towing a sailplane trailer / vehicle

Ryan,

I tow my glider with a 2005 Subaru Forester with the 2.5 liter four
cylinder, non-turbocharged gasoline engine, with 4 speed automatic
transmission.

Before I found the car, I first towed my trailer with a friend's car,
fully loaded with glider, tail dolly, tow-out gear, wash bucket, wing
stand, folding chair, etc, to a truck stop and weighed the trailer on
the scales. Result: 2,040 lbs! A LOT heavier than I had
anticipated. Tongue weight is 180 lbs. That, too is a lot more than
anticipated. But once I knew the weight of the trailer, I knew what I
had to look for in a tow vehicle. Oh, by the way, the "tow vehicle"
was going to be my every day driver, too. So, it had to be affordable
to purchase and to drive. And the Subaru fit the bill.

The Forester is rated to tow 2,400 lbs (in America. Seems to be
different in different countries. Lawyers at work?) if the trailer
has brakes. Only 1,000 lbs if the trailer doesn't have brakes. My
trailer, a Swan, has brakes. Max tongue weight is 200 lbs.

While my trailer weighs less than the maximum allowable tow weight, I
did have an automatic transmission oil cooler installed. Necessary?
I don't know. But I had it installed anyway. Subaru doesn't offer an
auxillary transmission cooler (the stock setup routes transmission oil
to a section of the radiator for cooling), so I had an independant
transmission shop install it for me.

Here on the east coast of USA, the Subaru tows the trailer just fine.
I have towed it up the steep climbs on I-77 through North Carolina,
Virginia and West Virginia without problems. On those climbs, I
pulled the transmission down to third gear and continued on at about
50 mph. I've pulled it up to New Castle, VA without any problems.
Now, one caveat is that on all these trips, the outside temperature
was cool. I've never had the opportunity to tow it up through the
mountains on a hot day. There is a transmission temperature "idiot
light" that is supposed to come on when the transmission gets hot.
I've never seen it come on. Not really sure if that means the tranny
is toast once it comes on, or just saying to pull over and let it cool
down before preceeding on...

Gas mileage towing varies from 20 - 22 mpg. Without the trailer, on
the highway, it gets about 26 mpg. As an everyday driver, it does
just fine. No, it's not as refined as my previous Honda Accord. It's
noiser in the cabin, less room, somewhat "cheaper" looking than either
the Accord or my wife's Hyundai Sonata. But here's the main point:
It is rated to tow my trailer. Nothing else matters.

Since it has the non-turbo engine, it burns regular ocatane gasoline.
Go with the turbo option, and you have to use premium gasoline. Your
fun factor goes up, but so does the gas bill.

The new Outbacks can be bought, in America, with a new 3.5 liter six
cylinder engine and it uses regular octane gasoline. I think in the
previous six, you had to use premium. If you get the four cylinder, I
think you get a continuously variable transmission, and I don't know
how that would work out for towing.

In Europe, the Forester is available with a four cylinder turbo-
diesel. Too bad we don't have that available in America. Not yet,
anyway.

So, I can recommend a Subaru for towing your trailer.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA