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Is it normal to have to drive full throttle to tow on the freeway? I used the Luv to retrieve the ice shanty and had to pull it 50 miles to get it home. Half throttle would yield about 35 miles an hour, and it doesn't feel right driving with the gas pedal floored constantly. The old trailer isn't that heavy, it has a tongue weight of about 40lbs, and is light enough for me to push around easily. Will pulling it full throttle cause a blown headgasket, even if it doesn't overheat? It's a 13 foot camper and weighs maybe 1000lbs.

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while the pessimist and optimist were arguing about the glass of water, the opportunist drank it.

First off at 1000lbs of trailer and 40lbs of trounce weight is not good. If you are full throttle and can't let up you will end up overworking the engine. With that said do you have trailer brakes? After you get going you will need to stop safely. As a few of us here drive big rigs I can bet you we will all tell you stoping is not overrated.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

I am betting this thing you're pulling is about as aerodynamic as a brick with a parachute. Somewhere above 35MPH it is hitting a wall that takes more horsepower than the LUV can dish out.

I'm sure prolonged pedal to the metal driving under a load is harder on the motor than not pulling anything, but I don't think the very occasional 50 mile trip would be too terrible. Just watch that temps don't climb too high. In my younger years I drove with my foot on the floor quite a bit and my 77 held together. I wasn't towing a brick, but I was pushing hard against some aerodynamic limits.

The real truckers can speak more to the load handling concepts. I can attest though that being pushed by your load when trying to stop is no fun.

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95 Isuzu Trooper Daily Driver
86 Isuzu Trooper reliable backup
77 LUV 2wd stock beltway blaster (resting)
79 4x4 LUV project: 2.6L, 5spd, 31s (eventually)

MEPR: Man, my 4x4 makes all other LUVs look good

Part of the reason you can't go any faster may be the stock carb- it has a vacuum secondary & must reach a certain rpm before they will open even with the accelerator floored. You're either not getting enough fuel to go any faster & not turning enough rpms to get more fuel by opening the secondary OR it's not turning enough rpms to burn all the fuel the primary is supplying. If it's running rich (black smoke) it's probably the latter. The first possibility is an instance when a Weber with a mechanical secondary might be beneficial.
As long as you're not running rich or experiencing spark knock from lugging it you're probably not hurting it.
Every vehicle has a speed when the horsepower won't overcome the wind resistance, now you know what yours is.

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'78 Chevy LUV,1.9,4sp,headers,31's,SAS Dana 30,Dana 20,SOA rear w/Aussie Locker, rough body, bought new 12/4/78.
'87 Trooper,2.3,5sp,headers,31's,ball joint flip & spacer,Aussie Locker rear,Superwinch hubs,brush guard w/5.5K winch,more to come.

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while the pessimist and optimist were arguing about the glass of water, the opportunist drank it.

Brick with a parachute would be a good thing.

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while the pessimist and optimist were arguing about the glass of water, the opportunist drank it.

your lucky you have those rounded ends, they help more for aro drag then you would think.
also in testing the ideal space from the rear of the tow auto to the frunt of the trailer is about 30" and your real close to that.
a canopy on the LUV would help reduce drag a little when towing, help reduce the dubble wam of punching the same air out a 2nd time..around the trailer.
other then that it would be custom mods for reducing drag on the rear of the trailer, as aro improvements on the rear of the trailer will yield the best bang for the buck....after the canopy idea...


for loads like that i target about 50mph on a flat road and then back out of the throttle to around 70/85%.
even though i have a O\D gear i don't use it, win towing most loads as im over geared and out of my power band..
when towing i treat 60 as a BRICK WALL i just don't go any faster for any reason.

with the larger tires your over geared compared to stock. not a real issue just driving around, but with a load in tow your out of the power band.
maybe keep two tires or a full set, that are close to stock for the rear drive wheels when towing, just a thought.

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86trooperT/D 2.2
84 L\B 4x4Diesel LS 2.2
84 S\B 4X4 gas rust bucket 1.9
86 L\B 4X4 gas 5 speed 2.3
the twins, 81 pup and 81 LUV both are diesel 2.2



The Energizer Bunny is trying to keep up, and is starting to gasp for air!!

just saw the stack on top LOL that's extra tall LOL

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86trooperT/D 2.2
84 L\B 4x4Diesel LS 2.2
84 S\B 4X4 gas rust bucket 1.9
86 L\B 4X4 gas 5 speed 2.3
the twins, 81 pup and 81 LUV both are diesel 2.2



The Energizer Bunny is trying to keep up, and is starting to gasp for air!!

I too thought that with your current tires that is not helping. I personally would not tow that trailer with a LUV with a stock engine. If you do add trailer brakes.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

I agree your tire size is the main culprit. There could be a tuning issue with your motor too. My 4X4 (has bigger than stock wheels and tires) is sluggish compared to the 2wd LUVs I've had.
While it was floored, how fast would it get going? What gear were you in, and about what RPM? I bet if I pulled that trailer with mine, I wouldn't get above third gear on flat ground. 50mph tops I bet. And I have a Weber and header on mine.

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OK, I'm over it. Where's the beer?

I remember when I was a kid, my dad rented a trailer about like yours for the weekend and towed it with our '76 LUV. About 1/4 of the way to our destination, we had to pull over and drain all the fresh water out of the tank because we couldn't keep up with traffic in the slow lane.

We used ours for towing all the time. It was often to the wood for long trips, like 80+ miles. Like has been said, just watch the temperature gage, and keep up with the routine maintenance. I don't think these things make enough power to hurt themselves. That's one reason why they have a good reputation.

Ours had stock tires. Yours are taller, which makes the situation worse.

Maybe swing by a scrap yard or someone with a scale and check the weight? I have a feeling that in your case it's a wind drag problem, made worse by your tall tires.

If your bored, you could try this?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Measure ... car/#step1

yea having trubbles getting to 50 or 60 makes me think 1,000 lb is rather light.
im thinking more like 1,700 to 2,500lbs

one other thing that comes to mind is the bearings on the trailer wheels could be dragging.

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86trooperT/D 2.2
84 L\B 4x4Diesel LS 2.2
84 S\B 4X4 gas rust bucket 1.9
86 L\B 4X4 gas 5 speed 2.3
the twins, 81 pup and 81 LUV both are diesel 2.2



The Energizer Bunny is trying to keep up, and is starting to gasp for air!!

Bearings on the trailer is a good point. Also could have old defunct trailer brakes dragging. I'd think it would have gotten hot enough to notice though. Any, jack the trailer up and make sure those tires spin free.

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95 Isuzu Trooper Daily Driver
86 Isuzu Trooper reliable backup
77 LUV 2wd stock beltway blaster (resting)
79 4x4 LUV project: 2.6L, 5spd, 31s (eventually)

MEPR: Man, my 4x4 makes all other LUVs look good