# 2008 Titan And 280rs



## TitanFlyer (Feb 5, 2009)

Hi all... First post, so before I start in with my questions, wanted to thank you guys for having such an informative, fun, and polite group here. I am not lying when I say that its part of the reason I am going with an Outback.

So, here is the scoop on me an my rv search. I own a 2008.5 Titan that mostly sits in the driveway and looks sad. I work from home and rarely get to use it as on the few occassions I do leave the house, its in a minivan with the kids and and/or my wife. I have a few hobbies, but the major one is PPG (Powered Paragliding), so my toys are made as light as possible so my fat butt can fly with them, as opposed to most who have ATV's and bikes etc. I wanted a full fledged toyhauler and was about to buy a Holiday Rambler Dune Seeker 26 foot, as I had romantic notions of my wife letting me go off to flyins all over the country and the generator and fuel station would come in quite handy but the beds would come in handy on the off times we went camping to the beach etc. Well, when mentioning my decision and logic to my wife, she laughed (the kind of laugh that raises the hair on your neck) and then stopped dead and pointed the killer lasers right at me... informed me that my logic was a little bit screwy. She wanted a bunk house for the kids (2 and 5) so we could stop paying hundreds a night for condos at the beach. I went through the motorhome desire phase but figured out I don't have even close to enough income to afford what I wanted, and then this "cometojesus" conversation.. well I was a little depressed... until....

I wondered around the toyhauler forums and a few sites and someone mentioned the outback. Well I fell in love. There was a bedroom at the front of it that could hold the kids when they came along and my equipment when the fellow double X chomosomes and I went to a flyin... how perfect. So I researched, found you guys, and have just returned from the dealership with the papers in my hand for a 2009 280RS (230RS was just too small for me if I can tow this one). I was also informed by the CFO that I was not to deplete the reserve of cash and to finance it, so I have to wait till monday for that news from the bank, but I was told it was a no brainer (we will see).

So, now to my questions....

1) The 280RS is 8500 lbs at gross according to the specs, and my truck can handle about 9400 as I have the Big Tow package on it.. trans cooler etc. Empty its supposed to be 6500 lbs, and I can tell you that we honestly travel very very light, so I figure about 7500 at most on any trip i will take. My PPG equipment weighs in at 150lbs, so clothes etc will not be huge. Does anyone have any insight on this.. am I dreaming that I can tow it? The numbers work, but what is the reality?

2) I worked out with the dealership to install a P3 (I think that was it) brake controller and a Reese dual cam WDH with 1200 lbs bars on it... I have NO clue what these things do, but I read on here and listened to them about how it would make it much safer to tow with those two things. I am ALL about safety, so is this all correct equipment and is it all I need to tow with my family in the truck?

3) If I take a long trip and stop at a walmart or rest stop and need to grab a wink, can the bed slide be left in and still be used as a bed, or does it need to be extended to be supported properly? Lots of other beds in there, but thats the nicest.

Well, thats it for now. I will try and research each of my questions before I ask them... and I see there are others on here pulling with a Titan, but wanted to see what the most recent info is...


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Welcome...Welcome...Welcome.

Glad you found us.











TitanFlyer said:


> 3) If I take a long trip and stop at a walmart or rest stop and need to grab a wink, can the bed slide be left in and still be used as a bed, or does it need to be extended to be supported properly? Lots of other beds in there, but thats the nicest.


Keystone and the members on this board will tell you NOT to get on the bed when it is pushed in. I and agree. It only takes 2 minutes (if that) to put the support bars in and then pull the bed out. You then get access to the door vs. using the garage door...so with your model, I see this as your only real option.

You could aways use the bed in the cargo area if you really didn't want to take the time to pull out the King Bed.

Sorry about the bad news about your TV...I really think you will be pushing the limits.

"Could" you tow this Outback with that truck...Yes.

"Should" you tow this Outback with that truck...No


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## Rob_G (Feb 16, 2006)

ROCK ON WITH THE TITAN!









Being a Titan owner (08 w/Big Tow and 4x4 - 9600 max tow)... don't do this. It's going to be bad. I have the same restrictions you do. My trailer is 6600 and with gear, gas and family I'm at about 8000. I'll tell you what, it pulls great when I'm loaded up. I have no problems on an 8 hour drive through the hills, BUT, I wouldn't dare go any more. I like to keep the recommended MINIMUM of 1000 lbs leeway and to be honest, you'd start to feel it, in performance and drivability.

The Titan does love the work, it does a helluva job and wants to do more. The thing is, I know it can't do much more. It just seems to me that your not considering the whole pic with the gas, gear, and fam. It adds up considerably.

BTW... *WELCOME TO OUTBACKERS.COM!!*









EDIT:

WHOA WHOA WHOA... just read your post more thoroughly. 6500 Empty? I do that, and I love it. Here's the deal with the Titan and you also find this in any Titan boards. Always tow with tow mode enabled and always keep it in 4th. 5th gear will tear up your tranny. Otherwise, this is pretty much what I do and I feel safe as a steak in a wolves den... and so does my family. Don't get crazy or anything obviously... I never go above 70, but otherwise, I honestly don't see that much of an issue with it.

EDIT #2: Just went out and looked at my weight. I'm at 6100 and it looks like the one time I weighed it, it was a tad overloaded!







It was a long week bit honestly, I couldn't tell. The Titan did to a helluva jorb.


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## TitanFlyer (Feb 5, 2009)

Rob_G said:


> ROCK ON WITH THE TITAN!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ha.. So glad I hit quote on this reply as you must have written your EDIT while I was reading your post for the 5th time to try and figure out what I was missing....

I think I would be at the exact or very close to your same params... I never see myself driving with full water and we will probably never go for more than a week anywhere... and we eat out ALOT.. lol... wait, how much does beer weigh.. that might put me over. That garage can hold a ton of beer.

So, I did some more reading and saw a lot of talk about airbags and swaybars and stabalizers... do you have those things on your rig and if so, do they help?


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## Rob_G (Feb 16, 2006)

TitanFlyer said:


> I think I would be at the exact or very close to your same params... I never see myself driving with full water and we will probably never go for more than a week anywhere... and we eat out ALOT.. lol... wait, how much does beer weigh.. that might put me over. That garage can hold a ton of beer.
> 
> So, I did some more reading and saw a lot of talk about airbags and swaybars and stabilizers... do you have those things on your rig and if so, do they help?


LOL... yeah... sry about that. I had to read your post a couple of times as well. It sound like your setup is going to be VERY much like mine.

I never pull water. When camping, I always stay at a place with at least water/electric hookups. I think I've hauled water once when camping at the state park one time and the fam just didn't dig it as much as I did.

As for hauling the beer... uh... cargo







... I try to load as much as I can towards the front, which would be your garage area. This makes the ride quite a bit more stable and you won't have that weight on the opposite end pulling you around hence creating sway. You're weight distribution system and dual cam sway control would help to eliminate this as well.

The Prodigy P3 break controller is great. It's inertia based. Being intertia based, it knows when you apply quick braking as opposed to gradual braking and will apply more current to the trailer brakes. What's also nice is that it also works in reverse.

I've NEVER mod'ed this truck. There's never been a need. Swaybars.... airbags... humph! We have Titans. This truck is named after Greek gods and like a mighty fist from the heavens, it pulls like one too!


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## aantolik (Apr 8, 2005)

What Rob G said








I've NEVER mod'ed this truck. There's never been a need. Swaybars.... airbags... humph! We have Titans. This truck is named after Greek gods and like a mighty fist from the heavens, it pulls like one too!


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## WDS9074 (Jun 19, 2006)

I also have a Titan, 4x4 with off road and big tow, and pull a 28KRS with a 700lb harley in the garage. I've towed several thousand miles and have not had a single problem. Bad weather, cross winds, no problem. Pulls and stops just fine. I also keep it in 4th gear when pulling. I do have an exhaust and cold air intake on mine and it does help.
good luck


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## Rob_G (Feb 16, 2006)

Aftermarket exaust with CAI?? That's got to add another 30hp easy and I bet it sounds oh so sweet as well. I doubt you have ANY issue pulling.


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## WACOUGAR (Dec 20, 2006)

We have an '05 Titan and tow a 25' Cougar with it. The trailer is a little over 6000 unloaded. Like another said, we never tow with the water tank full. If we go to a campground that doesn't have hookups, we just find a spigot there and fill up when we get there. Other than that, we also travel fairly lightly. I know we have under 1000 pounds loaded (probably well under). We live in Western Washington so we are always towing up mountain passes. So far, we have only towed up one that is somewhat of a killer on the truck, but the grade is very steep. The truck still handles it well. Last summer we took a two week trip to Banff and Jasper and had no problems with the mountains there. We love this truck. One thing to keep in mind is the payload capacity of the truck. It is not high so you don't want to overload the truck with gear on top of the weight of the people in the truck.

Also, keep in mind weight distribution in the trailer itself. Our kitchen is in the rear so that is where a lot of our weight is. We try to put our luggage, etc... under the bed (and extra beer...) to help with tongue weight.

Anyway, the Titan should be able to handle the weight of the trailer you are looking at. Just don't overload the trailer or the truck.

Kelly

P.S. I know what you mean about the truck sitting lonely. My husband has a company truck so the Titan rarely gets driven. It's an '05 with 28,000 miles on it.


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## Rob_G (Feb 16, 2006)

WACOUGAR said:


> P.S. I know what you mean about the truck sitting lonely. My husband has a company truck so the Titan rarely gets driven. It's an '05 with 28,000 miles on it.


<sniff> That's a lonely truck alright! <sniff>


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## TitanFlyer (Feb 5, 2009)

Rob_G said:


> P.S. I know what you mean about the truck sitting lonely. My husband has a company truck so the Titan rarely gets driven. It's an '05 with 28,000 miles on it.


<sniff> That's a lonely truck alright! <sniff>
[/quote]

Mine is a 2008.5.. I bought it about a year ago.. 1500 miles... and most of that was a single trip....









I absolutely LOVE driving this truck.. first I have ever owned actually, and I have owned some serious cars like porsche's etc. and this is still making me smile. I actually trade in a 2008 350Z with 400 miles on it for this truck.. I needed the room for Powered Paragliding equipment. I will post some pics of this equipment so you can see how small it is.. I doubt even with 3 of them and all our stuff, my buddies and I will not hit the limit.


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## WACOUGAR (Dec 20, 2006)

When my husband got this truck, the first time I drove it, I was shocked when I stepped on the gas peddle!! Just a tap and the truck just flew. I normally don't like driving big trucks but this one is fun. The gal that works in the office next to me just bought one and is just as much in awe of it also. The only other vehicle that amazed me as much was my new '08 Honda Accord that has 270 horsepower. That little (I guess not so little anymore) can really fly also. Anyway, out '05 that I said has 28000 miles, I have to admit we bought it new in Jan. of '06 so that makes a bit of a difference.

Anyway, good luck with your truck and your trailer. You should do well.

Kelly


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## amyk (Feb 13, 2009)

I have an 08 Titan, with CAI and bully dog--exhaust to come lol and was thinking I should have no problem towing our new 09 Outback 250rs on a cross country road trip---looks like everyone on here is towing bigger, so we should be all set!

ps I bought mine end of sept 08 with 30k on it,it now has 40 k lolol so my baby is not lonely at all---in fact, I think my butt print is now permanent---and will only get worse with this road trip lol


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## Rob_G (Feb 16, 2006)

amyk said:


> I have an 08 Titan, with CAI and bully dog--exhaust to come lol and was thinking I should have no problem towing our new 09 Outback 250rs on a cross country road trip---looks like everyone on here is towing bigger, so we should be all set!
> 
> ps I bought mine end of sept 08 with 30k on it,it now has 40 k lolol so my baby is not lonely at all---in fact, I think my butt print is now permanent---and will only get worse with this road trip lol


You're not going to have ANY issues with that 250RS. It should be a great trip!

I didn't realized someone finally came out with a programmer for the Titan. How do you like the bullydog?


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## amyk (Feb 13, 2009)

love it---takes away the WOT restriction--so full power when you punch it, when you want it. I bought it for better gas mileage, but I can't keep my foot out of it for it to show lol

And I'm glad I found this thread, puts my mind at ease that my truck will be able to handle the new camper (biggest I've towed yet with my popup camper, double enclosed snowmobile trailer and jetski trailer) so I was a bit concerned that I didn't get enough truck

Picking up my 250rs tomorrow morning and then hopefully leaving for our trip on Sunday....


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## Rob_G (Feb 16, 2006)

Well, good luck, tow safe, and have fun on your adventure! Make sure you keep us posted on how everything is going!

Godspeed


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## TitanFlyer (Feb 5, 2009)

Rob_G said:


> Well, good luck, tow safe, and have fun on your adventure! Make sure you keep us posted on how everything is going!
> 
> Godspeed


Well, things sort of worked out and things sort of didn't work out. I did the PDI and install of my Reese Dual Cam hitch and the Prodigy P3 brake controller, but didn't bring the trailer home. My wife and I put it in both of our names, but she was ill today and couldn't make it to the PDI. So, have to wait till monday or tuesday to bring it home. Took 1.5 hours of video of the PDI and found some stuff that needed attention, and was done right away.

On a side note, I picked up a Swift Hitch camera today and it is freakin awesome. I put it on the back of the trailer and it was crystal clear in the cab of the truck, so its use doubles as a rear view camera, at least for the hours of power it has in it. Check one out if you get the chance. 300 dollars at probass.

Interesting fact about the Titan, we all seem to be stating incorrect numbers on the tow ratings, at least according to the owners manual in the car. I was going though it for something else and looked up the chart for towing capacity. A 2008 titan CC SE with tow package is actually rated for 9100 pounds. Its still within range, but getting tighter than I anticipated. Weird that the tow guides show it as 9400 or 9500!!! Thats not a huge difference, but enough to make me think about loading a whole lot more.

James


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## Rob_G (Feb 16, 2006)

Grabbed my manual and noticed the same thing.









That made me want to run my specs through the towing calculator. After it's all said and done, the max dry weight of a trailer I should be towing is 6343. Mine's at 6080. I'm good with that!


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## TitanFlyer (Feb 5, 2009)

Rob_G said:


> Grabbed my manual and noticed the same thing.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not asking to be nosey, but did you actually weigh it? The guy hooking installing my hitch said I would be totally fine, but did mention that I should ignore the dry weight calcs the factory states and weigh it since its probably higher since they weigh some off the production line before adding extras and add ons and thats the dry weight. Things like the awning etc are not included in that. That puts my dry weight over 6500 pounds and over the suggested dry weight by a couple hundred pounds. I am not going to sweat it since I made sure I bought top end hitch and brake controller for safety, but certainly am thinking of upgrading to air bags and better shocks.

James


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## Rob_G (Feb 16, 2006)

Went with the weight calcs from the factory on this one. Like you, I'm not sweating this as I, and more importantly my family, feel perfectly safe. I have a great setup and have great control. Having to slam the brakes a few times on a trip or two (gotta love it when people check up in front of you) with the fam in the TV, I've never had any issues with stopping while keeping control.

Someone once said, towing is easy, stopping is tricky part!


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## Dub (Dec 8, 2008)

I say use your import truck for what it was made for and do it! I know that Toyota's 10,800lbs tow capacity isn't a paper promise that you need to multiply by .8 for the true capacity. All 10.8K is there for you to use. I would imagine that Nissan engineered their truck the same way. If it could only tow 8500lbs dont you think they would have said it can only tow 8400lbs? Use all 9.4K and have fun.


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## Rob_G (Feb 16, 2006)

Dub said:


> Use all 9.4K and have fun.


Well said!


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Rob_G said:


> Use all 9.4K and have fun.


Well said!
[/quote]
This is true for all vehicles, they are designed for and tested at their max weights.

Just please understand their limitations and watch out for cross winds with those long sails!


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