Imelda

I plan on getting the brake controller install and getting it adjusted correctly before my next trip. You may have all saved me from a bad accident as I naively thought that the Titan was breaking the trailer and the controller just adjusted the amount of breaking power. I didn't realize that No Brake Controller means No Brakes at all to the Oliver 😒 I think the reason why it didn't come with a brake controller was due to the Auto parts shortage and the auto manufacturers were shipping to the show rooms without a lot of the electronics. Now they seem to have more trucks. It looks straight forwards to put a brake controller in my Titan as there is a void in the area where it should have been. Hopefully, the wire harness is somewhere behind it. I am still in two minds as to get a newer Titan that has everything I want. I will keep you all posted on the progress. I have 9 weeks to my Utah trip get this resolved one way or another.

I am wondering if its too late to get a brake controller installed now or should this have been done at the factory?

All, this is very helpful and interesting. I just found this. I need to check in with Nissan re the brake controller. Are trailer brakes required in Texas? It's imperative to have a trailer brake controller when towing a trailer that has electric or electric over hydraulic brakes. In most states, an adjustable trailer brake controller is required when trailers weight more than 3,000 pounds when loaded.Feb 18, 2019 The Titan does have trailer brakes but does not have the manual controller to set the breaking.

Hi all, Imelda back on line again. A quick update. I did buy a Nissan Titan SV in September last year as my 2010 F250 had to go due to mechanical problems. I did use the new Titan SV to pull my Oliver 2 about 3000 there and back to Tennessee from Texas with no problems. Later, I took your advice and bought the Andersen WDH. I have it installed ready for our next trip to Utah. I just need a strong neighbor (stronger than me even with a cheater bar) to come over and tighten it all down for me. When I was shopping around for Titans last September they were only 2 available, just the basic trucks - manual seats (I have to sit on a cushion to see over the steering wheel), no dual climate control just one knob with red and blue to manually adjust the temperature and it drives me crazy. No Semiconductor chips available then, I guess. My Titan did NOT come with the complete tow package. It doesn't have a way to adjust the trailer braking inside. It does have the sway control (i think) and the hitch receiver with the 5 prong trailer plug. I was just at Nissan dealership this week getting the oil changed and now they have 22 new Titans (2023) on the lot so I am thinking of trading in the Titan I have for one that has the options I want or need. So my question is. Do I need the trailer breaking ability inside the truck? I may still have to use the Titan I have for the Utah trip. Will I be ok with the Andersen hitch and the Oliver breaking system or do you think I should have the internal breaking? We are not going to be going down any major hills and I think the sway control going west with the winds through Texas, New Mexico , Colorado and Utah but with the Andersen hitch I should be good? Some advice on the breaking would be very helpful. Imelda

Thanks all for pointing out the ball size and chain length. Yip I need the 2" ball. I believe the 4" drop should work my Titan and I will check the chain length.

Thank you all. I am taking all good advice I have been given and I am ordering the Andersen hitch (currently on sale) at camping world. I believe this is the one I saw on an Oliver. Can someone confirm this is the right one before I purchase? https://www.campingworld.com/andersen-hitches-weight-distribution-hitch-4-drop-rise-133946.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign={Campaign}&gclid=CjwKCAjw8JKbBhBYEiwAs3sxN_swK0-DWOO1nkSLi6t__q0Lc_JIKQAc2_Itxouk9aO7kVPFo5wELBoC2JYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

The Nissan Manual says weight distributing hitch is recommended for towing over 5000lbs but then it has a disclaimer that if you don't have the right type of weight distributing hitch installed or installed incorrectly then you can have serious problems with the surge brakes. I am going into the Nissan service next week (for a recall) so I will talk to them some more. As I said I am on the fence here as to adding an Andersen hitch, it doesn't look to hard to install but I am concerned that if it's not the right one for the Titan or I don't have it set up correctly I could be in worse shape.

Hi, all. It's been a while since I have been on the forum. I wanted to give an update. I did replace my F250 6.7L diesel with a Nissan Titan V8. My Ford was starting to have problems like the fuel pump going out and even Ford recommended I trade it in -- so I got the Titan. I just got back from Roan Mountain etc. in Tennessee about 2000 miles hauling round trip. The Titan pulled my Oliver2 like a champ. I do not have the Andersen hitch setup on the trailer as I previously didn't need it with the diesel truck and on I30 and I40 through Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee with the big semi passing at 75mph and I didn't see any signs of swaying. Of course we were driving mostly in the right lane at 70mph or less. So I am on the fence about adding an Andersen Hitch to my trailer. I looked at a OL2 with an Andersen camped near us and it's doesn't look like a big deal to add it but I have heard that if the sway control is not on correctly it can become more dangerous with it on. I did talk to the Nissan Service and while in the Nissan manual it recommends sway control and leveling if towing over 5000lbs they told me if I kept the tanks empty and the trailer close to the dry weight when hauling and weight distributed evenly throughout the trailer (which I believe it is in the case with the Oliver), Nissan didn't think I needed the sway control. My next trip out is April 2023 so I have a while to ponder what best to do.

Sorry for my late response. I haven't been on the forum for a while. I try to do most of the repairs myself but I am lucky that I have horse friends with horse trailers living close to me that are really good at doing trailer maintain and DIYs so I have been getting them to do the hard manual stuff like the greasing wheel bearings etc. for me. I have heard some horror stories about using the RV repair places in I35 north of Denton with long wait times and shoddy work.

Thank you. I will do the math again. I may have to jettison a dog or my 😏 passenger

The main reason for trading in my F250 6.4L for the Nissan Titan was that the Ford was getting up there in years (13yrs old) but not a lot of mileage (84K). It needed the fuel pump replaced (~$5000) and I was told it was going to turn into a money pit by a Ford diesel mechanic and others. Next to go out would be engine seals and so on - So I thought this Titan would be good comprise for my mostly flat land Elite 2 pulling and also I could use it for running around in without breaking the bank in fuel costs. So time will tell if I made the right decision - if not then I will trade the Titan for something bigger. I will keep you all posted.

There is actually a class 4 hitch on this model but I am checking into getting an Andersen WDH also. I think the cargo weight should be under 1200lbs, (400lbs Oliver tongue weight plus 2 medium size people and 2 dogs 400lbs approx. and plus no more than 400lbs misc. stuff like coolers, lawn chairs etc. in the bed). I am going to be finding out in a months time when I go to Tennessee. I see no more than approx. 7000 miles of towing the Elite 2 with this Titan per year and mostly will be flat land towing. I live in N Texas and the non flat land will be when I go to Colorado in the summer.

All, thanks for the advice. I just bought a 2022 Nissan Titan V8 at a local dealership. I will keep you all posted on how it does pulling my Elite2. I will be taking it to the Smokey Mtns, Tennessee from here in North Texas early October. I tried to upload a pic but it looks like there is a problem uploading.

Thank you all for the good inputs. I am considering the pro and cons of keeping my F250 or buying a new F150. I still have to fix the fuel pump on the F250 regardless but I am leaning towards a new F150. I will keep you posted. Imelda

A lot of things to consider here. You are right the $50K need to buy the lesser truck would buy a lot of diesel. My F250 6.4L truck pulls the trailer like its pulling nothing, It's a 2010 84K miles. This year I had some major repairs, brakes, coolant hoses and now fuel pump needs to be replaced. Up to now its been a great truck. And I would just like to have a new truck with lots of buttons and updates. There are no F250s or F350s available here in Texas so I was thinking F150 V8 would do the job but you are right - am I make a sensible decision or just frustrated at chasing down repairs. ..... still thinking