Can an FJ-40 pull a travel trailer? (1 Viewer)

[twgreene]

Does anyone have experience in pulling a travel trailer with an FJ-40? My 1975 FJ-40 LVKCJA has a 2 1/2" lift, 4-speed, 4:11 diffs, 31" tires, standard non-power steering, drum brakes, and a 200hp+ fuel injected 2F. The engine, transmission, diffs, and running gear have all been rebuilt within the last 35,000 miles. The trailer is a 3500 lb rated, 17' Casita with electric brakes, sway bar, and a tongue weight of about 350 lbs. The trailer is usually loaded to about 2700 lbs. When hitched to the FJ-40, with a ball extension to allow for a 90 degree turn, the trailer's single axle will be about 13' from the back of the FJ-40.

My concerns:

• is the FJ-40 wheel base too short to safely pull a trailer under any conditions other that flat, forward, straight, and slow
• will a cross wind make the FJ-40 uncontrollable or just very uncomfortable
• will the trailer weight in a moderate highway down hill turn to right or left with a hard application of brakes, cause the FJ-40 to roll or twist out of control
• will the trailer load transferred to the "off-set" receiver plate, bolted to the "C" channel, create too much torque on the "C" channel and cause it to warp or crack

Thanks for your suggestions,

 

[archie73]

How far are you hoping to go? How fast? Honestly, I wouldn’t think of it, but I reluctantly tow with my p/u truck. While your 40 sounds pretty sweet, in today’s traffic and speeds a 40 is not that safe. That being said there are people that do it and are still driving their 40’s, so it can be done. If you’re questioning it, you probably know the answer.

 

[Pierps]

Not sure how reliable this site is, but it looks like the original tow rating was 3,000lbs:

Toyota 4x4 Land Cruisers

I wouldn't tow with it frankly. If you get in a wreck, the first thing the insurance company will ask is whether you were overloaded. Not to mention the risk to yourself and others on the road.

But if you're willing to take the risk, I would suggest getting a good quality weight distribution hitch to reduce tongue weight and sway. I'm not sure if that's what you mean by an anti-sway hitch, but you need to make sure it has the chain device pictured here, as it will keep the ball from being the low point. In other words, it will force the trailer's and the 40's frame to stay parallel to each other, thus keeping a better weight distribution down in the front for better steering. I'd also consider upgrading to disk brakes in the front.

That might make it reasonably safe, but I think you're going to be "that guy" slowing traffic down going up mountain passes.

I wouldn't do it, but i guess it's up to you!

EDIT: this might be obvious, but you will need your hitch to tie into the 40's frame. Don't just bolt the receiver up to your rear cross member.

 

[BC40]

plenty of people have towed that amount of weight with an fj40. obviously it is not a modern vehicle so that may influence what you'd call 'safe'. Also largely dependent on the condition of your truck. I would do something stronger than the average receiver plate hitch hanging off the rear crossmember for that load. seen more than a few twisted and torn crossmembers especially when the hitch drops down increasing leverage. but overall if that was the only tow vehicle I had I would likely set it up and use it if its for occasional trips.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

For several years I towed a 21-foot sailboat back and forth to Mexico with mine. Stock engine. The total boat plus trailer weight was probably about 3,200 pounds. I never had any issues, but I never, ever let my guard down on the road either.

 

[Downey]

I towed my fully self contained travel trailer (18.5 ft Prowler, heavier than yours) out to every monthly 4 wheeling run in So Cal for 3 years. The main issue is with the short wheel base what you do at the steering wheel reaches the trailer sooner than towing with a long wheel base, so you end up steering a lot. Side winds, go slower. Semi's passing you tend to suck you in, which is only spooky when you forgot to keep checking your rear view mirror to see them coming. Spookiest experience: caught in a blizzard towing my trailer off of Big Bear mountain (very first time out with trailer, no skills yet), I drove dead slow, probably pissing off all the non trailer towing drivers behind me. All of that was with the stock 6 cylinder and 3 speed tranny, but I'd do it again in a heart beat with a Chevota.

 

[John McVicker]

As others have said...yes you can. Be careful, always alert & think ahead and you s/b just fine.

 

[flx]

Not sure how reliable this site is, but it looks like the original tow rating was 3,000lbs:

Toyota 4x4 Land Cruisers

I wouldn't tow with it frankly. If you get in a wreck, the first thing the insurance company will ask is whether you were overloaded. Not to mention the risk to yourself and others on the road.

But if you're willing to take the risk, I would suggest getting a good quality weight distribution hitch to reduce tongue weight and sway. I'm not sure if that's what you mean by an anti-sway hitch, but you need to make sure it has the chain device pictured here, as it will keep the ball from being the low point. In other words, it will force the trailer's and the 40's frame to stay parallel to each other, thus keeping a better weight distribution down in the front for better steering. I'd also consider upgrading to disk brakes in the front.

That might make it reasonably safe, but I think you're going to be "that guy" slowing traffic down going up mountain passes.

I wouldn't do it, but i guess it's up to you!

EDIT: this might be obvious, but you will need your hitch to tie into the 40's frame. Don't just bolt the receiver up to your rear cross member.

Tow rating in France for my 1974 FJ40 is 2665kg (5875lbs). It's indicated on the registration and on the importer firewall plate so you can't be mistaken.

But also note that in France any trailer over 750kg must have brakes and to tow heavy trailers ("heavy" depends of the tow vehicle weight) you need a special driver licence where you learn to manage it.

 

[twgreene]

Thanks for your thoughtful suggestions. If I do it, i will definitely modify the receiver to bolt up to the frame and not the rear cross member. All the other cautions are well noted. Maybe pitching a tent or sleeping on the roof rack isn't so bad after all.

 

[MoCoNative]

There are so many variables, but I can give some input.

I have a 6 foot utility trailer I towed for thousands of miles behind my 40. Homemade jobber, that I want to move the axle on, because it is too far forward. This made for some sway at times. Overall I could tow it fine, but a 40 will be loose on the steering, underpowered and slow to stop with any extra load.

Twelve years ago this little utility trailer was making its third trip with about 700 pounds of railroad ties on it. The problem was the ties were longer than the trailer. I thought I could handle it, but starting down a grade on a blustery day sent the trailer into an uncontrollable sway resulting in the trailer cartwheeling down the gravel road and my 40 on its side. Could have been worse than it was. Learned a valuable lesson about tongue weight, even if you think you can handle it, you probably can't.

I also towed a 1977 StarCraft Tent trailer to Cruise Moab 2016 with my 40. It was in tip top shape for that trip, brakes good, power good, installed a brake controller, etc... Trailer was in good shape too, had added braked axle to it, good tires. This trailer has some extras, and when loaded for a full family outing I figured we were around 2000+ pounds. We went as light as possible on gear for the moab trip and the 40 towing.

Overall the trip went well but in the 260 some miles from Craig CO to Moab, I was pretty tense. Hills were bad, like 2nd gear, 35MPH bad sometimes. This is with a 1F, but still bad. The big hill out of Mack on I-70 got real scary, had semis bearing down on us in the right lane, they were not amused with loosing all their steam before the top. On a flat I could hold 70MPH and did a lot in spots. Scariest was a strong gust hit us out by Cisco UT, shoved the combo all the way to the edge of the pavement on the left side of the interstate and we were in the right lane. All I could do was hold on and feather it back into the left lane, luckily no one was around.

Pulling this same tent trailer with a T100 and FZJ80 was still hard at times in the mountains of CO. Both those trucks have much better brakes, better power and longer wheelbases, but hills are still a struggle, and on I-80 in Wyoming I had that trailer behind my T100 be enough to throw us into the left lane in some bad gusting winds.

Like a dummy we upgraded to a 20' Apex Nano Travel trailer, dry weight of 3500 pounds, probably about 4000+ loaded with the fam, water etc... FZJ80 and T100 really struggle to pull that load at highway speeds over anything but a slight downhill. It is doable, we drug it to Yellowstone with the 80 last summer, but it was a long trip.

And really, 20 years ago, things were different, but people drive so much faster now, more traffic, no mercy for slow vehicles on hills, etc... and you just become a hazard to all involved. I would suggest something a tad longer and heavier. Actually a Casita behind a well tuned FJ60 would be okay, an 80 will pull it great. I hear they truly are light and pull well and a 40 could do it for short trips, but any long highway hauls are going to tough. What I'm getting at, is yes it can do it, but I find myself increasingly frustrated trying to get by with marginal tow vehicles for the load, and you would be very marginal for that trailer, and I would not plan on doing it.

Moab KOA, told em no hookup site, had to thread trailer into tent spot.

 

[TCEd]

Drum brakes and a long downhill will get exciting.

 

[Downey]

Oh, and one last thought from me- - -many of us in the 4WD club towed travel trailers to the runs with our rigs, but when you are out there wheeling you are always thinking "how am I going to get the trailer home if I bust the rig". I've had to go to a run I was not part of just to tow my buddied trailer home after he rolled his rig. I'm thinking this sounds like an ad for motor homes, but the travel trailer was sooooo much cheaper.

 

[MoCoNative]

The whole time in Moab that worry ran through my mind Jim. Break a rear axle, chew up a birfield, twist off a driveshaft or diff, roll the truck, then where will I be.

 

[MOTOV8R]

The whole time in Moab that worry ran through my mind Jim. Break a rear axle, chew up a birfield, twist off a driveshaft or diff, roll the truck, then where will I be.

Still in Moab.

 

[Helipilot]

My current '77 is the 4th one I have owned and have pulled a small u-haul from St.Paul, MN to Texas and a 5'x10' utility a lot as well. No issues with any of them, the '77 is currently in a frame off resto . Remember to watch the downhills and traffic. Good luck