2023 Outback towing 13’ casita - Fiberglass RV
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Old 01-12-2023, 11:07 PM   #1
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Name: Marcan
Trailer: Casita
Oregon
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2023 Outback towing 13’ casita

Has anyone had any experience towing. 13’ casita with a newer Outback any input appreciated
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Old 01-13-2023, 08:10 AM   #2
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Name: Jonathan
Trailer: ex-Casita, now Alto R series
Massachusetts
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My presumption is that this Subie, as a 2023, is new to you.
Further presumption is that the Casita 13, not made since 2017 or so, is probably not new to you and that you've likely towed it before with whatever you had at that time.
The difference of that tow vehicle with, and without the trailer may be an indication of the differences of the new to you Subaru with, and without the trailer attached to it.

So, get familiarized with the Subaru without towing. Then use the prior tow vehicle's differences of unhitched vs. towing to guide you with the Subie's tow characteristics to expect.
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Old 01-13-2023, 09:21 AM   #3
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Name: Shelby
Trailer: Casita SD
Tennessee
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With the turbo option you get 3500# tow rating which should be OK for your 13'. My concern would be the CVT (transmission) but there are apparently two types of CVT. One is OK for towing, one is not. Someone may elaborate or you can Google.
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Old 01-13-2023, 10:14 AM   #4
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The other type of CVT is an eCVT and is part of a hybrid powertrain. Subaru uses a conventional belt and pulley CVT. Like you I am leery of CVTs in general and especially for towing. It was the reason we went with a RAV4 over another CR-V when we replaced my wife’s daily driver in 2019.

However, there is no doubt CVTs have gotten better over time. Many have a sport or towing mode for better performance when towing The Outback is a very popular tow vehicle for 13’ers, and I have yet to hear of a transmission failure. If you travel light and your driving style is conservative, and if you don’t spend too much time in mountains and other severe towing conditions, I expect you will find it satisfactory.

In base trim, rated 2700/270#, Outback is one of the better towing values out there for a 13’ trailer. There aren’t many sub-$30K options left with at least 2500# tow rating for a 13’er. If I could afford the turbo upgrade, I’d probably be looking at a few other options, including the Mazda CX-50. Mazda uses conventional automatic transmissions.
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Old 01-13-2023, 01:09 PM   #5
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Name: John
Trailer: Scamp 16 Deluxe
Colorado
Posts: 286
Just watch your tongue weight...

Form my limited experience (a 2004 Forester), that's the source of trouble when towing with a Subaru. We towed a larger Scamp with 200 lbs on the tongue, and that caused the car to squat quite a bit at the rear. At the time, there was no way to reinforce the rear suspension to support the weight better. The car had a MacPherson strut rear suspension, similar to the front. That design puts the shock absorber inside the coil spring, so you can't add air bags, as you can with other brands. Subaru's design has changed over the years, but the shock is still mounted inside the spring.

Your lighter trailer may be less of a problem. Have someone stand on the back bumper and see what happens.
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Old 01-13-2023, 06:24 PM   #6
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2020 and newer Outbacks ride on a shortened version of the Ascent chassis, and tongue weight ratings were increased significantly. It shouldn’t be an issue.
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