About Towing... please help.

I think you've answered the question yourself. You'll be towing, 2000lbs. Worst case, fully loaded and wet, double: 4000lbs. Truck is rated at

You might want to get an auxillary transmission cooler, it's not much cost and it's an added benefit even when you're not towing.

-Bruce

Buy the tow package. Not only will it save you a lot of hassle (trailer lighting hookups, etc.) but it comes with all kinds of heavy-duty goodies that will extend the useful life of the truck as a whole. Tow packages typically include better radiators, better brakes, better alternators, better suspension and tires, better transmission coolers and so forth.

DS

The Big Tow Package will ensure the overall longevity of your vehicle. It is much more economical to have the equipment - wiring, cooling, axle ratios, suspension, oil coolers, transmission upgrades(where applicable) installed or ordered at the point of purchase instead of trying to catch up later when you find you need them, or you start having failures or shortcomings when you start your towing adventures. Get the package... factory installed. Even if you never tow, you will have a much more durable and useful vehicle.

Also, especially with a pontoon boat, you have to figure in the sizeable frontal area as an important consideration in addition to towed weight. It's an eight-foot-wide flat wall and then some you're pulling down the road.

Rob

I see you are getting all kinds of opinions (differing ones) and I will throw in another. If it were me, I would get the tow package as it does upgrade some components (as mentioned, usually larger radiator, adds oil cooler and transmission cooler, light wiring). I believe the extra coolers are worth it even without towing anything, but that is just me. I would not go with the lower gear ratio (higher numerical) for the axel though as it sounds like 99% of your miles with the truck will be without the trailer. The axel rated for the highest towing capacity will probably reduce your fuel mileage.

On the flip side, I doubt you will see any problems if you decide not to buy the package. Back in the 70's, my dad regularly used a Ford station wagon with a 302 to pull an 18' prowler travel trailer (big box type, hard side thing) to the lake and back (about 150 miles each way) in the south Texas summer every other weekend or so and I remember replacing the car with 140K miles on it. Still running fine and original engine and transmission. Never even changed oil in the transmission during that time. I used to pull a 3200 lb boat with a '73 Marquis several hundred miles per trip and it also had no trailer package. Bottom line, I would be surprised if a stock truck that is rated to tow 7200 lbs would suffer from towing a 2000 lb trailer. BTW, I expect the station wagon and marquis were "rated" to pull maybe a 2000 lb trailer and weren't impacted to any great extent. One more comment though, American cars from back then were generally overdesigned relative to the Japanese. I don't know anything about the Nisan trucks and how sturdy they are.

will probably reduce your fuel mileage.

I would agree, except that modern engines tend to be a lot more "delicate" than the cast iron monsters of the past. An import in particular will probably have an aluminum block and CERTAINLY aluminum heads (as do some models of the domestics now). Cast iron truck engines are a lot more tolerant of overloading/overheating than aluminum ones. IF I were considering an aluminum truck engine for towing, I'd give it every cooler I could buy and still worry that I wasn't being gentle enough on it....

Just my $.02

Do you see any other (possibly bigger) towables coming into your life during the period you expect to keep the truck?

Will you be *carrying* heavy loads and/or doing so under challenging conditions?

It looks to me as though the tow package comes with a lot of things that are useful under other circumstances, not just a tranny cooler and a numerically higher rear end.

As for operating economy, see what they rate as the difference between the Big Tow package and the standard model. Both come with a five-speed automatic (which has a Tow/Haul mode -- what does that do? change the programming? lock out overdrive?) That large selection of gearing might circumvent the traditional disadvantages of gas mileage and speed that come from a really numerically large rear end.

I'd much rather have a receiver hitch than a bumper hitch, and the Big Tow package includes one. Comes prewired for one of the standard trailer-wiring schemes too, including electric trailer brakes if you have 'em.

Finally, how much more does Big Tow cost?

Me, I'd get it unless the price were rather punitive.

Cheers,

--Joe

Thanks to everyone for your input. I will never be using this truck for any towing other than the previously mentioned boat. I won't be doing any heavy duty hauling... just runs to Home Depot and occasionally helping friends/family with various "your my best friend because you have a truck" type favors.

The Big Tow Package on the Titan costs $950 and adds: Vehicle Dynamic Control (which is the system that automatically applies brake force to a wheel that starts to spin), a lower final gear ratio (3.36), heavy-duty battery, extendable tow mirrors (with a wide-angle mirror), automatic transmission temperature gauge, Class IV receiver hitch, additional 7-pin wiring harness, and trailer brake controller pre-wiring under the dash. The truck comes standard with a separate transmission cooler whether the tow package is included or not.

The "Tow/Haul Mode" just holds the lower gears longer. It's standard on all Titans.

There is no rated change in fuel mileage when adding the tow package.

Under normal circumstances, I would go ahead and get the tow package. The problem I currently face is finding the vehicle in the color and trim level I want with all the options that I want. The vehicle is brand new and in demand. I need to get into a vehicle fairly quickly and I've found a Titan that is everything I want short of having a Big Tow Package. While it sounds like it would be good to have it, it also sounds like I won't really NEED it either. We'll see...