Yes the Outback tows great

[Parker Buckley]

This has been an interesting read. Around 2010, we upgraded from a 13' Scamp to a 16' Casita, towing the latter home from Alabama to Ohio. Back then, at least, our LL Bean 3.0 liter Outback was rated at 3000# total and 150# max on the hitch (not the normal 10%). There was just no way I could load that Casita and/or car to avoid overloading the rear axle of the Outback. I weighed car, camper, and everything I loaded into it and did aircraft-style weight and balance calculations. It was just not going to stay within factory limits. I asked our dealer about options such as a small WDH, and he was adamant that we were simply overloading the car and asking for problems. Yes, the car towed the camper home just fine, but we decided to upgrade to a Highlander. Good luck with your Subarus (I loved ours), but please do check the numbers. Maybe they have greater capabilities now.

[dmpyron]

One thing to be wary about is the CVT. I used to race Formula 500s and the CVT was always a reliability issue. Now while one might say "hey, that's a race car" the thing is that the typical failure mode was one that many might find in a towing situation. Running pretty much b2w (race speak for full throttle) and suddenly having to lift then start to accelerate again. Kind of like running down I10 outside of Fort Stockton when a jackalope runs out in front of you. If you lift all of the way out, but don't slow the car down enough, when you get back on the guess what has happened is that the trans has basically "unwound" itself and you are now putting torque back into it. But at the same time it's running against a vehicle that wants to do exactly the opposite of what you are asking it to do. It's hard to simulate in a car with an automatic and it actually takes some real driving skill to do it in a manual. Shouldn't ordinarily be a problem, but now you have a ton or so pushing on the car that it really doesn't want to be there. What will happen is that the transmission will experience what's sometimes called "whiplash", where it runs in and out trying to find its sweet spot. The ugly thing is that the failure may not happen then. It may happen three weeks later when you're heading back to the house with a gallon of milk and you stop at the light. The light turns green, you step on the gas and the trans says " you".


So yes, you may have very many happy miles hauling the trailer pushing on the edge of the envelope, but it's still better to have a bigger envelope than you think you need. And remember that regardless of what your vehicle is rated for, what was it actually designed to do "for a living"?
Most of the vehicles on the road these days were born to be grocery getters. How many people are actually using their SUVs as anything other than plushy mini vans that weigh 5000 pounds?



That said, we're going to buy a 4WD Pilot. I like the Forrester (it's dog approved, after all ) but I don't like to cut things that close. I have a race car if I want to break parts.

[Scoutfollower]

I love these threads, there are literally thousands of vehicles professionally set up and others by novices that tow above their tow rating....(see "can-am RV" in London Ontario) that go a hundred thousand miles without severe vehicle issues, shortened component life? Sure but plenty of great trips with no unusual failures or accidents either. Then there are literally thousands of vehicles towing WAY under their rated capacity with all sorts of setups that literally eat transmissions, differential gears, etc.....oh and lots of wrecks too....
I would like to know why......

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Scoutfollower

I would like to know why......

Statistics will tell you anything you want...depending on how the question is phrased .

[Rzrbrn]

Originally Posted by Scoutfollower

I love these threads, there are literally thousands of vehicles professionally set up and others by novices that tow above their tow rating....(see "can-am RV" in London Ontario) that go a hundred thousand miles without severe vehicle issues, shortened component life? Sure but plenty of great trips with no unusual failures or accidents either. Then there are literally thousands of vehicles towing WAY under their rated capacity with all sorts of setups that literally eat transmissions, differential gears, etc.....oh and lots of wrecks too....
I would like to know why......

It would be interesting to see actual quantitative statistics and comparisons rather than non substantiated gun feelings....

[Scoutfollower]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

It would be interesting to see actual quantitative statistics and comparisons rather than non substantiated gun feelings....

Explain?
I've not collected data but I have ran (owned) a busy repair facility for 34 years so I'm not throwing this info out there without a basis for my words.
What I said is true however.
I know there are good and bad setups but after years of only using trucks to tow with I learned why that isn't always a good setup and why certain setups are always going to tow better than others, it was enlightening to learn the "why" after always thinking a big heave tow rig is needed.
Education is good. 😊

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by dmpyron

...How many people are actually using their SUVs as anything other than plushy mini vans that weigh 5000 pounds?

That said, we're going to buy a 4WD Pilot...

Guilty. I bought a 2011 FWD Pilot as a replacement for our 2000 Sienna. The Pilot is actually more compact and maneuverable than the new Siennas, more ground clearance (for campgrounds, not off-roading), a fold-flat floor for extra sleeping, and completely set up for towing from the factory with 7-pin wiring and brake controller port. Less interior volume, though, and a small fuel economy penalty- not as much as you'd expect. We did consider another so-called minivan, but the latest generation had just become too large.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

It would be interesting to see actual quantitative statistics and comparisons rather than non substantiated gun feelings....

After reading hundreds of these TV threads , it appears that many would still believe anecdotal evidence or personal opinion over quantitative statistics and comparisons .
It’s like anything else on the internet , if you search hard enough you can find someone who agrees with your opinion
The phrase “Meets my Expectations “ is not helpful to me unless I know what those expectations are

[Glenn Baglo]

Anecdotal, not antidotal

Anecdotal cognitivism is a psychological methodology that attributes mental states to animals on the basis of anecdotes and on the observation of particular cases, other than those observations made during controlled experiments.

[Ak Ron]

Bottom line in choice of a TV is a blend of meeting needs for tow capacity and meeting needs for the rest of the time. Most of the time we are not towing so features like performance in snow and gas mileage are important for us. AND the Subaru Forester also can tow our rv very well.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Anecdotal, not antidotal

Anecdotal cognitivism is a psychological methodology that attributes mental states to animals on the basis of anecdotes and on the observation of particular cases, other than those observations made during controlled experiments.

Thanks Glenn , I need to double check my spelling before posting . Spelling corrected

[Parker Buckley]

I just looked at new Subaru Outback specs listed by the local dealer. They still show 200# as max tongue weight (not the 150# I posted previously). Our 16' Casita, empty, with no propane tanks weighed 2420#. The tongue weight, empty, no propane tanks was right at the 200# limit. When loaded for camping, with propane tanks, the gross weight was 2736# with 252# on the tongue. That's only 9.2% of total weight on the tongue. I had no option to move weight aft without getting too light on the tongue for safe handling. The numbers don't lie, and I wasn't willing to risk the consequences of towing that way, either from a safety or legal perspective.

[EggRoll]

We have a 2013 Outback Limited with the 2.5 engine and would not have thought it could pull the 16' Scamp, mostly due to exceeding the tongue weight and getting very close to the maximum weight capacity. I have towed my 15 foot aluminum boat that fully loaded with trailer, outboard motor, gear and fuel probably weighs about 900 pounds and handles that with ease.

[redbarron55]

Originally Posted by floyd

6'3"

Except in the back and under the AC or escape vent

[floyd]

Originally Posted by redbarron55

Except in the back and under the AC or escape vent

or underneath! You forgot that one!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Anecdotal, not antidotal

Anecdotal cognitivism is a psychological methodology that attributes mental states to animals on the basis of anecdotes and on the observation of particular cases, other than those observations made during controlled experiments.

Sometimes spellcheck is no antidote for bad spelling!

[JamesK]

I can concur that Subaru's are great at towing. I upgraded from a 2007 Subaru Forester (NA 2.5 ltr) to a 2008 Toyota Sienna (V6 3.5 ltr) 6 years ago.

Even though the Sienna is rated at 3500 lbs towing, the Subaru towed cooler and faster over the Rocky mountains. I only have a tent trailer, but it was the same trailer/brake controller set up for both tow vehicles.

Subaru's new Ascent (midsized suv) is rated for 5000 lbs with a turbo 2.4 ltr.

[GaryDon]

There is one very important thing to consider. From a mechanical standpoint pulling a trailer and especially with a small engine is considered SEVERE Service. Check your owner's manual for the required lubricant and lubricant change intervals. This is where the good synthetic oils shine in reducing wear, lowering operating temperatures, increasing gas mileage. My personal preference as a mechanical engineer who has researched this issue and sent in oil sample to the laboratories my preference is Amsoil products. They even have an oil for CV transmissions. This is not meant to start an oil discussion. Pick the one you like and use it.

[dmpyron]

I used Castrol 20W-50 for years in my street car when I was also autocrossing it. Now that's a different sort of abuse, but towing a small trailer behind my Civic (4 tires, air pump and small toolbox) didn't help. Especially since Honda said towing was a no-no. But I was dragging a less than 500 lb trailer with a less than 50 lb tongue.


Note to cheaters: I learned this from the Miata guys. Installing a hitch stiffened the chassis. But it was legal.

[Parker Buckley]

Originally Posted by dmpyron

Note to cheaters: I learned this from the Miata guys. Installing a hitch stiffened the chassis. But it was legal.

I'm not sure how to interpret this relative to towing (are you referring to towing or autocrossing?). I wish something like that would have worked for our Subaru, because I really liked that car. The 3.0 6 cylinder had a lot of guts without a turbo.

When I asked our very experienced dealer about using a small weight distribution hitch on the car, he thought I was crazy trying to put that sort of stress into the back end of what is essentially a unibody structure. I was hoping to work my way around the problem of too much weight on the rear axle by using a WDH, but I finally decided that was wishful thinking on my part. I really tried, though!