Official Tennessee Thread

That was theee hours ago. No longer drinking. Drankin now. Wife is proud of me.

 

Prentice cooper is about as light and enjoyable as it gets out here. AOP is nearby but that’s not light in any manner.

 

That depends on your definition of light. You might be asking the wrong people. There are some good gravel/FS roads in the Gatlinburg and TN/NC area though.

 

AOP trial 41







Kidding don’t go there. Good luck in your search.

 

You did make it look like an easy drive.

 

Any of you ever used air bags on rear suspension for load leveling?

My 4R seems quick to squat as cargo gets added. I like the ride quality when not loaded though so not sure about stiffer springs.

 

Coppinger Cove

 

Clinton. In the upstate closer to Greenville, Simpsonville area

 

265 70 R16

 

I met my wife in Greenville. I liked it there

 

Hey everybody, I've never been much for posting here, but I figured I would check in here real quick to see if anybody has a camper shell for a single cab first gen that they are looking to sell.

Thanks!

 

So this is going to make me look stupid as hell, and Im prepared to deal with that.....



So I bought a fj40, and was thinking of driving it from memphis to hot springs to wheel. Towing would be much better. My wife drives a 2001 100 series with 180k miles and the 4spd trans where the PO removed the hitch. I daily drive a 2017 Tacoma with towing package. 50k miles.



The tacoma with the towing package can tow up to 6,800 lbs. Already has a 7pin connector, ATF cooler, engine oil cooler, 130 amp alternator, and trailer sway control according to toyotas website. Wanted to pick yalls brains a little bit about towing, as I have very limited experience with it. I have towed a lake boat with a half ton and landscaping equipment in a mini truck in high school.



I was looking at these tow dollies that can fit up to an 80 inch wide tread. They weigh about 550-700 lbs and can be had with electric brakes. Here is an example of one I found.


https://www.txtrailercountry.com/2019-master-tow-80-thd-tow-dolly-3Tj|ip.html



I figured With the Tow dolly, I could still be within range with the tacoma, as the FJ40 probably weighs around 4,000 lbs. It would be pretty slow. I actually have room to store the dolly at my house, and dont have room to store a full on trailer. I could lock the hubs, put the t case in low, transmission in first gear and then remove the rear driveshaft to keep the front wheels still on the dolly and just have the rear wheels spin free. I am unsure if the fj40 rear axle is full float or not, so I will probably need to bring spare rear axles with me just in case.



The other option would be to Install a hitch to the 100 series, brake controller, leveling hitch, 7 pin connector, etc and try to get a full on trailer and maybe pay for storage for it. This route sounds like a giant pain in the ass.




In the end. Probably shoulda got a tundra over the tacoma. What do you guys think? Tacoma not too bad to pull it right?

 

I've got a problem that I can't figure out. I backed a trailer into a police car last year and smashed the right side light. I continued using it until last Sunday when I replaced the entire light unit with an identical one. It didn't surprise me when the brake/blinker light didn't work in the new light because that's the one that got smashed. And I continued backing into water for a year, so of course it was shorted. Here's the problem; I can't find any blown fuses under the dash or the hood. I swapped some relays related to trailer or towing but I can't find the problem.

The problem isn't in the trailer. I measured at the truck's 4-pin connector (factory tow package). Everything is fine except for the right side brake/blinker (same wire which is green). It gets 300mv (I'm assuming background noise?) when it should be off, and it rises to 1.3 volts when it should be getting 13.66 volts (what I measured the other circuits at).

Anyone got any ideas?

 

Wire is broken but not fully separated?

Does that brake/signal line have its own ground wire that might be loose?

 

Whole lot to unpack here.

I’m not a fan of dolly’s or flat towing. They have a tendency to sway crack the whip style especially with a tall, short vehicle on them at highway speed. Pulling driveshaft every time you want to use it sucks a bunch too.

Just get an outdoor storage spot for a car trailer. I haven’t paid more than $35/mo for a parking spot in either Indianapolis or Chicagoland when I didn't have a place to park my trailer at apartment complexes.

7 pins and a brake controller aren't too hard to wire in yourself or have a u-haul do it for you too. I really like my prodigy P3.

I think either vehicle will pull the 40 okay. It won't be as easy as if you had a Tundra or some other newer full size but they will get the job done. Just keep either one out of OD and use your head. If you decide you aren't comfortable in either tow rig after trying them, just sell/trade into a full size. Second gen Tundra's are relatively cheap or third gen 2014+ are way nicer inside and can be had brand new for under $40k in SR5 trim all day.

Time to start tracing wires from the plug to the cab. It's not uncommon to have them corrode and give low voltage.

 

Also not a fan of tow dollies. I would add that the stock transmission cooler is barely adequate as well. A nice Hayden unit can be had for $30-50 and will greatly help trans temps, especially down here in the Southeast.

 

Damn I didn't realize an outdoor storage spot for a trailer was that cheap! Hmm...

 

I have been looking in memphis, and the cheapest I can find is like$60 a month which is insane to me. I think im going to go to the pull a part and see if I can get some tiny stock mini truck wheels and tires and toss em on the front axle and test a u haul dolly and see how it goes around the 240 loop in memphis. I would feel better towing with the tacoma because it has wayyy less miles than the cruiser and already has everything inplace. Worth a shot I reckon

 

Yeah it's $150/mo. to park a trailer at my apartment...

 

Call around to self storage places, may have to try a few but I’ve always had good luck with them. I can’t imagine Memphis costing more than the Indy or Chicago metro