Tow Vehicle Woes

Ray,

Have you looked into Subaru Foresters and Outbacks? They tow good,
and if you can resist the turbo options the gas mileage is fine. They
are all wheel drive so if you landout in a field you'll have better
traction than the front wheel drive cars.
I've got 73000 trouble free miles on my Forester.
Chris

Chris,

Yes, I am considering the Forester. I know you and RQ tow with turbo
versions, but I would look ONLY at the normally aspirated models
because I don't want to pay for the premium octane fuel required for
the turbo models.

The tough adjustment will be that I've been "corrupted" by the
additional power of a V6 and I don't know what it will be like to tow
with a four cylinder, again. Also, both the Forester and the Outback
are smaller than the Accord which will take some time to adjust to.

The 07 Forester is rated to tow 2,400 lbs, but I don't know what the
max tongue weight is. Probably 10% of the max trailer weight.

So, I guess I'm looking for a good, used, Forester.

One good thing: Time is on my side. My flying is done for the winter
and I don't have to worry about towing it anywhere for a while.

Ray

On Oct 21, 10:44 pm, chris wrote:
Ray,

Have you looked into Subaru Foresters and Outbacks? They tow good,
and if you can resist the turbo options the gas mileage is fine. They
are all wheel drive so if you landout in a field you'll have better
traction than the front wheel drive cars.
I've got 73000 trouble free miles on my Forester.
Chris

On Oct 22, 5:22 am, rlovinggood wrote:
Chris,

Yes, I am considering the Forester. I know you and RQ tow with turbo
versions, but I would look ONLY at the normally aspirated models
because I don't want to pay for the premium octane fuel required for
the turbo models.

The tough adjustment will be that I've been "corrupted" by the
additional power of a V6 and I don't know what it will be like to tow
with a four cylinder, again. Also, both the Forester and the Outback
are smaller than the Accord which will take some time to adjust to.

The 07 Forester is rated to tow 2,400 lbs, but I don't know what the
max tongue weight is. Probably 10% of the max trailer weight.

So, I guess I'm looking for a good, used, Forester.

One good thing: Time is on my side. My flying is done for the winter
and I don't have to worry about towing it anywhere for a while.

Ray

On Oct 21, 10:44 pm, chris wrote:



Ray,

Have you looked into Subaru Foresters and Outbacks? They tow good,
and if you can resist the turbo options the gas mileage is fine. They
are all wheel drive so if you landout in a field you'll have better
traction than the front wheel drive cars.
I've got 73000 trouble free miles on my Forester.
Chris- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I think my 05 Outback is rated for 200 lbs tongue weight and 2,700
trailer weight. It has the factory hitch. It's in the shop right now
for an unrelated matter so I can't check.

It's the regular 2.5i version, non-turbo 168 hp. Drives 70-80 no
problem through New Mexico with a Cobra trailer and a 570 lb glider
and other gear in the trailer. This is mostly on I-40 and some
highways. There are places it would probably go a little slower here
though.

Bob

Yes, I am considering the Forester. I know you and RQ tow with turbo
versions, but I would look ONLY at the normally aspirated models
because I don't want to pay for the premium octane fuel required for
the turbo models.

There is a fellow pilot at Truckee (elev. 5,900') who tows his Genesis
2 in a Cobra fiberglass top trailer using a normally aspirated Subaru
Forrester. I'm not sure of the vehicle's year but its the generation
before the current one, maybe a 2003. He has towed it from sea level
and over the Sierra Nevadas without complaints or incident. So I
wuold imagine that a Forrester will be more than enough tow vehicle at
your elevation. He also likes the car's AWD capability as he lives in
the Sierras where it snows heavily during the winters. As an aside,
not all AWD systems are equal. Most systems favor FWD and do not
engage the rear wheels unitl slippage is detected in the front
wheels. Subarus have several versions of AWD depending upon the model
but they have continuous AWD in common, always sending power to all
four wheels. To see how Subaru AWD compares to the competion see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyLgYskj-oc and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7dVF...elated&search=

I did as you suggested, to the best that I could find
another hitch.

The first hitch attached with two bolts through the
bottom of the trunk and one bolt through the 'tie down'
loop that is centered on the car and right at the rear
of the car.

The second hitch did away with the two bolts in the
trunk sheet metal and bolted to the 'frame rails',
but it still had a connection to the 'tie down' loop.

Problem is: The 'tie down' loop, while reinforced,
is still a part of the trunk bottom sheet metal.

Also, the car is rated to tow 1,000 lb. I'm pulling
a trailer that is over 1,000 lbs, closer to 2,000 lbs.
Also, the tongue weight shouldn't be more than 100
lbs for this particular car and I measured the tongue
last weekend with bathroom scales: 170 lbs.

This particular car just isn't going to pull this particular
trailer any more. The hitch has been removed, the
trunk repaired, for the second and last time, and I'm
going to have to get another tow vehicle.

Ray

At 07:00 17 October 2007, Michael Huber wrote:
'Ray Lovinggood' wrote:

I really don't like the idea of having to get rid of
it just because the damned tow hitch won't stay attached.

I just can´t believe there is no solution to the hitch
problem. Try to find
a hitch that attaches to the structure that holds the
rear bumper, not some
sheet metal of the trunk, and keep the car.

Michael

When I had my Hitch installed on my Honda Accord, it was welded on,
not bolted. Never had a problem.