Nissan Frontier Towing Capacity by Year and Configuration

How much a Nissan Frontier can tow, year by year

Find your model year below. In every one of these years the highest figure belongs to a two-wheel-drive King Cab, so a Crew Cab or a 4x4 of the same year is rated a little lower.

Each figure comes from that model year's own Nissan press kit or specifications release, including the 2016 specifications, the 2020 specifications, the 2025 press kit and the 2026 press kit. Nissan's general towing guides print no Frontier ratings at all.

Two things in that list surprise owners. Nissan's 2018 press kit contradicts itself, with 6,710 lb in the specification table and 6,690 lb in the overview text, and 2024 came in lower than 2022 and 2023 before the 2025 refresh added around 500 lb across the lineup. The 2027 Frontier is now on sale with the same tables as 2026.

Can a Frontier pull a camper?

Usually yes, if the camper is small and you watch the weight you put in the truck rather than the headline rating. The 2026 S King Cab 4x2 has a maximum payload of 1,590 lb, and 1,430 lb with four-wheel drive. Nissan counts passengers, cargo, the hitch itself and the trailer's tongue weight against that one number.

Nissan asks for a tongue load of 10 to 15 percent of the actual trailer weight. On a trailer at the 7,150 lb limit that is 715 lb to 1,073 lb on the ball, so subtracting it from the 1,590 lb payload leaves roughly 520 lb to 875 lb for people and gear. Both steps are arithmetic on Nissan's own press-kit figures, and this is where a Frontier runs out first.

Nissan's own documents differ slightly here: the 2026 Frontier owner's manual prints 1,620 lb and 1,450 lb for the King Cab, the press kit 1,590 lb and 1,430 lb. The figure that counts for your truck is the one on its own label, because dealer options and factory equipment change it.

Which 2026 Frontier tows 7,150 lb

Only the S King Cab with two-wheel drive. The table below is the 5-foot-bed and King Cab lineup, with the maximum payload for the same version alongside, so you can see which one has room for the trailer tongue.

Figures from Nissan's 2026 Frontier press kit, which also lists the 6-foot-bed versions: the SV long bed is rated 6,920 lb with two-wheel drive, and the PRO-4X long bed 6,310 lb. The King Cab comes only in the S grade for 2026.

The engines: 4.0L V6, 3.8L V6 and the old four-cylinder

The 3.8L V6 with the 9-speed automatic arrived for 2020, two model years before the 2022 redesign, and it rates 310 hp and 281 lb-ft. It did not raise the towing maximum: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 all top out at 6,720 lb. The increase came with the 2025 refresh.

Before that, V6 Frontiers used the 4.0L engine, rated 261 hp and 281 lb-ft, and that is the engine behind every figure from 2016 to 2019. A 2.5L four-cylinder was also sold in King Cab two-wheel drive through 2019, and it towed far less: 3,500 lb in 2016 and at most 3,810 lb in 2019.

The hitch: there is no factory tow package that earns the maximum

Nissan names no factory tow package as a condition of the 7,150 lb rating, and the 2026 King Cab tables list no factory hitch option at all. On that truck the receiver comes as the dealer-installed Tow Package, a hitch and harness fitted by the dealer.

On the Crew Cab, the Class IV receiver is an option on the SV, PRO-X and PRO-4X, and it comes bundled in the SV Convenience Package or the PRO Convenience Package together with the wiring harness. Fitting a frame-mounted receiver to a truck that left the factory without one is structural work for a dealer or a qualified installer.

• The step bumper's ball provision is standard on every Frontier, but using it as a ball mount is limited to 3,500 lb and 350 lb tongue load.
• Class IV hitch hardware is rated to 10,000 lb; your truck is still limited to the figure in its own towing chart.
• Nissan's 2026 overview text and its specification tables disagree on whether the S grade has Trailer Sway Control, so check the window sticker or the vehicle itself.

Trailer brakes and weight distribution

Nissan's two documents set different trailer-brake thresholds. The owner's manual says all towing above 3,500 lb requires trailer brakes, while the 2026 Nissan Towing Guide notes that most states require a separate braking system on trailers with a loaded weight of 1,500 lb or more. Follow whichever is stricter where you drive, and check your state towing rules.

A Frontier with the 7-pin connector is pre-wired for a trailer brake controller, and the manual says trailers with electric brakes may need an aftermarket controller, with a Nissan jumper harness available. Never connect a trailer brake system directly to the vehicle's brake system.

For weight distribution the wording also varies: the manual and the towing guide body text both recommend a weight-distributing hitch above 5,000 lb, while the guide's own notes say it is required above 5,000 lb. Either way, Nissan calls for one above 5,000 lb, and the manual's setup target is the front bumper within half an inch of its unloaded height and the rear bumper no higher than its unloaded height. Nissan also recommends a tandem-axle trailer above 3,000 lb.

Finding your own truck's figure

Your payload is on the Tire and Loading Information label on the driver side center pillar, in the door opening, and the GVWR is on the certification label in the same area. The towing maximum and the combined truck-plus-trailer limit are in the towing chart in your model year's owner's manual, on the row that matches your cab, wheelbase and drive.

How it compares with other midsize trucks

Based on the published specifications, the Frontier's 7,150 lb peak puts it near the top of the midsize class on paper, but that figure belongs to the lightest version in the range and the one most buyers do not order. Compare it against the published figures for the Toyota Tacoma and the Ford Ranger by matching cab and drive layout rather than headline to headline.

Common questions