Forester towing Tvan

George
First of all, I don't own either vehicle. But they seem a strange combination. Where do you want to go? The TVan is built to traverse the toughest terrain this country can offer. Whilst Forester is a fabulous vehicle, I don't think Subaru ever intended it to go those sort of places. If that is not your intention, there are plenty of other campers out there that will do the job for you at less than half the price. Have you considered what effect towing a loaded camper is going to have on the fuel economy? The Forester only has a 60l tank. That won't get you very far if you get off the bitumen. While the camper itself has a dry weight of 750kg I think you will find that additional gear required to do any sort of a trip properly will weigh in at, at least another 150kg, and probably closer to 250kg. Despite being quite a zippy motor the Forester is comparitively highly geared . I could see it having difficulty getting out plenty of off road situations while towing the best part of a tonne.

tessa

Sounds like a great package to me, two neat, stylish, compact units. From memory the Subie is rated to tow 1800kg. Great little motor, should do it on it's ear.

Also, the Subies will go a lot further off road than many give them credit for.

The TVan, expensive yes, but they hold their value obscenely well.

Owning a Forester (2002 2.5ltr) I wouldn't go towing anything like the weight of a fully loaded Tvan anywhere other than reasonably good terrain. I do have a mate who tows a Jayco Off Road Dove (?or similar) but only in good terrain - predominantly bitumen.

I tow a 3.85m Heavy Duty Stessl Edgetracker on tilt roller trailer and a family load of gear from time to time.

I don't doubt it's rated to tow it, but it's definately under clutched for towing anything heaving in moderate terrain.

You ought to smell the clutch after pulling the boat up a river bank, and no I don't ride the clutch.

Also the "hill hold" feature to avoid handbrake starts is a pain in the ar$e when you are reversing a trailer, particularly down something on an incline (like a boat ramp) as you are continually trying to throttle over the braking effect while reapplying the brake to maintain a speed allowing adjustment of direction.

They are a great car, I couldn't persuade the wife to replace it with anything other than another one. (No time soon - it's done less than 60,000km.) But I tow the boat and the Kanga behind the Courier anytime I want to go away.

Dave