Anyone tow a 3,000 lb boat with an Outback?

[Bimmer]

n they US they would have been ticketed in every jurisdiction they passed through.

 

My experience in Europe has been that the system there is far stricter and better enforced than here. I have no ambitions of towing an Airstream with a VW Golf, but if it's allowed in Germany, then I've got to believe that it's safe.

Of course German driver training is also far better, and a load like that is limited to 55 or 60mph (even on the Autobahn).

 

Ben

[Prime Power]

Yeah my when towing my quads, my avalanche gets about the same mpg's as the OBXT so I just use it most of the time.

[Ruperts Trooper]

My experience in Europe has been that the system there is far stricter and better enforced than here. I have no ambitions of towing an Airstream with a VW Golf, but if it's allowed in Germany, then I've got to believe that it's safe.

Of course German driver training is also far better, and a load like that is limited to 55 or 60mph (even on the Autobahn).

 

Ben

The Airstreams sold in Europe are entirely different in construction and weight to real Airstreams although the styling and ethos are the same.

 

The lightest European Airstream is 1700kg (3,748 lb), far too heavy for a VW Golf and too heavy really for an Outback - it's just within the Outback's towing limit but would be limited to 50mph in Germany as it would be too heavy to qualify for Tempo 100 which permits 62mph.

[ejoy1220]

Did it work? Then what is the problem. You just need to remember to take everything at a slower more direct pace when towing.

 

Yeah it worked then, but what happens when the 1 time out of 50 it doesn't work, the brakes overheat and causes a bad pileup somewhere? Or the trans grenades?

 

Chances are, you can probably tow a large load with a small car that isn't meant to tow that much, no problem. But the chances of something bad happening increase that much more when you're not using the proper tool for the job.

 

Manufacturers use the tow rating to cover their ass, so when some guy with an Outback tries to tow an 8,000lb trailer setup, and wrecks the brakes and careens off the road, that it's his fault since he was carrying more than what the vehicle was rated to tow.

 

 

You beat me to it, I immediately thought of that video

[CTlegacy06]

:lol:That vid is hilarious!

 

Though I've seen even pickup trucks struggle to maintain the stability of a trailer on the highways especially one going down a hill.

[Garandman]

//I'm amused at Americans who think that they "need" a full-size truck to ever tow anything.

 

Ben

http://www.geocities.com/vstromboston/prius_tow.jpg

 

..........

[dsilby]

I am not condoning any of this, I'm just giving you my own personal experience. I had a 1996 auto Outback. We towed a 21ft 3400 lb 1991 Bayliner. It was on a steel tandem axle trailer that must have weighed at least 1000lbs as well. We cruised at 60 with no problem. Suspension was fine, though we had a rear sway bar in. Up the launch ramp was a breeze. She pulled up with barely any pressure to the gas peddle. Only issue was the acceleration up hills at highway speeds. You did have to be full throttle to keep the speed at 60. But that was just up hills in Wisconsin. I now own a 2008 Outback with the 4 cylinder and a 5 speed. I tow 3000lbs, no problem.

I'm not saying it's safe, but I had no issues.

[Prime Power]

Boats by the way are much easier to tow as the break the wind. If you have a box trailer or something like that I would tow less weight than I would with a boat.

[Garandman]

Boats by the way are much easier to tow as the break the wind. If you have a box trailer or something like that I would tow less weight than I would with a boat.

Not necessarily. Most sailboats have lead keels and sit high above the trailer in the wind stream. And some sailboats are towed stern-to.

 

The only manufacturer I've seen include frontal area to the calculation of tow capacity is Ford trucks.

[ruudje]

No offense intended, but this is typical American thinking regarding towing... "I need a big pick-up or a big SUV." Once you've been to Europe and seen 90hp VW Golfs towing Airstream campers, then towing really loses its mystique. It's only Americans who think that they need 300hp to tow anything... Ben

 

+1. Back in Europe I used to tow trailers with my 1991 VW Golf and even getting upto speed on inclines was no problem at all. OK the engine was slightly tuned... also the low weight of the towing car (my 1.8 weighed less than 2,000 lbs) was no problem either.

I feel doing the same trick with my OBXT would be a true breeze:).

[Penguin]

Okay,

 

So Subaru rates the outback 2.5i & 2.5XT to tow 2,700 lbs, and the Outback 3.0 to tow 3,000 lbs. So has anyone had any experience actually towing such loads with their Outback?!? I use to tow a 3,000 lb boat & Trailer with a Discovery (which was great), but have a hard time imagining towing such a load with an Outback? I was hoping someone with experience could weigh in. Thanks...

 

__________________

~Scott & Nadia

'05 Outback 2.5i Wagon

Willow Green Opal/ Moss Green Metallic

225/60HR16 Bridgestone G009's

 

Hmm.... that's a tough one. From your other posts you indicate you might be towing "long haul" as well as for short distances. You might want to define long distance for us, and where you are likely to tow.

 

As it is, I can relate my towing experiences with my now departed Legacy GT with the 5 speed auto. Last year I relocated from southwestern Missouri to western South Dakota, specifically from the Ozarks to the Black Hills.

 

Besides renting a box truck and car hauler to haul most of out stuff and my wife's car, we also rented a 5X8 U-Haul trailer (largest trailer we could tow according to the owner's manual) that we proceeded to load up. I am not sure what the loaded trailer weight ended up at, but I can tell you there was virtually no room left and I had to put about 10psi worth of air into the trailer tires once it was loaded up.

 

On the road the load was not all that bad, and getting up to speed was not a big problem once things were moving. The turbo H4 is not an ideal engine for starting to move a total mass of over 6,000lbs though, and I can't imagine your naturally aspirated unit will do significantly better. At least once I got up to a little bit of engine speed the boost kicked in and made a big difference. At highway speeds on level ground you can really tell the trailer is back there, especially when it is shaped like a big brick. Don't expect to overtake anyone on a two lane highway, or spend much time in the fast lane not that you would while towing.

 

Given the short little trailer I didn't have any trouble with getting pushed around in curves by the trailer even going down hill, but a longer or heavier trailer probably would have. My biggest gripe with the LGT/Outback for towing (or general driving) is the relatively weak brakes, my car didn't like to stop in a big hurry without a trailer and it was even less inclined to with an extra 2500lbs or so to stop. Trailer brakes would have been great.

 

From Springfield, MO to Chamberlain, SD I didn't have any real trouble towing at a moderate speed (65-70mph), but once we left Chamberlain and crossed the Missouri River headed to Rapid City I the car started to become really taxed with the load. Chamberlain is at about 1450ft above sea level, and when you head west from there it is a long steady climb to Rapid City at 3200ft. Then you get to head into the hills up to an average of 4-5000ft of elevation. The car spent a lot of time in 4th gear, with many trips to 3rd in order to maintain 65mph. The temperature gauge moved past the middle of it's sweep and stayed about 3/4 of the way to overheated, so I slowed down to 55mph (20mph below the speed limit) and didn't have any further heat issues. If it had been summer and 100 degrees outside I would have overheated trying to tow at 65-70mph, as it was the temp still shot up and it was -2 ambient temp when I made the trip. On the plus side the AWD made dealing with a few patches of black ice much more pleasant than it could have been.

 

The worst experience on the trip was getting to the town we though we would live in only to find the place we were going to lease for the year to be extremely sub par. So the next morning we canceled and headed back to a much nicer town we had driven through. Then I got to yank the trailer back up a 7 mile long 6% grade. Yeah, that sucked. A lot. I think I topped out below 50mph.

 

So my advice (for what little it is worth) would be to slow down if you intend to tow (and let's face it motivating around 6000-6500lbs with a NA H4 is going to be slow anyway). For extra piece of mind make sure you have trailer brakes and I would also look at an oil cooler/tranny cooler.

[vader1]

I realize I am resurrecting a dead thread but I am glad I found it. I am about to embark on towing a small fiberglass boat with this thing. Need to get the surge brake first.

 

I have the XT, the boat is a SeaRay 175 which is about 18ft and I am told 2000-2100 pounds, I suppose the trailer is another 300-400.

 

I will tow out to a local lake and back, most of the time 11 miles each way speeds of no greater than 55, sometimes to a lake 20 miles, maybe highway speeds of 65.

 

Should I look into a tranny cooler and do they even make one for an MT?

 

My largest problem is that I live on a steep bluff. Gotta go down a steep hill when leaving and climb it at the end.

 

I had not given thought to getting the boat moving out of the water though. Yikes. Gonna have to look for a ramp that is not to steep.

[Prime Power]

No cooler for the stick but I truly believe you will have no problem towing it. Only issue may be getting it out of the water, easier in the auto but I wouldn't be too worried. I went to harbor freight and picked up a cheap sway control kit. It helped.

[Garandman]

I//

I had not given thought to getting the boat moving out of the water though. Yikes. Gonna have to look for a ramp that is not to steep.

If he ramp is steep, hook up a tow line to your front bumper before you back down, or at least get it out and have it handy. there are usually plenty of big pickups or SUV's near a ramp, who can help you get started up ot.

 

In MA we have 10-11' tidal swings, and in parts of ME it's even more, so the ramps are steep, and sometimes wet and/or covered with algae. I've seen plenty of 2WD vehicles that needed help to get up the ramp.

 

Don't forget to set the parking brake when you back down, or even better, set wheel chocks....A couple of seasons ago a guy in Marblehead sank a new Grand Cherokee up to the roof.

[sredish]

what about a small 8 x 12 trailer with a couple dirtbikes or quads... i wouldn't see a problem with that.

[Prime Power]

I pull two quads, no real problem other than sway and mpg.

[Garandman]

Okay,

 

So Subaru rates the outback 2.5i & 2.5XT to tow 2,700 lbs, and the Outback 3.0 to tow 3,000 lbs. So has anyone had any experience actually towing such loads with their Outback?!? I use to tow a 3,000 lb boat & Trailer with a Discovery (which was great), but have a hard time imagining towing such a load with an Outback? I was hoping someone with experience could weigh in. Thanks...//

Here's the boat we towrd with the OBW for a couple of short trips of 50-100 miles thus far. This is one of the reasons why we bought the H6. The highest temp was 81 degrees: the temp gage never moved.

 

With all the gear aboard the all-up weight is probably less than but close to 3,000 lbs. The 3.0R pulls it very well, and stops well also. I have coilovers lowered 2" but will probably bring it up an inch for more clearance when towing. Handling is no issue.

 

We get around 13.5 mpg towing this package with our V8 Chevy Express van. The OBW gets about the same! I guess that's an indication of how much work is being done.

 

It would not be fun towing this with a 4EAT as you'd be in third a lot - the 5EAT is better. A manual is out of the question for us as we could never back it into some of the places it needs to go: something much easier to do with the OBW than the van. The coilovers have lowered it 2" - I'm going to crank it up an inch to prevent dragging on crowns.

 

http://www.geocities.com/vstromboston/Melgesrr.jpg

Edited June 15, 2008 by Garandman

[vader1]

Wow. That certainly LOOKS bigger than 3000 pounds.

[Garandman]

Wow. That certainly LOOKS bigger than 3000 pounds.

I haven't weighed it with all the gear, but the boat has a lot of carbon fiber and even with 530 lbs of lead keel bulb weighs 1,830 lbs. The sails and outboard aren't more than a couple of hundred, and I don't think the trailer weighs as much as 1,000 lbs.

[Garandman]

I haven't weighed it with all the gear, but the boat has a lot of carbon fiber and even with 530 lbs of lead keel bulb weighs 1,830 lbs. The sails and outboard aren't more than a couple of hundred, and I don't think the trailer weighs as much as 1,000 lbs.

I stand corrected.

 

According to the previous owner, the all-up weight with gear, sails, outboard, and canvas covers is indeed over 3,000.

 

The trailer itself weighs 980 and the H6 pulls it like it's not even there.

[gf2020]

 

A manual is out of the question for us as we could never back it into some of the places it needs to go...

 

 

What does that mean?

[Garandman]

What does that mean?

Backing a 30' long, 3000# trailer uphill through a maze of other boats to a crane would require so much slipping of the clutch that it would not last very long.

 

Older Outbacks in Australia used to have low range. That would work better, but we don't get it, just as we don't get cars like the Liberty SpecB 3.0R wagon (with 6 spd manual or 5EAT!).

[erito]

I tow +3000# caravan with my Outback 2.5i 4eat up and down hills summer and winter. What's the problem? (except gas price...)

 

caravan= +6m long +2.5m wide +2.5m height , and +1500kg dry-weight

outback fuel= from 12.8 liters/100km to about 15.0 liters/100km.

 

oh yeah, over here (Sweden) we get the JDM built cars. We can choose low-range gearbox and 5EAT or Spec.B etc. but mine is standard 2.5i 4EAT with VDC.

[vader1]

I stand corrected.

 

According to the previous owner, the all-up weight with gear, sails, outboard, and canvas covers is indeed over 3,000.

 

The trailer itself weighs 980 and the H6 pulls it like it's not even there.

 

 

Thats good news to me.

[SBT]

Here's the boat we towrd with the OBW.

 

http://www.geocities.com/vstromboston/Melgesrr.jpg

 

VN setup. I can only imagine what it must appear like though, to someone traveling in the opposite direction and watching that rig crest a hill coming towards them. You'd see the top of the boat and then this tiny spec of a thing in front of it.

 

I imagine you really take advantage of the 1st gear 50/50 torque lock pulling this out of the water though. And, I don't recall it in your previous posts about this, but are you running surge or electric brakes with this?

SBT