TM Towing with Subaru Outback?

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by Crisp4253

Anyone pulling a 3023 with a Subaru Outback? Need to buy a new vehicle for work and trying to get something with Gas Mileage but can also pull the TM. Subaru is rated for 3000.

I would always defer to actual owner experience, but I just ran a couple searches and did not see any posts from Outback owners towing TrailManors in the forum here.

I looked for a hitch for the Outback that could be in the ballpark for handling the 500# tongue weight of a TrailManor and couldn't find one that can support either the tongue weight or a weight distributing hitch. Without a WDH, you'd be overloaded on the rear axle and significantly unloaded in the front as well (it's not unusual for a 500# tongue to put 700+# on the rear axle without a WDH). A long stopping distance and some vehicle instability are likely results (I don't even bring the TM home from the storage yard without the WDH). The reason the Outback can't support the WDH is likely to be too light a design in the body attach points, the hitch itself, or both, and not likely to have easy workarounds (500# rated hitch receivers typically have 6 bolts, not 4 like the pictures I'm seeing for the Outback).

And, after that, there are still some other issues to deal with, as mentioned by other posters (not the least of these is the possibility of creating warranty issues, if you're considering a new vehicle). I'm thinking you'll probably want more tow vehicle for this, ideally with a 5000# tow rating like the new Highlanders, as pointed out by Redhawk.

My actual numbers on the scale can be found here: http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ad.php?t=10652

Until recently, my son had a Subby WRX wagon. He wanted to put a bike rack on the rear. He could not find an after market hitch receiver in the 2 inch size (what ever class that is). So he got the smaller one, inch and a half I think. He had to use an extension to increase the size up to two inches because the bike rack was two inches.

It did OK with only two bikes on it, but when he added a third bike it caused a failure in the hitch receiver. It bent and the bike rack was no longer vertical.

My son's mountain bikes are heavy. Almost 50 pounds each.

If 150 pounds of bikes can cause a hitch failure I n reasonably sure that a TM would cause a failure before even moving it.

A WRX is not an Outback. Perhaps there is a larger hitch receiver for the Outback than there is for the WRX.

Just out of curiosity, how much tongue weight would it take on either the WRX or the Outback to lift the front tires off of the ground?

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

A WRX is not an Outback. Perhaps there is a larger hitch receiver for the Outback than there is for the WRX.

Just out of curiosity, how much tongue weight would it take on either the WRX or the Outback to lift the front tires off of the ground?

The hitch receiver on etrailer I saw is rated for a 400# tongue and a 4000# trailer (though the vehicle is rated only for 3000). But it's not rated for a WDH and is therefore is a nonstarter for a TM. It should be no problem for a smaller trailer or a bike rack. The wheelbase is 107 and the horsepower is 250 or so.

A quick calculation says that a tongue weight of 5000# or so might be enough to lift the front wheels, but I'm pretty sure something would break before getting nearly that far. If anyone ever wants to test something like this, please be sure to post it for us on youtube.

Hitch extensions and 1"-2" adapters: It's impressive how poorly these work out for just about everything.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

Just out of curiosity, how much tongue weight would it take on either the WRX or the Outback to lift the front tires off of the ground?

Interesting question. My quick calculation says it would take around 5000 pounds on the hitch ball to lift the 1900 pounds on the front axle.

Bill

A better question might be how much weight on the hitch would it take to minimize braking and steering (and traction if it is a front wheel drive vehicle).