Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 03-10-2003, 01:15 PM   #1
New Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 4
Land Cruiser Tow Vehicle?

Hey Folks,

I've read alot of the threads on towing, but I want to ask anyway. Does anyone out there have experience towing w/ a '95 - '97 Toyota Land Cruiser. It has an 4.5 liter I-6.

The weird thing is that it's rated for 5000 lbs max towing, the same as the smaller weaker 4-Runner??? It has a 112 inch wheelbase. I'm looking at a '03 19' Bambi or a 25' Safari, the Safari weighing in empty just below the 5k mark, add some groceries & I'm over. I know I'd be better off w/ the Bambi... but the Safari is just so much bigger... I want it & I want it now Looking for some justification here
__________________
Todd
gtwood2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2003, 01:31 PM   #2
Aluminut
 
Silvertwinkie's Avatar
 
2004 25' Safari
. , Illinois
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,477
There could be several factors as to why both have the 5k rating. It could be trans, gearing, coolling, etc.

I think V6s are great engines, but if you had a V8 with 3.73 gears, HD cooling for the coolant and the trans, I might say go for it, but I can't.

The V6 might not have the torque to do the job or the trans, gears or cooling to deal with it either. I am sure it could pull it, but at what cost. I'm not saying go out and get an 8.1L Chevy V8, but I am not sure your Land Criuser will be able to last the long term by going much further than the 5k stated.

Join a Toyota list serve and see what others are doing. I joined the Impala SS forum and found lots of great info on keeping the car happy when pulling. A bunch of great dos and don'ts.

Also, keep in mind the larger the rig, the more costly it is to move. If you don't need the space, 1,300lbs adds up. My '03 Bambi loaded really hit my MPG pretty hard, I can only imagine what the 25' Safari would have done.

I have a very robust tow vehicle that has heavy duty everything. The car is an absolute champ pulling. I chose those for cost difference between the Safari and the Bambi, possible MPG concerns and the actual space I need, and pushing the towing envelope and came to the Bambi as the clear winner for what I need.

Had I needed the larger space the Safari offers, I might have taken it on given the nature of my tow vehicle. I've been towing for over 10 years. You are right on the line though.

Just my .02. Be careful.

Eric
Silvertwinkie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2003, 01:35 PM   #3
New Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 4
Not that it makes any diffrence to what your saying, but it's actually an Inline-6, thus all the torque
__________________
Todd
gtwood2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2003, 01:37 PM   #4
Rivet Master
 
2003 25' Safari
Kissimmee , Florida
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 813
Images: 3
I do not have experience with the Toyota Land Cruiser - but the small V8 in my 2002 Ford Explorer is about the minimum to tow a Safari 25. A six cylinder would be straining hard on hills! Going over the tow rating would be a very bad idea.

If you really want the Safari, sell off the Toyota and buy a used tow vehicle.
__________________
Dan
dmac is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2003, 01:40 PM   #5
Aluminut
 
Silvertwinkie's Avatar
 
2004 25' Safari
. , Illinois
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,477
Sure. I know what the I-6 means. Still, a good V8 will have a bit more torque than than the I-6 which is one reason why I am a bit hesitant to suggest going for the 6300lb trailer. A V8 also has a bit more to wind out of it.

I also have an '85 Dodge pickup I-6 that I think is a totally fantastic machine. The engine is rock solid as yours might be too. It has the gears, the cooling, etc. I am not sure that I would dare (even if it were younger) try to pull a 6300lb trailer with it.

You might be able to do what you propose, but I think you are right in the gray area where it could really go either way. I tend to err on the safe side, that's why I recommend going to a Toyota list serve and talk with a few folks that either tried it, done it or didn't and can tell you why.

But since you are asking advice, if it were me, I would not go to 6300lbs.

Just my .02

Eric
Silvertwinkie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2003, 02:01 PM   #6
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 544
Images: 29
gtwood2
Quote:
Going over the tow rating would be a very bad idea.
I would not phrase it so delicately:

Going over the tow rating would be a very very very dumb & criminal & irresponsible idea.

Towing a 25' Safari with a Toyota Land Cruiser ?FORGET IT Even if you want it that bad. No.
Quote:
... I want it & I want it now
Don't sound like a spoiled brat, now
femuse is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2003, 02:05 PM   #7
New Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 4
Cool

Mr. Femuse,

I love your tow vehicle, I don't think I can afford to compete w/ that

Very Cool!
__________________
Todd
gtwood2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2003, 02:16 PM   #8
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 544
Images: 29
It's Mrs Femuse to you, bud.

I bet we paid less for our truck than you paid for your whatever a Toyota Land Cruiser is

But I bet you can beat us in a race at a red light. and going down hill with your "silver suppository" ready to rear end you.
femuse is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2003, 02:21 PM   #9
Rivet Master
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,486
Images: 19
My guess is that if you want a 25', then you want a 25'. No sense in buying a Bambi and then wishing you'd got the Safari. I know in our own case, and for our purposes, we had to have the 25'.

Just a guess, of course.

On the other hand, that is not much wheelbase (112") for towing a Safari.

Mark
j54mark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2003, 05:01 PM   #10
Aluminut
 
Silvertwinkie's Avatar
 
2004 25' Safari
. , Illinois
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,477
gtwood2,

Looks like we all so far are on the same page. I don't want to come across like I am telling you what you have to do, nor do I want to preach either. Just want to see you keep posting and not get into trouble on the road.

I agree that the Safari is a great unit. If that is what you really want/need, I think you should consider trading the Land Cruiser for something that is a bit more robust. If not, the Bambi, from personal exp, is a great unit too.

Just remember....

"A bad day with an Airstream still beats a GREAT day with anything else!"

Good luck!

Eric
Silvertwinkie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2003, 10:10 AM   #11
New Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1
I am in exactly the same position regarding our '97 Toyota Land Cruiser vs. towing a 25' Safari!
We love our '67 Caravel (about 3500lb), but desire beds that can be left as beds -- ie, not pulling out the front sofa for one bed as we currently do.
The 25' Safari looks to be the shortest, lightest model which achieves our goal.
The Landcruiser is wonderful for the Caravel, but...

Huff
huff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2003, 10:38 AM   #12
3 Rivet Member
 
montanaandy's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 121
Cruiser Pulling A Safari Or Bambi

I have a 94' Cruiser with the same engine (125,000 mi) and I wouldn't try to haul anthing heavier than a popup trailer with it. I echo everything that has been mentioned. I won't even take my Cruiser into the muck (heavy duty 4 wheeling) even though it should be able to handle it (I take the T-100 instead). Having said all of that, I still love the Cruiser and will keep it until it conks out.

Montanaandy
montanaandy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2005, 08:16 AM   #13
1 Rivet Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 18
I blew my inline v6 Land Cruiser pretty quick. Just going through the mountains, not pulling anything! I would never be convinced it had the ability to cool itself when pulling a 25' trailer. Sorry.
'63 princess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2005, 08:44 AM   #14
DayStreamer
 
grizzy's Avatar
 
2001 19' Bambi
Mesa , Arizona
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 163
I had a 2000 Land Cruiser, with ther Toyota V8. Absolutely loved the vehicle. It has plenty of heft for stability but even the V8 is somewhat underpowered in that vehicle for towing anything very heavy.
__________________
Dave
DayStreamer
2001 19' Bambi
02 Avalanche

Mesa Arizona
AIR #5591

grizzy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-24-2008, 05:06 PM   #15
2 Rivet Member
 
MuthaMustard's Avatar
 
Currently Looking...
los Angeles , California
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 22
Send a message via AIM to MuthaMustard Send a message via Yahoo to MuthaMustard Send a message via Skype™ to MuthaMustard
Quote:
Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie
gtwood2,

I think you should consider trading the Land Cruiser for something that is a bit more robust.

Ha Ha Ha trade in the Cruiser, I have to say that the majority of Cruiser owners love them just as much as you love your Airstream, so I laugh hartily at the suggestion.

We are pretty hardcore enthusiasts however it stinks that the two don't seem the best match.

I am in the same boat now looking for an older trailer.

We discussed trading in our economical car for another gas guzzler before we would ever part with our 1983 FJ60 Landcruiser.

hmmmmm.......Man gas is expensive
MuthaMustard is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-24-2008, 10:05 PM   #16
Vintage Kin
 
Fort Worth , Texas
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 8,014
Images: 1
A friend of mine had one of these. Surprisingly heavy, so I'd imagine that you'd be pushing it pretty hard. The short wheelbase of the vehicle is the real drawback.

Contact Andy Thompson of Can Am RV (posts here), I'd imagine he's done some back in the 1990's.
slowmover is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-25-2008, 05:40 AM   #17
Just an old timer...
 
85MH325's Avatar

 
2004 22' Interstate
Tipton , Iowa
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 4,760
Images: 37
This is an '03 thread that had a couple of posts in '05, but since MuthaMustard is looking for Cruiser towing info I'll add a little...

I have had a '70 FJ-40 with the 1F engine, a '78 FJ-40 with the 2F, and '82 and '87 FJ-60s with the 2F engine over the years. The later model FJ-80s and descendants looked nice but didn't much appeal to me.

As the Cruisers have aged, they've put on weight. LOTS of it (and they were heavy for their size already). They've gotten a little more engine, but not much. They still have trouble getting out of their own way on the freeway, but that's not what they were designed for. They were designed to get you where you want to go, reliably, with or without roads.

That said, they were developed from a utilitarian tractor with a cab into chic mommy-mobiles for the mass market appeal of SUVs in the '90s. They were still competent off-road busses, but they looked nicer. They were also expensive, and very few of them ever left the pavement because they weren't bought by people who really needed an off-road bus or who were willing to risk the sheetmetal on their $50k SUVs.

Which brings me to that I currently have an '02 Tundra Access Cab 4WD auto trans with the 3.4l V6 and the tow package that I tow my 5300lb (as-equipped) '06 Bigfoot 25B25RQ with, a very similar setup to the '90s vintage FJ80 series. I tow it locally (usually less than 50 miles to local campgrounds) and while it will do it, I have absolutely no illusions about it being an adequate tow vehicle as it's maxed out at it's capacity hauling the Bigfoot. I couldn't imagine trying to tow another thousand pounds with it, and even at 5300 lbs I couldn't imagine trying to tackle anything larger than our hills in eastern Iowa with that combination. I use a Reese Dual Cam WD/sway control hitch. With $3.50 gas, I am considering hauling the Bigfoot to Moraine View using the Tundra this year. Fortunately it's a flat drive, if somewhat longer. We'll see.

Stick to the smaller, lighter trailers with the FJ-80 'Cruisers and you'll have a pleasant towing experience. They're just not up to the task of towing anything approaching their tow limit of 5,000 lbs. The FJ-60 and 62 apparently have a tow capacity of 3500 lbs which (remembering their less than rocket-ship performance) I'd imagine would max them out as well.

Roger
__________________
havin' to fix my broken Airstreams since 1987...
AIR 2053 Current: 2004 Airstream Interstate "B-Van" T1N DODGE Sprinter
Former Airstreams: 1953 Flying Cloud, 1957 Overlander, 1961 Bambi, 1970 Safari Special, 1978 Argosy Minuet, 1985 325 Moho, 1994 Limited 34' Two-door, 1994 B190 "B-Van"
85MH325 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-25-2008, 07:56 AM   #18
2 Rivet Member
 
musketeer's Avatar
 
1989 25' Excella
1998 36' Land Yacht Widebody
Kimball , Minnesota
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 71
Land Cruiser

I had a 1998 Toyota Landcruiser (with V8) and pulled a 25' Tradewind and a 25' Excella. The '98 was geared with a 4.31 rear end and was rated to tow 6500 lbs. It pulled fine, even in the mountains. The short wheelbase was a problem, though. I traded mine on a new Tundra and am very pleased with the result. If you need to keep the Land Cruiser, buy the Bambi. Bigger trailer will need a bigger tow vechicle. Don't expect Land Cruiser quaility, even in a Toyota product (i.e. a new Tundra) if you buy another tow vechicle.
musketeer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-25-2008, 08:00 AM   #19
2 Rivet Member
 
joe3957's Avatar
 
1967 26' Overlander
albuquerque , New Mexico
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 96
vintage

I have owned an FJ55 and for all the comments about a V8 having more torque, that is just a generalization that isn't valid. Those I6 that Toyota (and Chevy, Ford and Dodge) built stack up to most mid sized V8's. As long as you don't feel the need to race up hills (the FJ55 didn't "race" anywhere") your issue with the FJ60 is likely to be wheelbase. I would stay below 3500-4000lbs and probably no more than 21-22ft. Have you considered a vinatage globetrotter or maybe even a 60s Safari. Those trailers might serve you quite well.
joe3957 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-25-2008, 08:41 AM   #20
Rivet Master
 
Ahab's Avatar
 
2008 22' Safari
Oracle , Arizona
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,174
Quote:
Originally Posted by joe3957
I have owned an FJ55 and for all the comments about a V8 having more torque, that is just a generalization that isn't valid. Those I6 that Toyota (and Chevy, Ford and Dodge) built stack up to most mid sized V8's. As long as you don't feel the need to race up hills (the FJ55 didn't "race" anywhere") your issue with the FJ60 is likely to be wheelbase. I would stay below 3500-4000lbs and probably no more than 21-22ft. Have you considered a vinatage globetrotter or maybe even a 60s Safari. Those trailers might serve you quite well.
Very true, a friend put a Chevy small block in his FJ55. (We both had the same year FJ.) When we went hill climbing I would always win. His would break traction because he needed to bring his RPM's up to a higher level.
Ahab is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Which is best tow vehicle Van or Sedan? Mr Jody Hudson Tow Vehicles 10 10-06-2016 09:14 PM
Tow vehicle advice needed.... crazylev Tow Vehicles 86 04-27-2007 06:11 PM
What tow vehicle would you suggest? Kistler Tow Vehicles 63 09-27-2005 04:24 PM
Suggestions on new tow vehicle Diana Langley Tow Vehicles 3 07-08-2003 07:31 AM
Tow vehicle rating femuse Our Community 21 03-22-2003 07:16 PM


Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Airstream, Inc. or any of its affiliates. Airstream is a registered trademark of Airstream Inc. All rights reserved. Airstream trademark used under license to Social Knowledge LLC.



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:48 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.