Trailer Hitch and Weight Distribution for 2006 Nissan Frontier Towing 5700-lb Travel Trailer

Question:

I am purchasing a 2016 19ft Lance trailer with GVW of 5700lbs and hitch weight tongue weight? of 330 lbs. which hitch do I want to purchase?

asked by: Kirk M

Expert Reply:

The rear receiver hitches offered for your 2006 Nissan Frontier are all 2-inch Class III types that share a 500-lb tongue weight (TW) and 5000-lb gross trailer weight (GTW) ratings. All can be seen on the linked page. Since all of them install without drilling I suggest the lowest-cost option, Curt hitch # 13241, which is shown in the linked video being installed on your same model year Frontier. The written instructions are also linked.

Each one of these hitches' towing capacities will increase if used with a weight distribution (WD) hitch; in this case the TW rises to 800-lbs and the GTW rises to 8000-lbs. In their online towing guide Nissan recommends using a WD hitch on the 2006 Frontier. They also note that the vehicle cannot have a 5th wheel hitch like # RP30047 installed; only the Titan has this 5th wheel towing capability.

Many weight distribution systems are available with built-in sway-prevention. For a 19-foot trailer that can catch substantial wind from passing vehicles I do urge you to use a WD system that includes sway prevention. The premier system we offer and the one I suggest is Reese's Strait-Line. This system not only re-distributes trailer TW up to the truck's front axle for better steering and braking performance but it also prevents trailer sway from ever starting. Please refer to the linked article for more on WD systems.

The key to choosing the right system is knowing your trailer's fully-loaded ready-to-go TW, with all supplies and gear loaded. To that add the weight of anything in the truck that sits behind the rear axle, such as a loaded cooler or generator. This total TW figure will let you choose a system tuned properly for your trailer's weight. Ideally your total TW will fall right in the middle of the operating range for the system.

Let's say your loaded trailer TW ends up at 600-lbs. In this case the right system is Reese # RP66083, which works over a TW range of 400-800-lbs. All you need to add is a hitch ball such as # A-90 for a 2-inch or # 19286 for a 2-5/16-inch.

For wiring for the trailer's lights you can use kit # C56225 and you may also need a relay from your Nissan dealer to activate the wiring circuit.