After attempting to debug the issue by validating the same symptoms on 2 other vehicles (1 Nissan, 1 Honda), as last ditch I replaced the bulb in the trailer that correlated to the same side turn signal on the Xterra that was freezing when the trailer was connected. The bulb appeared to be working fine otherwise. Both filaments were working but under the " I tried everything else, I might as well try this" heading, swapping out the bulb has corrected the problem and again I validated the fix across multiple vehicles. I dont know the electrical explanation as to why this would correct the problem, but I am not questioning any further.