Towing a 76FJ40 for 10hrs

[Trollhole]

I'm going to the outerbanks this summer and want to take the Cruiser. There are some great 4wheel drive areas there. I'm trying to figure out the best way to get it there. It's a 9 to 10 hr drive with a regular car. I'm thinking of towing it using a bumper tow. The only vehicle I can tow it with is a 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee 2wd v-8 with 110k. Tow rating is 6700lbs. Do you think this is safe? What are options for brakes? I have four wheel disks on both vehicles. The cruiser has 33's and soa setup so it sits pretty tall and is dwarfed by the cruiser.

What do you think?

 

[nocents]

Why not just take your time and explore your way to the outerbanks? Take 2 days go slow and see the countryside. I have found my best vacation are when I slow down. It is not a race to get from home to point "A" so that the vacation can start. That said....back to your question.

You can certianly tow it with what you have. Brakes will be a bit sluggish trying to slow the vehicals combined weight down. Gas milage will suck and you'll probably be a nervious wreck at the end of the day, but the vehicals can handle it if you can. A trailer is best, tow dolly next and bumper tow last IMO. A trailer eliminates questions of should I disconnect drive lines etc. and has brakes (maybe just surge but they help) too!

A quick serce on towing a FJ40 has a lot of discussion on this.

Nocents

 

[PabloCruise]

Most of these conversations pretty quickly get to "No bumper tow" as often times the Cruiser steers away from you path and the vacation starts out sucking...

Search will get you plenty of stories on this...

 

[dekuiper]

That is a SHARP cruiser.

I agree with nocents. Given the height of the cruiser vs. the jeep, I would not want to flat tow it. Even the dolly (which I have used to tow my 40 with my 80) could cause metal stress to you. Go with a trailer and get brakes if possible.

That is assuming there is another reason you are not driving the 40 the entire way.

 

[Bennett]

Your going to lose that nice cruiser towing behind a grand Cherokee... Even with a larger vehicle ..if I tow with the towbar pointing down... she is going to plow on you. You will be towing with a vehicle that weighs so much less that what your towing...
I'd drive your rig there.. and enjoy every minute of it.

 

[CruisinTiger]

I agree with Bennett ya gotta drive it all the way. Take the 2 days like nocents says and enjoy yourself. Heck we all know these things will run forever and the are tough so it'll make it. It'll just be a slow relaxing trip though. Although you may wanna rig up some kind of "cruise control" so your leg doesn't go numb and fall off...lol.. Have fun and we'll see ya tomorrow at waffle house.

Chuck

 

[zglad]

I kind of have the same question. I live in OK and will be taking my 40 to Colorado this summer. It is about a 14-15 hour drive in a regular vehicle and we have driven jeeps in the past at a slower pace. The problem is we tend to break things when we go and parts and service are neither cheap or available some of the time. If I break something early in the trip, I can find the parts and fix it, but if something breaks the last day or so, I've got to pay someone or stay longer to fix it. I would love a trailer, but I've spent all of my money fixing up the cruiser. Is towing it flat that bad? I wheel with three other guys who are all in a similar situation.

 

[Texx]

I have towed flat all over the country, but there are definitely drawbacks and problems. Number one, it can and does snow in Colorado in the summer, even in August. Should you run into snow, you'll be parking, one way or the other. Absolutely unacceptable. Obviously, braking on downslopes is the mother of all white knuckle rides, your cruiser will be pushing your tow vehicle, and if there's a corner in the middle of the turn, the worst can happen. I have had a towed 40 mysteriously apparently fall into gear, grenading the rear diff, driveshaft, and damn near the transfer case. Expensive! You'll need to go slower than you may think you're capable of...I might be able to flat tow 85 with my powerstroke, but that's insanity. 65 or 20 should be tops. Rent a tow dolly, pull the driveshaft, and life will be much easier. Better yet, rent a trailer. That way all your stuff comes and goes in one piece...and you have peace of mind. I have both a tow dolly and trailer, and currently only flat tow behind my 33 foot motorhome.

 

[ChuckD]

"I have had a towed 40 mysteriously apparently fall into gear, grenading the rear diff, driveshaft, and damn near the transfer case."


...has anyone else experienced this?

 

[subzali]

You're going to be going slow anyway, you're going to be getting bad gas mileage anyway, it'll prolly be scarier to tow it, and you'll be putting miles on the drivetrain anyway, so just drive the Cruiser. It's too nice not to, especially to be towed by a J**P

Just read the date.

 

[WES1977]

I hate to say it though, he's been there and back and posted pictures.

My wife has one of his pictures as a desktop.

 

[Adventure Teq]

By looking at that pic, I don't get a warm and fuzzy feeling about it. Looks scary and risky.

I'm for driving it like the others said. Either way, enjoy your trip.

 

[brian]

they make 2wd jeeps? what fer trail is that rated for?

 

[projektdotnet]

Drive it...towing one of those any further than cross-town without a serious setup for it is insane. I know someone who did with an 84 ford bronco. it had a modified 400 and he had a fun time (bastard...i'll explain that one eventually) trying to go about 3 miles with it.

 

[Trollhole]

Wow, this sure is an old thread re-born. Though I don't think it was for my post. LOL

I ended up just driving it the 10hrs to the Outerbanks and 13hrs back( we went down the coast) Had a great time and what an experience. It rained all the way up and with the soft top and 65mph it was loud. At the beach it was a blast. The dunes were great. Top down you couldn't beat it. Wouldn't do that long of a trip but every blue moon though.

Yes they make Jeeps that are 2wd. With a 318 and no front drivetrain it is very quick. And tows great. Stopping was the major factor. Jeeps are not known for there brakes.

 

[Adventure Teq]

03-18-05



Thanks ChuckD

 

[Razor]

that picture you posted is funny as hell, that heep looks like a toy....

Glad you ended up driving your 40, I think road trips in the cruisers are memories you never forget....I did 1500 miles in one......

Sand dunes sound awesome..

 

[jaybonecrow]

Flat tow...no problem

I just pulled a 1977 FJ40 from Denver, CO to East Texas...16 hours at 70 and 75 MPH with a 2005 GMC Canyon. Never missed a beat....just the normal slow down as I went up a steep hill, but other than that no problems.

$100 OX tow bar from your local RV center and a $50 set of
Tow Lights from Tractor Supply. I made a special bar that mounted on the back bumper that I could mount my lights to.

Hubs in FREE
"N" on both the Transfer and Tranny
Steering wheel free to turn...and haul ass

At night I would disconnect my headlights then turn my lights on so that I had
tail lights burning....just to be a little safer....those Colorado drivers arn't TEXAS friendly.

About a month ago I pulled a 1975 FJ40 with a 2 1/2 inch lift, back from Nebraska to East Texas the same way. The only problem I had then was that the hard top flew off going down I-70 at 75 MPH. Skyshark from I8MUD didn't have a single bolt in it when I bought it....dumb ass me didn't check it either. So bolt that top.

What was funny about the whole thing was a guy from Missouri, driving a Ford F350 and pulling a badass rock crawling Jeep Scrambler, stoped to help me pick up the top out of the median. As he drove off I noticed a bumper sticker on the Jeep that said "Toyota Recovery Vehicle"

 

[riverguide]

u guys make me wanna just go drive somewhere.

 

[Gus]

About a month ago I pulled a 1975 FJ40 with a 2 1/2 inch lift, back from Nebraska to East Texas the same way. The only problem I had then was that the hard top flew off going down I-70 at 75 MPH. Skyshark from I8MUD didn't have a single bolt in it when I bought it....dumb ass me didn't check it either. So bolt that top.

That exact thing nearly hapened to me both times I dragged my FJ40 across country(my fault for not bolting it down), luckily I noticed the top rising off the tub in time to stop and rachet strap it down.