Little Guy Ruggedized for Fire-road Runner

[calicamper]

My big dilemma now is how to gradually figure out how steep and rugged a trail I can tow with a Subie. I can get to some pretty cool spots in a subie, but I am not sure if I can get there WITH a trailer.

I drove up a boulder-strewn road this weekend, and I couldn't decide if a trailer could have made it. It wasn't too hard...a few rock shelves, some bowling-ball-rock trails and some swails that needed decent breakover angles. I could carefully place the subie tires where I needed. Doing the same with a trailer might need three miles of a patient spotter walking along. (It was flagpole knob in GW National Forest).

I know of a nearby spot in GW national forest where there are some really nice and private campsites, but the access trail is very steep and windy, though only mildly slippery with mixed gravel and dirt...no problem with the subie, but I am not too sure with a teardrop.

I guess I will just have to work my way up with progressively more challenging terrain.

Subie, as someone that tows with a subie. Power, vs gearing and Torque converter stall. Dragging a trailer over shelves, bolders etc takes power and the ability to get it to the wheels.

I like my Subaru, tows great 1500LBs and under. Rough trail 1000lbs.

 

[fike]

Subie, as someone that tows with a subie. Power, vs gearing and Torque converter stall. Dragging a trailer over shelves, bolders etc takes power and the ability to get it to the wheels.

I like my Subaru, tows great 1500LBs and under. Rough trail 1000lbs.

Which Subie are you driving? What kind of tires are you rockin?

 

[calicamper]

180,000 miles in the 01 GT Legacy Limited 2.5 non turbo 5spd MT. That model had lower closer gearing than the OB. It towed yr around hauling racing sailboats several 1000 miles a yr. It did plenty of logging rds not towing. Usal Rd lost coast etc, private land trails etc.

The 90,000 mile 2010 2.5 cvt Limited tows both racing sailboats and our camping rig. The torque converter, gearing and power comes up short when dragging heavy trailers over tall rocks, steps etc. I've worked around this limitation knowing as long as I keep it moving at lock up speed I wont get stuck. But technical trails tgat speed is too high.

Tires? I've run out of power and grunt long before traction in the Subaru. Only places I wish I had off road style tires bogging through muddy tracts or rocky trails that shred lighter built tires.

My top favorite tire so far BFG Advanced AT's. They have been really good!!! As in shockingly good. But not good in snow.. Though I rarely deal with snow.

 

[calicamper]

My J80 and my Sequoia needed big heavy tires. Given they shred tires and are heavy beasts. The Subaru is a crazy scrappy car even on decent road tires.

 

[fike]

I am running a turbo forester that has lots of get-up-and-go. It has Michelin Defender LTX M/S. They are a mild tire for offroading, but dependable and durable. I had a 5-speed manual 2010 Forester without turbo. The clutch was weak. On very steep inclines it struggled to have enough torque to get going. The turbo is much better. The CVT isn't even too bad. I towed a 1000 lb rental (not rough rider) and sometimes could barely notice it was there, though to be honest I didn't really do too many steep hills with it. The temperature did run about 20 degrees higher than normal, but there were no warnings or problems. I plan to change the oil more often when towing.