Hauling with a Subaru

[Gerry]

We have Lady-bug, a 13 foot Boler, no brakes, and actualy bought it last year with thoughts of hauling with our Subaru Outback. NO TOW PKG.
The Outback has a 4 cylinder and is an automatic with a tow rateing of 2000 lbs which is well above the dry weight of the camper and I would assume under the full weight because with just the wife and I, we travel lite.
On another forum someone said they had a Subaru Outback and they went cross country with simmilar trailer and it with no problems.
I asked this person a few questions but because my questions were a bit off track of the forum's subject I got no response so I ask them here.
Will my Outback, with a properly installed hitch do OK?
Is it an expensive deal to have a transmission cooling system installed in Car?
Gerry

[Roger H]

Gerry, we have a number of members here who tow or have towed with Subarus and will be able to give you specifics, but your Outback, while probably not a dragster, ought to do a respectable job hauling your 13' under most conditions. Make sure you consult your owner's manual for all the details. You'll definitely want to contact your dealer and have all of the "tow package" pieces installed; whatever that may be for an Outback (there may be more than the hitch, wiring, and transmission cooler but I doubt it). Transmission coolers themselves aren't too expensive, typically around $100 installed.

Roger

[Cam A]

I haul a 1600 pound Surfside with my 98 Subaru Forester; no trailer brakes (although I may do them if the axle needs replacing) and no tranny cooler. Been to 6500 feet at Crater Lake with 4 in the car. Subaru's AWD makes them great tugs.

[Ken James]

We towed a Triillium 4500 (15 foot) from southern British Columbia up the Alaska Highway and back down the Cassiar without a lick of trouble. So it goes without saying that another 5,000 mile trip through the southwestern US was also no problem. Just remember, they are only 4 bangers and you will lose speed climbing hills. Go for it - we loved our Subaru.

[Joseph Olajos]

Hi Gerry
We have an '01 Subaru Forester,(4-Spd Auto) that we towed our 13'Trillium with, thru' Northern Ontario last year...no trailer brakes, no tranny cooler... no problems at all. Not too much flat ground in N. Ontario !!!
Just be aware of slowing traffic, give yourself plenty of room to slow down...gear down to 2 for additional braking, once you've slowed;drove in 3rd gear about 90% of the trip;o/Drive should be used only with a good tailwind or downhill !!! Only mod to the Forester has been to have RV dealer install 7-wire wiring harness w/battery charge circuit.
and on the road we travel with 3-way fridge on 12 v then switch to either 120v or propane once we are on site.
Gas mileage on that trip of 612 Km (380) miles was 25.1 miles to the Cdn gallon.Not too bad, really; the best mileage with that car is around 36 mpg (Hwy)not towing anything, with 2-3 on board.

Joe/Peterborough/Ontario

[jack maloney]

[Brian B-P]

Since I have no way to control the traffic hazards around me, I would not count on always having lots of room to stop. I would read the owners manual (as I read my Toyota's manual) and note the likely requirement for trailer brakes.

My Boler is roughly twice the weight of the Ladybug, but my Sienna is much larger than the Subaru, and I would not consider giving up my trailer brakes.

[Christi W]

We have Lady-bug, a 13 foot Boler, no brakes, and actualy bought it last year with thoughts of hauling with our Subaru Outback. NO TOW PKG.
The Outback has a 4 cylinder and is an automatic with a tow rateing of 2000 lbs which is well above the dry weight of the camper and I would assume under the full weight because with just the wife and I, we travel lite.

Gerrry, I might be mistaken, but I think my Baja suggests brakes over 1000 pounds.
That said, we can haul our 17' Burro just fine. But, I got down a hill and could not turn around and nearly burned the Sub up trying to back it out. (It is a manual transmission, by the way). So, it might go up and down just fine, just watch for any backing problems uphill . Mine wouldn't do it

[John Mc]

Over two years and about 5,000 miles, I've towed a Scamp with a Forester ('04 XS), I've never had a reason to wish for any other tow vehicle. I don't know another car so versatile as a tow vehicle, a backroads wanderer, and a city scout, doing each job beautifully. My trailer is a 16-footer, but an ultralight one that tips the scales at an even ton, so your 13'er should be an easier burden.

I've never had a moment I wasn't glad I have a manual transmission, though. Transmission temps are the least of my concerns. The car has "adequate" power, as Rolls-Royce used to say, but I wouldn't want to lose any the 166 ft. lbs. to a slushbox. Even though I don't use 5th gear much, I sure need all the other four! I use engine braking as my primary speed control on long downhills in the Rockies. My brakes lasted 60,000 miles before relining. I echo Brian's point about trailer brakes, especially with that automatic transmission. Still, I envy owners of the LL Bean editions, because they get self-leveling rear suspensions, along with their compulsory automatic transmissions.

There's a pervasive prejudice in the US against towing with cars. Both Scamp and Subaru technicians warned me against hitching these two together. Scamp said I'd need a mid-sized SUV or truck with a six; a Suby service rep told me I shouldn't use a brake controller because I "shouldn't tow anything large enough to need one" (though the manufacturer lists the allowable weight for my model as 2,400 lbs with brakes, vs. 1,000 lbs without). I'm glad I disregarded their advice and found out the truth on my own.

[Gerry]

Over two years and about 5,000 miles, I've towed a Scamp with a Forester ('04 XS), I've never had a reason to wish for any other tow vehicle. I don't know another car so versatile as a tow vehicle, a backroads wanderer, and a city scout, doing each job beautifully. My trailer is a 16-footer, but an ultralight one that tips the scales at an even ton, so your 13'er should be an easier burden.

This is all great to know.
As stated the whole idea of going with the small trailer was to tow with the smaller tug.
The Suba is my wifes car and she insisted that we use the old Toyota truck as the tug but the 12 year old thing is begining to show it's age and oil and water is always begining to show under it.
I will for sure have her read these messages to put her mind at ease about getting the Subaru hooked up for a safe and trouble free summer.
Thanks for the responses.
Gerry

[jack maloney]

A note on my photos above, which were taken in British Columbia, Wyoming and Nova Scotia. We put 11,000 miles on our UHaul egg in the first two years, driving coast-to-coast and extensively in the mountains. The UHaul does not have brakes, and I never felt the need for any. If you drive sensibly and remember that load behind you, your Subaru will be just fine with a 13-footer.

[jasoncarder]

Gerrry, I might be mistaken, but I think my Baja suggests brakes over 1000 pounds.
That said, we can haul our 17' Burro just fine. But, I got down a hill and could not turn around and nearly burned the Sub up trying to back it out. (It is a manual transmission, by the way). So, it might go up and down just fine, just watch for any backing problems uphill . Mine wouldn't do it

I had a similar situation with our UHaul 13'. When we first got it, I had a 4-cylinder S10 (I've since upgraded to a 1/2 ton GMC pickup). It pulled adequately, but our driveway is pretty steep and I nearly burned the clutch up backing it up the driveway. That's something that had not crossed my mind before then. And, not to beat a dead horse, but I would certainly not feel safe towing ANY trailer with my wife's Subaru without trailer brakes.

[Carol H]

I was very intreasted in this thread as I have an 07 Subaru Outback & I am wondering what others might considering tow with it as we are in the market for a trailer.

Subaru Outback towing rate is 3000 lbs with breaks. Max Tongue of 200 lbs.
Curb weight of car is 3430 lbs and GVWR 4435.
Class II hitch max 3500 lbs tongue max 300.
Only two of us will be using the camper - we have a comb weight of just under 300lbs.
Will be adding an brake controller.

Do we need to consider adding anything else to the hitch such as a sway bar?

We would really like to have a camper with a bed we can leave down and a dinette that can stay up.

We love the look of the new Escape www.escapetrailers.com and the layout of Plan B. The trailer is well within our allowable tow weight the dry hitch weight is 250lbs which rules it out for us.

We also love the look and layout of the Casita 16 with the side dinette but weight ok but dry hitch weight of 215lbs puts it out as well.....
The Casita 13 appears to small and the layout does not work for us.

The Scamp 16 with side dinette seems like a pretty good fit for us but the web site does not state what the hitch weight on that layout actually is. Does anyone have experence with one & would be willing to share their experence as to actual weights once loaded?
Would also love to actually see one but we are in Vancouver, Canada.......

Any other suggestions as to what trailer we might consider? Changing TV is not an option.

Thanks for the help.

Carol

[Bobbie Mayer]

When I was worrying about towing my sailboat (about 1000 pounds unloaded but less drag than a trailer) with my Forester (5 speed manual, no towing package) someone pointed out to me that in Australia the same car is rated for twice the towing capacity- 2000 lbs without brakes, 4000 with. I had no problems with 1000 lbs without brakes, but it did slow me down somewhat and I, too, was glad of the extra kick you get with manual transmission.

Bobbie

[Carol H]

When I was worrying about towing my sailboat (about 1000 pounds unloaded but less drag than a trailer) with my Forester (5 speed manual, no towing package) someone pointed out to me that in Australia the same car is rated for twice the towing capacity- 2000 lbs without brakes, 4000 with. I had no problems with 1000 lbs without brakes, but it did slow me down somewhat and I, too, was glad of the extra kick you get with manual transmission.

Bobbie

Thanks Bobbie I am not worried about the weight being to much for the car as I was that the same car in Australia is allowed to tow much more than here.
More worried about staying on the right side of the law in regards to what we tow. I lot of spot checks on that on the road sides here last summer and a lot of people got caught hauling more than what the TV was rated for both in trailer weight and tongue weight.

Carol

[John Perry]

I was very intreasted in this thread as I have an 07 Subaru Outback & I am wondering what others might considering tow with it as we are in the market for a trailer.

Subaru Outback towing rate is 3000 lbs with breaks. Max Tongue of 200 lbs.
Carol

I have a 05 Toyota Tacoma with a 4 cyl. engine and a man. tran. with a tow rating of 3500 lbs. I could not imagine coming close to the 3500 lb limit.
All manufactures rate their towing capacities on level ground. I sold my 14' Burro Wide body and bought a 13 ft Scamp. I am now towing about 1900 lbs and it's OK but still slow on some long hills.
Personal opinion, if you get anything larger than a 13' fiber glass unit you will be disappointed, especially if you plan to do any traveling in the MTS.
What ever you tow with your Subaru if you have an automatic transmission have a transmission cooler installed.

Good luck in your search,
John

[Mary Gessert]

We have been towing a 16' Scamp with brakes using our 2005 Subaru Outback 4 cyl auto trans for about 2 yrs. While we haven't tackled any really high mountains, we have traveled all over the northeast and been extremely happy with our rig. The Subaru owner's manual has extensive information about towing and we follow their recommendations carefully. Our mechanic says that if we do so we do not need a transmission cooler. However, the air temperature and long incline limits referred to in the manual so far have not applied to our driving conditions. We don't get in a hurry, especially in wet weather. I don't think I'd want to try it without brakes though.. It's great to be able to use our economical daily commuting car as a tow vehicle and not have to purchase a truck or SUV with the associated high costs.

[Carol H]

We have been towing a 16' Scamp with brakes using our 2005 Subaru Outback 4 cyl auto trans for about 2 yrs. While we haven't tackled any really high mountains, we have traveled all over the northeast and been extremely happy with our rig. The Subaru owner's manual has extensive information about towing and we follow their recommendations carefully. Our mechanic says that if we do so we do not need a transmission cooler. However, the air temperature and long incline limits referred to in the manual so far have not applied to our driving conditions. We don't get in a hurry, especially in wet weather. I don't think I'd want to try it without brakes though.. It's great to be able to use our economical daily commuting car as a tow vehicle and not have to purchase a truck or SUV with the associated high costs.

Thanks Mary for this info. It is looking very much as though my partner will only settle on a 16' Scamp. He also will not purchase a larger SUV due to green issues.

The local Subaru dealer told me the same thing about the cooler said it should not be needed providing we stay within the allowed weights and out of high temp areas.

What is the configuration of your Scamp?
I wondered if you had every weighed the tongue once you loaded the trailer up and what it came out at. What is a typical load up for you? I am assuming you do not haul with water in the tanks?

We living on the West Coast so not sure we can avoid the hills all that well. We actually live on a rather large one so the weight is of concern to me. It's my daily ride so I would like to be nice to it. It's actually our third Subaru Outback - we find them to be a great all round car.

Carol

[Roger H]

Carol, my 16' Scamp Custom Deluxe side dinette tipped in (as equipped, according to Scamp) at about 2800 lbs dry. The tongue weight would be roughly 15% of that weight or a little over 300 lbs. The standard 16' trailers will weigh about 500 lbs less (dry). I think it's too much trailer for your Subaru. I towed it with a 3.0l Toyota extended cab 4WD pickup with a 3500 lb weight max, and I wouldn't have wanted to tow another ounce with it.

My advice would be to stick with the 13' trailers with your Subaru. Depending on equipment they'll range between 1200 and 2000 lbs dry with tongue weights in your ballpark.

Roger

[Brian B-P]

Carol, I think it will be difficult to find a trailer over 13' with a tongue weight within your range, unless it is a European model designed to go with their normal practices; the 15% guideline Roger mentioned (which is more generally expressed as a minimum of 10% in North America) is replaced by some much lower value there, so trailers have more centrally located axles and thus less tongue weight (part of the reason that tow ratings are higher for the same model overseas than here).

If the appeal of the Scamp 16' is the ability to have that full time bed and dinette, then perhaps a 13' custom layout with two-person front dinette is the answer.