2018 NISSAN FRONTIER trailer

Surge Brakes -The surge brake actuator is
mounted on the trailer tongue with a hy-
draulic line running to each trailer wheel.
Surge brakes are activated by the trailer
pushing against the hitch ball when the
tow vehicle is braking. Hydraulic surge
brakes are common on rental trailers and
some boat trailers. In this type of system,
there is no hydraulic or electric connection
for brake operation between the tow ve-
hicle and the trailer.
Electric Trailer Brakes -Electric braking
systems are activated by an electronic sig-
nal sent from a trailer brake controller (spe-
cial brake-sensing module). If electric trailer
brakes are used, refer to “Electric trailer
brake controller" in this section.
Have a professional supplier of towing
equipment make sure the trailer brakes are
properly installed and demonstrate proper
brake function testing.
Electric trailer brake controller
Trailers equipped with electric brakes may
require the installation of an af termarket
trailer brake controller.A Genuine NISSAN jumper harness is avail-
able that is specifically designed to be used
when installing an af termarket brake con-
troller.
Install the af termarket electric trailer brake
controller according to the manufacturer’s
instructions.
Pre-towing tips
∙ Be certain your vehicle maintains a level
position when a loaded and/or un-
loaded trailer is hitched. Do not drive the
vehicle if it has an abnormal nose-up or
nose-down condition; check for im-
proper tongue load, overload, worn sus-
pension or other possible causes of ei-
ther condition.
∙ Always secure items in the trailer to pre- vent load shif t while driving.
∙ Keep the cargo load as low as possible in the trailer to keep the trailer center of
gravity low.
∙ Load the trailer so approximately 60% of the trailer load is in the front half and
40% is in the back half. Also make sure
the load is balanced side to side. ∙ Check your hitch, trailer tire pressure,
vehicle tire pressure, trailer light opera-
tion, and trailer wheel lug nuts every
time you attach a trailer to the vehicle.
∙ Be certain your rearview mirrors con- form to all federal, state or local regula-
tions. If not, install any mirrors required
for towing before driving the vehicle.
∙ Determine the overall height of the ve- hicle and trailer so the required clear-
ance is known.
Trailer towing tips
In order to gain skill and an understanding
of the vehicle’s behavior, you should prac-
tice turning, stopping and backing up in an
area which is free from traffic. Steering sta-
bility and braking performance will be
somewhat different than under normal
driving conditions.
∙ Always secure items in the trailer to pre- vent load shif t while driving.
∙ Lock the trailer hitch coupler with a pin or lock to prevent the coupler from in-
advertently becoming unlatched.
∙ Avoid abrupt starts, acceleration or stops.
∙ Avoid sharp turns or lane changes.
10-40Technical and consumer information

∙ Always drive your vehicle at a moderatespeed.
∙ When backing up, hold the bottom of the steering wheel with one hand. Move
your hand in the direction in which you
want the trailer to go. Make small cor-
rections and back up slowly. If possible,
have someone guide you when you are
backing up.
Always block the wheels on both vehicle
and trailer when parking. Parking on a
slope is not recommended; however, if you
must do so:
CAUTION
If you move the shif t lever to the P (Park)
position before blocking the wheels
and applying the parking brake, trans-
mission damage could occur.
1. Apply and hold the brake pedal.
2. Have someone place blocks on the downhill side of the vehicle and trailer
wheels.
3. Af ter the wheel blocks are in place, slowly release the brake pedal until the
blocks absorb the vehicle load.
4. Apply the parking brake. 5. Shif t the transmission into P (Park).
6. Make sure the
indicator light (if so
equipped) indicates the transfer case is
in 4H, 4L, or 2H and that the ATP light is
off. If the
indicator light is flashing,
or the ATP light is ON, make sure the
transmission is in P (Park) (A/T) and
turn the 4WD switch to 2WD or 4H. For
additional information, refer to “Auto-
matic transmission park warning light”
in the “Instruments and controls” sec-
tion and “Using 4-wheel drive (4WD)” in
the “Starting and driving” section of this
manual.
7. Turn off the engine.
To drive away:
1. Start the vehicle.
2. Apply and hold the brake pedal.
3. Shif t the transmission into gear.
4. Release the parking brake.
5. Drive slowly until the vehicle and trailer are clear from the blocks.
6. Apply and hold the brake pedal.
7. Have someone retrieve and store the blocks. ∙ While going downhill, the weight of the
trailer pushing on the tow vehicle may
decrease overall stability. Therefore, to
maintain adequate control, reduce your
speed and shif t to a lower gear. Avoid
long or repeated use of the brakes
when descending a hill, as this reduces
their effectiveness and could cause
overheating. Shif ting to a lower gear in-
stead provides “engine braking” and re-
duces the need to brake as frequently.
∙ If the engine coolant temperature rises to a high temperature, refer to “If your
vehicle overheats” in the “In case of
emergency” section of this manual.
∙ Trailer towing requires more fuel than normal circumstances.
∙ Avoid towing a trailer for your vehicle’s first 500 miles (805 km).
∙ For the first 500 miles (805 km) that you do tow, do not drive over 50 mph
(80 km/h).
∙ Have your vehicle serviced more of ten than at intervals specified. For addi-
tional information, refer to “Mainte-
nance Schedules” in the “Maintenance
and schedules” section of this manual.
Technical and consumer information10-41

∙ When making a turn, your trailer wheelswill be closer to the inside of the turn
than your vehicle wheels. To compen-
sate for this, make a larger than normal
turning radius during the turn.
∙ Crosswinds and rough roads will ad- versely affect vehicle/trailer handling,
possibly causing vehicle sway. When
being passed by larger vehicles, be pre-
pared for possible changes in cross-
winds that could affect vehicle han-
dling.
Do the following if the trailer begins to
sway: 1. Take your foot off the accelerator pedal to allow the vehicle to coast and steer
as straight ahead as the road condi-
tions allow. This combination will help
stabilize the vehicle
– Do not correct trailer sway by steer- ing or applying the brakes.
2. When the trailer sway stops, gently ap- ply the brakes and pull to the side of the
road in a safe area. 3. Try to rearrange the trailer load so it is
balanced as described in this section.
∙ Be careful when passing other vehicles. Passing while towing a trailer requires
considerably more distance than nor-
mal passing. Remember, the length of
the trailer must also pass the other ve-
hicle before you can safely change
lanes.
∙ Downshif t the transmission to a lower gear for engine braking when driving
down steep or long hills. This will help
slow the vehicle without applying the
brakes.
∙ Avoid holding the brake pedal down too long or too frequently. This could cause
the brakes to overheat, resulting in re-
duced braking efficiency.
∙ Increase your following distance to al- low for greater stopping distances
while towing a trailer. Anticipate stops
and brake gradually.
∙ NISSAN recommends that the cruise control not be used while towing a
trailer. ∙ Some states or provinces have specific
regulations and speed limits for ve-
hicles that are towing trailers. Obey the
local speed limits.
∙ Check your hitch, trailer wiring harness connections, and trailer wheel lug nuts
af ter 50 miles (80 km) of travel and at
every break.
∙ When launching a boat, don’t allow the water level to go over the exhaust tail
pipe or rear bumper.
∙ Make sure you disconnect the trailer lights before backing the trailer into the
water or the trailer lights may burn out.
When towing a trailer, final drive gear oil
should be replaced and transmission
oil/fluid should be changed more fre-
quently. For additional information, refer
to the “Do-it-yourself ” section in this
manual.
10-42Technical and consumer information

Power door lock switch..........3-4
Rear sonar system OFF switch .....2-39
Rear window and outside mirror
defrosterswitch..............2-28
Rearwindowdefrosterswitch.....2-28
Turn signal switch .............2-32
T
Tachometer ...................2-6
Tailgate ..................3-18, 3-18
Tailgatelatch...............3-22,3-23
Temperature gauge Engine coolant temperature gauge . .2-6
Thef t (NISSAN Vehicle Immobilizer System),
engine start ...............2-26,5-12
Three-waycatalyst...............5-3
Tie down hooks ................3-23
Tilting steering wheel .............3-14
Tire Flattire..................6-3,6-4
Spare tire ...............6-5,8-42
Tire and Loading Information label . .10-18
Tire chains .................8-38
Tire pressure .............8-31,8-31
Tirerotation ................8-39
Tires of 4-wheel drive ...........8-41
Types of tires ................8-37
Uniform tire quality grading ......10-44
Wheels and tires ..........8-31,10-14
Wheel/tire size ...............10-14
Tire pressure Low tire pressure warning light .....2-18
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) . .5-3
Toptetherstrapchildrestraint.......1-33 Towing
2-wheel drive models ...........6-19
4-wheel drive models ........6-17,6-18
Flattowing.................10-43
Towing load/specification .......10-34
Towtrucktowing .............6-15
Trailertowing...............10-30
Towingatrailer................10-30
Transceiver HomeLink® Universal Transceiver . . .2-55,
2-56, 2-57, 2-58, 2-58, 2-59
Transmission Driving with automatic
transmission ................5-14
Driving with manual transmission . . .5-18
Travel (See registering a vehicle in another
country) .....................10-16
Trip computer ..................2-9
Trip odometer ..................2-4
Troubleshooting guide (NISSAN voice
recognition system) .............4-105
Truckbox.................3-18,3-18
Truck - camper loading ...........10-29
Turn signal switch ...............2-32
U
Uniform tire quality grading ........10-44
USB interface Audio file operation ........4-60,4-62
Using four wheel drive (4WD) ........5-26 V
Vanitymirror..................3-15
Variablevoltagecontrolsystem......8-16
Vehicle dimensions and weights .....10-15
Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) OFF
switch......................2-35
Vehicle dynamic control (VDC) system . .5-38
Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) system . .5-38
Vehicle identification .............10-16
Vehicle identification number (VIN) . . . .10-16
Vehicle identification number (VIN)
plate.......................10-16
Vehicle immobilizer system ......2-26,5-12
Vehicle loading information ........10-20
Vehiclerecovery................6-19
Vehicle security system ...........2-25
Vehicle security system (NISSAN Vehicle
Immobilizer System), engine start . .2-26, 5-12
Ventilators ....................4-17
Visors.......................3-14
Voice Prompt Interrupt ........4-83,4-94
Voice recognition system ..........4-101
Voltmeter.................... .2-8
W
Warning 4WDwarninglight.............2-15
A
irbagwarninglight........1-90, 2-20
Anti-lock brake warning light ......2-15
Battery charge warning light ......2-17
Brakewarninglight............2-16
Door open warning light .........2-17
Engine oil pressure warning light . . . .2-17
11-7