Towing a 2012 Nissan Sentra on a UHAUL Dolly

Hello everyone,
I just purchased a 2015 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner 2WD and will need to tow a 2012 Nissan Sentra on a UHAUL Dolly from Georgia to Arizona, give or take 1914 miles. I purchased my tow hitch through Uhaul and they are telling me I should be fine to roll with the dolly, not the flat bed. I also spoke with the Toyota Dealership and they are saying I should be fine as well. This will be my first time towing something this far and I am just looking for some tips on do's and dont's for this trip. Thanks.

 

If you have the money get the coolers for your truck and you'll be fine maybe a trailer brake to help with stopping

 

John,
Thanks for the reply, I have the automatic which should already come with an internal cooler system correct? As far a trailer brake is concerned, would it be best to get with Uhaul and see if they have that as an add on or go after market?? Thans again for the feedback.

 

Yea but for the long trip better to be safe rather than sorry and not like trailer brakes are a huge expense I haven't towed with anything more than 3000 pounds yet but mine still Struggles stopping sometimes
and to answer your question if it's an auto then yes it will have all the coolers already so disregard that statement

 

If you had the tow package, you would have an additional oil and tranny cooler, a high output alternator, better battery, and everything pre-wired for a brake controller.

I've towed a lot of firewood with mine before--probably right around the 6500 lb limit, and put it through some stress climbing from ~900 to 2000 ft in hot weather--no effort to be easy on throttle and it did great. Truck definitely works on the steepest hills but even on them it would accelerate reasonably well under WOT. The coolant gauge never budged. But, I have the tow package. I was climbing and it was a rural short distance without a brake controller, but in any sort of traffic or down any sort of hills I would definitely want one.

 

js312,
I definitely do not plan on towing that much weight, other than this long trip with my wifes vehicle, I plan on using my truck for small moves, camping trips, moving my military gear from here to there, etc. Would you recommend anything extra with the uhaul hitch that I have for the activities I listed?

 

I would guess that the uhaul would have surge brakes, rendering a brake controller useless.

 

If you had uhaul install the hitch you probably didn't have a trailer package which also means you likely don't have a transmission oil cooler. You're going to either want to install one ahead of time or plan to baby-it and be mindful of your temps. I towed with a Chevy Blazer without the trailer package and managed to do just fine with a heavy jeep and a flatbed car trailer. The only real words of caution I have is that if you in fact don't have the trans cooler either install one while you still can or plan on taking it at or below 55mph for the duration of the trip and make sure to keep it in 4th with that amount of weight (regardless of the trans cooler, it's just good to do anyway because it will keep the torque converter from unlocking)

 

Just towed my '98 Tacoma cross country w/my '15 Tacoma, no problems other than windshield rock damage from road construction.
Leave plenty of stopping distance, take it easy...

And yes I pulled the driveshaft...

 

I see where your getting at and I have the 2WD automatic so I should be fine as far as shifting is concerned. I for sure do not have a trailer package but do have the transmission/oil cooler already since I have the automatic. I definitely plan on taking it easy and not exceeding 55 - 60 mph. I do not want to blow my transmission or mess with anything on my trucks first real road trip. I hope to learn what to add, as far as performance is concerned, to my truck from this trip and want to eventually work my way into some type of MOD but thats all long term, the short term is to make it to Arizona and subesequently make it to wherever else the Army sends me.

 

The automatic with the tow package has additional trans/engine oil coolers that yours will not have.

By "keep it in 4th" he meant do not use "D." That will keep it out of overdrive.

 

Ok, I think I understand but could you clarify since I have a 4-speed automatic. By doing what you are saying I would shift left from D to 3 correct?

 

No there should be a 4 on your shift sequence it goes D 4321 keep it in 4

 

You might also want to look into the Firestone load leveler air bags...

 

This is the set up that I have

 

Take your shifter to D, then bump it left puts you in 4...

 

Great, thanks for the clarification.

 

With the 2015 you have the option to go with the 4x2 PreRunner 2.7L 4-Cyl. 4-Speed Automatic which is what I have.

 

Oh wow, assumed you had the 4.0.

You'll be very close to your tow rating with just that Sentra on a dolly then. It'll tow it, but I expect it'll struggle quite a bit on any hill.

 

I think some posters where assuming you had a V6 which would make it a 5-speed auto. So you have the I-4 which means you have no towing package which means no added trans cooler.

For such a long trip I would recommend putting in that extra trans cooler for sure. Maybe the 2.7L guys who tow with the auto can chime in on best practice for towing in which specific gear. Can't remember if the dolly I rented last from U-haul had surge brakes or not, but it definitely didn't have electric brakes. So just the small 4 flat wiring harness will work for you.

You'll make the trip, just take it easy and stop for gas often, you will burn through alot of fuel. When towing with my old 2005 I-4 5-speed Tacoma I could literally see the needle going down while driving on certain stretches of I-90 in Washington.