FJ40 towing with a Tundra?

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mookie

mookie

Joined
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has anyone had any experience towing a FJ40 with a tundra? i'm trying to decide on a tow rig/daily driver and i want very much to stay with a toyota, (just sold my beloved and ultra trusty '95 tacoma daily driver) i'm unsure of the weight of my rig and trailer, just a normal 16'dovetail car hauler trailer and my fj40 is on 38's with a sbc/sm420/aa rockbox/toyota axles/8274winch/full cage and otherwise completely stripped down to just a tub, no tailgate, windshield etc.

i do have brakes on my trailer and i do intend to use a weight distributing hitch. i'm looking to get a '05 or later tundra which has improved horsepower and torque over the previous models, and am looking at probably getting a single cab 4x4 longbed...

thanks
 
I am sure the tundra will handle it with no problems
 
piece of cake....heck, I towed my FJ40/trailer behind a 1995 3.0 V6 minitruck for years, finally quit when the truck hit 155k...had to replace the original clutch at 145k tho...lol

Tundra will make a nice tow machine.
 
Been towing for almost 2 years now with my 2000. Bought it with 87,000 on it, just over 120,000 now. Was towing a 94 pickup with 39's turned it into a buggy which shaved alot of weight. But I did pick my cruiser up and just picked up a Trooper(5000lbs). last week. Does just fine. Sometimes slow on take off, but I can cruise 70-80 down the highway no problem. Dont use overdrive at all when towing and it has plenty of power. Brakes are good. ABS kicks in a little too soon for my liking, but just have to take it easy.

Proper loading makes a world of difference of course. My trailer is 1500lbs, brake on both.

I am pleased. trading it in on a deisel next year, but mainly for more room, and to get a nice new truck.

I think it is probably the best 1/2 ton truck to tow with, no hunting for gears on inclines, holds its own.
 
My 2001 extended cab 4WD Tundra towed my FJ40 when I bought it over 250 miles away with no problem.
 
Why ask a boy to do a man's job? I guess none of you purists have never towed with a 3/4 ton or larger truck made by, uh oh this may hurt, one of the big three?

I bought a new T100 4x4 to tow my 40 to Tellico years ago. I could smell the clutch burning! I thought it towed okay till I traded it in on a Dodge 1500. What a difference! I decided to make a few trips across the US to different TLCA events so I bought a 1 ton Dodge 4x4 dually. Never knew my 40 was back there. Since then, I bought another Dodge, this time w/ the CTD. Oh yeah, it's another 1 ton 4x4!
 
Big diff between T100 and Tundra. Gone thru 3 Dodges already?
 
Jamison Workshop said:
Been towing for almost 2 years now with my 2000. Bought it with 87,000 on it, just over 120,000 now. Was towing a 94 pickup with 39's turned it into a buggy which shaved alot of weight. But I did pick my cruiser up and just picked up a Trooper(5000lbs). last week. Does just fine. Sometimes slow on take off, but I can cruise 70-80 down the highway no problem. Dont use overdrive at all when towing and it has plenty of power. Brakes are good. ABS kicks in a little too soon for my liking, but just have to take it easy.

Proper loading makes a world of difference of course. My trailer is 1500lbs, brake on both.

I am pleased. trading it in on a deisel next year, but mainly for more room, and to get a nice new truck.

I think it is probably the best 1/2 ton truck to tow with, no hunting for gears on inclines, holds its own.
Click to expand...

Whats the towing capacity of the Tundra? I have a 1997 GMC 1500 Vortec 5.7L V8, and am contemplating if it will handle a car hauler and an FJ40. The GMC is rated at 7,000 lbs. I am more concerned with the tongue weight, I may have to get some airbags installed or 3/4 ton springs to help with this.

Does anyone else tow with this type of vehicle?? I figure my 40 loaded for the trail weighs 4500 lbs, and the trailer 1500 lbs for a grand total of 6,000 lbs.

Fman
 
My '06 crew cab Tundra 2wd tows the 40 just fine. You'll know it is back there, but compared to the "big 3" you'll be towing in comfort.

BTW - I watched a Sequoia (sp?) towing a 40 spank a 1 ton Dodge dually/Cummins towing a 40 on the climb up to Independence pass.

My '06 is rated around 7200 lbs IIRC. The '07 is expected to rate out over 10k.
 
I tow my 40 with my Tacoma Dcab (with car hauler, brakes) back and forth to my cabin (220 miles) a couple of times a year. I definetly know that the truck is back there but I can hold 70-75. Last time I towed it I got 15 MPG going an average of 65 MPH. I think thats what my brothers Chevy 1500 gets unloaded. I do agree that diesel is the way to go, but with Toyota being so stubborn about bringing a diesel truck here it might be awhile before we see a diesel Tundra (which I would buy in a heartbeat) even though there are rumors of a 08 or 09 appearance.
 
Drove my 97 Tacoma to pick up my FJ40 on a huge trailer 600 miles round trip in the rain. Probably wasn't the best for towing it but I am sure that the Tundra would have been a lot better.
 
Short60 on this board tows his HEAVY FJ60 exo caged buggy thing on a trailer to tellico from Atlanta regularly. Says it tows fine with no problems.
 
btw, does anyone know approx. what an fj40 and car hauler trailer would weigh? i'm guessing in the 5500 lbs. range?
 
I used my old man's 2000 Tundra 4WD to pull a 27FT travel trailer that's 6500 lbs not loaded. It yanks it around with no probem, even in the foot hills of East Tennessee. It has since been retired to farm duty with 256,000 miles. We put the John Deere on a 16FT tandem axle trailer to take it in to get serviced and its still doing the job. Only problem it had was a recall on the rear axle that was covered under warranty. Key point is not to tow with the over drive on, and regular servicing of the transmission when towing alot will increase the production of the tranny. :cool:
 
trainrech said:
BTW - I watched a Sequoia (sp?) towing a 40 spank a 1 ton Dodge dually/Cummins towing a 40 on the climb up to Independence pass.
Click to expand...
I can beat a 1-ton Cummins towing my 40 with my 150cc scooter.
 
You should have no problems, I just towed an FJ from Santa Fe NM to Baltimore MD with no problems. We averaged 70 miles and hour, and about 12- 13 miles per gallon. I blame the heavier than the FJ U-haul rented us, talk about overbuilt. Our only problems were flats on the trailer, Oklahoma was bad for us.


65132939.jpg

65858696.jpg
 
I have a new Sequoia that pulled it 120 miles, which was mostly uphill, without any issues at all.
 
I have a dolly trailer and have towed mine.... as of now it is the only way I can get mine around.... (not running at the moment) I tow my boat, and I also have a huge fish house/ trailer... so I can say the Tundra is great at pulling... just gets bad gas mileage doing it...
 
apeterson said:
I can say the Tundra is great at pulling... just gets bad gas mileage doing it...
Click to expand...

Ditto on that. But if I have to go any great distance to wheel the FJ. The Tundra is sooo nice and comfy.
 
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