Using an fj40 to tow

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jlhollowx13

jlhollowx13

10 Year
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
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66
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Location
Gunnison, Colorado
So I'm wondering if someone can give me some insight on towing safely with my setup. I have wanted to be able to tow my ford Truck bed trailer full of wood in my 40 if needed but I'm not sure if it's safe. I have towed my 2 snowmobiles with it a couple times with no problem, but i imagine the other trailer is heavier when loaded. I included some photos of what I'm working with. I have a custom tool box bumper that is mounted to the frame with 6 bolts, then I have the hitch mounted to the bottom of that with 4 bolts. The hitch says it's rated at 3500lb trailer and 300lb tongue. Would pulling a truck bed trailer full of wood be ok? What is the biggest load safely towed with this setup, for perspective?


Thanks for any insight!

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Can't really tell what you have

Is it a hitch ball mount mounted under what you call a toolbox... that's in place of the bumperettes?

How thick is the tool box thingy?

How big/good are the bolts that mount it?

Is the tool box welded?

Are there rubber spacers or solid steel spacers between the box and rear frame member?
 
JohnnyC said:
Can't really tell what you have

Is it a hitch ball mount mounted under what you call a toolbox... that's in place of the bumperettes?

How thick is the tool box thingy?

How big/good are the bolts that mount it?

Is the tool box welded?

Are there rubber spacers or solid steel spacers between the box and rear frame member?
Click to expand...


Yes it is mounted to the box in place of bumperettes. It is heavy duty welded steel box, with rubber spacers between it and the frame. The bolts are the same as what holds the hitch on and are the same as other bolts included with similar bolt on hitches.
 
There were lots of trailers hauled around in the 70's with 40's. Very few of which had much more than a bolt on hitch. I'd bet you'll be fine just keep an eye on it and use a little common sense.
 
X2 common sense. Ive towed equal weight with mine no problem. Watch how you load it to keep enough tongue weight. Dont do 70. Theyre heavy with low gearing, stiff susoension and big brakes. Just lacking wheelbase and power.
 
I'm not sure anyone can judge reliability/safety of your setup... Except you.

Were it me, I would load the trailer with wood and tow it to the nearest scale and find out loaded weight.

There are also fairly simple ways to determine tongue weight... Just google it.

Your truck to box to hitch setup concerns me a bit... Probably because I've never seen it... I would want to strap the box to the truck, at a minimum...

IMHO, your setup has too many unique variables for us to offer valid insight.

Others probably disagree... Edit: oh! They already did!!

Good luck!
 
IMHO your setup would be ok to do what your saying ... But... The only thing I don't like is using rubber between the box and frame

If you had solid steel spacers I'd feel comfortable towing
 
I think an FJ40 can get almost anything rolling, the more important question is can it stop straight and in a safe distance, what trailer brakes do you have and are they fully operational and adjusted? Failure in this area can lead to some incredible ohhhh shiiit moments and some not very good memories.
 
Thanks for the input. I don't have trailer brakes, but my 40 Has brand new front discs and all the brakes have been gone through, so it stops easy and straight. I haul mostly pine, some aspen, so it's not as heavy as the hardwood in some places. I currently tow with the 60 and it does fine but sometimes it's being worked on or used and all I have is the 40 to work with, the 40 Also has the winch which can be handy to have. I'm not so much concerned with the 2f's ability to pull the load or for the 40 to stop it, but more with the ability of the hitch setup to hold up to abuse, weight, etc. I'd hate for my hitch to break on the highway and I want to know it can handle rough terrain while pulling the trailer to get to and from the spots i cut at. My main concern was the fact the the hitch itself is so small and is held on by 4 bolts. My 60 has a stout tow hitch heavily welded and bolted with 6 bolts straight to the frame. I know my 60 can handle a heavy load, I carried as much firewood and boulders as big as small beach balls as I could fit in the trailer and inside the cargo area with no trouble. That is the most weight I will ever carry and definitely not something I would consider in the 40. The most load I'm looking to tow with the 40 are 2 snowmobiles on a small tilt trailer or my truck bed trailer full of wood. I would guess they are not too far from each other in weight. My 2 snowmobiles are about 550lb each, plus the trailer, so I guess I'm definitely within manufacturer rating of 3500 lb max trailer wieght.
 
I haul wood every year with my 40...it's sketchy at best, but if you're carefull it can be done. My trailer is single axle and I haul 2 cords max of pine. I wouldn't want to come anywhere near 3500 lbs.

Can't tell from your pictures but I would suggest nothing less than grade 8 bolts...on your bumper AND your hitch. If you've got grade 5 or less, take them off and use grade 8. And make sure your tongue is stout, attached very well and maybe even gussieted.

The furtherest I go with my 40/wood trailer is maybe 75 miles one way, I keep the speed at 50 mph or less and as others have said watch your braking and go very very slow from the cutting area to the freeway. And do keep your tongue weight heavy...you don't want to be porpoising (sp) on the freeway.

Easy does it.

John
 
With a stock cast bolt on hitch I've towed a max of 4k lbs without any trouble. That said I've got about 300 hp, 4 wheel discs, and the rear discs are 3/4 ton full size callipers and rotors. I towed 2000 lbs everyday for months on end... After a while it was second nature to factor it in. It towed so well, I could easily forget it was there. Without breaks, the max recomended is half your rigs weight. I'd feel comfortable recommending that, more gets riskier.

Can you tow a 40 on a car trailer with a 40... You bet, but I'd not recomend it for more than from your buddies down the street.
 
It looks like the hitch is welded to the (box), that is the going to be weak point #1 and #2 is the rubber mounts. A bumper and a Hitch both need to be firmly and securely attached.
 
The trailer brakes come into play when you have to brake in a curve. The forward momentum of the trailer wants to continue in a straight line, taking the rear end of the tow vehicle with it. Brakes on the trailer keep in in line thru the turn.
Drive like there is a stopped school bus just around the next curve.
 
I share Shawn's concerns, hitch bolted to tool box, and tool box mounted with rubber spacers:
(1) A heavy load (and it's vibration) will rip the floor out of your tool box. If the skin of your tool box were heavy enough, the weight of the tool box alone would max out your rear suspension.
(2) Your rubber cushions will allow movement, and once movement can start, it can multiply dramatically. Solution is to not let movement start in the first place.
(3) Towing with a short wheel base vehicle means that what ever you do at the steering wheel reaches the trailer much quicker, and towing can become scary with trailer weaving all over the place. Best to have a longer tongue on your trailer (which actually slows down action reaching the trailer axle).
 
I'd be careful about hauling a heavy load of wood with the hitch arrangement shown.
In your picture the drawbar is cantilevered off of 4 bolts mounted to a box that is already cantilevered off of the rear frame member.
It would be easy to overload it. If you twist that back frame member, fixing it will be beyond difficult.

I currently own 9 trailers, (7 utility trailers 5' to 20' & 2 boats with trailers).
Your limiting factors will be #1) tongue weight, #2) braking ability.

FJ40 curb weight 3,300 Lbs.
The rated towing capacity of 3,000 Lbs is too high for a vehicle this light without adding electric brakes.

I've hauled my boat with the 40 to put gas in it, not to launch it.
The boat with trailer is about 2,700 Lbs. and there was no question that it was WAY too heavy for the Toyota to stop safely.
Suggest keeping loads (including trailer weight) below 1,200 Lbs with the trailer loaded to put nor more than 10-15% of that on the hitch.
 
I am starting to understand the deal here better. The tool box bumper is basically a heavy duty bumper, it's made of 1/8 to 1/4 inch steel, but has a lid and open space inside, which is why I call it a tool box. Basically it's just a bumper so I should make that clear to avoid confusion. I can stand and jump on this bumper and it doesn't budge other than my suspension moving. Either way It seems if my hitch was bolted to where this bumper currently is it would be much better, but it's really not an option as the bumper also contains my tail lights.

If and when I do tow wood with the 40 It's about 10 miles on dirt roads and 20 Miles highway to get home. The tongue on my trailer is very long, the truck bed sits about as far back as I am tall from the back of the tow vehicle, so 5 feet or more. I guess ill need to address the rubber spacers issue first and foremost, or maybe figure out a way to bypass the bumper completely as the mounting point? Is the only way to get a better hitch is to pull off the bumper and install one of those hitches I've seen that bolt straight to the rear frame? Maybe my dreams of safely towing with the 40 are just that, dreams, haha
 
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Remember that the stamped-on rating is ONLY the rating of that piece. It does not apply to any other piece to which the ball mount is attached.
In other words it has no real bearing on this overall problem.

If I'm reading you correctly you're going into public land for fallen wood and bringing it home to keep you and yours warm through the winters. If that's the deal then you don't want to chance keeping anyone waiting on you with that warmth.

A cord of wood softwood or hard is a lot of weight for this setup, particularly if the wood is still wet. It'll swing a 40 around too quick to recover because the trailer will have the leverage if it's icy, snowy, or even just wet.

I think you'd be a lot better off to mount your winch on your truck if one will help in the woods (it will, big time...:) ) and keep bringing that wood home safely.
 
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