Towing advice / guidance - 1994 UK Diesel, stock everything (1 Viewer)

[oneafrikan]

Hey Folks,

Before I begin - I'm completely new at the idea of towing, so apologies for the n00b questions.... so here goes:

Context:
On our recent trip to the Spanish Pyrenees, there was a couple towing a very nice trailer, which was a very good DIY copy of the Patriot Campers X3:
X3 - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

We were putting up and taking down our Oztent RV4 + sundries each evening & every morning. Probably cost me about 3 hrs a day, because I was the one doing it. So as a result:
- I never really got to sit in a chair and drink a cold beer
- My wife was always looking after the kids - she also didn't get to drink a cold beer either
- When it rained, which it did, we had a wet Oztent which took longer to make dry etc
- We were always eating later than everyone else at night
- We were always rushing in the morning
- I won't complain about cooking - we managed that fine off the back of the truck; but the wife did like the 80l fridges & cooking units on display...
So it was a good break from work, but I wouldn't call it relaxing in any sense.

So in order to keep my joy of going outdoors and exploring off the beaten track, I started planting the seed of:
- what if we had a trailer?
- with a tent on the top?
- which we could use as a base camp on longer trips, but also would make one night stays so much easier...

And by the end of the trip, she was in....

So now I have to figure out how to tow, before I can go anywhere near the cost of a trailer...

What I'd like to get out at the end:
- ability to tow a trailer
- ability to put use a bike rack when not towing - all 4 of us ride our bikes, so it's a part of family holidays.
- good ground clearance either way - we'll still be going offroad with the trailer/bikes
- I do want to bring the spare wheel up & out, as eventually I'd like to put a long range fuel tank in that space... over and above having the option for 35"s, as well as jerrycans for spare fuel.

What I started with:
I started with the stock towing arrangement.
View attachment 326406

What I've got now:
But then an opportunity came up to replace the rear stock bumper with a tatty, but steel & functional, rear bumper, which I thought I would get cleaned up & painted at some stage.
I put a tow ball on this, and then use it for our current bike rack.
View attachment 326407

What I think my options are:
1)
put a JDM rear carrier on, above current steel bumper,
get the OEM towing "stuff" put back on using either original parts, or from a breaker

2)
keep the rear steel bumper,
put a swing away arm on it somehow (which spindle do folks use for this???),
and then get the OEM towing "stuff" put back on using either original parts, or from a breaker

2) get a heavy rear bumper that is rated for towing.
As far as I can tell, the options here are limited to ARB (UK), Kaymar (AUS), Fabryka (PL), and then a few options from US/AUS/ZA.

These are the rear bumpers I've looked at over the summer which vary in cost, but seems many of them not rated/intended for towing:
80 SERIES REAR BAR | The Cruiser Company - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]
Delta Vehicle Systems - FJ80/FZJ80 Modular Rear Bumper - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]
80 Series GXL - Kaymar - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]
ARB Rear Bar and Wheel Carrier - ARB Europe - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]
WHEEL CARRIER - TOYOTA LANDCRUISER 80 SERIES (1990-1998) - ACCESSOIRES4X4.CH - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]
80 Series Rear Bumper - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]
80 Series Rear Bar Wheel Carrier - Rockarmor 4x4 - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]
80 Series Land Cruiser High Clearance Rear Bumper Kit - Coastal Offroad - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club] (LOVE this design, but not rated for towing... - can I get it rated over in the UK??)
SPAREWHEEL CARRIER (AVAILABLE IN DOUBLE AND SINGLE) (STD COLOUR BLACK) - ONCA Off-road - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]
https://www.fabryka4x4.pl/produkt?id=181/MOCOWANIE KOŁA ZAPASOWEGO TOYOTA LAND CRUISER J80 89-98
80-series Modular Off-road Rear Bumper, Supports Dual Swing-outs FJ80 - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]
Dobinsons Rear Bumper With Swing Outs for Toyota Landcruiser 80 Series (BW80-4134) - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]
LC80 Rear Bumper - - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

I really like these racks, so thinking something like this:
iSi Advanced 4x4 Bicycle Carrier Products | Cars and 4WD | Caravans and Camper Trailers - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]
- bike rack on car
- bike rack on trailer
But it looks like the best attachment is a 2" receiver hitch.

I think that from above:
1) would be cheapest, would be but would reduce ground clearance
2) would be most fiddly, require someone who will weld it for me, but still reduces ground clearance
3) most expensive, but probably best for ground clearance and the general "mean'ness" look I'm going after in our London roads :music-rockon:


What are your thoughts?
Also, where can I learn to tow, without breaking stuff?

 

[oneafrikan]

My apologies - the images the forum software is referring to aren't working; these are the correct ones:

Before:

As it is now:

And then the links aren't copying over!
Would also add:
4x4Labs rear bumper
Slee rear bumper
To the the list above...

 

[oneafrikan]

I can't see a way to Edit posts (yet), so will have to do for now.

 

[titanpat57]

So...all the rear bumper stuff, I'll leave to the LC experts.

I have a 2016 4runner with Dobison heavy springs, and Airlift airbags in the coils. I use the stock receiver.

I tow about 2600 lbs, and have at least 300lbs tongue weight (always, always, always follow 15-20% rule) I use a multi axis hitch.

I tow a home built setup...but have had a couple of RTT's in there as well. I would highly recommend a tow trailer...mostly enclosed for sleeping, and lots of awnings for foul weather. My setup is elaborate, and takes one fat old man about 2 hours from start to finish(or 3-4 beers) if you have a helpful mate, that could cut it down dramatically, and obviously practice makes perfect ! With nice weather you may be able to wave awnings,although they are always used. I can put out my Foxwing, and all four walls in less then a half hour.

 

[ntsqd]

The first thing that pops into my mind is "what are the legal requirements for the coupler?" and what are the needs of the coupler? I've no idea what the UK requires of a legal coupler, but it wouldn't surprise me if your options are only a ball or maybe a pintle. The multi-axis couplers, first popularized by the OZ's, may not be legal in your part of the world. If they are, then I'd use one. But if they are not and pintle's are, then I'd use that. Pay attention to the sizing of the lunette ring and the pintle's opening. Get this wrong and it will bang and clang. It needs some clearance to operate correctly, but not a lot. I see a ball as the last resort. Hopefully it's not your only option.

As far as rear bumpers go, the most common design fault that I see in those with swing-aways is how they latch them closed. Merely holding the swing-away closed isn't good enough. The latch also needs to share in carrying whatever load is on the swing-away. To do that it needs to pull the swinger into some type of notch or nest and hold it there tightly so that some of the load is transferred to the bumper such that the hinge isn't carrying all of the load.
An example from my previous tire carrier for our pop-top camper:

That open-ended tube was eventually capped with a plate that bridged across to the other tubes.

The next common design failure that I see is the hinge design. Can use a single shear design (like a trailer spindle) successfully IF it is sized correctly. This usually results in a bulky bearing housing and most scale that back to their eventual detriment. In scaling back, the spindle becomes too small in diameter and it eventually snaps off at the shoulder. This used to be a somewhat common event to read about on off-road forums. Trailer spindles have fallen out of favor for this reason.
Consider this though, do you really want a swing-away that might weigh several hundred pounds to be so free moving that a 10 mph breeze will move it? I do not. I want it to swing smoothly, but with more than a little resistance as I don't want the breeze closing the swinger while I'm in the middle. All of my swinger designs use bronze bushes for the pivot.
Example from the same carrier earlier in it's fabrication:

The pivot pin is Ø1.00", but it is significantly in double shear and the distance between the flanged bronze bushes is nearly 19" If you're wondering why there's a strap winch on the assembly, it is there so that my petite wife could change a tire if I were incapacitated.

With the tilting cradle, the strap winch, and the ratchet strap she didn't need to lift either the spare or the flat tire.

Best place that I've ever found to practice backing up and towing a trailer is a large parking lot that has no poles or parking stops in it. Bring some cardboard boxes with you, preferably some with weights in them so they don't move in the wind. Lay out challenges for yourself. Things like: can you back the trailer around a slight "corner" as defined by those boxes? How much will the trailer 'cheat' to the inside of a sharp turn? Just how narrow of the parking stall can you back the trailer into? Can you 'crack' the trailer 90° backing into a driveway?
A trick that I've learned in backing trailers is to make small corrections, and then return the wheel to straight ahead. Make a lot of those corrections, but come back to straight and move the vehicle a little between each one. The trailer will be slow to respond to inputs, but once it responds it can easily over-react. By coming back to center after each correction you give it time to see if what you did was enough, not enough, or too much. I've been known to use idle in low range, first gear when backing a trailer.

HTH