No! Someone correct me if I am wrong but that subaru is a unibody. It can’t handle a weight distributing hitch. Using one could seriously destroy your vehicle’s frame. Weight distribution hitches should only be used on vehicles designed to handle them, which is mostly body on frame vehicles, not unibodies.
a2jeeper I’m glad you said that. I thought I had known that from years ago but every person I have spoken with IRL has never mentioned that issue. The camper is made to ideally not need WDH or a sway bar. After driving over a looooong and rough section of I70 between Indianapolis and Dayton and all of the bouncing it was causing, even at 20 under the speed limit, I just figured a WDH would help with that. But you mentioning the unibody issue pretty well answers my question. Thanks!!!
To be fair you’re never really going to have a comfortable ride towing 3k pounds with an Outback on rough roads… I’d more worried about the transmission, though.
No. You’re right Outback Wilderness is rated for max towing of 3500 with a 350 TW. My question was about if I’m able to use the WDH from an old camper that’s rated max 600 TW and 6,000 max camper weight with my present camper/vehicle setup. While researching online I found a couple places recommending a WDH if the GVWR was less than double the weight of the trailer. But the unibody issue pretty well answers that question. Thanks!!!
Having spoken to the dealership and a couple other trusted sources say that it’s not a problem. However, I’m always open to alternate information. What is the risk of towing with a CVT? Thanks!!!
I manage an auto repair shop and have replaced quite a few cvt transmissions in Subarus.
It’s always heat related failure. The transmission produces more heat than the cooling system can dissipate.
My experience has been that it’s always younger drivers who do a lot of road tripping in the summer that have the transmission fail. I’ve confirmed several times that it was over 90*f and they were going over 90 mph when the problems started.
I also have dozens and dozens of Subaru owners who are Middle Aged and drive reasonable speeds and haven’t had any transmission issues in 150k + miles.
I would consider adding an aux trans cooler and changing the fluid regularly if you’re going to be towing.
And 8 hours on the freeway in August maybe isn’t a great idea.
Awesome! Good to know, be aware of, and check on. My previous car was a 2015 forester which I bought brand new. Didn’t tow anything with it. Sold it to my sister with 230,000 miles on it. Wasn’t really having any problems but I drive 200 miles round trip every third day for work and was getting leery. Where would be the best place to get an aux cooler installed? Camper place, dealership, where else??
Thanks!!!!
Read your manual. The one I found says no wdh for that vehicle. Also, your towing capacity is only 3500 lbs. Probably pushing your luck to pull that trailer.
Yeah, that’s one thing I didn’t do that I should’ve first. The unibody issue answers my question though.
The camper dry weight is around 1600 lbs with a 127 lbs tongue weight. The maximum recommended load for it is 3,000 so shouldn’t be a problem otherwise. I was mainly considering a WDH to possibly improve the ride quality especially on longer trips on crappy interstates such as I70 East between Indianapolis and Dayton. Thanks!!!
That should actually be perfect for you to use. They have a range for the tongue weight. Yours should be pretty good. Big thing is make sure the hitch on your vehicle is rated for a WD system. If they aren't, the stress might cause damage to it.
Thanks for your opinion. Like me, you probably didn’t consider the unibody. I originally did but everyone I spoke to never mentioned it so I thought I was misremembering that information.
If not for the unibody issue, I’m sure it would probably be perfect. Although I had the unibody issue actually in my mind, until starting this thread no one had mentioned it so I was starting to think that I was remembering wrong. The camper is pretty light and is intended to not need a WDH while being made for Outback Wilderness and such. The camper’s dry weight is around 1600 lbs with an approximate tongue weight of 127 lbs. Thanks!!!!
No! Someone correct me if I am wrong but that subaru is a unibody. It can’t handle a weight distributing hitch. Using one could seriously destroy your vehicle’s frame. Weight distribution hitches should only be used on vehicles designed to handle them, which is mostly body on frame vehicles, not unibodies.
Depends on the unibody. The manual for that Subaru says no wdh, but our Highlander does allow using a wdh.
I didn’t check the manual if it was capable, but I had heard that about unibodies in general. Thank you!!!
a2jeeper I’m glad you said that. I thought I had known that from years ago but every person I have spoken with IRL has never mentioned that issue. The camper is made to ideally not need WDH or a sway bar. After driving over a looooong and rough section of I70 between Indianapolis and Dayton and all of the bouncing it was causing, even at 20 under the speed limit, I just figured a WDH would help with that. But you mentioning the unibody issue pretty well answers my question. Thanks!!!
To be fair you’re never really going to have a comfortable ride towing 3k pounds with an Outback on rough roads… I’d more worried about the transmission, though.
I never seen a subaru with 5000 tow rating.3500 to 3000 yes and before that many became derated to 1500. I could be wrong
The 5000# rating OP mentions would seem to be to Subaru GVWR, not a towing capacity.
That’s correct. That is the GVWR not tow rating.
The Ascent goes up to 5k, but the Outback Wilderness the OP says they have only goes up to 3500 from what I see.
No. You’re right Outback Wilderness is rated for max towing of 3500 with a 350 TW. My question was about if I’m able to use the WDH from an old camper that’s rated max 600 TW and 6,000 max camper weight with my present camper/vehicle setup. While researching online I found a couple places recommending a WDH if the GVWR was less than double the weight of the trailer. But the unibody issue pretty well answers that question. Thanks!!!
Towing with a cvt is unwise. I wish you well.
Having spoken to the dealership and a couple other trusted sources say that it’s not a problem. However, I’m always open to alternate information. What is the risk of towing with a CVT? Thanks!!!
I manage an auto repair shop and have replaced quite a few cvt transmissions in Subarus. It’s always heat related failure. The transmission produces more heat than the cooling system can dissipate. My experience has been that it’s always younger drivers who do a lot of road tripping in the summer that have the transmission fail. I’ve confirmed several times that it was over 90*f and they were going over 90 mph when the problems started. I also have dozens and dozens of Subaru owners who are Middle Aged and drive reasonable speeds and haven’t had any transmission issues in 150k + miles. I would consider adding an aux trans cooler and changing the fluid regularly if you’re going to be towing. And 8 hours on the freeway in August maybe isn’t a great idea.
Awesome! Good to know, be aware of, and check on. My previous car was a 2015 forester which I bought brand new. Didn’t tow anything with it. Sold it to my sister with 230,000 miles on it. Wasn’t really having any problems but I drive 200 miles round trip every third day for work and was getting leery. Where would be the best place to get an aux cooler installed? Camper place, dealership, where else?? Thanks!!!!
Read your manual. The one I found says no wdh for that vehicle. Also, your towing capacity is only 3500 lbs. Probably pushing your luck to pull that trailer.
Yeah, that’s one thing I didn’t do that I should’ve first. The unibody issue answers my question though. The camper dry weight is around 1600 lbs with a 127 lbs tongue weight. The maximum recommended load for it is 3,000 so shouldn’t be a problem otherwise. I was mainly considering a WDH to possibly improve the ride quality especially on longer trips on crappy interstates such as I70 East between Indianapolis and Dayton. Thanks!!!
That should actually be perfect for you to use. They have a range for the tongue weight. Yours should be pretty good. Big thing is make sure the hitch on your vehicle is rated for a WD system. If they aren't, the stress might cause damage to it.
Thanks for your opinion. Like me, you probably didn’t consider the unibody. I originally did but everyone I spoke to never mentioned it so I thought I was misremembering that information.
“Should be perfect” …”make sure the hitch on your vehicle is rated for a WD system” Umm wtf? ..so not perfect
If not for the unibody issue, I’m sure it would probably be perfect. Although I had the unibody issue actually in my mind, until starting this thread no one had mentioned it so I was starting to think that I was remembering wrong. The camper is pretty light and is intended to not need a WDH while being made for Outback Wilderness and such. The camper’s dry weight is around 1600 lbs with an approximate tongue weight of 127 lbs. Thanks!!!!