Tow Vehicle & Rig Photos

[Ryan]

I know, it doesn't even come close to snowing here at the beach. But we have some pretty good mountains in So CA. We go to Big Bear and Mammoth Mtn enough to where 4wd is worth it. You are required to put chains on a 2wd when I don't really think it's necessary.

More importantly, the boat ramp I use is super slick when the tide is down. Way worse than any lake I've been to.

[Bobby]

YES!! I think I have the crappiest tow vehicle here . I have a beautiful 1988 GMC K5 Jimmy 4x4. Now I'm only in college so don't dog on me too much. She might be a little rough around the edges from the off-road abuse I've given her , but there is no problem towing the boat down the road or even on a highway, although it might take a while to get where you're wanting to go on the highway... The upside to this truck is that chicks love it, especially when the top is off.

[Ryan]

Dog your ride? No way. Those are so fun with the top off. I think you're pretty lucky. I sure wish I had a MC when I was in school.

[milkmania]

I'll sell any vehicle I own........

Except my 88 K-5 Blazer!!!!!!!

[Bobby]

here's a pic of the same truck after an offroading adventure. after that trip i had to get:
new power steering pump
new front and rear driveshafts
new transfer case housing
upper and lower ball joints
reconnect the emergency brake
and im sure im leaving some other stuff out

[TourneyChef]

Originally Posted by Ryan

I love seeing the Discos on the board. I just picked this up last week. Full-time 4x4, 4.7 270hp 330lb-ft! It's like it has short-man's syndrome for wanting to be bigger than it is. But, being small gives it sub 8 sec 0-60 and 7,000lb tow rating. ..

I cant believe those things have V8's in 'em now. I had a '92 with a 3.0 V6. It was a total dog and the engine blew up when the head gasket failed. It was covered by a recall, but what a mess. I found fan shroud plastic chips from the thing in wheel wells and crevices 3 years after that. I had a FJ80 LandCruiser too that really would have benefitted from that 4.7L engine. It could crawl over a house in low 4 but couldn't pull over 65 mph to save it's life. I kinda wish I would have kept it and swapped the POS inline 6 for a 350 and a New Venture 4500 Trans. That thing was a Japanese Hummer.
Toyota makes a great truck, I really wanted one of their 2000/2001 V6 4Runners to put a TRD supercharger on it, but with the added cost of it, and having to run premium gas with the blower= just not worth it. Seems they got the problem licked thowing that V8 in there. "There's no replacement for displacement", but try to tell that to all the Honda Civic race kids! Just hope they upped the seating room in it for the 6' 2" American race. They always felt small in adjustability for big guys, that and you'll need a set of little Japanese size hands if you ever plan to change the spark plugs or do any other maintanance yourself. Good luck, nice vehicle!

[Ryan]

We still have a 94 150hp 4Runner and can totally relate to the lack of power. It's for sale now. It too had the engine replaced after the head gasket failed. It blew on my wife (when she was single) at 2:00am in the middle of no-where-southern-Utah on a ski trip. The clutch just started showing hints of slipping. I just didn't want to have it go out on the ramp pulling the boat out.

I know a guy at TRD and might get this super charged. We'll see. This is the LandCruiser engine but with VVTi and more power, so relatively potent I surely don't need it... but I didn't need a boat either...

We came really close to getting a Suburban or Tahoe, but we had a hard enough time getting the boat in and out of our alley. This fits us until we have more kids. Number two is on her way already.

[sizzler]

i ve got a toyota landcruiser amazon with the 4.2 turbodiesel...great car...fantastic for towing (3500kg(7700lb)).....cruises and drives like a top saloon......am on my third one now(1 stolen,1 crashed)...never had any mechanical problems in 9 years.......a pal of mine who works for them as an engineer reckons you could weld down the bonnet if you wanted.......
do like the look of the escalades/navigators but they only come in left hand drive,,which is a bummer when towing overhere..

[Ric]

Originally Posted by Bobby

YES!! I think I have the crappiest tow vehicle here . I have a beautiful 1988 GMC K5 Jimmy 4x4. Now I'm only in college so don't dog on me too much. She might be a little rough around the edges from the off-road abuse I've given her , but there is no problem towing the boat down the road or even on a highway, although it might take a while to get where you're wanting to go on the highway... The upside to this truck is that chicks love it, especially when the top is off.

Love it! Your truck takes me back to the good ole days for sure!
One of these days I will scan a pic of the k5 I had

[Ric]

Originally Posted by jj209

Ric - My Tahoe has the 3.73 and I would guess dry weight would be similar. However there may be other things to consider w/ weight; wheelbase, 3rd row seats, DVD player. I just know it's my wife daily driver and she loves it. I drive it for the most part when the boats hooked up, can't wait until spring as I'm buried in 14" of snow. :

That's the rub.... You cannot get the 3.73:1 gear in the half ton crew or I'd probably try one. They offer a 4.10 but it's not something any dealer has located so far.