As some of you may know i picked up a 87 extra cab, prety new engine. Love it. I have decided to make it able to tow a large boat. I know that i am going to upgrade the front and rear brakes (rear to disc) and then i am going to put on a good parking brake. Forgot what its called, going to redo my tranny. What is the brake booster i need to upgrade to is it landcruiser? Also want a good rear bumper that has the tow hitch intergrated and can use the spare in the stock location. Am i asking to much for this truck. I am going to throw in a cam and borla exhaust, and put on some 32's and maybe some 4.56's The boat in question is a 21 foot wakeboard boat, in board with a v8. I am not traveling large distances up to 40 miles. Will my truck die an early death from this? I just dont want to have to buy a fullsize!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> thanks and what do you guys tow?

Do you have big hills to climb to get the boat to water? If not, you should be OK, but I would also upgrade the radiator to a 3 core. The standard intake/header/exhaust/cam/oversize TB pieces usually get you another 10-20 hp collectively, and a comparable amount of torque. If you just do the exhaust and the cam you won't realize the full benefits of the cam change. In any event, the stock motor is probably strong enough, assuming it's in good condition. I would focus on the cooling and gearing...Oh, and you might want to look into getting a twin stick setup for your transfer case, so you can use 2wd L to crawl up the boat ramp after a day on the water. (I actually think pulling the boat back up the ramp will be the biggest challenge you'll face).

Good luck,

-Jeff

engine is fresh less than 7k, ya there alot of hills around. I jusr remeber hearing of a guy towing a heavy trailer that flipped his pickup on these forums. I just want to make sure that it will be safe. I dont really care how fast i get there, thats a load of bs, but i want to be safe. Ya radiator is on order already. still need to find the other stuff. So i did some serching and found that i need to get the v6 ot t100 master c and brake booster. Is this correct? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

4cyl + 32's + 21ft boat = 5.29 axle gears minimum if not 5.71's if you ask me.

wow, i want to be able to daily drive on the freeway when i am not towing. Should i just bag it?

I don't know exacty how much torque you can get from a 22R but these are the things I've done to my 1st gen 4Runner to help with towing. It's a 3.0L but they really don't put out that much power compared to a well tuned 22R.

K&N Intake
Viper ECU override
2.5" cat back exhaust
OME heavy duty rear leaf packs
OME nitro shocks
Cross drilled front rotors
Green brake pads front & Rear
Class III Draw tite trailer hitch
Brake assist

I use 4 low to pull the boat out of the water and try to use the engine instead of the brakes on long grades.
Thats after I warped my stock rotors and smoked my 1st clutch of course.
have you tried it with your stock truck yet?
Might be worth just running around the hood (I don't mean South Tacoma) with your boat to see if works and going from there. Good luck, hope it works out.

Its either this truck, or sell it and save for a full size. I would rather keep it though. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

skip all the brake hardware improvements on the pickup and install a good brake controller and get a trailer with brakes. it's cheaper, it's easier, and its sure as hell safer.

definetly get yourself a good V6 or turbo radiator.

One benefit will be spiritual. You will develop depth of character and a comtemplative perspective on life with the extra travel time and peaceful pace. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/zombie.gif" alt="" />

If the screaming squirrels aren't too much of a distraction...

hmmm alot of good options here. And all i know is that squirrels are good eatin! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />