just become so much of an issue lately with Nissan and Ford pushing high tow ratings with the 1/2-tons.
How many people out there are running pre-'05 F-250 CC LB 4x4 PSD with big 5th wheels? Hell, the F-150 in my sig probably has more usuable payload. You see quite a few of those out at Pismo, etc. One guy I talked to didn't want to pay the extra weight fee every year. The price difference in the trucks is like $1,000 or something stupid like that.
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