FJ40 vehicle weight

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Joined
Jan 18, 2005
Threads
44
Messages
300
Location
Seattle
My 40 is really coming together - at least I am proud of her. I can drive her the 100 miles to the trails, wheel hard, and drive her home, drive it all week, go wheeling the following weekend. And I do DD 3 days a week - 40 a day miles RT. I am also running all the same trails as everyone else in my club and am able to keep up or exceed most of their rigs capabilities.

I still have a couple major projects ahead which is what got me thinking about weight.

We ran a regional trail system last weekend and on the way home I stopped off at the scales - I've never weighed it before.

4270 lbs fully loaded with me, 2 dogs, and gear for 2 days and 2 nights.

I am about to start a project - cage, sliders, and rear carrier. I figure thats going to add around 350 lbs inlcuding the spare tire.

Any suggestions for reducing weight with out sacrificing huge levels of DD comfort or off road strength? (short of putting my ass on a diet!)

What do your rigs scale in at? Am I on a pointless mission to keep the rig as light as possible?

Currently, my goal is to do all the tube work and maintain the 4300 ceiling. Sound reasonable?

Thanks,

Andy
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You aren't really out of range for a DD TLC .. Cruisers are heavy .. and actually I'm not really worried with 300 lbs more of stuff .. I'm more worryed to keep the weight well balanced over my tires.
 
I was worried about weight when I started on the cruiser in the shop now. I went with mini axles 3RZ and W-56 with a single mini turck case with 4.7 gears in it. I also cut out the floor, wheel wells and dash and replaced them with aluminum. I know I gained weight but I had the tub rhino lined inside and complete underside. I am hoping to have it complete with a weight under 3300lbs. I might not make it but it should be real close.
 
i bet a Cage will add ~150 lbs or so.. but thats good Weight.. i would try and find an alternative to a big bumper and spare tire.. most guys running big tires carry a patch kit and Air rather than a spare..

i dont think you could build a full tub cruiser under 4k without sacrificing strength (tuff's minitruck axles)
 
Mine weighs in at a whopping 4760lbs on the local Interstate scales, with me in it (so right at 4500#). I have most of the junk you have. The differences you can't see are the fiberglass tub and fenders, SBC, and SM465.
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Thanks for the replies!

Tapage - good point on the weight distribution. I've got a buddy who races stock cars and I keep meaning to see if he'll let me put it on the scales to see the corner weights. I'd guess that it is pretty close to 50/50 left right (maybe a little to the right with the t/case and running gear offset). Front to back I bet it's pretty close to 55/45 or so. SBC and a pretty stripped out compartment with a rear center fuel cell to level things out. The running gear is as low and as far back as I could get it to go without mods to the firewall.

TUFF - 3300# is way below what I expect to get to! That is pretty light for a ride that doesn't have a lot of tube and only a little tub. Any idea on how much weight you saved by cutting the floors out?

Isotel - Yeah, I'll be happy to add the cage weight. No big bumpers for me - but I would like to carry extra fuel or cooler so the rear carrier is still in the plans. Last trip out I had to bail and fetch fuel the second day. 10 gallons would have kept me on the trail another day and night before a pit stop. You might have a point to just leaving the spare out. Maybe I can figure out another way to carry the extra fuel. You don't carry a spare with 37's?

Bigndn - 4500# huh? I wonder if a fiber tub weights more than stock steel?

My ideas at this point for saving weight
- cut inner fenders out and replace with sheet plastic. - 10 lbs?
- I am also thinking I can beat the stock fenders with some tube fenders - 10lbs?
- synthetic winch line with alum hawse - 30 lbs
- new tailgate out of aluminum - 5 lbs
- suspension seats - 15 lbs

There is 70 lbs there. Hell, I suppose I can par the tool box to half it's weight too. There is another 20 pounds!

Maybe I am putting to much into this. I'm 240 and the two 45 lb dogs put it under 4000 - less gear and cooler it probably weighs in around 3800 - 3850 lbs.

Thanks again for the replies,

Andy
 
Unless you plan on competition wheeling I really don't see why you are concerned with the weight of your rig. Landcruisers are heavy and I really doubt shaving a pound here and there is going to net any kind of a noticable difference. I would be more concerned about the mechanical aspect, like getting you there and back.
 
No i dont carry a spare.. with the rear seats in, i have no place to put it other than on top of the cage.
i try and have one close, either a buddy with 6 lug on the trail, or one at the trail head..

It was a bit of an issue with the TLCA in moab (their stance is that they require one, and if you have a blowout and need one its not their responsibility to help you out).

i dont do many Long distance runs so its not an issue, but on the Rubicon or something like that i would get one to work.. The 14 Gal Tank is a bit small, but ive usualy got a 1/2 tank at the end of most the trails i run..
 
Ranger - So far, it's been getting me there and back no problems. I still have a few things I am working on but I feel like I am not constantly dealing with reliability issues. Competition rigs are light for a reason - performace. I am not looking to compete but why not look for some performance advantages for a trail rig? If weight didn't matter we'd all still be running F motors. I think heavy rigs are more likely to fail catastrphically (t/case, pinions, axles, etc). If I have a choice, I am going to build it light AND strong.

bigndn - Damn, you've got a plus sized gal if you are still at 4500 and the tub is lighter by a lot. Nice rig. I do like white 40's.

Isotel - I take it you are not a fan of rear carriers? I get a lot of s*** from my wheelin' buddies about not carrying a spare. Personally, I think I ought to carry one. (but like i *ought* to drink less beer, I might not) I am still on the fence about it and at this point it is a pretty low priority.

What kinda mileage are you getting with the TBI? I run a 16 gallon cell and I get about 11-13 mpg or about 16 hours of run time on the trail.

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Andy
 
My stock rear doors and license plate holder weighed 24lbs. I replaced them with a cut down aluminum tailgate cover (off a full size pickup) which weighed 7lbs.
I only opened the tailgate about once per year so I really had no reason to put hinges on the thing so I just bolted it on.
Gives me about 2" more room in the bed area and helps hold the body together :)
 
bigndn - Damn, you've got a plus sized gal if you are still at 4500 and the tub is lighter by a lot. Nice rig. I do like white 40's.

Andy

Well, I guess if 5'2" and 115 is plus size, that makes me a chubby chaser. :lol:

It does have a full family MetalTech roll cage and a bunch of other stuff that adds up. Still, I was surprised. Maybe the Interstate scales are off. :meh:
 
Ha! That's not what I meant!

I wonder what the tolerances and accuracy on the highway scales are. I bet they can fluctuate by a couple hundred pounds.

Thanks again fo the input.

Thanks Tankota. 15lb is a good chunk.

Andy
 
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Thanks again fo the input.

Thanks Tankota. 15lb is a good chunk.

Andy
You're welcome. I had to go find my old post from a few years ago on that other site i hate going to just to get the correct info :o
I usually dump my spare 38.5x14.5 at camp cause its a hundred pounds easy. I have a quick release rear yj seat I take out as well. I'll soon be making a new front bumper cause they started giving out tickets at the local ORV park for any bumpers less than 4.5" in height:eek: I'll refrain from my rant on that subject. Anyways My front bumper was accidentially made of 1/4" thick 2x4 and it weighs ALOT! I'm thinking of making one out of flexible foam rubber just to spite the ticket givers:p
 
Tankota,

Which ORV park? I am in Seattle and I don't get down south often but I am vaguely familar with the parks down there. I haven't heard of anyone actually getting a ticket for the 4.5" rule.

My friend was driving over Pyramid Pass last fall and to his suprise there was a trooper up there pulling over every single vehicle, checking them over, and giving warnings for techincal rules. He was driving a '04 2500 lifted with 37's and the trooper was threatening tickets for vehicle weight and bumper height, mud flaps, headlight height, no flares blankets, no garbage bag, and a bunch of other crap. My bud said he was being pretty agressive about but in the end didn't give him a ticket either. The trooper gave him a flyer with all the street legal requirements. If they wanted to get techincal, there isn't one rig in our group that would be 100% legal. Tires sticking out, narrow bumpers, and mud flaps are all pretty common violations.

It's too bad that they have to be hardasses like that. I am all for getting the wise ass whose running down the street flinging mud or generally being an a******, but why go pick at it. Cops will put pot on the "low priority" but not a 4" bumper? I hear your rant.

Flexible foam would be great! Post pics!
 
Evans Creek and pretty much the whole Naches area too. Alot of threads on the harassment prob on nwwheelers.


Another spot to "lose" weight on a cruiser is the radiator support and radiator itself. I swapped to an aluminum one and mounted it to the grill. Didn't do it to save weight but I did save weight anyways.
 
Huh. I haven't heard anything on it.

I'll have to ask around. Thanks for the heads up...

I am running an alum radiator too. Getting rid of the shroud is a good idea though. I'll have to think on that!

awp
 

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