- Thread starter
- #41
I am kinda set on driving it back if possible, I have a 97 dodge 2500 with a cummins in it and a trailer here I could just drive out there with. However I think road trip sounds a bit more adventurous.
Buying an fj40 plan to drive it 850 miles home what should I check?
- Thread starter forestderp
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
I am kinda set on driving it back if possible, I have a 97 dodge 2500 with a cummins in it and a trailer here I could just drive out there with. However I think road trip sounds a bit more adventurous.
Nothing short of a u-haul truck or a motorhome is enough of a vehicle to flat tow a 3500lb cruiser with no brakes. I do it with my c3500 dually and that is white knuckle if it's wet or down a steep grade.
If you think you want to flat tow with a single-rear-wheel vehicle, get in a gravel lot, go 20mph, turn a little, hit the brakes and see what happens. Cops call it the PIT maneuver.
PM Me if you need a place to work on it or give it a quick once over before you leave the Denver area. I am in Boulder which is not necessarily close to Denver, but I have a decent garage with space to pull it into and tools and fluids to check it all out.
Again, not in here too often so shoot me a PM if you need something. It won't hurt my feelings if you only stick around for 30 minutes then jet. I think we are planning on being home Saturday.
Again, not in here too often so shoot me a PM if you need something. It won't hurt my feelings if you only stick around for 30 minutes then jet. I think we are planning on being home Saturday.
- Thread starter
- #44
I am picking the cruiser up in fort collins I will send you a pm so we can exchange contact info just in case.
Thanks
-Sean
Yeah forget flat towing it I flat towed one of my 40s with another 40 six miles home....scary and not sure what people do to lock the steering wheel, I had to get a copilot in the one being pulled.
- Thread starter
- #46
Next time you flat tow just leave the wheel unlocked and don't co pilot, and the towed vehicle will naturally follow you around.
got the PM, Writing you back
Water, oil, AAA, cell phone, list of Mud members along way, source of music...
Colorado to Minn - in a '40 - in the Winter!
forestderp, this will indeed be an adventure. As I read it, you are picking up a '75 softtop FJ40 in Fort Collins, CO on Sat, Feb 11th. You have gotten tons of advice on what to check, what to bring, the best AAA coverage to have and what you can expect for fuel milage. All of this most likely spot on. The only thing I can add, as I don't think I've seen it, is get a some good insulated coveralls, Walls or any other name you can find. Also a good parka, or at least sweater, with a good jacket and gloves, as you know you'll have lots of fresh air coming in thru various openings. Whenever I'm on a winter trip in my FJ40 here in Colorado, I find that it helps to keep you warm, and its worked for me and tested down to -15° F!
Good luck and have fun, as any road trip in a FJ40 is an adventure.
forestderp, this will indeed be an adventure. As I read it, you are picking up a '75 softtop FJ40 in Fort Collins, CO on Sat, Feb 11th. You have gotten tons of advice on what to check, what to bring, the best AAA coverage to have and what you can expect for fuel milage. All of this most likely spot on. The only thing I can add, as I don't think I've seen it, is get a some good insulated coveralls, Walls or any other name you can find. Also a good parka, or at least sweater, with a good jacket and gloves, as you know you'll have lots of fresh air coming in thru various openings. Whenever I'm on a winter trip in my FJ40 here in Colorado, I find that it helps to keep you warm, and its worked for me and tested down to -15° F!
Good luck and have fun, as any road trip in a FJ40 is an adventure.
In addition to whats been mentioned I would have a couple of sleeping bags, tow strap, a multimeter and a hi lift jack. The tow strap so you can get moved to a safe area if a break down occurs or more likely you may pull someone else out of the ditch.Also a windshield scraper, I remember my old FJ40 didn't have the best defrosters.
I first flat towed my 68 back in 1975 behind U-haul. Been doing it ever since. But never with a U-haul again. Largest was a 3/4 ton Ford van. The lightest was a FJ62. Farthest was From the Seattle area to Phoenix, a 61 FJ40 behind a 2001 Tundra. I use my 100 series on a regular basis to tow between my two homes. One at 1,100' the other at 7,000' and 145 miles between them. I just drive slow and leave plenty of room between me and the vehicle in front of me. I understand about gravel roads but really don't see many anymore. Lot more common when I was a kid. So that is not really a issue for me. I do own a car hauler but don't use it most the time since I end up hauling empty one was. With the cost of gas and the extra weight I normally leave it behind. Like most everything on mud these our just our own opinions and this is mine.
Over the years I find it the towed vehicle that makes the difference. I towed my 68 and on some really rough dirt roads with no issue. Only time the wheels jack knifed was while trying to turn around and driving across ruts. My 79 on the other hand doesn't like to be flated towed. Cornering on side streets it will jack knife. It goes on the car hauler. I have heard using a bungee strap on the steering wheel would help but have never tried it.
This is the problem with flying somewhere to pick up a vehicle, you can't take everything you want. Like others have mentioned the easiest thing you can take is probably the best and that is time.
Best of luck with your trip.
Eddy:
I have flat towed my 73 (sprung over, 37s or 35s depending on where I am wheeling, with stretched wheel base, and lockers front and rear) behind a 2003 Yukon and my 2007 FJ Cruiser. I have never had a problem towing. My steering on the 40 is done correctly so it tows straight and true behind the tow rig. I have a very stout tow bar that is level to the ground so it does not lift up or push down the tow rig when stopping. I have two very thick chains that are crossed and attached to both frames. If I ever had a problem where the towed rig disconnected from the hitch, I wouldn't want it attached to me because it would bash into the tow rig and be a nightmare to try and stop. But, on the flip side, I also do not want to be responsible for killing someone because I let my 40 go flying freely into traffic because it disconnected from the tow rig. Chains will keep it attached to the tow rig and if something happened to me, I am my own responsibility and living with killing someone because I didn't secure the 40 would be hard to accept especially if it hurt a child or a family.
I make sure I memorized the route I need to take and check ahead to see where heavy traffic situations may occur. When possible, I will go out of my way to not drive through a congested area. The stress of driving through traffic isn't worth the extra time it takes to go around. I also give my self plenty of time to get to where I am going so I do not need to rush.
I keep my speed at 55 and give lots of space between me and the car in front of me. I take hills slowly and keep the tow rig at a speed where the tranny does not search for the right gear and have tranny coolers on both tow rigs. I look far ahead and I do not get myself in situations where I need to back up. If something happens that is out of my control and I have to back up, I don't even bother trying. I had to do it once and simply disconnected my two rigs and turned each around on their own.
It is safe to tow a 40 with something smaller than a dully F350 as long as the tow rig has good brakes, fresh fluids, no inline problems weighs more than the towed rig, and fresh tires. But, if the steering is not set up properly on the 40 (such as not cutting and turning the knuckles with an SOA rig) it will not tow straight and will cause an unsafe situation (from reading other posts on mud discussing cutting and turning).
Oh, don't forget the magnetic turn/brake lights and so large bumps in the road don't dislodge them since there isn't a good flat surface to mount them on a 40, zip tie them down or make some sort of temporary mount to hold the lights in place.
Do not tie down the steering wheel. The front tires need to turn with the tow rig. If the wheels do not track properly without tying the steering wheel, something is wrong with the towed rig's steering. That needs to be fixed before it can safely be towed.
Last thing, make sure your insurance covers a towed vehicle or that that the insurance on the towed rig is still valid when it is towed.
Sent from my iPad communicator
I have flat towed my 73 (sprung over, 37s or 35s depending on where I am wheeling, with stretched wheel base, and lockers front and rear) behind a 2003 Yukon and my 2007 FJ Cruiser. I have never had a problem towing. My steering on the 40 is done correctly so it tows straight and true behind the tow rig. I have a very stout tow bar that is level to the ground so it does not lift up or push down the tow rig when stopping. I have two very thick chains that are crossed and attached to both frames. If I ever had a problem where the towed rig disconnected from the hitch, I wouldn't want it attached to me because it would bash into the tow rig and be a nightmare to try and stop. But, on the flip side, I also do not want to be responsible for killing someone because I let my 40 go flying freely into traffic because it disconnected from the tow rig. Chains will keep it attached to the tow rig and if something happened to me, I am my own responsibility and living with killing someone because I didn't secure the 40 would be hard to accept especially if it hurt a child or a family.
I make sure I memorized the route I need to take and check ahead to see where heavy traffic situations may occur. When possible, I will go out of my way to not drive through a congested area. The stress of driving through traffic isn't worth the extra time it takes to go around. I also give my self plenty of time to get to where I am going so I do not need to rush.
I keep my speed at 55 and give lots of space between me and the car in front of me. I take hills slowly and keep the tow rig at a speed where the tranny does not search for the right gear and have tranny coolers on both tow rigs. I look far ahead and I do not get myself in situations where I need to back up. If something happens that is out of my control and I have to back up, I don't even bother trying. I had to do it once and simply disconnected my two rigs and turned each around on their own.
It is safe to tow a 40 with something smaller than a dully F350 as long as the tow rig has good brakes, fresh fluids, no inline problems weighs more than the towed rig, and fresh tires. But, if the steering is not set up properly on the 40 (such as not cutting and turning the knuckles with an SOA rig) it will not tow straight and will cause an unsafe situation (from reading other posts on mud discussing cutting and turning).
Oh, don't forget the magnetic turn/brake lights and so large bumps in the road don't dislodge them since there isn't a good flat surface to mount them on a 40, zip tie them down or make some sort of temporary mount to hold the lights in place.
Do not tie down the steering wheel. The front tires need to turn with the tow rig. If the wheels do not track properly without tying the steering wheel, something is wrong with the towed rig's steering. That needs to be fixed before it can safely be towed.
Last thing, make sure your insurance covers a towed vehicle or that that the insurance on the towed rig is still valid when it is towed.
Sent from my iPad communicator
Hahaha good luck, everyone has mentioned what I would have so I'll keep quiet, this will undoubtably be a fun trip, keep us posted. If the truck has been well maintained and cared for you should have little to no issues. You may want to make an appointment with a back specialist, those 40's are rough rudders.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD
Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD
When ever I have gone to pick something up I always take the same route back I drove there. I make mental notes of what I might run into on the way back. Steep hill and sharp turn won't be a surprise that way. The last vehicle I pickup up was in Safford, AZ. Not much of a trip and other then some hills east of the valley it's mainly flat. I decided to skip the car hauler and flat tow it. The main reason I knew I would be come back into the valley around rush hour Friday afternoon. To me it was less stressful to flat tow then worry the car hauler which is over 8' wide wandering onto the white lines.
I don't trust magnetic lights. I made a lightbar out of 7/8" unistrut with 69-73 tail lights on the ends. Bolt it to the bumperettes using the hole in the bumperette.
- Thread starter
- #60
First off I would like to say thanks to everyone that has contributed to this thread. You guys Rock!
Now that is out of the way here is what I have put together that I am bringing with me. I do a fair amount of back country trekking by foot so I have some nice light weight compact gear.
My backpack:
Tools:10,12,14,17mm sockets short and deep, ratchet with several extension and a swivel joint, 10,12,14,17 ratcheting wrenches,Crescent wrench, #2 philips screw driver, slotted screw driver, set of feeler gauges, mulitmeter, solder, electrical tape, pliers
Sleeping bag
ENO pro pillow
Grungy shirt
Grungy pants
Nice shirt
Nice pants
Ski gloves
Nice bright flash light with strobe function x2
Long underwear
Rain pants (work awesome as snow pants when used in layers)
Several pairs of latex gloves
I took the liberty and picked up several preliminary items for the cruiser that includes, spark plugs, new points, fuel filter, radiator cap.
On me I will be wearing my winter jacket (Rei triad parka), jeans, winter boots, and carrying my laptop bag which includes my cell phone charger, tether for my phone for internets, camera, laptop, dc to ac converter, headphones for music.
It would be nice to be able to take more along with me, however since I am flying out I am fairly limited to how much I can bring with me.
Thanks,
-Sean
Now that is out of the way here is what I have put together that I am bringing with me. I do a fair amount of back country trekking by foot so I have some nice light weight compact gear.
My backpack:
Tools:10,12,14,17mm sockets short and deep, ratchet with several extension and a swivel joint, 10,12,14,17 ratcheting wrenches,Crescent wrench, #2 philips screw driver, slotted screw driver, set of feeler gauges, mulitmeter, solder, electrical tape, pliers
Sleeping bag
ENO pro pillow
Grungy shirt
Grungy pants
Nice shirt
Nice pants
Ski gloves
Nice bright flash light with strobe function x2
Long underwear
Rain pants (work awesome as snow pants when used in layers)
Several pairs of latex gloves
I took the liberty and picked up several preliminary items for the cruiser that includes, spark plugs, new points, fuel filter, radiator cap.
On me I will be wearing my winter jacket (Rei triad parka), jeans, winter boots, and carrying my laptop bag which includes my cell phone charger, tether for my phone for internets, camera, laptop, dc to ac converter, headphones for music.
It would be nice to be able to take more along with me, however since I am flying out I am fairly limited to how much I can bring with me.
Thanks,
-Sean