Towing Ratings?

[ThomD]

I've never towed anything except a small sailboat (<400 lbs with trailer), so I have no idea how much margin is built into mfg ratings for towing capacity.

We have a Suby Forester XT and I'm thinking hard about an expedition trailer. The car is rated for 2400 lbs towing. If a loaded trailer comes in around 2000 lbs, is that reasonable to tow? Gas mileage (never great on this car) will probably plumet, but it should still be able to move, thanks to the turbo.

In a couple of years we may get a 4 Runner, but I'd like not to have to get a new car just to deal with the trailer.

Comments? Thoughts?

 

[Rezarf <><]

I can't imagine you'd be able to tow that much with a subaru. There are lots of trailers out there, that wiegh much less than that if you are looking to expand your cargo capacity. I'd bet you could get something fully loaded under 800# if you look at some of the composite/plastic cargo trailers.

Just my .02

Rezarf <><

 

[Martyn]

We have an owner who tows one of our earlier off road trailers with a Subaru.

I tried to talk him out of the purchase for about a year, but he insisted. He had towed a large trailer around the country with a couple of Harley's on it and was more confident than I was that the Suby could do the job.

He was right, and now years later he's still towing the trailer with the Subaru. Last time I spoke to him he told me he had gained more power by having the computer reprogrammed or putting in a new chip, I forget.

You will defiantly sacrifice some speed, or more accurately, some acceleration. Climbing hills will be slower, but all in all life is not a race. On fuel consumption expect a increase of about 10%. Fuel consumption increase is less with a trailer than with a roof rack normally.

You'll need electric brakes on the trailer.

Good luck.

 

[ntsqd]

The OE's tow rating is what they are willing to say that the car can safely tow.
Usually the limiting factor is braking distance, not ability to move.

All of the hardware involved in towing 2400 lbs. will have a substantial margin of safety ("Factor of Safety" in Engineering-ese).

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Usually the limiting factor is braking distance, not ability to move.

That should always be the main concern. You could probably use a Ford Festiva to tow a Unimog if you had a couple of days to waste trying to get up to 60 mph, but you sure as hell wouldn't be able to stop very quickly!

Trailer brakes are probably not a necessity with the load you are thinking of, but they would certainly help.
Think of it this way: You probably drive the car daily, and obviously use the brakes on the car daily. The trailer, you take out "every so often".
If you used only the brakes on the car to stop both the car and the trailer, the car's brakes are going to need replacing fairly often.
If the trailer slows itself down with it's own brakes, those trailer brakes won't need changing for years, and you have reduced the strain on the car's brakes as well.
Also, with the electric brakes (and the accompanying brake controller) you can probably set the trailer's brakes up to help slow the car down also. You set the trailer to brake harder than the car. This will further extend the life of your car's brakes.

Adding trailer brakes also helps overall control of the trailer in harder or emergency braking situations.

 

[biere]

I would rent a u-haul trailer and load some junk on it and see how you think your vehicle can handle 2k lbs.

Off the top of my head I figure the vehicle can do it but you won't enjoy the driving very much and I am not sure I would do it if I won't enjoy the driving part of it.

Besides your tow rating what are the other numbers on your subaru, the gvwr and cgvwr?

I never wondered about it so I don't know what a subaru is capable of handling weight wise.

But a full vehicle and a trailer might be at the limit of those numbers and that makes for parts wearing out faster and worse handling.

 

[ThomD]

Thanks all. FWIW, this discussion pretty much mirrors my thoughts: Mfg rating (with its presumed built in safety factor) vs the perception of the Suby as a small car.

The Suby has a GVWR of 4300 pounds and a curb weight around 3400. It is listed as having 900 lbs cargo capacity. Tongue weight is rated for 200 lbs.

So, I guess the asnwer is that it can do it (with trailer brakes), but it wouldn't be any fun at all.

OTOH, this summer is going to be a good time to buy a tow vehicle becase the market for them has tanked.