Towing with my 100 - update

[dieselbigot]

guys...FYI if your'e interested in towing with your 100

I had posted a while back about peoples experience towing with a 100 series before I ditched my Cummins in favor of buying a Cruiser. Well I did my first long tow trip when I went to Cruise Moab last week and the 100 towed like a champ!

The load:

7,000lb steel deck trailer - 2,000 lbs weight
Mini-buggy - 3,500 lbs weight
Total - 5,500 lbs or equal the weight of a stock 100 series

The trip

Sacramento to Moab - 1,870 miles round trip with about 5 long steep passes

My 100 is bone stock except for 33" Nitto's and Slee sliders. On the flats I cruised comfortably at 70mph - 3,000 PRM with the O/D off. On the longest, steepest grade (From Provo to Price UT) it was about 25 miles of 5-6% grades. It worked pretty hard revving from about 4,000 - 4,800 PRM but the slowest I went was 55mph. My fuel consumption sucked of course, my best tank was 11 mpg and my worst 9 mpg. All in all it was a hell of a lot more comfortable than my Cummins and best of all, a Dodge was not towing a Toyota!

 

[Snook]

That's good to hear that.

My friend is considering moving to the mid-west this summer from California and want to tow his 27' sailboat (3500lbs) on 2000lbs trailer w/ brakes with his cruiser.

BTW, your steak at Death Valley was superb.

Cheers,

 

[i4c4lo]

Jay,

The truck is a 100 Series and the one you are talking about is a 97 - 80 Series.

Amando

 

[Snook]

Mando,

Yes, your'e right but he is now looking at white 1999 100 series I mentioned to you recently to replace his 1997 40th FZJ-80.

Cheers,
Jay

 

[i4c4lo]

I see, and how much is he selling it for then?

Amando

 

[trw]

That's good to hear as I'll be towing a flatbed with a 70' plymouth and a motorcycle or two from MN to AL in a couple of weeks. Trip should be more flat than yours so I'm relieved that all went well on your trip.

 

[DMX84]

Brett how close was your bump stops to touching? I had my trailer on my rig the other day, and it was about 1 ½ form touching. I’ve got 865’s. I can’t recall them bottoming out, but if I was to take this down a dirt road, than this may be a problem. I like the ride now and don’t want to get it too stiff for a DD. I noticed that I lost a ½ inch of lift after the trip.
What spring set up are you using?
Dean

 

[dieselbigot]

Dean,

I have stock springs/shocks right now (just ordered my OME susp Friday) and yes, it sags pretty bad but it never did bottom out. I bought the 866 rear coils and am hoping that this does it. I also tried to keep the buggy well back on the trailer to reduce the tounge weight. For the amount I tow, buying the 100 and selling the Dodge has really worked out. Of course a full size Diesel truck will tow better than a Cruiser but I hated driving that bloddy Dodge the other 95% of the time! Next stop: Airbags

 

[tabraha]

Brett man we told you she would do it just fine! Surprised it sags alot though. My LX auto levels out pretty easy w/ 6500 on it. Of course there's nothing like a good reason to Emu it though right?


Glad it worked out,
Tad

 

[dieselbigot]

Of course there's nothing like a good reason to Emu it though right?

Yes, it's always nice when I have a "real" excuse for the wife when spending money on upgrades...

 

[DMX84]

I ordered air bags and didn’t like how these mounted. I needed to drill a ¾ hole in the bottom spring support for the airline.
The other thing is, you need to check those bags weekly and maintain 5psi min. I think I could live with a little rougher ride to avoid using air bags.
How do you think it’s going to ride?
I think I’ll call Slee today about 866’s.
Dean

 

[foxfab]

good info, I'm looking at selling my F350 PSD in favor of a 100 series now that I'll probably tow 2-3 times a year. But I'm still undecided between the 100 and a diesel Excursion.

 

[NeverFinis]

towing with an 80

I tow a 6000lb camper with my stock 1996 LX450. I have towed from Maine to Florida with it and in heat up to 95 degrees. It has some trouble keeping speed on grades, but I rarely have to go slowler than 45mph even in some of the mountain areas in PA.

But, my recommendations.

1) A good brake controller.
2) Weight distributing hitch.
3) Sway control.

Buying heavier duty springs only mask the problem and will get you into trouble. You need to shift that weight from the trailer from the rear to the front of the tow vehicle. You can't do that by springs.

My LX450 sits level when I tow my trailer with stock springs. I feel very confortable if I had to do an emergency lane shift at high speed since I have sway control and some of the weight is shifted to the front axle.