We finally purchased a tow vehicle.

[Not so Big Al]

Now we have to find which unit is right for us. We picked up a brand new Nissan Frontier SV, a long box, today and now we are going to arrange a visit to Escape Industries. We have, in our minds, narrowed our search down to their 19 footer or the 5.0 ( the other 19 footer.) Never having towed a trailer before, except a 4x5 box trailer that I managed to damage my Westies rear bumper with, I have no towing experience. We have no hitch installed on the truck because we don't know which way to jump or what might be necessary. That's how it stands now but we tend to be slow and cautious in are decision making ad-nauseum. Is this a thread ?

 

[LeonardS]

I bought exactly the same truck (well ours is 4wd) and just visited the factory yesterday to see the trailers, specifically the 19 vs the 5.0. Our conclusion : maybe the 21!

We really expected the 5.0 to win any comparison but the issue of losing most of the storage of the pickup bed, not being able to put a shell on it, with the 5.0 is starting to make us think that through a bit differently.

Honestly the factory visit raised at least as many questions as it answered for us. But now we have seen them and we'll just keep thinking it through.

 

[escape artist]

Hi: Not so Big Al..."Is this a thread"? You betcha!!! Probably the most important one of all. I really had no idea that we were so lucky to have had all our decisions made for us. We bought "Our Escape Hatch" pre-owned but still new... truck/trailer combo complete. Now into our second truck, my concern wasn't loosing the truck bed. It was using the truck bed!!! I'm now 5 yrs. older than when we bought our rig, and not having to bend down to hook up a trailer hitch is even more appealing. The fifth hitch is all at eye level... and sooo easy to use.
You will have the best of both worlds...IMHO with the Frontier/ Escape combo...but to me it's how much effort you wish to put into hooking up the rig when travelling. My wife guides the truck into the trailer and uses the electric landing gear to set the trailer onto the hitch. It's a push button affair!!! Our style is to drop the trailer in one place for a few days at a time and tour with the truck. Yours maybe quite different.
I've been looking for 3 yrs. for a storage box to mount ahead of the hitch. One to put cords and hoses, BBQ etc in, but still haven't made a decision. I never like to rush into things but... if I saw one I liked I'd grab it. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

 

[dbailey]

I'm pulling a 19' with a 2012 Frontier SV 4x4 long box. It works for me. This past week we had a pair of kayaks, a hammock frame and a small BBQ in the box.

The hammock frame and the BBQ could have gone in the trailer, but for items that get set up once and left until it's time to get home, the truck box is nice and convenient.

For our next trip we're going to leave the kayaks behind and bring along a half dozen bicycles. Not something we could do without the truck bed.

It all comes down to: what do you want to bring with you?

 

[Brian B-P]

Just curious: is this a King Cab or Crew Cab? 4-cylinder or (more likely) 6-cylinder? Longer bed or shorter bed? Manual or automatic transmission?

We have no hitch installed on the truck because we don't know which way to jump or what might be necessary. That's how it stands now but we tend to be slow and cautious in are decision making ad-nauseum.

The cautious approach makes sense to me. If you don't get the 5.0, there's no reason to go to the expense and effort of installing a fifth-wheel hitch... yet.

On the other hand, I can't imagine owning a pickup truck without a common hitch receiver, since towing various kinds of trailers is much of the reason for the truck. It won't matter what non-fifth-wheel trailer you get - if any - the best hitch will be the same thing: a 2" receiver with at least as much capacity as the truck, rated for weight-distribution system use (all of them for a truck will be), with a sound and tidy mounting system. Doesn't a Frontier come standard with a suitable hitch receiver?

 

[LeonardS]

Brian, my Frontier came a class IV "towing package" which included the reciever and 7 pin plug pre-wired. But that was an option, I don't think all Frontiers come with those items. I never did get a straight answer whether there was any additional tranny cooler...but they did assure me it was ready to " tow at capacity".

 

[escape artist]

Brian, my Frontier came a class IV "towing package" which included the reciever and 7 pin plug pre-wired. But that was an option, I don't think all Frontiers come with those items. I never did get a straight answer whether there was any additional tranny cooler...but they did assure me it was ready to " tow at capacity".

Hi; LeonardS... The extra tranny cooler is mounted in front of the rad at the top. The trans. lines run through the rad then the cooler and back into the trans. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

 

[dbailey]

Yeah, the hitch and wiring harness weren't standard on mine. I took it to a third party to get them installed. When I was talking with the Nissan parts guy he told me that the standard Nissan hitch is actually a standard Hidden Hitch. For the price Nissan was charging I could have gotten 2 elsewhere.

I tried to follow the radiator cooling lines, and it *looks* like there is a transmission cooler already built in. But I'm not a mechanic...

 

[itoddday]

Hi Doug,

If you look under the hood and see one or two additional small radiators with the main engine coolant radiator, you probably have one.

The engines radiator has larger lines running back to the engine.

If you have AC then one will run back eventually to the AC Pump.

Or, the small lines will run right back to the Transmission itself... that would be the Transmission cooler.

Happy mechanic-in!

 

[dbailey]

Yes, there is a smaller radiator in front of, and to the passenger side of, the main radiator.

There are a pair of silver/grey metal lines (1/2" diameter or so) running out of the transmission towards the front of the vehicle. They look like lines intended to carry fluid, but whether transmission oil or coolant I couldn't tell. I lost track of them in the middle of the engine compartment. There are lines that are similar, but not identical, attaching to the smaller radiator.

 

[itoddday]

sound to me like you have one! Good thing to have!

 

[Brian B-P]

I tried to follow the radiator cooling lines, and it *looks* like there is a transmission cooler already built in.

This routinely confuses people with just about any automatic transmission tug. An automatic normally has a transmission fluid cooler built into the radiator even if not equipped for towing, and towing packages typically add to that capacity. In some cases the towing package includes a larger cooler in the radiator while in others - such as the Frontier according to the good info from owners here - the towing preparation package includes an additional separate cooler.

 

[Brian B-P]

When I was talking with the Nissan parts guy he told me that the standard Nissan hitch is actually a standard Hidden Hitch. For the price Nissan was charging I could have gotten 2 elsewhere.

That pricing is typical. If it's the same as aftermarket, I agree that there's no point in paying the dealer's price. On the other hand, with some vehicles - apparently not the Frontier - the factory hitch is a much nicer fit, tucked up into the bumper cover or better integrated with the frame and bumper structure.

So, when Not so Big Al gets a chance to respond, we should know whether any more hitch information would be useful.

 

[dbailey]

Yeah, a friend just equipped his Honda Odyssey with a hitch and ran into that situation. He went with the more expensive Honda part because it tucked up out of the way better than the aftermarket part.

But, for the Nissan, it was a stock Hidden Hitch. I got the Hidden Hitch part number from the Nissan parts guy and looked it up on the Hidden Hitch website. Generally available.

 

[Not so Big Al]

Hi Brian. The truck is a 6 and a the 6 foot bed. It is an automatic, my first in 34 years. I live on a 33 foot wide by 130 foot deep lot. Not much need for towing anything but the travel trailer. The receiver hitch was an option here. Thanks for your interest and comments.
Al

 

[Not so Big Al]

The extra space of the truck bed would be nice.
Al

 

[Not so Big Al]

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with the conversation I started but Wife discovered an error in the invoice for the truck which would have cost us $2,000 dollars. The dealer more than made it up to us for our time so alls well that ends well.
Thank you all for your considered remarks.
Al

 

[Not so Big Al]

Hi Brian. The truck is a 6 and a the 6 foot bed. It is an automatic, my first in 34 years. I live on a 33 foot wide by 130 foot deep lot. Not much need for towing anything but the travel trailer. The receiver hitch was an option here. Thanks for your interest and comments.
Al

 

[gbaglo]

Never mind all that.
What colour is it?

 

[Brian B-P]

Lots of wheelbase (especially if it's the King Cab), lots of towing capacity (three tons)... nice!

I assume that you didn't get the optional hitch. With nothing else to tow, I suppose that makes sense; since a hitch for the Frontier is common, it will be readily available if one is needed. I would put one on, but we all have different uses for a truck, so we have different preferences.

If a hitch receiver is needed, there are only a few common models. eTrailer has great descriptions, with photos showing how they fit on the truck.

Current Frontier hitch part numbers:

• Cequent Towing Products (one company, one hitch, multiple brands):
  • Hidden Hitch 87539
  • Reese 44526
  • Draw-Tite 75282
  • U-Haul 75990
• Curt 13241

All seem to have the same capacity: 5000 lb weight carrying; 8000 lb weight distributing. This is Class 4, but all are strangely described as Class 3.