Tow Bar Towing FJ40 with a 4runner

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Towing

I would be towing a old fj50 cruiser with the new style Fj. The book says that it can tow 5000. My Fj40 that's being towed is right around 3500. Is it mainly the way it's being towed with the tow bar that makes it dangerous?
 
Noah,

I belong to a boat web site where the towing subject comes up rather frequently. Much of what has already been posted here applies to towing boats without trailer brakes as well. A point that has not been raised here is the liability part. I was born and raised in California and know quite well how litigious some residents are. What has come up on the boat site are examples of someone who gets in an accident while towing and is determined to have exceeded the safe capacity of the tow vehicle. They get slaughtered in court or by the insurance company.

I tow an average of at least once a week and it amazes me the number of drivers who put their lives and mine at risk by pulling directly in front of me or cutting me off at the last second just because they want to be in front of me. If you view my photo album you'll notice my tow vehicle has the biggest front bumper I could find to protect me from these thrill seekers. From the posts you've written, I know you'd be a great driver and I doubt you'd be the cause of a wreck, but even with all the improvements I've made to our tow vehicle and trailers with full brake systems, I've had some really close calls due to crazy drivers. All it takes is one idiot to ruin not only your vehicles, but your finances as well.

My most favorite tow incident was when a lady decided to cut in between the tow vehicle and the boat being towed. Apparently she felt they were two separate vehicles, maybe where she came from boats drive down the road on their own. Peeled her door and front fender clean off, bent the fender of the boat trailer. You can imagine that insurance claim!
 
I towed a '92 4Runner (on a dolly) behind a Ford Explorer across town, and it was the most frightening experience of my towing life - I drove super slowly and carefully, and it was still very dicey on turns. The towing vehicle must be significantly heavier than the towed one, for safety reasons. I have always otherwise towed with my '98 4Runner or '95 FZJ Land Cruiser. I now tow with an '01 F350 crew cab and all my white knuckles are gone.
 
Yeah, if you're taking the family with you that's one thing.. Towing preferable

If you're driving by yourself, Just drive the 40!

I really don't understand why so many people purchase these vehicles, and are afraid to drive them long distances! I love driving mine to the trail and back.. But I have had mine towed and i can see the plushness of it..
 
Tow

Before I bought my 07 FJ I drove my FJ40 as a daily driver but a two hour commute after moving to CO just doesn't cut it. As for towing the FJ40 the only reason is to get both cruisers to the shows or cruiser events. One driver other one a play toy now. As for the lady that thought boat just drive themselves that's crazy. What did she say she was doing?
 
I tried it. It did ok. But you need a tow rig with more weight. Especially when going downhill you will feel tail wag the dog. A better option is a tow dolly with brakes. I towed a CJ with a dolly for years with great success. Much more stable and safer. Plus you only need one axle to turn in case you ever break. Wouldn't be fun with the front axle on the ground but doable in an emergency.
 
I once flat towed one 40 with another 40 about 120 miles. Only did it because one 40 had a complete brake failure on the trail and we had a towbar with us so once off the trail, we decided to flat tow the broken 40 home rather than drive 50 miles one way to the nearest parts store. In anycase, all turned out well and we made it home safely but I it is something I would never plan to do, or choose to do again unless faced with a similar circumstance. I can tell you for me, it was one of the most unrelaxing drives I've ever made. As others have stated in this thread, its not about the go, its about the whoa. One set of brakes stopping eight 35" tires and 9000+ lbs was something I cannot describe very well in words and its something I'd not care to experience again especially once we got back to civilization and had to deal with stop and go traffic and crazy california drivers. You really need the brakes a trailer or tow dolly offers to feel like you have some control in any sort of a quick or sudden stop.
 
Once I had to tow a 65 VW microbus with my 67 FJ40 and there was a down hill experience at the end of the trip...about shat myself. On the other hand a couple of months ago I bought a 71 FJ40 parts vehicle...factory soft top so no heavy top or doors and I towed it with my 02' Durango and a tow bar. I went 30+ miles at speeds of up to 55 without any issues. I did use two tiedown straps (one on each side of the steering wheel) to hold my steering wheel straight on the 40 because with out them she wanted to turn just opposite then the way I was turning...found that out trying to pull out of the driveway. I wouldn't recommend a tow bar for regular use but in a pinch with all safety in mind and a short distance ok. But tow it to go camping? H e l l no, drive it there, have fun doing so and if need be wear earplugs to drown out the complaining of the passengers :flipoff2: ;)
 
i drive with a trailer with a standard hitch and electric brakes on all 4 wheels just about every day for work
i have done it with a chevy 1500 and a diesel f250
the difference is staggering even with the trailer i use, heavy dump trailer but lighter than a 40, between the 1500 and the 250

the little experience i have flat towing my 40 has amazed me at how heavy they are and has confirmed my belief that they should never be towed, more than across a flat town very carefully, with anything less than a diesel 250/2500 or anything with a towing capacity at or above those.

as far as a fj cruiser or a 4 runner i would not even consider them close to safe with a 40 behind them

once you drive with a trailer of any sort and have a situation with some idiot driver that makes you brake hard(even with trailer brakes) you understand the difference between what a vehicle is rated at for towing capacity and what is safe with it.
 
If you're ever worried about your tow rig being too light to tow a 40.... You can always add some weight to the tow rig....:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

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Probably a little late to chime in here, as lots of arguably better advice has already been given. I flat towed my FJ40 from Oregon to southern Utah (1100+ miles) behind a Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2003ish, V8. For the most part it worked out fine. A few lengths of highway that were particularly rutted caused some tension, but no incidents. Depending on the alignment of the 40 slow speed maneuvering can be a nightmare. It was with mine. Every time you went around a corner the wheels would turn full lock and refuse to straighten out. Maybe it was because I didn't have a steering box installed so there was very little drag in the system. Regardless, the solution we came up with was to use some very big zip ties (the 2ft x .38" variety) and double or triple them up between the frame and the steering linkage so the wheels could only turn about 30 degrees either way. This way they still always wanted to center and they still had enough movement to not scrub on every corner. I probably should have taken a picture, but basically we ran zip ties through a hole in the frame behind the bumper and around the rod ends of the track rod, leaving them loose enough for the wheels to turn a little, but not too much.
 
Time for me to jump in.

We have a multi family camping trip coming up and I thought about towing the 40 up for trail rides and such. I have a 2001 Suburban K1500 and nice tow package ( need to double check but the working tow range is >5k)

It is only ~ 130 miles away to the camp site and now I am wondering if it is worth the risk. I have found some used tow bars in town for $50 but would probably be a one and done application.

Other than the 100F driving in Phx, for the first 80 miles, it is not that bad of a haul.
 
i flat towed my 40 to pismo for surf and turf last year with a 2000 tundra. it did well just took it slow never got above 55 ish. tundra is pretty heavy but i would still prefer a heaver truck for flat towing. fj40 kinda pushes the truck around some times.
 
I will be towing my fj40 with lift and 35” tires.. the vehicle towing it is an 2005 100 series. I need to tow the fj40 from Mexico back up to New York. About 4500 miles according to Google. Is this crazy dangerous or not so bad given I drive extremely cautiously (50mph)??

I know there’s been a lot of discussion already on this but about to embark on this long trip and running out of options since uhaul just informed me they don’t have a trailer that will allow the aftermarket tires.
 
Are you talking about towing on a flatbed or flat towing the FJ40? Why don't you get the '40 inside the US, and hire a shipper (and they will let air out of the 35s to get it to clear their car hauler).

I think that is WAY too far to tow a '40 behind a 100. 50 MPH would be a safer speed, but it'll take you darn near forever to drive that distance.
 
Are you talking about towing on a flatbed or flat towing the FJ40? Why don't you get the '40 inside the US, and hire a shipper (and they will let air out of the 35s to get it to clear their car hauler).

I think that is WAY too far to tow a '40 behind a 100. 50 MPH would be a safer speed, but it'll take you darn near forever to drive that distance.
Are you talking about towing on a flatbed or flat towing the FJ40? Why don't you get the '40 inside the US, and hire a shipper (and they will let air out of the 35s to get it to clear their car hauler).

I think that is WAY too far to tow a '40 behind a 100. 50 MPH would be a safer speed, but it'll take you darn near forever to drive that distance.
looks like I will have to give it a shot. Yes I will be flat towing my fj40 with my 100 series around 860 miles.. driving at about 50 mph.
 
looks like I will have to give it a shot. Yes I will be flat towing my fj40 with my 100 series around 860 miles.. driving at about 50 mph.
Sorry I did not explain properly before. I am now simply trying to get my fj40 back into the US.. it is approximately 860 miles from where I am to Laredo Texas. Like mentioned I will have to use a tow bar to flat tow the fj40 behind my 100 series.
 
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