I'm thinking about getting a camping trailer one of these days and wanted to see some pictures of the FJ towing. Camping trailer, boat, any trailer. Post how much it weighs and how you think the FJ does towing it.
I'm looking at a 16-19' tandem axle camper so hopefully the old cruiser can handle it!
23' Terry Light
3800lbs Dry Weight
FJ Struggled going up hill, overall did fine. If you have a AT make sure you install an oil cooler no matter what. This will prolong your AT life.
If you plan on traveling long distance and frequently, I'd go with a trailer under 2500lbs, if you start adding all the cargo/crap your going to be pushing the FJ, plus it will suck gas like no other..
I would only use the trailer a few times a year and nothing crazy right now. I think my 35s are robbing too much power to tow something that big, however that's exactly what I want.
I tow a 23' crownline 225br, I have never weighed but I'm guess its 5k plus maybe a little more with gear and fuel (59 gallon fuel tank). 3" lift and 285/75/16 mickey thompson mtzs. It tows fairly well but I only tow it about 10 miles each way. It SUCKS fuel like crazy but gets the job done. I did tow it about 90 miles round trip last year and averaged about 11mpg. Hopefully the photo uploads, im on my phone so I'm not real familiar with how to attach them.
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We tow a 1998 SeaPoo Challenger 1800.
gross weight dry: 1850
boat length: 18 ft.
40 gallons of fuel: 240 lbs.
Shoreland`r OEM trailer: 500 lbs.
gear in the FJ: 50 lbs.
total: 2640
I`ve had to keep the tire size at a maximum of 32" to keep the engine torque losses at a minimum while towing under 60 mph and keeping the AT trans happy.
otherwise the FJ tows the boat very well, and stops well using common sense.
note* OH yes, it does suck gas like no tomorrow...wow...
I tow a 94 Caravelle 20' boat 60 miles each way. Ive never weighed the package but it should be near 3500-4k. The FJ tows great through the rolling hills of the Ozarks. I also have an Armada for a tow vehicle. It tends to gear hunt where the FJ downshifts very few times and actually makes for a nicer tow. For me, wind and breaking are the only downsides to using the FJ as a tow vehicle.
UHaul absolutely crammed full. FJ was full too. Drove I-77 from OH to SC.
Hated it. Some of those hills were tough. Probably got about 10mpg too....
UHaul says the trailer only weighs 900 lbs and can go to 2700. I was probably at like 2500 total, which shouldnt have been such an issue.... I suppose the tons of downshifting with the AT was just unnerving. I bet tandem axle would help a lot.
Don't forget when you tow to put your AT in 4 gear. That will help some with the downshifting. I think the owners manual says not to use overdrive when towing.
Apex 22QBS with 3800lb dry weight, loaded with 1 1/2 wks worth of camping stuff it was probably close to 4500-4600 lbs. Using a dual cam WD setup on the factory hitch I had no problems. I could have used a little more power for the bigger hills but smart shifting and planning got me through. I used 6th gear when possible and got 11.5 mpg (17 not towing). I've put 2000 mi on with this setup so far
Here I am towing my 21' boat. The boat with trailer weighed in at 5200lbs. It pulled it just fine.
Here towing a jeep 1000mi to its new home. Not sure of the weight, but i think the uhaul trailer is around 1500lbs by itself. Not sure what the jeep weighed but load felt lighter than the boat.
I towed this load from MO to AZ. I had the trailer packed, the inside of the FJ completely packed to the ceiling and roof rack full. This load was much much heavier than the boat. Got 8mpg fighting a head wind across TX.
Towed a car this past weekend with a UHaul vehicle mover... car weighs about 3200 pounds, the trailer is around 2200 pounds. So... 5400 lbs total. Easily the most weight I've towed with the FJ. I went about 100 miles, mostly freeway, with some neighborhood type stuff on each end of the drive. A handful of hills that have truck lanes and grades for the truckers.
I didn't have any problems, but I wouldn't want to do it on a regular basis. The FJ really isn't that well suited for big/regular towing IMO. Anytime I tow I miss my old Chevy truck (just a little C10), which towed much more and better than the FJ does.
I kept the transmission in 4 (I have an auto) and maxed my speed around 60. Any hill that wasn't real short I started to bog down and the FJ was obviously really working. Scangauge saw the transmission temps get to about 220 F (highest I noticed). The warning light never came on or anything though (I don't know what temp triggers it). Trans cooler would be the minimum if you do that on a regular basis.
Plus the gas mileage sucks, I didn't calculate it, but my range was almost a hundred miles less for that tank than normal. Based on my experience, I don't really like towing more than about 3500 pounds with the FJ.
No photo here but I do tow a 3000lb travel trailer a lot with my 2012 FJ. I have added the Airaid cold air intake, trany cooler, air bags in back and I use the weight distribution bars. I have to say the cold air intake makes a huge difference in power whether towing or not. Very fun to hear that exhaust growling in back. I can tow any road easily with this set up. Living in Oregon I tow a lot of mountains here and have to stay in 3rd at 45mph or 50mph on the steep sections.
The FJ is a better tow vehicle than it looks like it would be.
Nice Truck and Trailers! Here is my Forest River 30ft Sierra & Ford F250 Power Stroke (250000 miles and going strong) In our driveway before 2011 trip to Maine
2011 Colman Avalon. 4,700-5,000. Custom dirtydeedsindustries exhaust/muffler, airlift springs, Hayden 677 trans cooler, fjinca dual digital trans temp gauge K&N drop in filter. Plenty of power over 9,000' mountains, recently got nearly 17 mpg hwy. awesome setup and great expedition tow vehicle.
Here is the trailer by itself for a better size perspective.
Couldn't find any with trailer lashed up. This is closest. Low profile gives great mileage. I towed a 3500 lb single cargo axle box with a 30 mph headwind at 60 got 8 mpg. The big sail, really bogged it down and drank the gas.
Our 16' pop-up weighs in around 3000lbs and the FJ handles it pretty well, though you certainly can feel it and have to drive accordingly. We are planning a three week / 4000 mile trip with it next year, though NM, AZ, NV and CA
Our 16' pop-up weighs in around 3000lbs and the FJ handles it pretty well, though you certainly can feel it and have to drive accordingly. We are planning a three week / 4000 mile trip with it next year, though NM, AZ, NV and CA
Put a set of airlift springs on it, max your tires out while pulling and install an anti sway bar for the traier. It will make a world of difference to you towing. The rear coils on the FJ are soft for wheelin'. Not for towing. Trust me on those few mods, and they are cheap and easy to install.
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