100 towing vs 80

[jakesiar]

Was wondering if anyone who has a 100 has some insight (past or current ownership of an 80) in towing with it? I currently have a '92 that we use to tow our 20 ft boat (~4,000 lbs). It does the job for local lake trips but not good for a trip to the coast. I know I have the 6 cyl and the 100 has the 8 cyl. Just looking for some good feedback because we may purchase another cruiser or go with the dark side Suburban.

Thanks in advance!

 

[SNORKALUFAGUS]

I tow my 19 foot flats boat (much lighter than yours 3000lbs) with my 100 all the time from texas to florida. It does a great job (gas is really bad around 6-8 mpg) I have never towed with an 80 but I am sure the 100 could do it but expect your gas millage to be horrid.

 

[jakesiar]

Thanks for the feedback... I hear ya on the MPG's. My 80 can do the job but the 6 cyl is really working to do it. I want to stay in the Cruiser family and we will keep the 80 for our son's to drive.

 

[spressomon]

Get a 200 to tow it with justice.

 

[AimCOtaco]

For the 100 I think you'll find the later model transmisison makes a marked improvment for towing... I wouldn't know with my '99 though.

The 200 is a good platform but for it's price you could probably score a couple of suburbans and a 100 or 2.

If you want to stay in the family the 100 should get the job done better than the 80 (as far as towing and highway goes).

 

[jakesiar]

The 200 is definitely a nice truck... Too much $ for what we want/NEED. Thanks for the insight!

 

[spressomon]

FWIW: My '99 in touring mode weighs in at ~8,000lbs. Coupled with the then AT Horizon (~2,500lbs) and then the Kimberley Kamper (~2,500lbs) my '99 pulled this load OK with 2nd gear typical for most tall highway mountain passes. From my experience towing this combo 10's of thousands of miles (over 50k miles actually) it was doable but certainly not ideal from a hp/power perspective. I have my suspension set up for this type of load so handling never was a factor or compromise. I, personally especially at elevation, wouldn't want to tow anywhere near Toyota's max tow rating for a 100 with stock (non-AHC) suspension...

A couple mitigating caveats: I live at 5,000' and most of my travels are at that and above. At or near sea level the perceived increase in available horsepower was substantial...

 

[College Cruiser]

We towed a 7,500 lb weekend warrior trailer all over California with our 2000 hundy. It's not rated for this and weekend warrior is out of business partially because of a lawsuit about trailer weights but it handled it ok. Air bags helped a lot. Go for a 5sp hundy and you'll be good to go.

 

[bamabrock]

I tow a 21" Grady-White and a dual axle trailer with a polaris ranger. Airbags, IMO, are a must. I like my LC but towing is not something it does well.
I mainly launch the boat and don't go further than 5 miles or so, but having trailer brakes and the proper setup makes it handle fine. The lack of power in the 100 series is noticeable having come from a 400hp Sierra truck.

I tow this 200 miles twice a month and it handles it well.

 

[jakesiar]

FWIW: My '99 in touring mode weighs in at ~8,000lbs. Coupled with the then AT Horizon (~2,500lbs) and then the Kimberley Kamper (~2,500lbs) my '99 pulled this load OK with 2nd gear typical for most tall highway mountain passes. From my experience towing this combo 10's of thousands of miles (over 50k miles actually) it was doable but certainly not ideal from a hp/power perspective. I have my suspension set up for this type of load so handling never was a factor or compromise. I, personally especially at elevation, wouldn't want to tow anywhere near Toyota's max tow rating for a 100 with stock (non-AHC) suspension...

A couple mitigating caveats: I live at 5,000' and most of my travels are at that and above. At or near sea level the perceived increase in available horsepower was substantial...

This great feedback... I wouldn't want to be trailering down Donner Pass

 

[CreeperSleeper]

I used to have a '96 FZJ80 and I wouldn't tow anything more than a small utility trailer. The 100 on the other hand continues to impress me towing. And this is coming from a Cummins diesel!

 

[APKhaos]

My '99 has towed my race car rig all over the east coast. Rig runs around 5500# in race trim.
Never had a problem, aside from heinous fuel economy. As spresso said, any long steep sections call for 2nd gear [with the old 4 speed] but get a solid 50MPH-plus at that so its no major issue.
Rear spring airbags [Airlift 1000] are the secret sauce. Rock solid stability with an $80 add-on is a no brainer.

 

[jakesiar]

This just what I was looking for... The 100 is the right rig for us.
Thanks everyone for all the insight!

 

[CreeperSleeper]

My '99 has towed my race car rig all over the east coast. Rig runs around 5500# in race trim.
Never had a problem, aside from heinous fuel economy. As spresso said, any long steep sections call for 2nd gear [with the old 4 speed] but get a solid 50MPH-plus at that so its no major issue.
Rear spring airbags [Airlift 1000] are the secret sauce. Rock solid stability with an $80 add-on is a no brainer.

x2. The only mods for towing I have done are AirLift 1000's, Prodagy 3 trailer brake controller and CIPA clip-on tow mirrors. I love pulling the trailer (except for the mpg's).

 

[jakesiar]

The old MPG's, I feel that pain now. I just drive our rig to FL for a 1,00 mile round trip, ouch!

 

[Junglejack]

Hello,
The 4.7 V8 (2UZ-FE) in the 100 lends itself well to towing by virtue of peak torque being available at a diesel like 1,100 RPM. As has been mentioned, MPG is abysmal but it is regardless.
Cheers.
JJ

 

[trainrech]

I've towed my 40 on a 16' car trailer behind my 100 with no problems.

Sent from my iPad using IH8MUD

 

[krnnerdboy]

Towed 4500 lbs in my 4spd up the grapevine and i was able to hold 55 mph. Enough said! It feels more solid than my 5.7 tundra bc of the weight distribution! And like everyone else said get the $80 airlift and option for the 2003 and up if you can

 

[krnnerdboy]

But by far this was my favorite tow rig for lightweights. 8spd turbo i6 and I had no problems passing up the grapevine. And averaged 14 mpg round trip! Just food for thought...2011's can be had for 30's now

 

[hks3sgte]

Tow with the Suburban.