4 cylinder auto

[Gerry Kiernan]

Check to see if the vehicle you are getting has a "Tow/Haul" feature. It can make a big difference. It changes the shifting RPM and acceleration to match the load.

[Radar1]

I believe the Outback should be fine on those hills with the 13' Scamp. Ours is a 16' Scamp so we are close to the 2700 lb limit when loaded for travel, but the Outback handles that load pretty well on our hills in GA, TN, and NC.
I was considering taking the Outback out West this year, where they have some pretty steep grades, but it was time for the timing belt change which I didn't have time to do before the trip, plus we were taking a whole lot of "stuff" that made our Dakota a better choice for that trip. I do have to reconfigure the Scamp when using the Outback so I can get the tongue weight lower (remove one of the propane tanks, move extra weight to behind the axle, etc). I would be more willing to tackle those big hills out West if I was towing just a lighter 13' Scamp, but I'm sure the Outback would handle it as long as I followed the manufacturer's limits for towing at high temperatures on steep grades.

[Radar1]

Originally Posted by Gerry Kiernan

Check to see if the vehicle you are getting has a "Tow/Haul" feature. It can make a big difference. It changes the shifting RPM and acceleration to match the load.

Looking at the Subaru website, the current Subarus with the CVT have a tow/haul/snow mode. My 08 Subaru basic old fashioned 4 speed auto has a "Sport" mode that should be used for towing.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Darral T.

I pull with a Nissan Frontier 4 cyl. I personally would not pull anything larger than my 1800lb 13' Scamp. If you enjoy hearing a motor "labor" up the hills in Tenn. then it probably wouldnt matter. It does to me. FWIW, mine is also a manual shift. I personally would not drive this truck and pull my trailer if it was an automatic.

Most 4CYL gasoline engines are short stroke which means slower piston speed at high RPM compared engines with a long stroke It is precisely this feature which makes them work so well with a manual transmission on hills and towing, don't be afraid to drop a gear or two and keep the R's up on those TN hills.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

It might be helpful to Suburu owners, as well as HC-1 wannabees, if you could get an accurate real world weight and post that value.

The "real world" weights are not much more than an admonition against overloading.
I have a friend who's trailer's actual weight as equipped(front bath) from the factory was 1700 pounds, his "real world" weight was over 2600 pounds on a Scamp13!!
That is not a real world weight THAT IS OVERLOADING!
The empty weight as factory equipped would make a much more fair comparison.
For instance... A base Scamp13 without a package will surely weigh less than a base HC-1. with what ever standard boxes come with it.

I suggest two things....
1] The manufacturer's estimates are the best starting point.

2]Learn to travel without concrete lawn ornaments or Lucy's boulder collection.

[Jon in AZ]

Your friend, Floyd, may have thought he had plenty of capacity because he only knew the dry weight and GVWR, not realizing that his heavily optioned trailer had an as-built weight much closer to the GVWR.

In my perfect world, the build sheet would list the base price and base weight of the particular model/layout. And every option box would have both a price and a weight. At the end I'd get both a bottom-line price and an as-built weight. A printout of the build and weight data would be affixed to the inside of the trailer. It would also include the GVWR and cargo capacity.

Okay.. maybe not perfect... how about new and improved?

[honda03842]

The reality is you only know your weight when your loaded and ready for the road.

Once loaded I weight the tongue weight. I pressurize the tires to cold pressure, in my case 50 psi.

My tires sit on 2x6 boards in our yard. I measure the length of the tire patch area. The length is proportional to the weight on each side. If the lengths and tire pressures are nearly equal, the weight is nearly equal on each side.

I then weight the tongue.

This is my once a year process and tells me everything I need to know about my trailer's weight.

I simply drive my loaded trailer to the transfer station every year before we leave and measure the weight by driving thru the scales.

In some sense it's kind of silly because in the years we've traveled in our Scamp 16, trailer weight and tongue weight have barely moved, 2400 lbs on the axle and 200 pounds on the tongue.

It's of course possible to do this when you first get your empty trailer.

[Darral T.]

Yer right Floyd..... Ya know when I first decided to pull a trailer with this truck, I also talked with the local Nissan dealer's service rep. I've known him for awhile and I trust what he tells me. Anyway, I was laying out the scenario for pulling a 1750 lb Scamp and how I had taken care of the truck over the years...bla bla. Then he tells, me, "Well, let me tell you, you're going to have to get use to hearing that engine rev!". Problem is, I never have!

Originally Posted by floyd

Most 4CYL gasoline engines are short stroke which means slower piston speed at high RPM compared engines with a long stroke It is precisely this feature which makes them work so well with a manual transmission on hills and towing, don't be afraid to drop a gear or two and keep the R's up on those TN hills.