Fast Forward

O.K. thats how I've always understood it to be..

UNSANE

I drive a Titan and tow a 29' Fountain. Fully loaded down with fuel and trailer, that's around 8000lbs. I tow on the highway and get 11-12 mpg at 65mph and have to drive long distances regulary. I've been in more than one situation where I had to get on the brakes and it stopped/slowed down.............real quick. I've never had to put the brake pedal to the floor....With an 8000lb load, it's 0-60 time crushes an F150 by a full 6 seconds, so it's by no means a wimpy truck. (neither is an F150)

And yes, I've had it with the Nissan/Toyota bashing. Grow up people!!! Been watching that thread about the new Tundra. Not one thoughtful critique or arguement against it. Just borderline racist and biggoted comments are all I'm reading and all of the sudden people are having Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal flashbacks as if they were there. My Uncle Bob was at the latter, and although he hated Japanese until his last day, he did RESPECT them.

I don't read of anyone calling someone a Nazi for driving a Porsche, BMW or Mercedes.....

Fast forward, here is my advice: Forget names and just go check out a narrowed down list that you make based upon your requirements. My dealer was even going to allow an extended test drive with my boat if I so desired as well. Check out that possiblity. Maybe a diesel in the cards??? Who knows??? Buy what you think is right, (capitalism...yay!)not what the neighborhood thinks you should buy. (socialism...boo!)

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

I will place money that the 9500 lbs. capacity you refer to is with a full weight distribution setup.

What's the capacity for a Weight Carrying Hitch?

PowerQuest Legend (boat only-dry): 4200 lbs.
75 gallons of fuel: 450 lbs.
Aluminum Trailer (approx): 1500 lbs.

You are at 6150 lbs. BEFORE you add Coolers, Tools, Anchors, Docklines, Stereo, and all the other crap we pack in our boats.

Realistically you are already towing at least 7000 lbs. (according your Avatar/Legend).

This is an excerpt RIGHT FROM THE NISSAN TITAN CAPACITIES WEBSITE:
"Towing performance and speed are affected by vehicle payload, tow weight, road grades, and weather conditions, including high temperatures. See owner's manual at dealership before purchase for details."

Again, I bet your manual states 9x00 lbs. tow rating with a Weight Distribution setup.
ALL TOWING CAPACITIES are SIMILAR.

Tow Capacity is X with Weight Carrying Hitch
Tow Capacity is Y with Weight Distribution Hitch Setup.

I'd venture to say you are ALREADY at the safe towing limits of your current vehicle/boat. If you are towing more than your AVERAGE 24/25/26 foot boat, you NEED AT LEAST A 3/4 TON TRUCK. I used to tow with an adequate vehicle, and it was legal within capacities and specs. I've got a bigger tow vehicle now, and its NIGHT AND DAY difference in towing.

I am not coming down on you Fast Forward, so PLEASE don't take any offense; but I post nearly this EXACT SAME INFORMATION ONCE A WEEK.

It only takes a 20 foot towing distance out of your Driveway or Marina to have some idiot do something STUPID in front of you, and you don't have enough truck to cover your ass. You never want to run out of truck. Especially in an emergency situation when life depends on it.

Expensive Date

The Nissan Titan brochure states will tow a 9500 lb trailer It will tow this much but you know its there.My 292 with trailer and fuel is just under 9500 lb

Expensive Date

First off I agree with you but it does say right on the hitch 10000 lbs with no mention of weight distributing.I was looking at a Ram 3500 dually To get the max towing capacity do I also need a weight distributing hitch (can you even use these on boats)am I missing something? I know you probably posted that already but its winter and you are probably bored Thanks

Fast Forward

Brian, No offense taken. And you are correct on your estimate of about 7000 lbs on the 26 with trailer (steel). The question originally posted was meant to cover all 1/2 ton pickups. I pulled my 26 with my 03 F-150 for 2 years and to be honest only pulled it with the Nissan 5 times before placing it in storage. Only thing I really noticed is that the Nissan still sits level with the weight and the Ford tended to squat a bit. As for pulling seemed to be the same other than pulling out of the dock the Nissan seems to do better but I think that has to do more with the difference in tires than anything else.

So all in all it really sounds like a 29' with twins will be my max to keep things simple.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

I did install a WD Hitch Setup on my surge brake boat trailer when I had my last truck. I have since removed it now that I tow with a dually.

This thread shows full pics on page 2 of the WD Hitch setup:
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=78812
The chains allow movement of the trailer tongue with the surge coupler for braking ability. I saw no difference in braking distance/ability with the WD bars installed/not installed.

You CANNOT use a traditional Sway Control bar with a surge brake trailer.

Electric over Hydraulic brakes with a WD Setup would not have ANY issues. (This would actually be the cat's ass.)

By going to a true CLASS-V hitch vs the Class-III hitch that comes on most trucks, you can ELEVATE your Weight Carrying Capacity to the Weight Distribution Rating of the truck. The HITCH is the weak link in this scenario.

Reese Titan-V and Putnam XDR are true Class-V hitches that are used by many OSO'ers.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

The current Formula 292 is only offered with twin SBC, not BBC; which I believe is what Expensive Date has; could be wrong.

tblrklakemo

So the WD is meant to compensate for a weak factory hitch, and allow you to tow the vehicle max?

Dock Holiday

No, not at all.

It distributes weight to the front of the truck instead of it all being carried on the rear axle.