Query for the Travel Trailer experts

[Brian721]

Salutations, my wife and I just bought a 2017 Nissan Frontier SV truck. 4.0 Liter
Will this truck be able to tow our 1990 Fleetwood Wilderness Trailer. approx 30 feet long

Appreciate any help

Brian & Stacey Gray

[TXiceman]

Oh, it can tow the trailer, but should you? The short answer is no. Have you weighed the truck loaded for travel and weighed the trailer loaded for travel? You loaded tongue weight on the trailer will be about 12% of the trailer GVWR. Pretty sure you will be over the trucks rated numbers.

Is this for real or are you just trolling?

Come back with some weight information and we can help you with the ratings.

https://towingcap.com/nissan/frontier/2017/

These numbers are for an unloaded truck. For every pound of weight, you add beyond a 150# driver to the truck, you reduce the towing capacity and also the trucks cargo or paylaod capacity.

The theoretical maximum you can tow is 6000#. With a smaller truck, you need to see what frontal area limits Nissan has placed in the owner's manual. I would keep the GVWR of the trailer under 4800# as a starting point. The truck will struggle on the hills and plan on no more than 10 MPG whan towing.

Ken

[Brian721]

Hi Ken definitely not trolling. Will get numbers
We are new to RVing vintage camper, have enjoyed modernizing it Led lights, inverter... painting etc

[Ray,IN]

This online towing calculator will accurately and safely match your tow vehicle to a travel trailer.
There's no chest-beating or bragging involved, just accurate facts.
You may be disappointed with the results, but now you know.

[MtCamper]

I'll assume you new to the world of RVs and aren't trolling.The definitive answer is: Maybe. With a good WDH on mostly level roads on a 55mph highway to a campground near home you will probably get there. For the Rocky Mountain trip of a lifetime, no way. Your truck is rated to move around 6700#. Your empty trailer is over 5000#. By the time your fill your gas tank, add family and groceries you are going to be overloaded. If you were towing an equal amount of bricks on a flatbed trailer, that may not be too bad for you. But you have a 30' sail behind you. Hold up a sheet of plywood in a 20mph wind, then imagine that at a 60mph wind. You get the idea. To be honest a Frontier is a great tow vehicle for a teardrop or popup camper. EDIT: be sure your brakes are adjusted properly and you have decent tow mirrors.

[Persistent]

Originally Posted by Brian721

Salutations, my wife and I just bought a 2017 Nissan Frontier SV truck. 4.0 Liter
Will this truck be able to tow our 1990 Fleetwood Wilderness Trailer. approx 30 feet long

Appreciate any help

Brian & Stacey Gray

Lots of good advice posted above.

The year, make, model, and engine size are an approximation of towing capacity. The trailer length is also an approximate weight indicator. However, actual delivered vehicles and trailers vary a lot. Published weights for general model designations are not reliable.

Actual weights while towing are what matter. However, for planning purposes
you need these specs for the exact truck VIN number or from the weight stickers in the driver's door frame. The trailer will have a weight sticker on the driver's side near the front.

Truck:
Maximum Gross Towing Capacity
Maximum payload capacity
Maximum Gross Vehicle Weight
Dry or Unloaded weight
Maximum Cargo Capacity
Maximum trailer front square feet

Trailer:
Maximum Gross Vehicle Weight
Tongue Weight (Tongue weight on sticker is only advisory. Measure actual tongue weight.)
Square feet of front of trailer.

Don't bother with trailer dry or unloaded weight. That is only used as a sales tool to sell a trailer that actually weights too much.

Use one of the on line calculators or learn to do the math yourself. The more of these values you plug in, the more accurate the results will be. The closer you get to the tow vehicle maximum, the more small differences matter.

[Camp CA]

Your trailer weight is ~7,000 lbs https://www.nadaguides.com/RVs/1990/Wilderness and your truck has just over 6,000 lb towing capacity https://www.carindigo.com/nissan/fro...owing-capacity BUT not enough safety margin for towing and braking in my experience.

[Brian721]

Oh my...seems like we are going to need at least a 1/2 ton truck We have 5 days to turn the Nissan back in to the dealership if we don't want it. I thinking Chevy 2500 or Ford F150 maybe?
I just retired and we do want to head out West Colorado, California etc.
I did initially pull it with my LS Trailblazer 4.0 eng about 60 miles from where I bought it seemed to sway a bit.
Thanks for all the great advice



Brian & Stacey Gray

[carybosse]

Without specs for the trailer, I am going to say a minimum of a half ton, like the Chevy Silverado 1500 or Ford F150. Sure, a 3/4 ton like the Chevy Silverado 2500 or Ford F250 would do it better.

Others are also going to suggest a longer truck is better for a longer trailer.

I had a GMC Canyon that had better towing numbers than your Frontier. I would not have tried to pull a TT at 30 foot, and if we are talking 7000 pound trailer weight, with my Canyon. That is full size truck territory.

[Brian721]

Being retired from Law Enforcement I'm don't think I can afford a 3/4 Ton truck. Just have to see what's available I guess
My vol Fire Dep has two Ford 350 trucks one is a Brush Truck and the other is a Rescue Truck both diesel I know they could pull it. Wish I had bought a smaller Travel Trailer now

[Brian721]

Nice to meet another Ham I'm KD4FUN
Just upgraded to Extra this year.

[Brian721]

Originally Posted by TXiceman

Oh, it can tow the trailer, but should you? The short answer is no. Have you weighed the truck loaded for travel and weighed the trailer loaded for travel? You loaded tongue weight on the trailer will be about 12% of the trailer GVWR. Pretty sure you will be over the trucks rated numbers.

Is this for real or are you just trolling?

Come back with some weight information and we can help you with the ratings.

https://towingcap.com/nissan/frontier/2017/

These numbers are for an unloaded truck. For every pound of weight, you add beyond a 150# driver to the truck, you reduce the towing capacity and also the trucks cargo or paylaod capacity.

The theoretical maximum you can tow is 6000#. With a smaller truck, you need to see what frontal area limits Nissan has placed in the owner's manual. I would keep the GVWR of the trailer under 4800# as a starting point. The truck will struggle on the hills and plan on no more than 10 MPG whan towing.

Ken

Nice to meet another Ham I'm KD4FUN just upgraded to Extra this year 73

[carybosse]

Originally Posted by Brian721

Being retired from Law Enforcement I'm don't think I can afford a 3/4 Ton truck. Just have to see what's available I guess
My vol Fire Dep has two Ford 350 trucks one is a Brush Truck and the other is a Rescue Truck both diesel I know they could pull it. Wish I had bought a smaller Travel Trailer now

You can probably get away with towing it with a half ton, if property setup with a Weight Distributing Hitch (WD Hitch).

The 3/4 and full ton trucks are just about a unicorn from what I am hearing, impossible to find. Half ton trucks are a little easier to lay your hands on.

My wife actually commented she wished we had purchased a smaller TT. I tried for a while to talk her down, we went scouting some places to camp, just to get out of the house yesterday, and several places she liked, I had to veto because with a truck that is almost 20 feet long and a travel trailer that is 32 foot long, many of the sites she liked were too short to allow us to park the truck in from of the trailer.

[Duster73]

Unfortunately I would say your truck is under sized for the weight of the trailer.

I tow a 31ft 7300lbs dry. More like 8000lbs loaded with everything and water. I would not want to go under a 1500 truck. Do I need a 2500, nope. I don't travel in the mountains and it does great for me.

But in your case I think between the brakes and suspension, and possible gearing. It might not be the best match up. Gearing is a big factor for getting up those big hills, brakes and using your engine to slow down is the big factor for going down hills.