New to towing :D

[JonE]

Hi,
i want to tow my "brand new" 1974 boler I bought today with my Subaru Outback 1996, which has a maximum towing capacity of 2000 pounds. The trailer probably weighs more like a thousand (I hope). Before I get the hitch mounted onto the car, what should I take especially good care off? I read in a view topics that trailer breaks are recommended, how is that done and is that expensive? Any general tips are appreciated, as I am a complete noob. For all Canadians, is Canadian Tire a good place to get it done? And what kind of Hitch? aaaah

[Booker B.]

Hi Jon,

There are quite a few members on this forum who have or are towing trailers (13'-15') with the older subarus - by older I mean previous to the 2.5 liter with the 2400-2700lb capacity. When I had my hitch installed last year he only option for our 2005 Forester was a Class II hitch which is what I recommend you get. I also had it wired for a brake controller / 7 pin system and it was pretty expensive - just under a $1000 CDN at a dedicated hitch installer for the works. To have trailer brakes installed on your Boler is going to be another $600 - $800 CDN from what I have read onthis forum. They will need to replace your Axle with one that has the proper brake flange and brakes.

I have towed our 13' Trillium (a little heavier then a Boler) without brakes and it's doable. However, we have a few mountains here in BC and I don't feel comfortable running without them when I have kids in the car.

Your trailer is more likely 1200lbs +. The 900lb base weight they give these trailers is without fridge/stove/furnace etc.

I have never used Canadian Tire for doing mechanical work. Anyone else?

[JonE]

Thanks for your reply and the private message I received regarding this topic. I was also wondering how hard it will be on the transmission to tow the trailer day in and day out for a couple months at a time. A friend of mine who knows nothing about trailers, but lots about cars, says I would have to install a transmission cooler. Is that really necessary for my automatic 1996 subaru outback?

Also I kind of want to go without trailer breaks, as the owner before me had no problems without them, unless you guys strongly advise against it

[Booker B.]

Hi Jon,

I don't have a transmission cooler on mine though it is generally recommended. I have put around 8000 miles towing the Trillium and so far so good.

As far as trailer brakes the 2 main reasons to have them are a.) saves wear on your car brakes and b.) panic stops. If you always give yourself a lot of room to stop then you shouldn't have any problems. Once you pair them together and do a couple of test stops you will know if you need them.