LosAngelesLGT Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Dont ride your brakes and do your best to avoid any long climbs/drops. You gotta do what you gotta do. Ultimately, trailer length and ability to control what you are towing has a lot to do with wheelbase. The LGT is not exactly a short WB so you should at least have minimal sway issues if you go slow. Anyhow, this is what can happen to you in a HURRY and like this guy, you have no ability to independantly slam on the trailer brakes to snap it taught or control the way other than slam on the throttle. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8a71x6H8_4]towing the bmw fail - YouTube[/ame] Be really careful. Praying is NOT going to keep you safe. Using your head and spending the appropriate amount of money on the right gear to make the move is but hey, your life and the lives of those you run into aren't really worth that much are they? Seriously tho' best of luck and definately stop by a truck scale before rolling out of town and see what your weights are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabidWombat Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I just saw people asking me to search why I cannot tow the 6x12 and I searched but never saw a exact reason. I just read people don't recommend it. I am not trying to be difficult but unless I saw something, I didn't get a good answer imo. I know there is more to towing then just pure weight but hopefully the car can handle the tow without having too many issues. Again, I wish I had more options but I am limited to the destination town being so small. A truck with a trailer is huge $$ plus $100 an hour in fuel as I have done the drive before with a 16" truck. I just pray I arrive safely. I will post again after I arrive and let you know if I arrive in one piece. I've got an electronic brake controller for Uhaul if you're interested. If you'll cover the shipping you can have it. You'll need to wire it into you car. The guy who sold me my hitch included it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005pearlwhite Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 just watch the weight make sure you under the recommended for the and dont be speed racing you should fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwolson2 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 ^Idiot On Wheels Ahead^ You have to be from a neighboring state to get that.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Charlie Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Would this be a good idea? ... I need a trailer of this size due to my couch being 8.5 feet long. I know there is more to towing then just pure weight but hopefully the car can handle the tow without having too many issues. Again, I wish I had more options... I just pray I arrive safely. I will post again after I arrive and let you know if I arrive in one piece. Dude, it's a couch. Brakes all around and a tranny cooler plus some dangerous towing (first time, too), all over a couch. I don't really think you're getting a Darwin Award on this trip, but I'm confident you'll achieve your goal in the not too distant future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_ster Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 lol .. ^ but not everyone has the same confidence. at least he asked. Now that's thinking out of the boxer! fyi all 05 + legacy's have built in code reader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinter Posted August 23, 2011 Author Share Posted August 23, 2011 Hey all. Well I am currently on my trip and so far not bad. I have done about 2000km already and no problems yet. I have another 1200 km to go. Brakes are fine and I have zero problems stopping however I wish I had more power. I was getting about 15 mpg in the hilly part and now I am doing all flat driving and it's a little worse gas mileage as I don't have the power to stay at 110 km/h. Well that's it for now. Oh yeah, I have about 3500 lbs loaded into the trailer and I would do the trip again but I would want the 3.0 engine. Lol I know it's crazy but I don't really see the issue with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted August 23, 2011 Mega Users Share Posted August 23, 2011 I towed a uhaul 6x12 trailer from miami FL to Seattle, wa. It was full to the brim and weighed at least 4000lbs. It ate up my brakes a bit, but other than that, it did fine. I also did it during february, so temps were less of a concern. If it had been over 80F in any of the mountainous areas, I would have had serious heat issues. I will say that my 5eat did overheat a couple times while climbing long steep mountain passes. You have to be careful. The only really dangerous situations I found myself in were when going over a steep hill only to realize at the top that there is a red light at the base. Also, I hope you don't end up in a situation where you have to reverse up a hill...not fun with trailer brakes. I got tons of people telling me that I was going to destroy my car and die in the process. The fact that was the deciding factor for me was that in any other country where subarus are sold, the towing capacity for my vehicle was 4300Lbs, where as the US spec was 3000. Good luck with the rest of your trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosAngelesLGT Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Note to self: do not buy a used car from Pinter or Seabass Pinter: glad you feel safe and are going to make it to your destination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinter Posted August 28, 2011 Author Share Posted August 28, 2011 Ok so I have arrived and all went ok. First off, here is a pic of the car loaded. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v652/mypersonalpics/073.jpg First day I drove 1700km (1070 miles) and had some issues with hills the car just not having enough power to make it up the hill. I drove in manual mode most of the time as it would always want to switch into 3rd hear Second Day I drove about 1350 km (820 miles) and it was across the prairies so all was flat. This is where I had the most problems. I could not keep it in 4th gear as it would slow down to 45 mph and just had no power. I drive it most of the day at 4000 rpm in 3rd gear to keep it at 65 mpg and the speed limit was 75 mph across these provinces. Third day was abut 900 km (550 miles) and this is where I got into the mountain driving and it wasn't as bad as the 2nd day. Sure some of the mountain passes I was slowed down so much I was going up the hill in 2nd gear doing 35 mph but it wasn't that bad. Here is a link to the route I took: http://g.co/maps/56nb Total was 4090 km (2550 miles) and I used alot of gas. I would say atleast $600 as I was getting about 14L/100 km (16mpg) best to about 20L/100 km (11mpg). Braking did fine so my brakes were good and still new. Oil was also in good shape and tranny fluid was checked and deemed not burnt but should be changed as it is due for the mount of km's on the car. Would I do it again? If it was anything like the 2nd day then hell no but if it was like the 1st or 3rd day yeah as it wasn't a major issue imo. I would prob get the smaller trailer and leave a few things as the gas mile was horrible. And thats my story on how I moved across the country. Lots of people won't agree and will post darwin movie clips and that is fine but it just goes to show that the car can handle it and it's up to you if you wanna do it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAMMER DOWN Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Glad everything work out for you. Yes the car can handle it, but IMO, handle it 100% better with Sti closes gear 6MT. The GT has enough power, but you A\T suck it a lot of it up, compared to MT. I have no problems towing 3500.lbs car on tow dolly up steep grades. It don't hurt having 240wqt @ 3000 rpms either. Mike Mileage:331487 Retired/Sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_ster Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 the automatics are actually very close for efficiency to manuals, once the tq is engaged. the 4 eat is a lot better when it comes to engaging the tcc than the 5 eat. it just in the programming tho. Now that's thinking out of the boxer! fyi all 05 + legacy's have built in code reader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabidWombat Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Glad everything work out for you. Yes the car can handle it, but IMO, handle it 100% better with Sti closes gear 6MT. The GT has enough power, but you A\T suck it a lot of it up, compared to MT. I have no problems towing 3500.lbs car on tow dolly up steep grades. It don't hurt having 240wqt @ 3000 rpms either. Mike It was 2.5i, hence the lack of power issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob-2 Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 I guess only time will tell the damage done. Glad you made it. Your MPG is spot on with your towing weight, maybe even slightly better then average. I towed a car 1600 miles and we averaged around 11-12mpg. 10,000 miles later the auto tranny began slipping and the tranny was toast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedLegsSpeed Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I'm glad to see this worked out for you. I was thinking of doing something similar, but on a smaller scale. I do a lot of relocating for work, about every 3 months. Once in awhile I want to turn my boring driving into road trips with the lady (long distance relationships = ). Problem is my 130lb dog takes the whole back seat (see picture below), and the front seat is full of my junk. I already have a hitch and a carrier for the hitch which I have used without problems. But I was wondering if I just move the stuff from the carrier and the front seat (so she has somewhere to sit) to that trailer would be good idea? I have a GT some I'm worried that the RPM's might be too high and turbo would stay on while not trying to accelerate. Any concerns about that from anyone here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted September 4, 2011 Mega Users Share Posted September 4, 2011 I guess only time will tell the damage done. Glad you made it. Your MPG is spot on with your towing weight, maybe even slightly better then average. I towed a car 1600 miles and we averaged around 11-12mpg. 10,000 miles later the auto tranny began slipping and the tranny was toast. What car was this with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted September 4, 2011 Mega Users Share Posted September 4, 2011 I'm glad to see this worked out for you. I was thinking of doing something similar, but on a smaller scale. I do a lot of relocating for work, about every 3 months. Once in awhile I want to turn my boring driving into road trips with the lady (long distance relationships = ). Problem is my 130lb dog takes the whole back seat (see picture below), and the front seat is full of my junk. I already have a hitch and a carrier for the hitch which I have used without problems. But I was wondering if I just move the stuff from the carrier and the front seat (so she has somewhere to sit) to that trailer would be good idea? I have a GT some I'm worried that the RPM's might be too high and turbo would stay on while not trying to accelerate. Any concerns about that from anyone here? Don't worry about the rpm and turbo. Just worry about not overheating. What trans do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedLegsSpeed Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I have the 5EAT. Which I can never get to shift as smoothly as I used to get my manual to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I have the 5EAT. Which I can never get to shift as smoothly as I used to get my manual to. It may be worth checking that you have the latest software for the engine and gearbox. Also fresh oil in the gearbox may improve things. But better rough shifting than slippage. Looks like you should have had a wagon with a dog cage in the rear. Also add an engine oil temp meter - that may be useful, but as long as you keep the speed to 45-50mph while towing you should be fine. (the U-Haul trailers are often marked with the recommended max speed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted September 5, 2011 Mega Users Share Posted September 5, 2011 Let off of the gas during shifts since you will be loading up the transmission much more than normal. Make sure if you are driving over mountain passes that you start out on the long steep grade above 4000 rpm in 3rd and stay above it. Otherwise you WILL overheat. Definitely a good idea to start out with fresh oil and ATF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longislander1 Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 My '08 struggles when I add three other passengers and/or something heavy in the trunk. I can't imagine trying to pull a 2,700-lb. trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_ster Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 ^ cmon .. obviously you never been to brazil where most cars are 1 L and slow down to about 30 mph going up slight hills on the highway ! Now that's thinking out of the boxer! fyi all 05 + legacy's have built in code reader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinter Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 Make sure if you are driving over mountain passes that you start out on the long steep grade above 4000 rpm in 3rd and stay above it. Otherwise you WILL overheat. I had to do this on many passes. Some of them, I even had to drop into 2nd and 1 pass, I had to go into 1st. Obviously I was going slow enough for each gear but in 1st I was almost redlining it. Wasn't for more then 200 meters though. My '08 struggles when I add three other passengers and/or something heavy in the trunk. I can't imagine trying to pull a 2,700-lb. trailer. Sounds a little excessive to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted September 9, 2011 Mega Users Share Posted September 9, 2011 How large were those passengers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 How large were those passengers? Of course you need to be aware that more load means that the vehicle will behave differently. And when driving with load - same gear going downhill as you would have used when driving uphill. Let the engine absorb the majority of the energy when keeping the speed - not the brakes. Overheated brakes will cause you to have a really bad day. The engine can take the strain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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