[Dark Night 18]

1A Auto makes nice towing mirrors, about $260 a pr. I believe they're a sponsor here. They are extendable, power and available heated.

Good luck

By the way we hall a 30' TT, comes in at 4410# dry. I'm getting about 12-13 when towing it. I also a wdh with dual anti sway brakes. I also never go over 60 mph.

[B]How hard are those mirrors to install? I have some old school mount on the fender mirrors and dont like them at all.[/B]

Not hard at all.
You'll have to take off the panel that covers the 3 nuts that hold the oe mirror on. Then take off the door panel. The mirrors were connector is inside door. Took me about 30 mins to do both doors.
Good luck.

 

[la2781]

How do you haul your trikes? My wife and I have Catrike expeditions we want to be able to take with us.

 

[BOLO1904]

Hello everyone. I figure I jump on this "towing" thread instead of starting a new one. I need some opinions. I have an 2001 Fronty Crew Cab Supercharged Automatic Trans. 175K miles and maintained well. It has a 3 inch suspension with a 3 inch body lift. 32 inch tires. If that matters with towing efficiency or make it worse. Up until now, it has been normal driving, nothing heavy. Now I want to tow a vehicle trailer. total weight roughly 4300 pounds. Brake controller installed. and trailer has brakes on one axle. I believe the recommended max towing is 5k? What are your thoughts on towing this weight across country??… Twice.?? You think this old bastard will handle it? Other than those trips there will prob be other shorter 8-10 hours trips. You think air shocks would suffice with the extra load?

 

[20009]

Hello everyone. I figure I jump on this "towing" thread instead of starting a new one. I need some opinions. I have an 2001 Fronty Crew Cab Supercharged Automatic Trans. 175K miles and maintained well. It has a 3 inch suspension with a 3 inch body lift. 32 inch tires. If that matters with towing efficiency or make it worse. Up until now, it has been normal driving, nothing heavy. Now I want to tow a vehicle trailer. total weight roughly 4300 pounds. Brake controller installed. and trailer has brakes on one axle. I believe the recommended max towing is 5k? What are your thoughts on towing this weight across country??… Twice.?? You think this old bastard will handle it? Other than those trips there will prob be other shorter 8-10 hours trips. You think air shocks would suffice with the extra load?

What do you mean roughly? Are we talking dry, we talking GVWR? If its dry weight I would not tow it. If its GVWR I would say try getting a smaller trailer or a larger truck. When you push a vehicle too hard with that many miles something’s bound to happen. Air shock are not the way to go. My 2nd gen has about 46k and the tow cap is 6100 lbs. my trailer’s GVWR is 3625 lbs. many would but I would not go bigger than that. I am running three pack add-a-leafs in the rear to keep the front end from pointing at the stars when I hitch up.

 

[BOLO1904]

What do you mean roughly? Are we talking dry, we talking GVWR? If its dry weight I would not tow it. If its GVWR I would say try getting a smaller trailer or a larger truck. When you push a vehicle too hard with that many miles something’s bound to happen. Air shock are not the way to go. My 2nd gen has about 46k and the tow cap is 6100 lbs. my trailer’s GVWR is 3625 lbs. many would but I would not go bigger than that. I am running three pack add-a-leafs in the rear to keep the front end from pointing at the stars when I hitch up.

4300 is the total weight of the trailer and vehicle on the trailer. The GVWR of the trailer is 6000. 4300 is under the 5000 capacity but yea I understand it does have a lot of miles. I do have added leafs in the rear as part of the lift. This is actually what im hesitant about.. its age. Thanks for your input.

 

[20009]

4300 is the total weight of the trailer and vehicle on the trailer. The GVWR of the trailer is 6000. 4300 is under the 5000 capacity but yea I understand it does have a lot of miles. I do have added leafs in the rear as part of the lift. This is actually what im hesitant about.. its age. Thanks for your input.

Too big for the truck IMO

 

[Clint]

The factory rated towing capacity of the truck didn’t factor in the lifts and largers tires, they add considerable stresses to the drivetrain alone. The truck with its higher center of gravity is far less stable as it is now, I have a lifted Wrangler on 35’s and am very aware of how squirrelly it can get. I’ve seen videos on you tube of the aftermath of someone towing a trailer and taking an evasive maneuver and flipping both vehicles.
I’d consider renting an unlimited daily mileage full size truck and remove any doubts plus a rental should have free roadside assistance as a corporate fleet vehicle.
That’s one reason I bought my Titan, I can now buy a larger trailer and the Frontiers total is now only 2/3 of the Titans rated maximum ability.
The most important part is you never get hurt, everything else is just insured stuff and never worth risking your skin over.
Another point people overlook is you can get held criminally liable if it’s determined you were negligent in what you did and hurt anyone or worse.

Clint

 

[twowheeladdict]

Hello everyone. I figure I jump on this "towing" thread instead of starting a new one. I need some opinions. I have an 2001 Fronty Crew Cab Supercharged Automatic Trans. 175K miles and maintained well. It has a 3 inch suspension with a 3 inch body lift. 32 inch tires. If that matters with towing efficiency or make it worse. Up until now, it has been normal driving, nothing heavy. Now I want to tow a vehicle trailer. total weight roughly 4300 pounds. Brake controller installed. and trailer has brakes on one axle. I believe the recommended max towing is 5k? What are your thoughts on towing this weight across country??… Twice.?? You think this old bastard will handle it? Other than those trips there will prob be other shorter 8-10 hours trips. You think air shocks would suffice with the extra load?

Your tow rating is based on a stock truck. Larger tire diameter will reduce the relative gear ratio and reduce the towing capacity.

The trailer is hooked to the frame of the truck and all the suspension changes are going to absorb some of the energy needed to get the load moving and keep it moving.

Can you do it? Maybe. Can it be stressful on the vehicle and you? Most definitely.

My 6500lb rated Frontier gets 10 mpg towing a 6x12 foot by 6 foot high enclosed trailer at interstate speeds. Without the trailer it gets 22 mpg. That is with a gross trailer weight of 2100 lbs. It also never gets into 5th unless going downhill.

 

[BOLO1904]

Thanks for your inputs guys. I was looking into renting a truck/suv that could handle it. But for the length of time i need it i'd be spending quite a bit of money. So i figure i spend that money towards another bigger vehicle. What you think, something with at "least" 6000-6500 capacity?

 

[twowheeladdict]

Thanks for your inputs guys. I was looking into renting a truck/suv that could handle it. But for the length of time i need it i'd be spending quite a bit of money. So i figure i spend that money towards another bigger vehicle. What you think, something with at "least" 6000-6500 capacity?

Just make sure the exact vehicle you are looking at has the tow rating you desire. There is a wide range of towing capacities with some vehicles. GM trucks offer several different final drive ratios that can change towing capacity by as much as 4000 lbs difference.

Tow ratings are based on a stock vehicle with one 150 lb driver. For every pound you add to the vehicle you take away from the towing capacity.

Not stock wheel / tire sizes change the towing capacity.

Vehicles that are being used near their maximum capabilities require more frequent maintenance and possibly repairs.

The more excess capability you have the more pleasant those towing trips are going to be.

Good Luck.

 

[Grittyoctopi]

Anybody towing using a Fastway E2 Wt distribution Hitch with Sway Control? If so how do you like it and how well does it work?

 

[DennisB56]

We are towing with a Husky Centerline. Its a WD hitch with built in Sway Control. We were real happy with it last year.

 

[la2781]

I see you have trikes. my wife and I have catrikes. I was wondering how you carried them? inside the trailer?

 

[DennisB56]

Been a while since I posted on this thread. What’s everyone doing for tow mirrors? I have a old school pair that mount on the fenders but am unhappy with them. Looking to read what you all are using.

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dark Night 18]

1A auto

 

[1stNISSAN]

My experience: I’ve towed a 19ft travel trailer with a dry weight of 3900 pounds with my 2006 cc 4x4 frontier. Your enemy is the payload and short wheels base compared to full sized trucks. I don’t tow with my frontier anymore. I currently tow the same trailer with a 2500 avalanche.

 

[Thelt]

My experience: I’ve towed a 19ft travel trailer with a dry weight of 3900 pounds with my 2006 cc 4x4 frontier. Your enemy is the payload and short wheels base compared to full sized trucks. I don’t tow with my frontier anymore. I currently tow the same trailer with a 2500 avalanche.

I have never towed anything that heavy with my Frontier. That is well within the tow limits though. I am surprised it did not work out for you. Did you have a sway controller and trailer brakes?

 

[1stNISSAN]

I have never towed anything that heavy with my Frontier. That is well within the tow limits though. I am surprised it did not work out for you. Did you have a sway controller and trailer brakes?

It worked fine, but was far from perfect. Here’s what I observed: I already exceeded the maximum frontal sqft allowed per the owners manual. I had 6100 pounds tow capacity and approximately 1000 pounds payload. The tongue weight was estimated at 500 pounds loaded. So, 1000 pounds - 500 pounds = 500 pounds payload remaining for people, car seats, gear. Not a lot of payload remains for a family of 4. I can EASILY exceed my GVWR. Once I towed with a 3/4 ton truck it was clear my little truck was not made for travel trailer towing.

Don’t get me wrong, the frontier is great for my 15’ aluminum boat and off road trips. Heavy towing is best left for bigger trucks.

 

[1stNISSAN]

I had weight

I have never towed anything that heavy with my Frontier. That is well within the tow limits though. I am surprised it did not work out for you. Did you have a sway controller and trailer brakes?

I had weight distribution and brake controller. Sway control is not necessary in a proper truck trailer combo. Never had sway issues with any of my truck setups. I’ve owned and towed with the following: frontier, 10’ f150, 99’ f350 dually, 05’ 2500 avalanche and none had sway issues.

 

[Thelt]

It worked fine, but was far from perfect. Here’s what I observed: I already exceeded the maximum frontal sqft allowed per the owners manual. I had 6100 pounds tow capacity and approximately 1000 pounds payload. The tongue weight was estimated at 500 pounds loaded. So, 1000 pounds - 500 pounds = 500 pounds payload remaining for people, car seats, gear. Not a lot of payload remains for a family of 4. I can EASILY exceed my GVWR. Once I towed with a 3/4 ton truck it was clear my little truck was not made for travel trailer towing.

Don’t get me wrong, the frontier is great for my 15’ aluminum boat and off road trips. Heavy towing is best left for bigger trucks.

500 pounds seem like a large tongue weight for a 3,900 pound trailer. I thought the rule of thumb was about 10% of total weight. The WDH should have helped.