Greg from Mi.

Hello everyone:
I bought a new Nissan Titan crew cab 4X4 for pulling my travel trailer. I love the truck, the room it has the power is great but the milage is not what I expected. Maybe I expect to much thats why I'm looking for your input.
My trailer when empty weighs in at an even 6000lbs. I 'm sure I dont put more then 1000lbs more in it so it cant weigh more then 7000lbs. much below the rates 9700lbs it can pull. I drive at about 60 to 65 mph. I have 3300 miles on the truck so maybe it will get better?? I've checked it twice and got 7.5 and 8.5 MPG. I was hoping for around 10mpg. I met a guy at a campgound with a Titan and a 6000lbs trailer. he said he gets 10 to 12 pulling and uses overdrive. I tried to use overdrive and as soon as I put it in overdrive my speed starts to drop. If I try to push down on the gas it downshifts right away. by the way his titan has11000 mile on it.
The dealer said he hasent had anyone tell him about any titans that pull with this issue.
Any thoughts on this would be helpfull
Thanks
Greg from Mi.

blitZ

Your mileage sounds about right for towing a load that size with a V8. Also, you might want to check your manual regarding towing in overdrive. Most vehicles including trucks should use the overdrive lockout for towing.

I get 13mpg towing my 3000lb boat with my Pathfinder out of overdrive on the interstate cruising at 70mph.

blitZ

blackalti03

What weight oil are you using. I havent changed my oil in my Titan yet but some guys on Nissan Titan Forums were talking about getting better gas mileage with using 0w compared to 10w, also maybe a new intake might help with a few extra MPG.

Eric
Canteen Titan 4X2 Crew Cab
Black 03 3.5 SE Altima

Chief

No expert here, that's crappy gas mileage, but with that kind of weight I wouldn't be too dissapointed.

As far as the top gear. When I'm on a trip and towing, I'll shift manually out of o.d. as needed if the vehicle starts to lug. Used to have to do this a lot with my dakota 5.2. My brother had the dakota 4.7 on the same trip with similar weight. He kept his O.D. locked out the whole trip (about 400 miles) and I beat his mileage by 1 or 2 MPG. After a few miles you can anticipate what is needed to keep the vehicle moving. Go into O.D. when you can, pop it off to keep your speed up if it gets sluggish on long inclines. It may help. My experience tells me that many people lie about great gas mileage, then again, the few times I've been forced to drive at 50-60 mph on the highway in heavy traffic has given me great mileage compared to 70-75 keep up with traffic speeds.

I just found that accepting the fact that I may have to manually lock top gear in and out has saved a few MPG in the past. I'm expecting my new truck should need a bit less attention hopefully since the 5 spd trans is almost reading my mind compared to the older 4 spd.

GoodLuck!!!

Chief