Towing with an 80?? (1 Viewer)

[mister]

No disrespect to anyone here. It is so funny how so many talk about what Toyota recommends in many different situations on the forum. Any lawyer would have a field day with 90% of the rigs on this forum. Lifted, not factory springs, big tires and wheels, big steel bumpers that don't absorb impact, shocks, trailing arms, spacers, and on and on. In the event of a fatal accident it gets real scary. When I worked for the state of Ca. we had a lifted ford sit in one of the bays for 2 months, then moved to a CHP locked yard for more investigation. The front right wheel came off, rolled, the cab was seperated from the frame. A kid I grew up with was killed. I worked with a guy that owned the truck 6 years earlier. The lawyers even went after him. It cost him over $5000.00 in his lawyer fees. It was a very small town. They basically went after everyone that had owned or shops that had worked on the truck since the modifications had begun. Almost all of us have crossed Toyota's line.

Now back to towing

 

[Ebag333]

The "standard stock dealer installed receiver" attaches only to the rear crossmember, IIRC. Whereas the Drawtite attaches to both frame rails, plus it adds another rear cross member making it considerably stronger.

Funny, that's not the way that the port installed hitch on the rig works.

You're thinking of the 4-bolt pintle hitch style receiver. No 80's in the US were setup with that by the port, maybe by a dealer but I highly doubt it as most of 'em wouldn't have even known they were there. I would not tow anything even remotely heavy with it, as the bolts can pull right through the cross member. I'd be comfortable towing up to maybe 1k lbs, but that'd be it (and pushing my comfort level).

It would not be hard to add a steel plate behind it to greatly strengthen it, but I still wouldn't want to tow a ton with it.

Both port installed hitches, by the way, are very similar to the drawtite design. They're not as long where they bolt into the frame rail, so they wouldn't spread the load out as much (both for dead weight and weight distributing hitches). I can't speak to how long exactly they are in comparison.

When I worked for the state of Ca

And that there's your problem, right there!

It's true that any rig here would be a field day for the lawyers. The point still stands that if you do something specifically said not to do by the manufacturer, it'd be far far worse that modifications that you could argue you were using in accordance with the manufacturers design.

Of course when the lawyers get involved, no one really wins. Except the lawyers.

 

[Ebag333]

Mr. T does not recommend using a weight distributing hitch on the standard/stock/dealer installed receiver that most people here have.

I checked the owners manual in the truck (I don't have one in mine, else I would have checked earlier), and on page 169 (in the Lexus version) you can find the following:

Use only a weight carrying hitch designed for the total trailer weight. Lexus does not recommend using a weight distribution (load equalizing) hitch.

Not sure how much clearer it can be than that.


Interestingly enough, you can also find the following:

Install the trailer hitch using only the position recommended by your Lexus dealer. Do not install the trailer hitch on the bumper; this may cause body damage.

But of course we already knew that Toyota would never recommend using the pintle hitch mount here in the States, due to how little weight it can pull anyway.

They also recommend against axle-mounted hitches, if anyone was planning one of those.



Personally, as long as you were under the 5k recommended towing weight I don't think using a weight distributing hitch or airbags will cause too many problems. But before you do either, you should know the facts. And one of those facts is that you could do damage since the 80 wasn't designed with a weight distributing hitch in mind.

Use common sense and don't overload the vehicle, and you should be just fine. Whether you use a WD hitch or airbags.

 

[mister]

And that there's your problem, right there!

It's true that any rig here would be a field day for the lawyers. The point still stands that if you do something specifically said not to do by the manufacturer, it'd be far far worse that modifications that you could argue you were using in accordance with the manufacturers design.

Of course when the lawyers get involved, no one really wins. Except the lawyers. [/QUOTE]

I knew I would get kicked in the nuts for where I was born, (Ca) My wife and I moved because we simply could not afford it there anymore. So. Cal. Simply destroyed my home town with all the money. I grew up 20 miles south on 395 from the west interance of Yosemite Nat. Park. A town of about 300. I couldn't of had a better childhood and younger life. Hunting, fishing, Wheeling, right in my front yard. And best of all no city withen 200 miles. Man living in a city sucks. I can't imagien growing up with all those people, pavement and buildings.

Oh, I havn't run a distributing hitch yet, (on a Cruiser). Once we get a small trailer I will try it with OME 864's. If it doesnt feel good I'll try the hitch. Air bags just don't hold up to the abuse I put them through. I got sick of breaking them. I have used Firestone and Air Lift, both came apart.

 

[Brentbba]

Hitch purchased from the dealer, made by Valley Industries for Toyota - uses six bolts, three on each side that bolt DIRECTLY to the FRAME and torqued to 75 ft/lbs. No clue how an aftermarket like Drawtite attaches.

 

[80t0ylc]

Funny, that's not the way that the port installed hitch on the rig works.

You're thinking of the 4-bolt pintle hitch style receiver. No 80's in the US were setup with that by the port, maybe by a dealer but I highly doubt it as most of 'em wouldn't have even known they were there..........Both port installed hitches, by the way, are very similar to the drawtite design. They're not as long where they bolt into the frame rail, so they wouldn't spread the load out as much (both for dead weight and weight distributing hitches). I can't speak to how long exactly they are in comparison........

I'll assume you know what you're talking about and won't clutter this thread up any more with debate. When I removed my stock bumper and hitch that was on it (I could swear it had Drawtite embossed on it) to put on my Kaymar, I wondered, at the time, what the 4 holes were in the rear crossmember. After I joined MUD, I found out what they were for. That's why I thought "dealer or port installed" was just attached to the 4 holes. Did the dealer or port installed receivers use Drawtite hitches on some?

.......My question is do any of you tow with your 80's? I was thinking it would do ok with a weight distribution hitch and maybe a tranny cooler. Let me know what you think....

To reply to the OP, yes, I sometimes tow with my 80. That's 1 of the reasons why I went with Kaymar and the OME setup I have. I've towed U-haul trailers including vehicle dollies and haulers. IMHO the 80 as is, or with some minor mods is up to the task of occasional towing at rated capacity. I'm not crazy about the WD hitch, Ebag has a good point.

East Coast and Midwest should be fine. The Rockies and West Coast might be a problem. Mountain passes and long grades are common out here. The FZJz with the stronger engine and FF rear ends help. But you don't want to be in a hurry and as was already said, be sure to have a trailer braking system. The stock setup on the tranny is pretty solid, but you might want to switch to synthetic ATF and add a tranny temp guage. And be sure axles, center diff (transfer case) and engine are in top shape, especially the cooling system. FAQs here on MUD can help you get those all in shape. Towing puts quite the strain on a vehicle, but a well maintained 80, as overbuilt as it is, is up to the task.

 

[Ebag333]

I wondered, at the time, what the 4 holes were in the rear crossmember. After I joined MUD, I found out what they were for. That's why I thought "dealer or port installed" was just attached to the 4 holes. Did the dealer or port installed receivers use Drawtite hitches on some?

The pintle hitch mount is really only used overseas, or by the odd 'MUD folk who knows about them and is comfortable using them despite Toyota's recommendation not to (in the US, it's fine elsewhere).

The port installed hitches were not Drawtite, but were Valley or Reese.

Anyway, they are a similar design in that they bolt up under the frame rail, but neither of the port installed hitches were rated for weight distributing setups.

The dealer could have used a Drawtite hitch on some just like some of them chromed the wheels or bought other aftermarket parts. Plenty of dealerships would be happy to do quite a bit if you were willing to buy a $50,000 vehicle.

My guess is if that ever happened it was very rare as the 80's were in high demand so the customer would have ordered it the way they wanted it (as few to none would be on the lots), which would mean that the port would have installed it.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Some good hitch discussion here. Glad to hear the voice of reason in Ebag's posts to stick with the mfr's recommendations whenever possible regarding towing - an inherently dangerous activity.

I'm surprised to hear of any issues with AirLift springs as I've got nearly 300,000 trouble free miles of use on AirLift rear springs on 3 different vehicles (two 80s and a full size Montero) with nary an issue with their durability. I popped two of them in the Montero due to heat issues as the exhaust pipe was too close to the spring and sustained mountain pass climbing literally melted them. AirLift covered them under warranty and sent out heat shields which then became part of the Montero kit. I don't know how you could possibly damage them. Any input on how they failed? Thanks!

DougM