No payments is a very good thing.:smokin:

I tow an 18ft trailor and my 40 on it. It labors on hills, but will keep 70mph on the flats (with no wind). If the wheeling event is over 5 hours away, I will not go. Don't get me wrong, the 80 will tow it, but if you are expecting power like a V8, you will be disappointed.

Then again, no payments and some patience will get you far. That's where I'm at. Vehicles drive differently with no payments.

HTH,

 

Vehicles drive differently with no payments.

HTH,

 

I towed an FJ55 on my 16ft trailer about 350 miles. Mileage sucks and it's slow on hills. I've also towed my FJ40 and another FJ55 on it for shorter distances. I have a 20ft camp trailer I pull with my 80 as well. I don't tow any of these things very often (our trailer stays on 11 acres in the woods most of the time). If you plan on towing with an 80 frequently I'd get a 95-97 and the TRD supercharger. I'd also look into an extra tranny cooler and definitely a temp gauge for your tranny. Typical gas mileage for me with a trailer has been about 10mpg (as low as 8 and as high as 12). Average for my 80 w/o trailer is 14mpg.

 

I am thinking similarly. I have an 80 and am debating selling it for a 3/4 ton PU for towing reasons.
Those of you towing with an 80..
1)any suspension lift?
2) any type of suspension mods for towing, ie airbags?
3)Other thoughts?
CAS

 

FWIW there is a super charger for '93 and '94 models as of a couple years ago...

 

I towed with mine for about 5000 miles worth of trips. Like Warpdrive said, over 5 hours and you are dead tired when you arrive. You and the truck really labor.

Free is good.....it works very similar to towing with a 1/2 ton truck. Keep it in "D" and run it hard....the 1FZ runs best at 5000 RPM IMHO.

As for mods, at least get the stock replacement OME springs for the rear to help with the load...a trailer brake controller and I had Air Lift coil bags with an in truck controller to level the load.

 

FWIW there is a super charger for '93 and '94 models as of a couple years ago...

My understanding is that there are some improvements to the fuel delivery system that make the 95+ better suited to the supercharger. If you were going to tow a lot I think it might make a difference. That is the reason I suggested a 95+ not because of sc not being availabe for pre 95.

 

Thanks all... I'm not planning in towing a lot, I just want a Daily Driver that I can haul around computer network junk (I'm a networking consultant... need a network designed and built?...), haul around the family sometimes, and 8-10 times per year tow the 40 or the 4Runner on a flatbed. Of course I would not be able to leave the 80 stock (2-3" lift, rear airbags for towing, etc). Again thanks for the info.

Now... who wants to buy a nice Nissan Armada?

 

out of curiosity- whats the tow weight rating on an 80?

 

Hey lets revive this thread.

Im in a similar situation to alot of others. I'm deciding if I should ditch the 80 and go with something bigger. I'm thinking I don't want a car payment again after I just paid the fawker off

. I've done a couple of mods with the upcoming duty in mind i.e. hitch, ome shocks - springs coming soon, and DBA slotted rotors all around. Is it necessary to upgrade the tranny cooler? I was also thinking an oil cooler to try to keep my soon to be overworked sixer happy.

Down the road a little is either a TRD blower or if I can swing it the Safari Turbo Kit. I'm thinking that the turbo would be a better system. No extra drag on the motor to power the blower, intercooled, and I've heard that the supercharger adds alot of heat to the engine.

I live in CO, most of the trips are gonna have alot of climbing, aka I70 thorugh the Eisenhower Tunnel and Vail Pass. This is gonna be towing a built CJ7 on a trailer, I don't have the trailer yet, I'm planning on trying to get light trailer, and putting some of my heavier gear in my buddies trucks.

Am I gonna destroy my 80 with this set up, or will it handle it no probs. I really don't want to ditch my lc for some peice of crap American ride, I already have a Jeep to deal with. I was thinking about a Tundra, but I hear they don't handle wait that well either, and I might end up having to do similar mods, plus the car payment thing.

Is there any cruiser drivers out there towing with a blown or turbo'ed rig? Experiences with either? The rig has 85,000 miles on it am I asking for trouble adding forced induction with the mileage?

TIA

 

Does anybody even have the Safari Turbo Systems kit? C'mon fawkers.

 

Me and Co Pilot towed a 24' toybox with our 80, did it about five times.

It sucked, and on that last trip we managed to roll the trailer and the 80

 

Several LSLC guys have tried this, the oly one happy with the way it handled used a tow dolly, passed me on the way back from Moab, and I was going 70 mph.......

Butch

 

and I was going 70 mph.......

Butch

Obviously downhill.

 

Obviously downhill.

Bite me, let's compare total cost of tow rigs vs. performance........or weight being towed....... :flipoff2: :flipoff2:

 

Obviously downhill.

Giggle.

No way I would use an FZJ80 with any mods to tow in Colorado. Too much altitude.....

If you were to do it, save your money on the Blower and regear the sucka at least to 4.88's and tow away.....

Just dont expect to get any mileage or speed going.

Second the tow dolly as long as you don't have a D35 in that CJ since that is what you will most likely break and you will need that axle to get you home.

 

Bite me, let's compare total cost of tow rigs vs. performance........or weight being towed....... :flipoff2: :flipoff2:

Sir, I cannot be held responsible if you woefully overload your vehicle.

 

Anybody like flat towing a 40 behind an 80?

 

Anybody like flat towing a 40 behind an 80?

Get a tow dolly. Much safer.

 

Flat towing can be a PITA. If the caster isn't right on the towed vehicle it makes it almost impossible for it to track right. We flat towed a couple of 60s with my friend's 80. The one was really good. The other one you could only make left turns due to an alignment problem when hooked up to the other rig, no alignment problem while driving. This is pretty bad for braking as you are shifting braking power of two vehicles to the tow vehicle.

I would never tow anything over about 1500lbs with an 80 without brakes. 80s have a tendancy to warp rotors to begin with and adding that stress to braking system is only asking for repairs.

I agree I wouldn't try and tow a heavy load with a lifted 80, maybe the 1" heavy duty OME kit. Air bags would be probably the best route.

With all of that said, I'm planning on towing a 3000lb trailer cross country on dirt roads with my wife's 80. 2.5" OME lift. I have towed a 1800lb camper trailer with brakes with my 91 lifted 3.5". That wasn't scary at all. But it did take forever. We were going to CO and we had lots of passes. I was travelling with a friend with a Cummins pulling his 40 on a flatbed. On the flat I could almost keep up with him. I'd pass him on the downhills and he'd pass me on the uphills.

SC or Turbos. Yes they are available but the amount they cost could probably make quite a few payments on your true tow rig. Heck, you could buy an older used Cummins for the price of a turbo.

I don't think hauling something as big as a 40 or 4Runner on a trailer would make you very happy. It maybe would be OK for local trips less than a 100 miles. But if you are driving 1000 or 2000 miles for a wheeling trip be prepared to be beat when you arrive.

 

I have towed several times with my '95 FZJ80. Once before the supercharger and that was towing a Toyota Mini from MN to SoDak (BHCC) and back with no problems. Slow and steady (65-70 MPH) but that is a mostly flat drive.

With the addition of the S/C there was a signifigant change in towing ability. It was much easier to stay at 70+ with even a little "extra" when needed to pass the blue hairs and this was set-up with the OME Heavy springs front & rear, this too was from MN to SoDak (BHCC) and back towing a fj40 out and a FJ45 back, and also towed back a Toyota Mini (rockota) from Alabama to MN with no issues.

I have one long haul in from MN to CA and I was towing a fully loaded double axle U-Haul trailer (No idea of what the weight was) this was the only time I have encountered MTN's while towing and it did well. Not great, but it held it's own and I had no overheating issues or braking issues and I had no problems keeping up with the flow of traffic.

Shreg also tows his 40 with his '94 (IIRC) he may chime in too...

 

Towing with an 80: not without swapping an sbc350fi first...