Nissan's Newest Titan Concept Is Truly Smokin'
By Aaron Bragman
Usually smoke coming from your pickup truck signifies a bad thing. Nissan, however, has taken the idea of a smoking pickup to a whole different place, and created the Smokin' Titan project truck, unveiled today at the 2018 Work Truck Show in Indianapolis. See, the head of Nissan's truck division is a huge smoked meat fan — so the idea to create the ultimate barbecue truck isn't much of a stretch. What Nissan has done with the project, however, is fantastic, and sure to make both truck enthusiasts' and barbecue fans' mouths water.
The Truck
It started with a 2018 Nissan Titan XD King Cab with the gasoline engine. The bed was removed, and in went a CM Truck Beds custom flatbed containing all sorts of cool kitchen goodies. The bed incorporates three food preparation stations, each featuring a two-burner Partner Steel propane stove alongside two Churrasco Brazilian wood cutting boards. This will presumably allow you to make some side dishes for your smoked meat, maybe some beans or veggies. A full Teton Steel 24-by-24-inch kitchen sink with water storage is fitted into the bed, and that sink can also be switched out for a huge Yeti cooler in case you need more cold storage. The cab of the Titan has a slide-out 50-quart ARB fridge/freezer combo to keep things cool and a custom spice rack for seasoning things.
The truck received a few appearance modifications as well, including 20-inch Icon Vehicle Dynamics Alpha wheels on Nitto Terra Grappler tires, Rigid LED foglights and a custom flame bodywrap by IF Signs. The interior is left largely unmodified, but the Titan already features items such as a Rockford Fosgate sound system and leather seats.
The Trailer
When you've spiced and sliced your meat and got your beans a' bubblin' on the truck, you're ready to start to the barbecue proper. Nissan wisely decided that putting a 600-degree flame-fed meat smoker in a pickup was an invitation for what the industry calls "an unregulated thermal event" (and what car enthusiasts call a "car-B-Q" or "vehicle fire"), so the smoker was put behind the pickup in a custom trailer. Built by B&S Customizing, the trailer uses the Titan's original bed with its Utili-Track bed cargo system and two Titan boxes for wood storage, either pellets or chips. A custom Lang BBQ Smoker and Char Grill was installed on a slide-out bed tray, and the whole assembly can be secured when not in use under a Diamondback SE locking tonneau cover. The trailer features the same 20-inch wheels and tires as the pickup, and sports matching vinyl wrap.
While Nissan doesn't currently plan to put any of this into a special-edition production truck, the showcase of 20 aftermarket parts and accessories demonstrates the cooperation Nissan is creating with the custom truck parts industry. The Smokin' Titan will make appearances across the country this year at various outdoor events ... hopefully accompanied by some ribs or maybe a nice pork shoulder.
Manufacturer images
Comments
Leave it to Nissan to be 40 years late to the idea of sawing up a junkyard truck and turning its bed into a trailer. Except in this case it looks like Nissan cannibalized that very truck to build the actual truck bed trailer and slapped the most gaudy aluminum bed on it as an afterthought. It doesn't even match which should have been the first thing that crossed their minds when designing a Nissan Titan trailer for a Nissan Titan truck! Nissan really is the "special" cousin of Honda and Toyota and needs to wear a helmet to bed with padding on the floor.
read Car and Driver Magazine, April 2018 issue
they did a long term 40,000 mile test on the Titan XD Diesel
I have never-never-never seen them trash a vehicle as much as they did
nissan should focus less on concepts and more on making the trucks they put on the road more competitive. i like nissan and the titan but it is difficult to justify owning one when the other manufacturers have so many more features/options. jmo
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE if manufacturers would offer drop sides, aluminum flat beds on their trucks (just like the Home Depot rental trucks have). Maybe even offer a dump feature right from the factory. Big open flat surface, load/unload from the sides or the back. No paint to scratch, no rust. All work.
It's a nice concept, but I'm more interested in the the Titan warrior, when is that available to the public. Thanks
I like the idea of a factory truck that with underbed storage and a bed that I can reach into from the sides.
Love to try one of these new titans out
I live on cape cod they have all kinds of weather down here
The military have a large base here and would see the usage
And capability of this new confirg of your truck
Everything rusts down here on the cape
Love tow my boat with the truck and back it into sea water
Fred Galinski
Pocasset Massachusetts
No where in Mass can you say DOWN here
"Love tow my boat with the truck and back it into sea water
Fred Galinski"
I think that you would need to change a lot more than the bed to make the truck sea water resistant. What you need to launch your boat is a rust resistant tilt trailer with roller bunks and an electric winch. I love mine, 30 years old and still no rust. Unfortunately, I have not seen one for sale in since I bought mine.
You want to sell more trucks crew cab with 10ft 2,inch inside bed most construction materials com 10 ft
Want to sell more trucks make bed 10 ft
Nissan went full hillbilly on this one. I'm sure the boys down in Decherd and Canton love it.
“Nissan went full hillbilly on this one. I'm sure the boys down in Decherd and Canton love it.”
Posted by: Tom S | Mar 7, 2018 12:18:01 PM
Nope, I live in the DEEP South, I think it sux......if they would actually build the Warrior concept, might pique my interest. You do see converted truck bed trailers running around down here, at least the home made version has an explanation for being that damn ignorant looking (one only needs to look at the fabricator).
I've driven Toyotas my whole life I bought a Nissan frontier and it is the biggest piece of junk I've ever seen
Styling taken from the southwest immigrant population. It's all too common to see beat-up pickups towing pickup bed trailers loaded with garage sale junk heading for the Mexican border. No thanks.
Why the gasser and not the Cummins? I'll bet if that combo
showed up at some out-of-way campsite loaded with chow and
beer and a way to keep it all either hot or cold, the naysayers
here would zip their lips, grab a plate for the chow line and crack
open a cold one.
And then cast a long look at what just brung 'em all their goodies.
Give Nissan credit for daring to be different. It may look like a
Mexican moving van but I'll bet one wouldn't last 10 seconds
unattended...
@RichardNY66
A Big 10-4 on the Cold One!
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