Tow vehicle suitability - Subaru Outback 3.0R?

Couldn't find kerb weight, but unladen weight is 1540kg. Fuel tank is 64L. Two adults and one baby would be about 200kg. By load carrying capacity, is this what Subaru refer to as towing capacity (1800kg)? Can you double check my maths?

1540 - 200 - 64 - 180

Unladen mass does not have a legal definition so you need to check what is included by manufacturer in terms of fuel pax etc. Load carrying capacity is not 1800 kg, this is towing capacity (braked). I suspect the load carrying capacity is about 500kg.

So assuming unladen mass means all fuel but no pax (just for ease), and if carrying capacity was 500kg then-

Deduct 200 (pax) and deduct 130kg (tow balls mass of a 1300kg van) from 500 kg, we are left with 170 kg for fuel water and luggage.

You can see how important it is to find out the real information. BTW, ATM is total laden weight of the van, that is ball weight plus weight on wheels when loaded.

Once you have the info and before you buy car or van, get yourself booked in here. I can't recommend it enough.

http://www.tow-ed.com.au/

Hey Dunco, thanks for the reply! Always good to hear from someone who's done what I'm considering doing (or not doing!). Did your Outback have the load distribution hitch? I had a look at the specs of the Jayco 16.52 and it's saying an ATM of 1573kg - does that sound about right?

The van I'm eyeing is only 1300kg ATM (not sure what the ball weight is though). I imagine I would be travelling relatively light. The only heavy items would be a fridge at ~20kg and an AGM battery at ~30kg. Would not worry about carrying water, extra fuel, etc.

How do you think the Outback would go?

Just on the 4WD suggestion, it's a bit more complicated as I'd like one with side curtain airbags. My other requirement is that it is reasonably fuel efficient (13L/100kms tops) when just driving around town as it will still be the primary vehicle for running around. So those two factors limit me to very late model $40k plus Prados, Pathfinders, Patrols and Landcruisers if I want the diesel versions. The Outback still comes in at least $10k cheaper.

Was there something else you had in mind that could be had for the price of the Outback?

Although they tell you what the ATM is, never believe it till you weigh the van. As I said, I travel alone and my van weighs approx 1600kg loaded and I have a 100A battery, solar panel, clothes, spare tyre, groceries, a few beers etc. Nothing too much as most of it sits in the back of the 4WD. Although I now carry an extra 9kg gas bottle and my pushbike on the van.

The Outback WOULD tow what you want, but it can run anything up to 25l/100km depending on where you drive...I had a strong headwind one day and COULD NOT travel over 85km/h...wouldn't do it and chewed HEAPS of fuel !!

The outback has a great fuel economy not hooked up and is a great car, but personally I don't think it is good for towing over 1300kg.

Yes I did have a load hitch...and some days if I wasn't loaded correctly, the van had a bit of a sway which was dangerous, so I had to adjust things every now and then which was a pain.

My Toyota Landcruiser V8 petrol gets 14l/100 driving around Sydney and recently did 22l/100 towing through some good hills. Not that much different than the Subaru and it has twice the amount of fuel on board which allows me to shop for cheaper fuel on the highway....my last trip I drove past servo's with fuel at $1.45 p/l and found some up the highway at $1.32 p/l ....a saving of at least $12 per tank...and even more sometimes. I could NOT do that with the Subaru

Don't want to change your mind mate...your choice in life. Subaru is a GREAT car....but I am not sure about towing, that is why I have got a HEAVIER car now.


Good luck

The unladen mass of the Outback is 1540kg. The ATM of the caravan is 1300kg. What doesn't the ATM include? Do I need to add things like luggage, fridge, beds, etc?

Hi PeterD,

That's exactly the way I was looking at it. For 48 weeks a year, it would just be used for getting around Sydney town, so I'd rather have something that's easy to park, relatively fuel efficient and about $10k cheaper on the used market.

As long as its towing credentials are adequate... (?)

Cheers,

garbage

If they are a little slow on the hills - its a public nuisance, dangerous (to other drivers) and shouldn't be towing in hilly areas.

Going slow on hills only causes problems when the driver is inconsiderate. I drive a 2.8 diesel hilux. Without a run-up I am slow on hills whether I am towing a tonne or completely empty. On multi-lane roads I keep left. On single lane roads I help the faster vehicle to overtake if possible and/or get back to speed as soon as possible.

And really, if you're stuck behind a slower vehicle up a hill get over it. Patiently following may cost you a minute or two. Being pushy or overtaking in a rush may cost a life!!!

Perhaps you are in too much of a rush to "Go Fishing" :-P

Yep and to prove it they did a run of 3 or so towing small caravan camper things in a bit of an outback cruise and it was covered by one of the mags too long ago to remember much detail

Yeah, that would be the ideal 4WD for me if only it had side curtain airbags. Good towball capacity, diesel efficiency, relatively cheap and reliable.

Have you considered the new x-trail as a comparison to the outback? even the mid-spec model has curtain airbags.
Higher tow ratings too?
Can understand why you would look at the outback, our other car is a 07 Liberty - great car

cheers

Hadn't considered that one actually - I forgot that there was now a curtain airbagged version of the Xtrail. I had a look at the specs and it looks like even the base model has the curtain airbags. They appear to be of similar weight and towing capacity but less torque on the Xtrail (226 vs 297 on the 3.0 Outback) so I'm wondering if it would be struggling up hills with a ~1300kg (ATM) caravan in tow.

IMHO it would pull it no worries. 226nm is about what the 2.5l outback & forrester put out, and plenty of these (as well as the original xtrails) have been seen to have this sort of weight in tow. It would struggle on some hills, but would still do the job without any dramas. Dropping a bit of speed shouldn't be an issue with a van in tow - just get down to the appropriate gear early, and don't flog the guts out of it unnecessarily.
Remember - it's will be a day driver ~95% of the time, and out of the ~5% towing a van, how much of this will actually involve struggling up a hill? (but still doing it anyway).

Then again, all this means nothing if you take an xtrail for a drive, and don't like it....

Thanks for the suggestions! There seem to be a lot of people on these boards advocating large 4WD's for towing even the lighter caravans (or at least putting question marks on softroaders' towing abilities). It makes me wonder how caravanners in Europe get it done as you never see 4WD's around.

By the way, I also drive a Liberty (06) but the 2.0L model. Fantastic car! That's why the 3.0L Outback is my first choice.

Yep, I hear ya - what happened to the days when a ford or holden were the main tow cars! They had less power than todays softroaders!!
There is a lot of chest beating about needing a vehicle that weighs 3 tonnes laden to pull a 1300kg van.

that explains why you are keen on the outback.
ours is also the 2.0R liberty, had it for 6mnths , love it