Nissan Frontier Towing Capacity: How Much Is The Truck Rated To Safely Pull?

Number three on the 2024 leaderboard for annual midsize truck sales, the Nissan Frontier continues to attract customers with upgrades like a retro Hardbody Edition that honors an iconic Nissan truck of days past. Of course, another satisfying benefit — a towing capacity of 7,150 pounds — is standard. And to be clear, that's the tow rating for the least-expensive 2025 Nissan Frontier S King Cab 4X2 truck that stickers from $32,050. In fact, all trims and configurations come with that rating for 2025.

That means the Frontier's max towing capacity is a significant 650 pounds higher than its arch-rival, the 2025 Toyota Tacoma, and it tops the tow rating of the 2025 Honda Ridgeline by more than a full ton — although part of that difference is due to the Ridgeline's more car-like unibody construction. The Frontier and Tacoma are body-on-frame pickups like the domestic entries, all of which do exceed the Frontier for maximum towing capacity. The 2025 Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Sierra, and Jeep Gladiator can pull up to 7,700 pounds, and the 2025 Ford Ranger clocks in with a towing capacity of 7,500 pounds. Of course, there's more to a truck's pulling potential than its tow rating.

Beyond body-on-frame strength, the Frontier is equipped with standard trailer-sway control and is available with a tow/haul switch in upper trims to help optimize engine performance with heavy loads. A Class IV hitch receiver, complete with wiring harness, is part of the Convenience Package plus standard on the top-of-the-line SL crew-cab models. Official Nissan accessories include a ball mount to help complete the picture.

But perhaps the biggest towing advantage for the 2025 Frontier is its engine. A naturally aspirated 3.8-liter V6 is standard across the lineup to deliver 310 horsepower and 281 pound-feet of torque. (A Plug-In Hybrid Frontier Pro debuted for China this year, but who knows when/if that would ever make it to the U.S.) No other midsize truck sold in this country serves up more horsepower in its standard motor. The Tacoma, for instance, has a standard 2.7-liter turbo four-cylinder with 228 horses and 243 pound-feet of torque. As a result, the entry model Toyota has less than half the maximum towing capacity as the base model Frontier, and it only saves you a few hundred bucks when you compare MSRPs.

That said, the fearsome foursome from the domestic brands do maintain their maximum towing benefits even in their entry models. Even those with less power than the Frontier, and the GM twins, match the Nissan's 310 standard horses while adding a hefty 430 pound-feet of torque.

The 2025 model stands out with the highest tow rating ever for a Nissan Frontier, setting the mark just this year when it also welcomed awesome orange paint and a bigger bed. When the current, third-generation truck debuted in 2022, the Frontier's maximum tow rating was 6,720 pounds. The long-running second-generation truck — in production for more than 15 years — reported for duty with a maximum towing capacity of 6,500 pounds in 2005. The second generation did see some minor increases in capability over the years, with the Frontier reaching a max tow rating of 6,690 pounds in 2018 and 6,720 pounds in 2019. The second-gen Frontier also welcomed the third-generation's then-new engine in 2020, albeit without seeing a change in how much it could pull.

The first-generation 1997 Nissan Frontier, however, was a different story. It was considered a compact pickup at the time, but its total length of about 175 inches for the regular-cab short-bed configuration made it a bit shorter than today's subcompact Nissan Versa sedan. Nonetheless, with a maximum tow rating of 3,500 pounds, the early Frontiers could pull their own weight — a svelte 2,820 pounds — and then some.