Towing with FJ-62 (1 Viewer)

[southerncruiser62]

Just wanted to know some peoples thought on towing a 20ft. Boat behind an FJ-62, disregard gas mileage cause i know that is one of the biggest issues. Just wondering if anyone out there is pulling anything comparable and if so what they might have to say.

Thanks in advance

 

[FJ60]

I towed a 24' enclosed trailer on a 4 hour trip and it sucked pretty bad (FJ60/4speed). We made it with no problems but it was slow on the uphills and hardly broke 55 m.p.h. anywhere.

 

[woody]

Weight concerns are the issue, as is distance and hills. I used to tow 6000# with my V6 95 Toy pickup (3500#rated) and never had an issue, but it was a 5-speed so no automatic overheat concerns.

The 62 has 32" tires, if it's still stock geared 4.11's then you are likely killing the powerband.

I would expect tranny problems....definitely get an external cooler, a phat one, and a temp gauge to monitor fluids. I drive my motorhome with one eye on the road and the other on tranny temps...16,000#+ with a 460 and a C6 is pushing it...lol

 

[fsusteve]

I used to flat tow my 40 behind my 62 and it sucked, but that's pushing the envelope with the 3fe. A 20' boat /trailer will weigh close to a 40 and if you add hills in, it will be tough.

 

[tclndcrz]

dont forget about braking. a trailer with brakes built in is ideal. You might also think about an add-a-leaf for the rear springs to handle the extra weight or one of those airbag systems... i heard they work great for towing.

 

[60wag]

Keep it in 3rd gear - shut off the overdrive when towing. Stop if the tranny overtemp light comes on.

 

[kkphoto]

Turning off overdrive

Someone mentioned shutting off the overdrive in an FJ62 when towing. How do you do that? I can't find a way to turn it off. I just purchased my first 1990 landcruiser, and love it!

Is there a way to add some sort of control to the overdrive if it's not controllable stock?

Thanks

 

[dd113]

Move the gear shift lever from D to 3. make sure the slow lane is your friend. Dont be afraid to use 2nd on hills. The 62 is not a tow vehicle.

 

[kkphoto]

Thanks for the reply, but it seems there is an overdrive in addition to "D". When in Drive, the truck does an additional shift to what seems to be overdrive - at highway speeds. Is this the OD, or perhaps the torque converter locking up? It feels like a distinct shift. We have a Toyota Sienna van that has a push button disable on the shifter for disabling the OD. It will shift 1-2-3-D and not go into the OD (which really seems like a 5th gear) with the button depressed. When in normal mode, it shifts 1-2-3-D-OD.

Any comments? Thanks.

 

[Ming89FJ62]

The A440 Toyo tranny is a 4 speed slushbox - 1-2-3-OD. The touque converter normally locks up around 52 mph (at least ours does).

Ming

 

[billybob_98]

I have some towing history with my, well used to be my, (kkphoto, is that you D?) anyhoo, i pulled a two axle beefed up car trailer with when i went back to LaTech. it had a nissan 240sx, which doesn't way too much, but with it and tons of tools and s*** that i moved with, i had it in third for most ot the hour and half trip on all the on/off ramps, and hills, but when coasting i sometimes droped it to drive, but made sure it didn't slip into over drive. kkphoto, i never found a way to turn off the overdrive, if you want to stay out of it, drive faster. my cruiser would go about sixty with no problems except long steep hills, she had to be passed by and by again, but when i got on the down side, they had to get over, cause i wasn't about to wear my breaks out on a few small cars or trucks. but i also came back to my house and loaded up a uhaul trailer, the larget one towable by suv's and trucks. it had my roomates and my furniture and s*** in it, cram packed. he started to tow it there, but fifteen minutes down the road, i had to take over with already s***ting steering and with an off weighted trailer. but again, i was a little slower, especially cause the off weighted sway was whipping me back and forth, but i got it there. and after that i parted out some of the car on the trailer and then toated it around for a week hooked up to my cruiser, trying to find a junk yard that would give me the most for it. so they can tow. just watch your fluid and temp, and give the tranny a rest every four or so hours, if you are taking a long trip. anyhoo, that was my experience with towing. oh yeah, i also was able to pull out pretty much anything up to a f350 ford, as long as i still had traction, so there is some powere there to harness. just don't be scared and watch for signals of wear and tear. Ben

 

[PHBeerman]

I tow a 13ft camper with my 60. Tows just fine. I need to get an equalizer and it should do better. Just be prepared to go slow.

 

[humper99]

Towed a 22ft. cuddy boat with my stock 60. It did it but was real slow. Never went on the highway so can't say what she would do but it was pretty much floored in each gear to get up to speed in a decent amount of time. Once cruising though it did quite well until I hit a hill then struggled. Again this was a 60 with a manual tranny so no heat up problem by working her so hard and I controlled the gear choice.