Can my Titan tow my tractor??

[beppington]

I have an '05 Nissan Titan King Cab with the OEM towing package, rated to tow 9,500 lbs.

My Kubota Grand L3940, front end loader, & loaded tires weighs 6,156 lbs.

With a box blade or bush hog, chains & other stuff I carry I'm sure it's pushing 7,000 lbs.

That leaves about 2,500 for trailer weight.

My buddy is wanting to rent a trailer for me to bring my tractor over to his house to spread & grade driveway material for him. I have no problem doing that, if there's a safe, reasonable way to get the tractor there. About a 15 mile trip.

Is there a trailer that will adequately support my 7,000 lb tractor & still be towable with my 2" ball/ draw bar?

I guess one thing I could do if it was close would be to put the box blade & my bucket (331 lbs) on his utility trailer & let him transport those with his truck/ trailer. That's probably close to 1,000 lbs.

 

[Craig Clayton]

One thought on your towing capacity and I have not done the math based on your numbers. The tricky part is stopping. If you need to go 15 miles at say 7.5 mph you will be there in 2 hours. Just think of all the wonderful things you will see at that speed.
Craig Clayton

 

[arsenix2001]

Yes, if you get a medium light duty 18 foot wood deck trailer, the type with raised fenders/low deck, you can typically see them in the 2500-2800lb range with a 10k gvw. That would not be leaving much margin for error and will be pushing the limit of your truck. Also check your hitch, i can almost garauntee you cant tow 9500 lbs with just a strait ball and reciever, usually those numbers the advertise are when you use a weight distributing hitch with torsion bars and all that which is a pain in the arse to use. Your hitch strait up may carry 4-5k, maybe more?. I have a ford f450 pickup thats rated to tow like 16k, but low and behold you read my class V hitch and its like 8k with a regular ball hitch combo. But for a short 15 mile trip it probably will be ok, ive towed 14k with mine plenty of times.

 

[Dmace]

Your most likely going to need a weight distribution hitch which is recommended by Nissan (2006 Towing guide) and it might be tough to get the tongue weight set right since the truck is rated at only 940lbs of tongue weight. If you get a trailer with surge brakes, you won't need a brake controller too.

For a short trip, I don't think you'll have a problem. I have only towed 6k with a Titan before and it was slow going but it did fine. I doubt I would have been comfortable with over 9k behind it...

 

[beppington]

Thanks all ...

Craig: I've lived here since 1977 ... Seen it all already :laughing: I generally average about 12 mph when driving the tractor on the road, so that would put my one-way tractor-trip at an hour & 15 mins. Maybe that really is the best option, though.

I have a 24' fiberglass boat that weighs about 7K (boat + trailer) (surge brakes) that the Titan pulls with no apparent problems or un-safe "feel" anyway.

A 2,500 lb trailer plus the tractor less the box blade & bucket (aka about 6,000 lbs) would total 8,500 lbs.

I seem to recall that most (all?) 2" balls I've ever seen only go up to about 6,000 lbs. (meaning I've been "pushing the limits" by ~1,000 lbs with my boat already) Are there stronger ones?

By the way, the roads are generally county roads, i.e. not very busy, so I'd have no problem keeping my speed down, driving safely, not waiting until the last second to brake & braking hard, etc.

 

[RobertN]

The Titan could probably handle the load.

I would be concerned with
Brakes - make sure you get a trailer with brakes; a rental would have surge brakes
Hitch - That weight would surely require a weight distrubting hitch. Good luck renting that
Trailer - Don't know about your area, but around here(greater Sacramento area) I have not seen rentals for more than a 7000lb type trailer.
Truck - Again, don't know about your area. But around here, most rental places were requiring a 3/4 ton truck to haul a larger trailer. Too much liability from lighter rated 1/2 tons running in to trouble, regardless of the newest 1/2 ton towing capability.
Ball - Bigger trailer would use a 2-5/16 ball

 

[Baucom]

You'll be fine with your Titan if you have brakes on the trailer--either surge or via an electric controller in the truck--afterall, it's not like you're going to be dragging this load around every day, or even every week. You will need a 2 5/16 ball; I don't believe I've ever seen a trailer with a GVW over 7K with a 2" coupler on it. I wouldn't worry about the wt. distributing hitch either since this is a one time thing. They're really designed more for tongue heavy trailers like campers and boats that have little means of adjusting the balance of the load on the trailer. You should have room to move your tractor back and forth on the trailer to achieve the proper tongue load you need.

My advice would be very different if hauling your tractor was a regular event, or if you were doing this commercially. Just use common sense, make sure the load is secured well and your trailer brakes work, and drive defensively.

 

[RobertN]

All the recievers I have seen have a rating with and without weight disti hitch. Mine is rated something lik 6klbs without, 10klbs with.

Just a guess, but that Titan is probably rated more like 5klbs without, 9500lbs with.

I wouldn't worry about the wt. distributing hitch either since this is a one time thing. They're really designed more for tongue heavy trailers like campers and boats that have little means of adjusting the balance of the load on the trailer. You should have room to move your tractor back and forth on the trailer to achieve the proper tongue load you need.

 

[MikeInEburg]

I think an hour and fifteen minute drive will end up being significantly faster than loading, securing, etc along with the heartache that goes with it. If you plan to trailer more often, it would be worth figuring out what you need - but for a one-off deal, I'd just drive the tractor every time.
Mike

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have a 08 Titan and would not hesitate to put 9,500# behind it. Like others said the first thing is to make sure you are set up with brakes. The second is you will need a draw bar and 2 5/16" ball, and the third is you really need a WD hitch but that short of a trip you can get away with out it.

I pull 7,500# with mine 150 miles each and every weekend from May to October with no issues and have towed 11,000# once to help out a buddy with a broken Diesel Suburban.

Chris

 

[GT2]

Titans rule!

 

[PHILIP8N]

Here is my L3940 with FEL and pulverizer. Trailer is 10K 16' +2'. 2-5/16" ball is must. You will have or be near 1K tongue weight. Brakes are VERY important. Good luck. Philip.

 

[RobertN]

Add in an hour to go and rent the trailer, get it hooked up, and another hour to drive all over to drop it back off, get unhooked ect.

And, as I mentioned in previous post, you need to find a rental place that has a 10klb trailer for rent...

I think an hour and fifteen minute drive will end up being significantly faster than loading, securing, etc along with the heartache that goes with it

 

[RobertN]

What kind of availability for heavy flatbed trailer do you have in your area? Out here, there are not many.

And for better or worse, even with super duper tow rating, most places around here want to see a 25xx ie 3/4 ton series before they rent heavier trailers. The local rental/concrete buggy places wont do more than 1/2 yard of concrete behind any "1/2 ton" either. Some won't even hook up a concrete buggy to less than a 25xx series 3/4 ton.

I have a 08 Titan and would not hesitate to put 9,500# behind it. Like others said the first thing is to make sure you are set up with brakes. The second is you will need a draw bar and 2 5/16" ball, and the third is you really need a WD hitch but that short of a trip you can get away with out it.

I pull 7,500# with mine 150 miles each and every weekend from May to October with no issues and have towed 11,000# once to help out a buddy with a broken Diesel Suburban.

Chris

 

[puckgrinder85]

Well the trailer will and should have brakes, thats of course the most obvious point. Tongue weight should be able to determined by you loading the tractor accordingly. I towed a 12,xxx lb mini excavator with my 3/4 ton and while i was not fond of the idea i centered the load over the trailer with a little bit of tongue weight, the truck barely sagged at all and towed just great with the trailer brakes dialed in it was no worse than my 6x12 enclosed with no brakes.

 

[nwngunner]

you guys have alot more courage and or guts then i do. I would never pull a 10,000 pound trailer on a half ton truck. Now matter how many people say they have done it just fine.

We have a 13,000 pound camper that i pulled with a 3/4 ton 78ford with over loads, bumper hitch and it needed torsation bars and sway bars. It was still a job to drive that

We recently upgraded to a 3500 dodge drw and you dont need anything to pull the camper now. No load hitch or sway bar needed.

The one day, i had 12,000 pounds of hay on my hauler and my 3500 pulled it like it wasnt back there. That was with 5000 pounds of tounge weight approx. figured i had 8bales on a 6place trailer 6 in front of the axle 2 in the rear. Down to 4 bales that werent counter balanced. That was a normal just pin draw bar, and i dont have a spring loaded hitch on my truck. I want one how ever.

How ever if i were you guys i would be upgradeding to a bigger truck if i was to haul that much weight even more then once.

 

[MarkV]

If you friend is going to have to rent a trailer why not look into what a wrecker would move it for?

MarkV

 

[Diamondpilot]

you guys have alot more courage and or guts then i do. I would never pull a 10,000 pound trailer on a half ton truck. Now matter how many people say they have done it just fine.

We have a 13,000 pound camper that i pulled with a 3/4 ton 78ford with over loads, bumper hitch and it needed torsation bars and sway bars. It was still a job to drive that

We recently upgraded to a 3500 dodge drw and you dont need anything to pull the camper now. No load hitch or sway bar needed.

The one day, i had 12,000 pounds of hay on my hauler and my 3500 pulled it like it wasnt back there. That was with 5000 pounds of tounge weight approx. figured i had 8bales on a 6place trailer 6 in front of the axle 2 in the rear. Down to 4 bales that werent counter balanced. That was a normal just pin draw bar, and i dont have a spring loaded hitch on my truck. I want one how ever.

How ever if i were you guys i would be upgradeding to a bigger truck if i was to haul that much weight even more then once.

The 1/2 ton trucks of today are equal to or better than the 3/4 ton trucks of the 80's. I have had 2 3/4 ton trucks and 3 1 ton SRW trucks and 7 1/2 ton trucks and I can tell you the get stronger and better each and every year.

I would not hesitate to haul that load with any make of 1/2 ton truck but thats just me. Heck, I am not scared to put 25,000# behind my 2006 F-350. I would not head out across the country like that but locally or a few hundred miles would not scare me. I guess its a comfort level thing. I have been towing 10,000 miles or more a year for the last 20 plus years.

Chris

 

[nwngunner]

The 1/2 ton trucks of today are equal to or better than the 3/4 ton trucks of the 80's. I have had 2 3/4 ton trucks and 3 1 ton SRW trucks and 7 1/2 ton trucks and I can tell you the get stronger and better each and every year.

I would not hesitate to haul that load with any make of 1/2 ton truck but thats just me. Heck, I am not scared to put 25,000# behind my 2006 F-350. I would not head out across the country like that but locally or a few hundred miles would not scare me. I guess its a comfort level thing. I have been towing 10,000 miles or more a year for the last 20 plus years.

Chris

On my 3500 dodge i am not afraid to hull that much weight either. I have just seen to many half tonne trucks with their front wheels almost off the ground trying to pull @ 65mph

 

[Baucom]

Don't blame the truck for the operator's inability to get the load properly balanced. If the front end is that light, someone has put way too much wt. on the trailer tongue. Any properly equipped late model 1/2 ton has the suspension to handle ~10% tongue wt. on a 9-10K trailer.

On my 3500 dodge i am not afraid to hull that much weight either. I have just seen to many half tonne trucks with their front wheels almost off the ground trying to pull @ 65mph