Subaru Outback...how well does it tow a sailplane trailer?

I'm curious how a late model Subaru Outback handles the load of a sailplane trailer. I'm looking at a 3.6 liter V6 with auto trans.

If you use an Outback as a tow vehicle, please share your experiences and detail the motor size, transmission, and towing terrain.

Thanks

ben

If it is rated for the trailer weight, go for it. I drive a 2000 Toyota 4 Runner with auto transfer and 4 cylinder engine. Tows well and I have towed over the Rockies twice in summer (11,000 plus pass). With no problem.

On Jun 15, 8:51*pm, wrote:
I'm curious how a late model Subaru Outback handles the load of a sailplane trailer. I'm looking at a 3.6 liter V6 with auto trans.

If you use an Outback as a tow vehicle, please share your experiences and detail the motor size, transmission, and towing terrain.

Thanks

ben

My 2008 Outback XT is very stable and very powerful. The 2010 or newer
is not as good. I tested a couple and I decided to keep mine until it
gives up. The newer models have more body roll. They are not as stiff
as the older models. It is much softer suspension. I hear the old
engines and transmissions are going to be back in the Forrester. Maybe
suspension is going to be stiffer too. There is always after market
for suspension changes.

Contact Peter Deane. He has used one for years.

wrote, On 6/15/2013 5:51 PM:
I'm curious how a late model Subaru Outback handles the load of a
sailplane trailer. I'm looking at a 3.6 liter V6 with auto trans.

If you use an Outback as a tow vehicle, please share your experiences
and detail the motor size, transmission, and towing terrain.

There can be huge differences between sailplane trailers, so
first, tell us what you are towing: trailer model, and overall weight
and length.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm
http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

Great car, fun to drive. Had a 2000 Outback 2.5l w/ manual gearbox. In the SW USA: for example mountain passes of up to 8000' and grades of 6% on the freeway, temperatures of over 100F possible in the summer.
The Outback towed:
LS-6 in Cobra perfectly.
ASW27 in Cobra perfectly.
Nimbus 3 in Pfeiffer extremely well (better than Chevy Tahoe V8 or Holden Commodore V6), but only after replacing the trailer axle with one having functional brakes.
ASH26E in Cobra extremely well. BUT this heavy trailer tore up the viscous coupler in the AWD.
If it wasn't for the viscous coupler being unchanged in later and even more powerful models, I'd have bought another Outback.
Get the extended warranty if only for the AWD and the infamous head gaskets. (blew the head gaskets twice in mine)
Now waiting for the popular Audi Allroad 2.0l TDI to be brought into the USA, "only" twice the price of the Outback.
Jim

I used an Impreza WRX for a couple of years and it worked great!

--Noel

I've used my wife's Subaru Outback, 3.6 liter, flat six, auto trans, to tow
my LAK-17a in its LAK-T5 trailer from TSA (Midlothian, TX) to Moriarty, NM
and twice from Moriarty to Jean, NV and back.

So long as the trailer is properly loaded, it tows just fine. Comparing it
to my Ford Edge which, being heavier, tows a bit better, the Subaru gets
much better gas mileage than the Ford (towing or not).

It won't carry as much as one of the giant SUVs but, still, I would
recommend the Subaru.


wrote in message
...
I'm curious how a late model Subaru Outback handles the load of a
sailplane trailer. I'm looking at a 3.6 liter V6 with auto trans.

If you use an Outback as a tow vehicle, please share your experiences and
detail the motor size, transmission, and towing terrain.

Thanks

ben

Have used a 1998 Outback (auto, 2.5L 165hp)for many years, pulling a DG-300 in Komet trailer over mountain passes without difficulty.

Car: 2005 Forester 4-speed automatic with 2.5l 4 cylinder engine.
Rated to tow 2,400 lb with 200 lb tongue weight, if the trailer has brakes. Max trailer wt drops to 1,000 lbs if the trailer doesn't have brakes.

Trailer: Swan
Glider: LS1
Trailer has brakes
Loaded Trailer weight: 2,040 lbs (from truck scales at a truck stop)
Loaded Tongue weight: 180 lbs

The car tows the glider just fine. Don't expect neck-snapping acceleration (either with or without the trailer. This is the non-turbocharged version of the Forester)

While the trailer's weight is below the max towing limit, I still had a transmission cooler installed. Was it necessary? Probably not, but I did it anyway.

Towing has been mainly in the North Carolina/South Carolina/Georgia area and sometimes into the mountains. Mostly in the piedmont area where there are some hills that slow me down. I just pull the transmission handle into 3rd and usually can hold 50 mph up the steeper grades. The transmission can't be shifted out of the "torque converter lock-up" and leaving it in fourth on the steeper hills forces the tranny to shift into and out of the "lock-up" and into and out of third. So, for those short sections of steeper climbs, pulling the lever into third works just fine. And I'm usually in no hurry to get anywhere. Heck, y'all know that by looking at the score sheets....

The six cylinder in the Outback should do just fine. Just don't tow heavier than recommended and don't tow with a tongue weight heavier than recommended. I've got a diploma from School of Hard Knocks about those two items....

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina