Load carrying capability of Outback?

J

Jack Countryman

I've been looking at an 02 outback on a local car lot. However, I routinely
carry a few hundred pounds of gear for work in the back of my vehicle on a
daily basis (the space behind the rear seat in the Outback is one of the
attractive features for a vehicle of that size). On my previous vehicles,
I've typically ended up beefing up the rear suspension by adding a leaf to
the rear leaf springs, or on the last one, installing air bags in addition
to the stock springs, to avoid the rear of the vehicle sagging under the
weight. I'm not familiar with the strut suspension setups used on these
vehicles, though.

Does anyone have experience in how easily the Outback will tolerate carrying
that much extra weight in the back on a regular basis, preferably without
upsetting vehicle balance, headlight aim, making the rear bumper drag on
bumps, etc? Or if the suspension needs add-ons to handle that much weight,
what sort of things need to be added/modified to handle the weight?

Hmm, would a Baja be a better choice for such use? Do the Baja have any
heavier rear suspension/more load carrying capacity? Thanks in advance for
any ideas.
 
I carry 500-800 lbs. of firewood behind the rear seat of my 2000
Outback Wagon Ltd. on regular basis during winter months ( actually i
did it today, too). I did not notice any problems ( headlight aim,
bumper drag on bumps, upset vehicle balance while cornering). Subie
takes it amazingly well. The only drawback I encounter is cleaning the
interior after a cycle of trips :)
cheers
krzysztof duszkiewicz
 
The rear suspension is self levelling on the Aussie model. If yours is the
same, that should help. Mine's had upwards of 100kg (220lb) in the back
plus a trailer with two fridges on the hitch. Cheers
 

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