Help towing heep behind FJ60

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workingdog

workingdog

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Location
Santa Rosa, CA
I'm going to flat tow my '98 heep behind my '84 JF60 to Lake Tahoe on Wednesday. I'm tired of the cheap magnetic light set ups that keep failing and I want to wire directly to the heeps tail lights. In installed a flat four wire trailer connector on the heep hoping that I could just run a trailer wire from the FJ60 to the heep. Everything works fine on the heep stand alone, but when I apply +12 directly to the flat four connector on the heep, what should light up the left and right turn signal separately lights them up together. I assume it's something to do with separate brake and turn signal on the heep and the flat four trailer lights assuming a single light for brake and turn signal, but my brain hurts when I try to figure it out.
 
wait, you're gunna flat tow a heep with an fj60? where can I take pics? doesn't this belong in 80 series tech?
 
okay, I'm not sure you will get the 2 systems playing well together- you may have to run the mag lights again. short of rewiring the heep to match the 60, what about mounting a pair of running/indicator lights ala fj60 on the rear bumper of the heep, or fabbing a light bar that slips into the receiver tube and wiring those up like the 60 so you can plug and play?
 
that's an interesting idea.
 
Do not do this.

3000 lb trailer with no brakes behind a 5000lb tow rig on mountain roads?

Honestly. Do not. It's pretty sketchy behind a 6500lb dually with a 17' wheelbase.

Your brain is going to hurt worse when you're trying to untangle the two rigs 50' down a hillside.
 
i had to many close calls flat towing my jeep with an f150 extra length and weight still not a good idea i found the money in college to buy a trailer to save in the long run.
 
U-Haul car hauler trailer is a couple hundred $$. Those have surge brakes. Well worth it.

Oh, yeah and the wiring works well too - so long as the FJ has a tail light converter.
 
ntsqd said:
U-Haul car hauler trailer is a couple hundred $$. Those have surge brakes. Well worth it.

Oh, yeah and the wiring works well too - so long as the FJ has a tail light converter.
Click to expand...

When you get there with a FJ60 and say your going to be towing a jeep on the car hauler I'm sure they will refuse to rent one to to. Lie about what your going to put on it and have a accident expect to be sued. By lying you'll have a hard time proving you didn't know it wasn't safe. Not sure what a 60 series is rated to tow but it's not much. Not sure they would rent you a car hauler period. At one time U-Haul didn't care but they have been sue enough that has changed.

As for lights I made a light bar using 69-73 FJ40 tail lights attached to a piece of 7/8" uni-strut. With a FJ40 I bolt it to the hole in the bumperetttes. Have it wired to flat four pin plug. Years ago I wired my 68 FJ40 to a four pin plug. Used triple pole double throw switch so the tail lights were wired directly to the trailer wiring. As the number cruisers grew I made of the light bar.

Even though I have a car hauler with brakes on both axles I still flat tow some times. I adjust my driving when ever towing and have never felt unsafe. I prefer flat towing on the freeway in the city. I hate have to be sure the tow vehicle in centered in it's lane to be sure the trailer isn't on line. Worst was in Southern CA driving at night in the rain. With the glare off the wet pavement and all the headlights I couldn't make out the lines behind me. Biggest issue I ever had flat towing was on Interstate 40 between Barstow and Needles. CA requires vehicles towing a trailer to stay in the slow lane. The asphalt had deep ruts in the slow lane from semis driving on it in the summer time. This was in January and the asphalt was like a rock and the track in my FJ62 or FJ45 were much narrower then that of a semi. Those were different than each other making it impossible to stay in either rut. It would have been safe to travel in the fast lane but didn't feel like traveling back to CA to make my case in court if I got a ticket.
 
Living in the Past said:
When you get there with a FJ60 and say your going to be towing a jeep on the car hauler I'm sure they will refuse to rent one to to. .
Click to expand...

Uhaul would refuse this rental. Was just in one yesterday to reserve a tow dolly for a Camry and this was over the weight limit of a FJ60 which in their system I think is 3500 lbs.
 
I won't comment on a lot of what was said. Just got back from Santa Rosa to Truckee and back (up and down the Sierras flat towing the heep behind my 60 - everything went fine - no trouble at all. Tracked fine. It's a lot of weight to stop, but it works. This is not a stock 60 and the most important upgrade is T100 booster and master, upgraded front calipers and vented front rotors. Brakes are a world of difference better than stock.
 
Glad it worked out. Other then tracking in semi ruts I've never had a issue flat towing in over thirty years. First time with my FJ62 was twenty-three years ago. Main thing is I adjust my driving habits accordingly.,
 
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