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rkwfxd
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| Posted: Aug 26 2005 at 7:00pm | IP Logged
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Hey guys,
I really really like the Frontier but I am concerned about its ability to tow my boat and carry my family. I figure when fully loaded my boat + trailer is about 3000 lbs and with me my wife, our two children and all of our supplies I am figuring about another 1000 lbs in the truck. I know the Frontier is CAPABLE of towing 6000+ lbs but has anyone actually done this? I make 3-6 trips a year from Whittier in So Cal out to Laughlin Nev with the boat, family and supplies. This is about 270 miles each way. Currently we use my 1994 fullsize Chevy Blazer with its 200 hp 5.7 liter V-8. There are a few spots going and comming where the truck will just maintain 55 mph with no a/c and full throttle. The truck does not over heat but it is clearly maxed out. I am OK with this but I think it is the minimum for safety as most of the other traffic is traveling at 65-70+ and I do not want to be a rolling road block.
So, does anyone have firsthand experience repeatedly towing a full size boat, with a full load in the truck, over a significant distant, up and down hills, in the summer?
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kcidmil
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HI! My name is Ben and I have Car ADD.
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| Posted: Aug 26 2005 at 10:30pm | IP Logged
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Well I haven't done anything with the new Frontier, but I have pulled the following.
- my friend's 84 RX7 from town to the base (25 miles)
- friend's lowered 90 Sentra SER out of a ditch,
-and a 6x12 trailer stuffed full with the bed of the truck full as well. (50 miles)
Though I can say the trailer was funner than the RX7 by about 800 lbs, especially on the hill leading up to the base. But I'll put it this way for you. If there are parts that make that V-8 work for it, it's going to do the same thing with your Frontier.
You could always take a dry run (supplies and no boat) and see how the truck does.
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rkwfxd
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| Posted: Aug 27 2005 at 12:42am | IP Logged
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A dry run is out of the question unless I could find an 05 Frontier to rent for a week. If I buy the truck, once I break it in, I'm going to USE it. On a + side, I kept searching and found a test by Trailer Boat magazine in which they towed a 3900 pound boat and had no problems so it sounds like the Fronty would do fine with my load.
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kcidmil
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HI! My name is Ben and I have Car ADD.
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| Posted: Aug 27 2005 at 9:32am | IP Logged
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It should do fine, btw... I have a 2.4L automatic 2wd. That's a lot of weight I pulled with my little baby.
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05 Toyota Tacoma X-Runner
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Big_E
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| Posted: Sep 02 2005 at 9:02pm | IP Logged
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I'm towing on flat ground, but my Frontier tows & handles my trailer loaded with lawn equipment (about 3,500 lb.) better than my F-150 did.
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TheNog
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| Posted: Sep 04 2005 at 10:56am | IP Logged
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I have an '05 Frontier Crew Cab, 4x4, with NISMO offroad package and 265hp V6. I haven't towed anything with mine yet, but I have loaded the bed with 1500+ lbs of construction debris, and hauled it around 50 miles (twice), over some hills along the way. I can say that I barely even noticed the load. The drive train in this truck is very impressive. Lots of low end torque, as well as passing power at high speeds. I'm betting it would handle your boat, passengers, and equipment very well. I've been driving a combination of these mid-size vehicles for about 20 years (Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Ford Ranger, Chevy Blazer, Dodge Durango, Dodge Dakota), all of which were loaded with various 6-cylinder engines. They were all used in various and repeated utility tasks - hauling and towing. The '05 Frontier crushes them all with it's drive train performance. I hauled an 1800 lb boat regularly over very steep hills in Oregon, with the Ranger and the Cherokee. Those vehicles handled it well, but the Frontier has WAY more power than both of them, so I'd bet you'll be very happy with its performance. It's the best truck I've ever owned, so I'm very happy with mine. I'm getting ready to set up my Frontier for towing now (mine didn't come with the tow package), so if you decide to go with it, I'd like to hear back from you how it's working out. Hope this helps, and good luck!!
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SDBryan
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| Posted: Sep 07 2005 at 2:12pm | IP Logged
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(Repost from another Frontier Forum)
I know for a FACT that a 2000 Frontier SEV6 Automatic 2WD Desert Runner can tow a 5,000 lb Fifth Wheel and still pass semi trucks on the hills...
I spent 4 months traveling the country in October of 2003 - over 8,000 miles and 22 states with the Frontier and the Fifth wheel...
Having just filled up to '05 at $3.01 a gallon - this picture just blew my mind.... Hard to believe that was Thanksgiving of 2003!!!!
Always got 15 MPG towing at 55... ZERO Oil consumption, and was able to use cruise control the entire trip - it RARELY ever cut off..
VERY IMPORTANT - DO NOT USE OVERDRIVE - TURN IT OFF WHEN TOWING....
I am still amazed to this day what that truck could do...
Hence the reason I bought a 2005 Frontier!
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MileHigh S/C
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| Posted: Sep 07 2005 at 10:14pm | IP Logged
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I am on my second Fronty, My first was a 98 4x4 KC with the 4 banger, I hauled around 1000 to 1500lbs of tools every day for 4 years average 80 miles a day. One week before I sold it I loaded the bed with a pallet of fresh sod. The rear suspension was bottomed out on the bump stops, I still was able to do 65 mph. Other then feeling a little unstable going over the bumps on Colorado's great highways, it was fine. I can imagine that the '05 couldn't tow a boat. (I don't recommend loading doen to the bump stops how ever.)
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ppilomike
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| Posted: Oct 15 2005 at 6:16pm | IP Logged
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I towed a tralier with my Harley Lowrider and two &nb sp; &nb sp; &nb sp; &nb sp; BIG heavy tool boxes from California too Michigan with my truck in Jan. the bed was loaded to the top of the shell with all my personal crap. It has a 3.3 NA and a 5 speed. no problem and I averaged 17 MPG. Mike
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Frontyfan
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| Posted: Oct 30 2005 at 3:59am | IP Logged
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i own an 01 fronty and haven't towed anything with it..but my brother
just bought an 05 fronty SE with the 4.0 and loves it....great
truck...little jealous personally....we are into offroading and he has
an 89 jeep cherokee that he is building up as a rock crawler...well he
towed this to and from a city about 75 miles in one direction with the
trailer and the jeep, stuffed with the lift kit they were putting on
it..plus other equipment they were putting on the jeep. and all told it
was probably well over 4000 lbs (with the trailer about 1000 and the
jeep over 3000 and he said it towed like a champ even maintaining 70
mph with ease, and to boot he still got 18 mpg he said on avg...what a
deal that is eh? granted there wasn't a lot of hills on his trip..but
there are some nice long ones that are on the trip...i've made it
several times up there. just some information for ya...so i figure
towing a boat will be a breeze.
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Nissan Frontier Forums : Frontier Towing / Hauling
Topic: Towing a boat with ’05 Frontier
