towing with a Subaru

[newtorvs]

I had a tough time finding a camper that fits the tow capacities of my Forrester (200 lb hitch weight and 2400 tow capacity. I found ome. Just wondering if anyone else is towing wit a forrester and how's it working for you.

[Herk7769]

I think, if a new TV is out of the question, that a small (no more than 6 feet) enclosed utility trailer loaded with a good quality tent would be your "way to go."

Much more than that would be unsafe for you and your family, IMHO.
The wheel base of the Forrester would even preclude the use of a larger utility trailer.

[BigDTx]

our old Coleman/fletwood popup was about 2000 lbs with a 200 lb tounge weight. I pulled it with a 97 F150 2wd, 95 Pathfinder 4wd, and a 03 Tribute 2wd. I think the tribute would be similar to teh forester in wheelbase and weight Caps. There are campers out there that fit the specs. If I was to use short wheelbase TV then I would def look into sway control and trailer brakes.

[bikendan]

in the 6 years i've been on RV forums, i've never read a post from a Forester owner towing any type of RV.
you could search the various popup/tent trailer forums and see if a Forester owner has posted there.

you're going to be limited to the smallest popup or teardrop trailer, with that little amount of tow/hitch capacity.

[Triguy]

I camped last June next to a family with a light truck towing this. You could tow it.



I introduced myself to the husband and he showed me the trailer over a few beers. It had a sleeping compartment for his two boys and a little kitchen area. seemed to hold a lot of cargo, too, for the amount of space.

He and his wife would use a tent, of course.

[MtnGuy]

Still too much tongue weight for the Forester, but did all of you guys know that Flagstaff and Rockwood now offer a hard sided pop-up similar to the A-liners ?? I saw a couple of those puppies at the Dulles RV show, and they are nice.

[newtorvs]

Viking / clipper has a pop up with 116 lb toung weight and 1648 lb overall empty weight. I'm going for it. I'll let you know in April how it goes

[BigDTx]

It is def in specs, how many feet is it? Atleast get a friction sway control they are inexpensive and should work well for that trailer wt. Remember you are going to have an extra 2000lbs pushing you when it is time to stop, does it have elect brakes? are they an option? makes towing 100% safer.

good luck and have fun! let us know how it works out for you.

[newtorvs]

I've been looking at friction swaybar. Do these work well without weight distribution system?

[The_Stuff]

id just not tow anything with a subaru. i dunno what it is but they can win rally championships but cant tow a decent trailer without taking out the transmission. might have to do with the AWD part or it could be the type of alignment for the wheels.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by newtorvs

I've been looking at friction swaybar. Do these work well without weight distribution system?

don't know without knowing what you're planning to tow.
the hitch might have the knob that the friction bar goes on.
but not sure if there's a hitch receiver for the Suburu that would be able to have a hitch with this feature.

not sure what you've got to put the hitch ball into.

[newtorvs]

Originally Posted by The_Stuff

id just not tow anything with a subaru. i dunno what it is but they can win rally championships but cant tow a decent trailer without taking out the transmission. might have to do with the AWD part or it could be the type of alignment for the wheels.

Before I took the plunge I let a buddy tow with his forrester for a year. No problems he travels across Oh an Pa no problems

[acadianbob]

I think you can tow with a Sub. Just keep your pop-up box to 10' or less; say 1,700 pounds or less. Don't think you need any sway control. We have towed a pop-up from MN to the Rockies and back with a 4cyl Toyota. It works.