I still cannot pull the trigger on a new truck. Man, they are high. So... I have a 2008 Nissan Titan 1/2 ton. Any idea what I could reasonably pull loaded with firewood? I have a 5x10 utility trailer but it can hold only maybe 1/2 cord if I toss it in. I would like to be able to tow a full cord. Of course, I could put some wood in my truck but I'd rather leave the bed open for all the crap I haul around. I might have to install a trailer brake gizmo on my truck? What size do you think it could handle? I don't have to drive fast... plenty country roads here, lol. My trailer is single axle, I think I'd prefer dual axle. By my calculations, a trailer of... 16ft L x 6ft W x 2ft H would hold about 1.5 cord stacked and 1 (0.96) cord tossed. That is using 128 cu ft stacked and 200 cu ft tossed. The 200 cu ft tossed... I read on the internet, lol. If so, a trailer that size works. Could I pull it ok? TIA!
Without knowing your engine size, I would feel safe in saying your truck will tow 7000 lbs. The weight of the trailer is part of the 7000. Most single axle 5x10 trailers are rated to carry around 1800-2200 lbs, and weigh 700-900 lbs empty. Good ones have a 3500 lb axle, not a 2000 lb axle. That doesn't mean you can haul 3500 lbs. The GVW will be around 2990, then subtract the trailer weight. Hence the 1800-2200 lb number. Therefore your limiting factor is the trailer, not your truck. Most 16 foot tandem axle trailers will weigh around 1200-1500 lbs empty, and can carry 4500-5500 lbs. A cord of green hardwood can be as much as 6000 lbs depending on species. Forget about a cord and a half unless you plan on getting a bigger truck, and much bigger trailer. A cord MAY be doable depending on species. Here's what I recommend. Find the exact tow capacity of your truck. Should say in the manual or on the edge of the door when opened. Id sell your 5x10 trailer and buy a TA trailer that's 77"x12-16' long. The shorter trailer will actually have a larger capacity, as the trailer is lighter. Deduct the weight of the trailer from your tow capacity and haul up to that amount on your trailer. See how the truck pulls it. May have to add a trailer brake controller in your truck to safely pull said trailer. There's a good chance the trailer will not have trailer brakes, so in that case you wouldn't need the controller, but will have to be careful as your truck brakes are the only thing stopping the weight.
I ran into this with my f150. I bought a tandem axle trailer, and with a cord of wood it was just too much. I stepped up to a used 7.3 f250 and it pulls so much better. The Titan will do a cord, but you better do the math on how much weight you are looking at. Around here if I am cutting green oak, I will do a cord, no more. That said I used to haul a cord in the bed of my f150 when I was young and dumb. Ymmv
Be careful on pulling too much with those light trucks, because one you need trailer brakes, two it pretty hard on the automatic transmissions and also rear ends. You can gut your truck if you over do it on a regular basis. I occasionally pull a 9,900 dump trailer with my 2014 Chevy half ton, but it's kind of a heavy half ton. It will do it fine and I do have trailer brakes, also. But I have to pull a steep mountain to get home and must put it in low range 4 wheel drive to pull it. I have an old 3/4 ton Ford with a heavy duty 4 speed standard that I would prefer to use, but I have not got the electrical hookup rigged up for the trailer yet. This trailer will hold a cord (three rick) if I round it up good with the side boards on it. I think I am still underweight by a 1000 lbs or better and I would not want to haul much more weight with this truck.
There should be a plate somewhere on the truck listing GVW/GVWR. That and the manual will tell you how much it’s rated to tow. My truck is rated for 10,500 lbs but I wouldn’t exceed 8000 myself. Half tons can be rated for as little as 5000 lbs or as high as mine depending on how they’re configured. It’s very dangerous to assume. I’ve seen some nasty accidents resulting from that. I’d be surprised if your truck will tow much over 5k if that unless it’s a heavy duty version. At 5k I’d keep it more like 3500.
I believe the only available engine option for the Titan in 08' was the 5.6 V8. Lowest tow number I saw was 6500 lbs, highest was 9500 lbs.
I had a F150 with the max tow package and towed 10k. I also had a 14k trailer with good brakes tho. That being said, I was tired of towing at the max of the truck and pushing my luck, and bought a F350 which tows the 10k like its not even back there.
Something else is payload. I went and looked at Toyota Tundras. Not enough payload. Family of 5, I would end up being overloaded, not due to what I was towing, but the stuff/people in the truck/bed. Read the details on the numbers discussed above. My pops taught me a lesson as I figured says 10k tow capacity, hook er up! Not that easy, especially when looking at a crew cab 4wd, often the numbers were for a 2wd, single cab.
Yawner a have a 7x14 tandem axel cargo trailer that I pull with my 5.3 1/2 ton Chevy crew cab. I will load around 2 cord in the trailer and maybe face cord in the bed. It pulls it well. The key is trailer brakes. There is no way I would be comfortable with that load without trailer brakes!
I had a '99 Ford Explorer 5.0 that I sold at 247k miles that had towed a TA 6x16' about 200k of those miles. Empty or mostly loaded was fine, but a full 7k was interesting at times. I also had a 5x10' SA 6k that was great when fully loaded with scrap, it was just small. I think I got lucky with that vehicle though because the only thing that worked when I sold it was the engine and transmission. Trailer brakes are a must. Stopping power is good, but tapping the electric brake control to stop sway is a life saver sometimes (literally). Towing with a smaller vehicle is also what you're comfortable with. 7k loaded on flat ground at 30 mph, is a lot different than 55 mph with a cross wind, downhill, while raining an inch an hour. That previously mentioned Explorer would been a challenge, likely dangerous. I will tow 10k with my Chevy 2500HD while talking on the phone, eating lunch, and not even thinking about it. What is the current GVW rating of your trailer? Almost all trailers have triple rated axles, couplers and decks. Tires are always the weakest link and upgrading them will get you more instant carrying capacity.
2003 Chevy Trailblazer, 12 foot trailer, not sure on the GWV on the axle, may have gotten hairy, but she did it, 48 mile one way, lots of hills. Maybe contributed to the tranny acting up in her last days. 2011 Silverado now, haven't tested her with a loaded trailer yet, I prefer just to load to truck anyway, especially if it's a short trip, under 10 miles.
I have my new 2020 RAM 1500. When I bought it, I made sure to get the 3.92 rear end for towing. Knowing that the brakes on a half-ton are a great deal smaller than a 3/4 ton. I love my truck and will get a 5X10 dual axle dumping trailer to go along with this truck. Yet part of me wishes I had ponied up and bought the Cumins 2500. Do I have a need for diesel on a regular basis? No. Would the 6.4 Hemi get the job done? Yes. I just really like diesel over gas engines especially when it comes to towing. Something I picked up from my dad.
I went with a 2020 2500 Ram earlier this year. I had previously had a couple Power Wagons however I wanted the improved towing capacity of a regular 2500 (16,780 vs 9,470). Would have liked to get the diesel but don't tow enough to justify the difference. Debating on a trailer upgrade now because a dump would be nice but I also want something to tow the tractor on (I know I could put it in a dump trailer but don't need a dump trailer that long or heavy). I currently just use a 10' utility trailer but need something that can handle the tractor. The main place I scrounge wood isn't really trailer-friendly anyway so I'll probably end up with a car hauler that I can put sides on when needed for hauling wood.
So far I've used my cousin's 5X10' dump trailer to go pick up two loads of large logs from one source. We could have done it without the dump option, but it would have been a great deal more work. Being able to back the trailer into position and dump/pull away was by far simpler an option. If you are getting log lengths in your scrounging, I would spend the extra money all day long for the dump option with a dual axel. This is just me. Now I know that in most cases scroungers end up bucking and splitting on the spot to bring the wood home. If that is the case, then having a dump trailer is a nice to have option. Just depends on how you are scrounging. My friend picked up the 2020 RAM 2500 with the 6.4 and loves it. He does hardwood floors for a business and tows a trailer 5-6 days a week. He bought a 38' travel trailer. Pulls like a charm, but only gets 10mpg when towing it. My dad used to get around 16mpg towing his 27' Airstream. Which I bet is probably about the same weight. Knowing that the old Airsteama were very heavy travel trailers. Jason from RI
16 mpg is amazing gas mileage not even towing for a 3/4 ton pickup. What was your dad driving? When i had a f150 ecoboost, on its best day empty it would get 20 mpg, average was around 16 mpg. Towing best was 12 mpg with the average around 10. My F350 with the new 7.3L gas engine gets 12-16 unloaded and 9-12 pulling 11k.
About 90% of the time I am towing with my truck. I still couldnt justify it as im not towing 20-30k on a regular basis. Its like a 12k option. Plus diesel fuel is stinky, dirty, has water in it, needs treatment in cold weather, has a ridiculous emission system........Its bad enough to have a diesel tractor.
He has a 1989 Cumins. He would get around 20mpg according to him. The worst he got was going across the country going through the mountains he got 12mpg. His friend Eddie that was with him in F250 gas job was only getting 6mpg.
