Towing ability for Legacy/Outback question

[snow]

The tow rating for most Legacy/Outback is 2000 lbs.
Are they able to tow small campers? I have a popup I
have towed with a Dodge Caravan (3.0 liter) with no trouble. This Caravan is
rated at 2000 lbs. also. Any information appreciated.

 

[Edward Hayes]

I towed a 2400 lb boat with my 2000 forester 2.5L engine without
problems. A 2000 lb low profile camper should be fine especially if no
mountain towing. You don't say MT or AT but would not expect problems
with either. If I was doing allot of towing in very hilly terrain I
would consider an additional transmission cooler if your running an
Automatic. ed

 

[Phil]

The towing capacity for the 04 model Outbacks is 1500 kg (3300lbs) for the
2.5 litre and 1800 kg (3960lbs) for the 3.0. These figures are for a braked
trailer.

phil

 

[Ralph E Lindberg]

The tow rating for most Legacy/Outback is 2000 lbs.
Are they able to tow small campers? I have a popup I
have towed with a Dodge Caravan (3.0 liter) with no trouble. This Caravan is
rated at 2000 lbs. also. Any information appreciated.

In my opinion, the best single point source for tow ratings is the
Trailer Life tow ratings guide. See
http://www.trailerlife.com/output.cfm?id=42175. However they don't get
into as much detail on Subaru's as you might like.

I could not find the reference, but I do recall the Subaru suggests
towing with the AT rather then the MT

--

 

[Bruce Hoult]

The tow rating for most Legacy/Outback is 2000 lbs.
Are they able to tow small campers? I have a popup I
have towed with a Dodge Caravan (3.0 liter) with no trouble. This Caravan is
rated at 2000 lbs. also. Any information appreciated.

Tow ratings seem to vary wildly from country to country for the exact
same car. Here in New Zealand (and I think Australia) the Legacy has a
rating of 500 kg unbraked, 1500 kg (3300lb) braked, just like most other
cars I've looked at (admittedly all 2l or more).

These are safety-based ratings involving the ability to stop and maybe
the ability to not get pushed off the road on downhill corners. Engine
power and transmission ruggedness are nothing to do with the rating.

As a practical matter, I find that 1500 kg in a compact form (e.g. a
load of cement) is no problem at all, but I don't think I'd want to tow
something with a lot of front area such as a caravan for long distances.

My rule-of-thumb is that if I can't tow it at cruising speed on the flat
with the automatic locked up in top gear at 50 or 55 mph (i.e. 2000 -
2250 rpm) then I shouldn't be towing it very far unless I have a
transmission cooler fitted (which I don't).