Toyota FJ Cruiser for Towing?

[Jimbcole]

Just my two cents worth. I get 15 mpg with my FJ, Trail Teams Edition, with TRD exhaust, and cold air intake. Reese WD with anti sway. Extended shank, so I can open the rear door. 26 footer, 22 footer or the 18 footer! Plus, I'll never get stuck!

[Friday]

Originally Posted by starcraft

It's chev colorado in wolfes clothing. Not a bad thing in fact I like them. For power though they are barely pushing themselves with 5cyl motor. H1 is beastly with diesel motor, H2 is joke. I like toyota products but think FJ is kind let down. If it was more like wrangler I would give it thumbs up. No top down, kind boring. Maybe can am could build you wrangler to pull it in 4dr flavor and new 2012 motor.

They made an H3 'Alpha' that was available with a V8. I saw one sit on a dealer's lot for 3 years before they finally marked it down to $20K to get rid of it... was almost interested in it at that price, but it's like the H2... a lot of show and not much go - in stock form anyway.

[worldinchaos]

Originally Posted by Jimbcole

Just my two cents worth. I get 15 mpg with my FJ, Trail Teams Edition, with TRD exhaust, and cold air intake. Reese WD with anti sway. Extended shank, so I can open the rear door. 26 footer, 22 footer or the 18 footer! Plus, I'll never get stuck!

I also pull an 18 footer just fine, and have towed boats before as well. No issues as of yet.

x2 on the mileage. I don't have the TRD exhaust or CAI, but thinking of installing them. The one major thing I do differently is to keep the rig in 4 instead of D (auto tranny), which prevents overdrive from kicking on. Coming back from the desert a few weekends ago, with Cruise control, at about 60 mph, I got ~14.8 mpg.

[Sodbust]

Any of you remember the 5th wheel trailer system back in the late 1960s using a VW bug? Had a 5th wheel hitch mounted on the roof of the bug.. Trailer at best was 12 foot or so long... Took care of alot of issues but then again VW's had good metal and a strong roof.. Being an old "air head " it would still be under powered with a 50 hp engine..

Sodbust

[hellsbay]

[QUOTE=Eaglemate;1131961]Anyone have any comments about a Toyota FJ Cruiser to tow a 24 ft. airstream? Not the 6 cylinder, the 8.

First of all, there is no 8 cylinder FJ Cruiser. It is only certified to tow 5000# with an appropriate hitch weight.

[hellsbay]

Originally Posted by Eaglemate

What about the H3 Hummer, the smaller version? OK, I realize it's a testosterone-driven beast, but I am a smallish woman, so what the hell,right?

The H3 has no power to even pull itself, much less a 24' trailer. On or off road the H3 can't hold a candle to and FJ. Sorry H3 lovers, but sometimes the truth hurts.

[inTransit]

Dont get me wrong, I love the FJ. Just think to tow a mid 20's ft trailer its a bit small in stature. Drove this rig from Gainesville to Tampa and had a few moments where the tail was wagging the dog.

28'

[HHaase]

Originally Posted by inTransit

Attachment 155652

Dont get me wrong, I love the FJ. Just think to tow a mid 20's ft trailer its a bit small in stature. Drove this rig from Gainesville to Tampa and had a few moments where the tail was wagging the dog.

28'

How does it do with the 22' Safari though?

-Hans

[Road Ruler]

Originally Posted by inTransit

Attachment 155652

Dont get me wrong, I love the FJ. Just think to tow a mid 20's ft trailer its a bit small in stature. Drove this rig from Gainesville to Tampa and had a few moments where the tail was wagging the dog.

28'

No WDH or sway control.

[inTransit]

Originally Posted by HHaase

How does it do with the 22' Safari though?

-Hans

It did fine with the 22', particularly so because the axle was original and it bounced all over the place.

No WD or sway, correct. I went to Bobs RV salvage up in High Springs for parts and it was there for sale. Was not expecting to bring home an Argosy, but you do what you have to. While Im sure an appropriate hitching would have helped, under no circumstances would I ever recommend a trailer of that size to be towed with a FJ on a regular basis, that's all I'm saying.

[dkottum]

Dont get me wrong, I love the FJ. Just think to tow a mid 20's ft trailer its a bit small in stature. Drove this rig from Gainesville to Tampa and had a few moments where the tail was wagging the dog.

Have you tried this with a sway control/weight distribution hitch?

[Jimbcole]

Here' the shank

[Sodbust]

We have a FJ,, but I cant ever picture dropping our 72 Overlander ( 27') on the back...

Its a great family car for our cow path roads here in NW Kansas,, but just lacks any needed raw power to lug a larger trailer very far..

Now if it had the 6 speed manual and diesel as my friend has down under it might be a different story.. Thanks big brother govt,, EPA..

Sodbust

[urban71]

Originally Posted by Mike91208

I towed a 19' Bambi with an FJ and it did just fine, but I wouldn't want to go longer than that. You might want to contact Can-Am as they can make things work with creative hitching. Here's their website:
Can-Am is a #1 Airstream Dealer

Mike91208 - Did you install a ClassIV hitch on your FJ for the 19'?

[TG Twinkie]

I think if you check the towing and hitch capacities of the FJ. You will find that the trailer is way beyond the limits. Assuming your trailer is over 22'.
A class IV hitch will not solve the load carrying capacity of the FJ. Check the rear axle rating, the tongue weight capacity with and without weight distribution and anti sway. Along with the towing capacity, ie weight of the trailer (loaded).

[Mike91208]

Originally Posted by urban71

Mike91208 - Did you install a ClassIV hitch on your FJ for the 19'?

Yes. Nothing special, just an EZ-Lift hitch.

[SteveH]

Some may have read the posts, but I recently changed to an Andersen WD Anti-sway hitch with my FJ Cruiser and 17' Casita rig, and I really like the way it tows. MUCH better than the single bar hitch with the friction slide anti-sway.

[hellsbay]

I tow a 17' Oliver without any special hitch on my 2010 FJ Cruiser and it tows better than my 16AS Bambi did with a Hensley Pup costing $2400. It may be that the Oliver is not as wide as the AS and probably a little lighter, 3900# fully loaded. I also get about 3 more MPG with the Oliver than the AS. It is a 2008 model just like my AS DWR was.

A while back I remember reading in this forum that you could not make a trailer with an aluminum frame. Well, the Oliver frame is aluminum. It has two group 27 batteries in a roller bearing exterior compartment and is dual hulled with insulation and has dual pained windows, marine grade stainless hardware, smart converter, led lights, satellite TV, 45 foot self stored automatic electric cord, two way privacy shades, a 5200# axel with quad shocks and 16 inch wheels with Michelin truck tires. There are many other features that AS owners were complaining that the AS did not have.

I loved my 16ASDWR, but could see that there would be a lot of maintenance to keep it in working condition. I worried about leaks and the wood floor, getting tire blowouts with the cheaply made Chinese trailer tires, going over 65mph. The frame was rusting where the paint was chipped off. The stereo had a hum in the speakers. Workmanship was, to be honest, very poor on the initial build. Lamination on the drawers and cabinets was coming unglued, the TV was not even digital.

The bottom line here is that AS could upgrade their technology and build quality.

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by hellsbay

I tow a 17' Oliver without any special hitch on my 2010 FJ Cruiser and it tows better than my 16AS Bambi did with a Hensley Pup costing $2400. It may be that the Oliver is not as wide as the AS and probably a little lighter, 3900# fully loaded. I also get about 3 more MPG with the Oliver than the AS. It is a 2008 model just like my AS DWR was.

A while back I remember reading in this forum that you could not make a trailer with an aluminum frame. Well, the Oliver frame is aluminum. It has two group 27 batteries in a roller bearing exterior compartment and is dual hulled with insulation and has dual pained windows, marine grade stainless hardware, smart converter, led lights, satellite TV, 45 foot self stored automatic electric cord, two way privacy shades, a 5200# axel with quad shocks and 16 inch wheels with Michelin truck tires. There are many other features that AS owners were complaining that the AS did not have.

I loved my 16ASDWR, but could see that there would be a lot of maintenance to keep it in working condition. I worried about leaks and the wood floor, getting tire blowouts with the cheaply made Chinese trailer tires, going over 65mph. The frame was rusting where the paint was chipped off. The stereo had a hum in the speakers. Workmanship was, to be honest, very poor on the initial build. Lamination on the drawers and cabinets was coming unglued, the TV was not even digital.

The bottom line here is that AS could upgrade their technology and build quality.

We looked at Oliver trailers in depth before we bought our Airstream, but it struck us as a tiny plastic trailer with little windows, molded plastic interior furnishings, certainly not in the league of Airstream. I don't have any problems with our Airstream build quality, it is gorgeous and nicely fitted, the new ones may be among their best. I also trust technology more that has 80 years experience, than a new company that lasted a few years and is now out of business.

doug k

[hellsbay]

Doug, I understand your point completely. My 2008 16'AS DWR was very open and beautiful inside and out. That is why I bought it in the first place. I have a bit of claustrophobia and do not like to be in enclosed places for very long. There is no way the Oliver is going to compare in that way with the AS.

That being said, the Oliver is open and bright enough inside to satisfy my needs. As for the build quality, there is no comparison. My 2008 Oliver is just superior in every way to my 2008 16 AS DWR. Not even close. I really needed both a grey and black water tank and the Oliver has that. The off-road and 'off the grid' capability of the Oliver is important to me as a nature photographer. One of the most important aspects of the Oliver over the 16 AS was that I could put Michelin LT tires on it and not have to worry about all the problems associated with trailer tires.

Although Oliver Technologies no longer is making Olivers, they are still in business. When I picked up my 2008 used Oliver I called them and asked them if they were willing to put the 5900# axel on my trailer. They had retrofitted these on some of the other Olivers. The former owner of my Oliver said he did not think it was necessary and declined Olivers offer to retrofit. Dan Oliver not only said that he would do it, he also said that Oliver Technologies would pay for it, even though I was the second owner. He had the axel custom made and it was waiting for me at the Oliver facilities when I arrived. While I was at the Oliver factory getting the axel, they offered to go over the trailer and fix or replace anything that was wrong with it. Fortunately, there was nothing that needed fixing! When I called the AS factory to ask about the hum in the rear speakers, the first thing the tech guy asked was if I was the original owner. When I told him that I was the second owner he told me that he couldn't help me. Not the answer I was hoping for.

I still miss the little AS, but an RV trailer is a tool for my photography and traveling, not the reason for it.