Towing FJ40 car dolly (1 Viewer)

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May 16, 2019
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Tennessee
hey guys, I have seen some conflicting comments about towing with a dolly and before I try this 2000 mile drive I was hoping someone could clarify. Mine runs, all fluids are fresh. I am trying to tow with my wife’s mid size suv (reason why I can flat trailer it). I tried getting an auto transport company, but none came through.

Is it a good idea to dolly tow this? Do I need to disconnect the driveshaft? Mine has a Ranger overdrive, does that need to be in neutral? Any other “shall do’s” that I didn’t mention? Thanks
 
I have towed my 40 twice.
The first time was when my friend came and got me with his 70's Bronco when the six blew up east of Indio Ca.
We flat towed it to Riverside no problem.
The second was some years later when my wife and I moved her mother from Illinois to Arkansas and I put the Cruiser on a dolly behind a U-haul moving van.
Each time I put the transmission and transfer case in neutral made sure everything was secure hitch wise and the Toy followed along fine.
Don't know how heavy your suv is but if the Toy is heavier you might experience braking problems with the Toy pushing the suv around during heavy braking.
In the case of the Bronco and Toy combo the Bronco was a bit heavier so no real problems.
With the moving van and Toy on the dolly I couldn't tell the Toy was there.
I extended my side mirrors out as far as they would go in order to get a glimpse of it every once in a while.
Once I went to help girl we know to get her broken down car home and made the mistake of towing her car with a dolly behind my 40.
The Toy pulled the car fine but the car was a bit heavier so it tended to want to push the Toy around when stopping so it was a tense 400 miles at times.
 
If you rent a tow dolly or borrow one, make sure the surge brakes are functional. As pointed out above, a FJ40 is heavy enough to give a small to medium SUV a serious pushing around during moderate to severe braking. Check with your state laws to check if aux braking is required when towing a vehicles of the FJ40's weight. You don't want to get into an accident and be at fault without required aux braking. Don't mean to be a nanny on this. I'm just trying to protect a fellow mudder.
 
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Hey guys thanks for the great insight...I will look into the weight. She has a 2016 Explorer and I do know the uhaul I went to does have Dolly’s with the six braking
 
2000 miles is a long way. I would remove the driveshaft just for safety reasons if you flat tow. Funny things can happen after days of towing and all of them are bad at 60 MPH. I would also try any other transport method than flat towing.
 
Uhaul shows that a 2016 Explorer can pull an fj40 on their flat vehicle trailer. If I were towing 2000 miles, that would be my choice.
 
2000 miles is a long way. I would remove the driveshaft just for safety reasons if you flat tow. Funny things can happen after days of towing and all of them are bad at 60 MPH. I would also try any other transport method than flat towing.

I've got thousands of miles of flat towing with a variety of Jeep under my belt. All I had to do was transfer case in neutral and manual tranny in highest gear. FJ40 has similar drive train. My main concern with flat towing an FJ40 would be old wheel bearings driveshaft seals and bearings. Of course some of the same issues apply to dolly towing. Best to put it on a trailer considering 2000 miles is a LONG way.
 
I've got thousands of miles of flat towing with a variety of Jeep under my belt. All I had to do was transfer case in neutral and manual tranny in highest gear. FJ40 has similar drive train. My main concern with flat towing an FJ40 would be old wheel bearings driveshaft seals and bearings. Of course some of the same issues apply to dolly towing. Best to put it on a trailer considering 2000 miles is a LONG way.
Forgot about bearings.
In my travels I saw a number of trailers and motor homes with a missing wheel because of a bad wheel bearing.
When I tow a trailer I always lightly place a hand on the bearing hub every time I stop.
Slightly warm is fine but it shouldn't be too hot to touch.
 
Forgot about bearings.
In my travels I saw a number of trailers and motor homes with a missing wheel because of a bad wheel bearing.
When I tow a trailer I always lightly place a hand on the bearing hub every time I stop.
Slightly warm is fine but it shouldn't be too hot to touch.
I carry an IR thermometer gun and hit all the hubs every time I stop for fuel. You will notice the axles with brakes about 30 degrees higher than the others. Usually each hub is within 10 degrees of it's mate.
 
Couple of points. 1) Does it have a valid tag and registration? Tow dollies do not have a tag on them generally (at least the u-haul ones don't). Thus DMV expects the vehicle under tow (which has two wheels on the ground) to be the *licensed* part of a dolly tow. 2) I just pulled my (as in last week) FJ40 from texas to the four corners of colorado. I did this on a u-haul car carrier. That carrier was rated at 5000lbs...which if you look at the curb weight of the FJ40 (around 3400lbs) is very sufficient. I pulled mine with a 1998 FJ100. The FJ100 (which is larger than your explorer) pulled it like a champ. Absolutely no problems....braking was fine even in mountainous country. Just keep it at 55mph or less and keep very alert and anticipate red light changes. Best of luck.
 
I towed mine 600 miles on a uhaul dolly (750lbs). 4Runner is rated for 5,000lbs, so with the FJ40 and dolly it’s just below its limit. Handled it like a champ! (I also disconnected the driveshaft)

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Couple of points. 1) Does it have a valid tag and registration? Tow dollies do not have a tag on them generally (at least the u-haul ones don't). Thus DMV expects the vehicle under tow (which has two wheels on the ground) to be the *licensed* part of a dolly tow. 2) I just pulled my (as in last week) FJ40 from texas to the four corners of colorado. I did this on a u-haul car carrier. That carrier was rated at 5000lbs...which if you look at the curb weight of the FJ40 (around 3400lbs) is very sufficient. I pulled mine with a 1998 FJ100. The FJ100 (which is larger than your explorer) pulled it like a champ. Absolutely no problems....braking was fine even in mountainous country. Just keep it at 55mph or less and keep very alert and anticipate red light changes. Best of luck.
Another vote for the uhaul car carrier. Worked great, felt reasonably safe, wear and tear on the trailer (not your 40). Mine was a relatively short haul, full disclosure, but it’s what I would do again (and certainly where a lot of miles are involved).

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we have a cabin in Montana, about 1,100 miles from home. Last year we rigged the horse trailer to be able to fit the fj40, worked ok, though heavier than I would prefer. This year bought a tow dolly. Pros of the horse trailer......... I could drive it faster w all 4 wheels of the fj off the pavement. Cons.......worse fuel economy, no option to leave both the trailer and fj in montana should we choose (need horse trailer here in IL). All in all, satisfied w the tow dolly, though you need to watch your speed. 65 good, 70 usually good, 75 you hit a bump and your tail end gets to wagging. Most likely the horse trailer has seen the last of its FJ towing days. Note when on the tow dolly I do remove the driveshaft. Easy job, takes literally 10-15 minutes on each end of the trip and just an extra safety feature in case it somehow slips into gear or someone tries to steal it during our 1 overnight stop.
 
I towed my 40 with my 99 UZJ100 using a U-Haul tow dolly with good results. I bought bigger tire straps because the dolly straps were spec'd for max 30" tires, mine are 33". I also picked up some magnetic tow lights that connected to my 100.
I disconnected the differential end of the rear driveshaft and ratchet strapped it to the frame. I read somewhere not to flat tow or dolly tow a 40 with the transfer case in neutral and the driveshaft connected, something about an oil slinger not moving oil in the t-case? Hopefully someone more knowledgable can clarify that.
I'm glad I went with the lower weight of the tow dolly instead of the tandem trailer regarding braking distances.
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I just towed a FJ-45 from CA to VA (2,734 miles). I used a U-Haul tow dolly with a 2022 Ford Expedition (rental). I removed the rear driveshaft on the 🔥45 and had a separate set of magnetic trailer lights rigged up on the insides of the bed. Towed fine at 70 mph. Above that the rear gets a little squirrelly. However that could be from it being SOA w/no shocks present and 37” tires?

I ALWAYS get their most extensive insurance.

Glad I did in 2020 when I rented a U-haul car carrier. I was driving across the I-20 bridge in Vicksburg, MS and was unable to avoid hitting a I-20 speed limit sign pole that had somehow (?) found itself in the roadway. Luckily the 💩45 wasn’t on the trailer yet but it bent 2 rims and flattened 2 trailer tires and broke the leaf shackles on the rear most axle. A tour bus also hit the same pole flattening several tires as it desperately tried to stop right behind me. I drug the broken trailer down I-20 to the off ramp and left it at a grocery store. U-haul had a rollback come and collect it. I moseyed to the closest U-haul location picked up a new trailer and continued on to pickup the 💩45. Had this happened without U-haul’s insurance I would have been responsible for the damages. Just food for thought.

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