tow vehicle

[jbotto]

I'm looking to tow a Rockwood A124 (1900 lbs) with Subaru Outback 2.5. The weight limit for this vehicle is 2700 lbs but my husband is worried about mountain driving with it.
Any thoughts on whether this is a good idea? Also, I need some mirror extensions since the trailer is wider than the car. Any suggestions for this?

[timfromma]

I just looked it up and your car is only rated for 200lbs of tongue weight. Since most trailers carry 15% weight on the tongue your well over.

[Happy Vibe]

That 200 lbs tongue weight will really limit you. Also someone on the Subaru forum said the manual stays if you tow up a steep hill you need to reduce the weight you can tow. I would read your owners manual very carefully so see what the restrictions are.

[whj469]

Listen to your husband.

[bikendan]

How did you determine the towing capacity of 2700lbs?
That sounds high but but it is probably only that much IF it has the factory tow package.

[timfromma]

Originally Posted by bikendan

How did you determine the towing capacity of 2700lbs?
That sounds high but but it is probably only that much IF it has the factory tow package.

2700lbs is accurate.

http://www.autobytel.com/subaru/outb...pecifications/

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by timfromma

2700lbs is accurate.

http://www.autobytel.com/subaru/outb...pecifications/

Not sure if I would consider autobytel as a good towing specs reference source.
But if it is, that's almost certainly only if equipped with factory tow package.

[La Plata View]

A couple of years back I tried towing a small pop-up camper with our Subaru Forester (2.5 ltr, boxer 4 cylinder, non-turbo). Now I don't know how much that pop-up weighed but I doubt it was much over 1,000 lbs. On a nearly flat stretch of road it struggled to get up to speed. Mind you we were in Santa Fe, NM at the time where the altitude is around 7,200 feet. But there's no way I wanted to attempt going anywhere even with that little weight.

I suspect tow capacities are calculated in the Florida Keys (flat as can be and an elevation of about 2'). The altitude really robs engine power in addition to overcoming the mountainous grades. Try it if you must, but I think it will only frustrate you every mile you drive.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Not sure if I would consider autobytel as a good towing specs reference source.
But if it is, that's almost certainly only if equipped with factory tow package.

2015 Trailer Life confirms 2,700 lbs.

Payload or tongue weight is never discussed.

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by jbotto

I'm looking to tow a Rockwood A124 (1900 lbs) with Subaru Outback 2.5. The weight limit for this vehicle is 2700 lbs but my husband is worried about mountain driving with it.
Any thoughts on whether this is a good idea? Also, I need some mirror extensions since the trailer is wider than the car. Any suggestions for this?

Tongue weight on the Forest River A-frame series is generally pretty high - 300+lbs, with 400 pretty close to actual for many owners. Towing my A122 with my Hyundai Entourage minivan required a WDH to stop the rear end sag and restore handling to near stock.

The Entourage has a 3.5L 250HP V-6 with torque to match. A Colorado/Nebraska headwind of 30MPH can force a transmission downshift, and knock the gas mileage from 19MPG towing to 14MPG towing. I find the wind has the greatest effect on fuel mileage, which means dragging even a pop-up has significant air resistance.

My third concern as an A-frame owner is that your camper is nowhere close to 1900lbs. The yellow sticker on my A122 is 2100lbs, and your A124 is heavier. Your actual tow weight is likely to be the full 2700lbs or higher. As I said, the wind resistance is more critical than weight - UNTIL you need to go up a mountain grade at altitude. At 6,000ft you have lost 25% of your available engine power (unless you have a turbocharger), and trailer weight adds to the load going uphill.

Finally, you will need an electric brake controller to be able to stop safely.

Personally, I think you need a bigger tow vehicle with at least a 3.3L V-6 and 3500lb tow rating to feel comfortable towing your A124. But then I live in Colorado, and the mountains, high altitude, and high winds are facts of life.

That said, we love our A-frame, and love camping with it. It stores in the garage, takes 15 minutes to set-up or take down, and tows very nicely behind the Entourage with an Equalizer E-2 600/6000 WDH/anti-sway. My wife feels safe and comfortable doing the driving with this rig. Our previous rig was a Coleman Westlake PUP towed by a 1993 Ford Explorer, no WDH - that was a white knuckle experience most of the time.

Fred W
2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame (actual camping weight 2730 lbs)
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado one weekend at a time
last trip: Waco and Palo Duro State Park, Texas
next trip: Mt Rushmore and Custer State Park, South Dakota