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Wagons Subaru Crew Subaru Forester Towing with a Forester
97 messages, Last post on Apr 21, 2008 at 6:24 AM
You are in the Subaru Forester Forum. Your Host is kcram
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Replying to: paisan (Oct 09, 2007 6:55 pm) I'm curious. How does one actually determine the tongue weight? tidester, host SUVs and Smart Shopper
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Replying to: tidester (Oct 09, 2007 9:08 pm) You could beef up the suspension if you wanted but, for example, the load leveling struts (standard in Australia only available in auto LL Beans in U.S.) will run you around 800 bucks for parts alone in the U.S. At a dealer, count on another 3 to 400 for labor. You will need a seven pin hook up for electric brakes but Subaru's already have a four pin built in (look in your spare tire well/see the rubber grommet in the bottom?) and installers say they are easy to convert to 7 pin. Tongue weight is figured by looking at what the manufacturer says tongue weight is, and then adding the battery weight and the propane tank weight. So, generally, you are looking for around a 150 lb tongue weight to stay under the Subaru 200 lb rating. Don't worry about a few pounds over. And Subaru North American tow ratings are low compared to other countries. Many are convinced it is fear of lawyers as to why. In Australia they are rated at 3200 lbs for example and around 240 lbs tongue weight (remember load leveling struts are standard down under except for the absolute 2.0 base model. Forester's are still the highest rated (at 2400 lbs)relative to size/engine in the U.S. A manual transmission is preferable IMHO and with the turbo, you will have NO problems going anywhere. You don't need to add a tranny cooler with a manual either. But you will need to change out tranny fluids more often. I tow an 1800 to 1900 lb pop up with electric brakes and between my two Foresters (I have an 07 Premium Package manual now) I have put close to 20K in trips over mountains hills and dales. I've seen T  Bs on many a Subaru.
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Replying to: p0926 (Oct 09, 2007 12:31 pm) 
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Replying to: kavoom (Oct 10, 2007 3:38 am) There is no such thing as a "conversion" from 4-pin to 7-pin, at least not easily. For a 7-pin you'd need to put in a brake controller and brake controller connections to the rear where the 7-pin connection goes. It's not plug-and-play so to speak. Tongue weight is figured by looking at what the manufacturer says tongue weight is, and then adding the battery weight and the propane tank weight. So, generally, you are looking for around a 150 lb tongue weight to stay under the Subaru 200 lb rating. Don't worry about a few pounds over. That's actually incorrect. Tounge weight is actually calculated by putting a scale under the tounge at the hitch-height with a fully loaded trailer. You can use a bathroom scale but make sure to put a rod or something so that it's at the correct heigh of where it will be when hitched. -mike
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Replying to: paisan (Oct 10, 2007 8:10 pm) B trailers have a 7-pin plug so I am using an adapter. I notice the 4-pin to 7-pin adapter has has some extra wire pigtails and I assume they are for electric brakes, etc. The TB uses surge brakes which eliminates the electric brake connection. Now I have to figure out how to hook it up so that the car alternator charges the battery in the TB through the 7-pin plug. The manual shows this but I will have to investigate this feature further when we get the trailer home. The manual shows the bathroom scale method of checking tongue weight. It should work well for what we are doing. We are picking the trailer up tomorrow. It will be interesting.
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Replying to: xtop (Oct 11, 2007 6:21 pm) Perhaps I should have said "relatively" easy or "comparatively" easy as compared to a vehicle that has nothing. I can only comment on what two installers said to me. |
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Has anyone installed a battery isolater on their Subaru? Any suggestions as to brand, wire gauge use to go to the trailer, etc. would be appreciated. I have found several including kits using 8-gauge wire. The alternator is not over 70 amps in our Forester, I believe, which determines the wire size. We are picking up the trailer today and I will ask the dealer about this as well. Any first-hand experiences will be welcome. Fred
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Replying to: xtop (Oct 09, 2007 1:28 pm) But you should be sure that at least 6% and preferably 10% of the trailer's weight is on the tongue, up to the car's limit of 200 lbs. Otherwise the trailer will tend to wiggle and fishtail.
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Replying to: aatherton (Oct 13, 2007 7:05 am) Thanks for all the good advice. We do appreciate it. Fred |
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Replying to: paisan (Oct 07, 2007 6:01 pm) This page shows the tongue weight for the T B trailers is 110 to 145 lbs. http://www.tab-rv.com/specs/dimensions.php T B has probably balanced the trailers to have enough tongue weight so the trailers pull in a stable manner, and the weights do not seem excessive for a Forester suspension. I would be careful about loading the rear of the trailer to reduce tongue weight, as it might be dangerous.
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