We've had Outback Legacys mostly, but have an nice '09 Impreza. We also have a small aluminum boat and utility trailer.
Our '05 Silverado with 83K is rusted beyond inspect-ability, so need something that will tow our toys.
If we can find the right Subaru, we won't really need the truck. And, of course, it needs to be AWD.
Thanks
Is there some reason you need a 6-cylinder with 'a small aluminum boat and utility trailer' to pull around? Sounds like both of them might be very light and well within the towing capacity of any of the larger Subaru 2.5i vehicles which all seem to be rated over one ton. Are any of your towables so heavy that they have (or need) electric brakes? I know that I've towed
500+ pounds plus with my old Outback 4-cylinder with no auxiliary brakes and the stock trailer hitch.BTW, more current Imprezas are rated for half-ton towing capacity and hitches are probably available to fit even an '09.
Op 3-3-2018 om 17:10 schreef Wilson:
It seems you have different tow weights than in Europe, where I live. My '99 Impreza could legally tow 3500 lbs. My '11 Forester 4400 lbs. Tongue weight 170 lbs. Both 4 cylinder manuals. No problem.
Gerard
Yeah. The official ratings are wildly different although the vehicles, to my eye at least, are identical. I've often been surprised when hiking in the UK and Ireland to see the number of 'little' cars towing what look to be relatively large caravans around the countryside.
On a related subject, I've also been surprised by the number of truly huge caravan parks in popular, mostly seaside, areas where vacationers pay what must be a pretty penny to stay cheek-by-jowl with strangers in numbers they would never tolerate in everyday life -- in North America people seem to go out in their RV to get away, not get packed together.
Op 4-3-2018 om 17:31 schreef John McGaw:
caravan, but not wise, obviously.
There's only so much beach to go around in Europe...... :-)
In the US the popular sites in the National parks or near scenic towns were pretty densely packed, too.
If you want 'to get away', you can, but not in the caravan parks. Think farm yard or privately owned woods. Camping 'of site' is usually prohibited.
Good luck on choosing your next Subi, allthough even the Impreza would do.
Gerard
I guess you were offering 'good luck' to Wilson, the original poster. I just bought a 6-cylinder Outback and am going to install an aftermarket 'real' trailer receiver/hitch and electric brake controls in anticipation of obtaining a little caravan. The original equipment Subie hitch seems a joke if you want to tow something larger than a lightweight trailer with a couple of canoes on it. Even Subaru's recommendation of trailer/tongue weight look to be too much for the tiny OEM hitch. I had the OEM hitch on my 2008 outback and every time I loaded up my utility trailer with anything approaching 500 pounds I got a bit nervous.
Thanks to you and John for your advice and suggestions.
Perhaps I should have added the our '09 Impreza is a 5 door hatch called a wagon even though it feels more like a sports car. One other reason I don't want to put a hitch on it is that some of the launch sites for my 14' aluminum boat aren't paved launch ramp, so I'm dealing with situations where my STI is a bit low. You are both right and maybe I don't need a 6 cyl.. But if I buy new, then I just want to make sure that putting a tow hitch on won't void my warranty.
Not at the point of buying yet. Thanks again for taking the time to reply.
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