Who tows what?

Some interesting views here.

Does anybody tow an Off Road Jayco Camper Trailer?

I've been considering one but am thoroughly investigating it.

According to all the books our MY09 Forester [manual] can handle it legally.

The Jayco Eagle Offroad has a tare of 1,080kg and a towbar ball weight of 119kg.

The Foz is rated at 1,400kg and 140kg for the towball.

That would leave me with 320kg to play with before reaching the legal a.t.m - and some finely balanced packing to keep the towball rating under 140kg.

15kg for gas, 80kg for water and that leaves about 220kg for cooking gear, some tucker, clothes - not forgetting the odd stubby of fine ale of course.:biggrin:

The Jayco salesman says it would tow it OK [but he would say that :lildevil:], and my mechanic says that it should be no problem as manufacturers deliberately under rate vehicles when setting towing limits.

An interesting point is that the MY09 Foz with the smaller 2l motor in the U.K. is rated at 1,500kg - an extra 100kg allowed.

Very strange.

I realize it would make for a "slower" trip but I've towed off road campers and caravans with other vehicles in the past and am quite used to having that "thing" hanging on behind.

I notice over on the MySwag forum there is a bloke towing a Jayco off road camper with an X-Trail.

Strangely Nissan rates them with a higher tow limit [2000kg], but the Foz has the X-Trails measure on both Max Power and Torque.

Which leads me to believe that if an X-Trail can pull one - so can a Foz.

The only real area of concern is keeping the add on weight down to hold the a.t.m. under the 1,400kg mark.

Any views??
 
There is a guy in our club who tows a A frame caravan i don't know the specs but it's fairly long he seems to go along fine he got a stock 2L Forester manual.

He even took it on a easy - medium track rated for lifted cars and got there with minimal help surprised me.

Jan
 
SubaRoo said:
Some interesting views here.

Does anybody tow an Off Road Jayco Camper Trailer?

I've been considering one but am thoroughly investigating it.

According to all the books our MY09 Forester [manual] can handle it legally.
Click to expand...

I tow an Outback Hawk Camper with the 06 XT Auto. A little different to the 2009 NA but it should be able to do it ok.
 
El_Freddo said:
I'm sure I've overloaded the brumby and my L series - I'd also go as far as saying that most people towing trailers overload the vehicle in the process but they drive to the conditions associated with driving with a trailer. ...
Click to expand...

I reccon I was overloaded without a trailer. Still, the 'auto level' struts seem to have recovered. :ebiggrin:
 
Weekender GOGO Camper

Hi, I'm looking at getting one of these second hand https://www.weekendercampingtrailers.com.au/go go camper.html . The Mach 2 version with sink, water tank, etc.

The current owner has hauled it with a Mazda 3, so I should have no problems. Apparently it weighs in at about 450kg.

However, sight unseen, I am confused about wheels.

Apparently the wheels are 5 holes and compatible with the Mazda.

I can't find anywhere in the Subaru manual that specifies wheel size, however tyre size (Turanza) is 215/60R16 95V.

Does anyone have any idea where I can find details of the Subaru wheel specs, so I can check if they would be compatible (i.e. wheels to fit Subaru would also fit on the trailer.):(
 
Subarino got a set of hubs for a trailer with the subaru stud pattern, I'm sure you could get a set for the trailer...

Cheers

Bennie
 
I towed a 20,000L fiberglass tank strapped down to a car trailer! At 4.8m diameter it was a bit sketchy as it was clipping plants on either side of the road...

More relevantly I have regularly towed a mates 5m boat around (700kg+?) barely even notice it (cos the foz is so slugish ne way:iconwink:)
 
Towing Capacities for 05, Manual, N/A OB

SubaRoo said:
... The Foz is rated at 1,400kg and 140kg for the towball. ...
Click to expand...


Where do you find this inf?

It isn't in the manual for my 05 Outback.

The plate at the base of the door pillar only shows:-
GVM: 1960kg,
GALF: (front) 1060,
GALR: (rear) 1040.

No mention of either towing (braked or un-braked) or towball ratings.

Where do I get this info for an 05 OB, 2.5 Manual N/A?

Barry
 
There will be a sticker on the car somewhere. I think its inside the door? Should tell you max braked load, max unbraked load, and vertical tow load.

Maybe this sticker only comes with tow pack equiped cars?
 
apsilon said:
They're only 10min from where I work so I've been meaning to stop in and take a look. I take it you're happy with the unit? Done any touring with it yet? How's it tow offroad?
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yup very happy with it
tows awesome on road don't even notice that it's there
haven't done too much off road with it as of yet
though it does tow nicely on dirt roads(i.e. main roads up the Watagans)
hope to get away mid next year doing some of the west NSW outback dirt roads/tracks(i.e. Camerons corner)
 
Now try doing the trip again with the tank filled!

nugget said:
I towed a 20,000L fiberglass tank strapped down to a car trailer! At 4.8m diameter it was a bit sketchy as it was clipping plants on either side of the road...

More relevantly I have regularly towed a mates 5m boat around (700kg+?) barely even notice it (cos the foz is so slugish ne way:iconwink:)
Click to expand...
 
2jz929 said:
There will be a sticker on the car somewhere. I think its inside the door? Should tell you max braked load, max unbraked load, and vertical tow load.

Maybe this sticker only comes with tow pack equiped cars?
Click to expand...

Sticker on Drivers side pillar only has tyre pressures and rim size - which I had been looking for.

The HR towing kit seems like OEM to me (fitted into rear bumper, etc), so would've thought that it was the 'tow pack', as per your reference.
 
Sources for Towing weights & Ball weights

Given that the Subaru Australia site focuses on current models I have gone searching elsewhere for details of maximum trailer weights, braked and un-braked, and ball weights.

Carbudy.com.au https://www.carbuddy.com.au/buy/car...OUTBACK&mip=15000&sort=99&tid=22410066#179496 has comprehensive manufacturers specifications for each model and year variant. My 05 'Safety' Outback is listed as having a max trailer weight of 1500kg braked and 750kg, un-braked. Unfortunately the 'comprehensive' manufacturers specs don't include the ball weight.

It is difficult to find anything on Ball weights, however here is a 2004 RACQ review of a MY05 Outback which gives a ball weight of 90kg. https://www.racq.com.au/motoring_ad...le_make/cars/subaru/outback_2.5i_premium_pack I presume this should be fairly standard across the 05-09 model range, which share rear suspension systems.

The same sources should reveal similar info for Fozzie owners.

Hope this helps. :)
 
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Don't think the new models have the same rear suspension as the model it replaced.
By memory my car is the same as you quoted for the outback....1500 braked and 750 unbraked and i think it depended on what towbar you had fitted...the 40x40 or the 50x50. I'll see if i can find out but maybe 75kg ball weight with the 40x40.
 
Barry said:
Sticker on Drivers side pillar only has tyre pressures and rim size - which I had been looking for.

The HR towing kit seems like OEM to me (fitted into rear bumper, etc), so would've thought that it was the 'tow pack', as per your reference.
Click to expand...

Ok, finally stopped being lazy and went outside and had a look. The sticker is on the subaru tow tongue itself, just behind the ball. It says:

Unbraked: 720kg both auto and manual
Braked: 1800kg manual and 1600kg auto
Down force: No more than 75kg.
Down force with self leveling hitch: 180kg manual and 160kg auto.

This is XT specific, as at the top is says 'XT Forester'. However i would assume they would all be around the same.

EDIT: Thats a 50mm X 50mm tow tongue.
 
I wonder who weighs the tow ball load. And how.
 
It's an issue that has intruiged me at times. I load up a trailer with maybe a tonne of earth, yet I have not a clue what the load on the tow ball is. One can only assume that they quote this figure for a reason, obviously, yet for the most part people are ognorant of the loads they are imposing on the car. Sure, by loading as much over the trailer wheels will help, but it remains a bit of guesswork. Maybe find some lightweight friend who weighs 75kg and see if by standing on the towball they bring the back of the car down the same amount! :)
 
Rally said:
I wonder who weighs the tow ball load. And how.
Click to expand...

I'd think insurance companies trying to get out of paying a claim would be likely to check though you'd think in an accident load will have shifted. As for how I'm sure there's some type of scale that can be used to check it.

As for the end user I doubt anyone does though in the cases of caravan and camper trailers the manufacturer will provide a stock down weight so you just need to weigh anything you add in front of the axle and subtract anything added after the axle. I think that would give a fair figure but certainly not sure.
 
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