small tow vehicle?

[wynot]

I'm still concerned about going with the Forester. I mentioned I was looking at these to a co-worker yesterday and I got the same horror stories. They've had 3 Outbacks ... 2 cars blew head gaskets, the other had the 2.2, and 2 cars have had clutches replaced. One of them is on it's third clutch ... because of excessive chatter. Not good. Thier oldest Subaru was good, so they bought the next one. It was trouble. They bought the third thinking the other was just an oddity, and it was trouble too? This is why I'd limited myself to Honda and Toyota in the first place.
QUOTE]
 
My co-worker's Forester just got diagnosed with a head gasket failure - today, just told me about it 5 minutes ago. Just turned over 80,000 miles, has an aluminum block, so it is one of the newer ones.

[wynot]

I'm just a dump truck driver, what kind of empty trailer has this kind of specs?
 
customer load a 24,000 lb (unloaded) 5th wheel

It was a 2006 model high end 5th wheel, 40' long, triple axle.  I don't want to identify the brand or dealership.  These trailers are usually sold to full-timers who have medium duty trucks for tow rigs, or an F-550 Super Duty.  These folks put it on a F-350 Super Duty.

[JimQPublic]

Ouch.  What year is the Forester?  I thought they had fixed those problems by about 2000.  Our Forester has the STI engine but runs at much less boost, torque, and HP so I'm not worried.

On trailer brakes-  In my world 995 advertised dry weight isn't "less than 1000 pounds".  It's a bit more.  Ford says it best in their towing guide- which covers everything up to trucks with 33,000 pound combined weight ratings:  "Remember, the braking system of the tow vehicle is rated for operation at the GVWR, not GCWR."  In other words if the trailer is too heavy to carry ON your vehicle with all the other loads, it needs brakes.

Flat ground, short distances, low speeds, light traffic make it more reasonable to push this envelope than mountains, heavy traffic, high speeds, etc.

On brakes for 8" rims- you're may be out of luck.  I know that you can get the 7-1/4" electric brakes with 4 lug on 4" spacing hubs, but I don't know if your wheels would work with the drums.

[ScoobyDoo]

WYNOT  If that 40ft tri-axle is 24,000 mt you better not hang it on a F-550. The company has one, GVWR=19800;   GCVWR is less than 25000.

[wynot]

WYNOT If that 40ft tri-axle is 24,000 mt you better not hang it on a F-550. The company has one, GVWR=19800; GCVWR is less than 25000.

Well, I wouldn't hang it on anything, since thankfully, I don't have that kind of job anymore.  But the (trailer) company rep recommended at minimum F-550 Super Duties for most of their units.  That was prior to the new trailers coming out - even heavier.
 
When trailers are listed at $130,000+, not too many buyers!!!

[wynot]

Ouch. What year is the Forester? I thought they had fixed those problems by about 2000. Our Forester has the STI engine but runs at much less boost, torque, and HP so I'm not worried.
 QUOTE]
 
2003, he just asked me if I was interested in buying it...

[mountainrev]

Have you considered adding VW diesels into your mix of tow vehicles to consider?  There's a couple of guys over on popupexplorer who tow medium-sized campers (e.g., Fleetwood Yuma) with itty-bitty Jettas and Passat TDIs.  Apparently those diesels have incredible torque.  Their Euro specs give them way high tow ratings.  Do a Google search on TDI's and towing.

A friend of mine has a Jetta TDI wagon.  He doesn't tow with it, but that sucker pulls up the high passes in the mountains at speed limit, and it gets 40 to 50 mpg.  They apparently aren't marketing them in the US in '07, but there are plenty of used ones out there (although they seem to command a pretty high price).

Just a thought.

[wynot]

Have you considered adding VW diesels into your mix of tow vehicles to consider? There's a couple of guys over on popupexplorer who tow medium-sized campers (e.g., Fleetwood Yuma) with itty-bitty Jettas and Passat TDIs. Apparently those diesels have incredible torque. Their Euro specs give them way high tow ratings. Do a Google search on TDI's and towing.
 
A friend of mine has a Jetta TDI wagon. He doesn't tow with it, but that sucker pulls up the high passes in the mountains at speed limit, and it gets 40 to 50 mpg. They apparently aren't marketing them in the US in '07, but there are plenty of used ones out there (although they seem to command a pretty high price).
 
Just a thought.

I'm not certain, but I don't think they have a tow rating, or if they do, I think it is low. I believe only the Toureg (why do they pick these names of winds in other lands??) diesel was tow rated. Jetta TDIs were stopped a couple of years ago. VW is not offering diesels in 2007 in the US because of the new ultralow sulfur diesel specs, but was continuing 2006 models. Mercedes is the only new passenger diesel manufacturer in 2007.
 
I know my Rabbit diesel never got lower than 53 mpg in the 104,000 miles I drove it.
 
Latest on the 2003 Subaru, they're dropping the engine and replacing the head gaskets on my co-workers car today.

[rtt108]

I guess I should update this thread.  I bought an old 1996 Subaru Legacy Outback, 2.2L 5-spd manual.  130K miles.  It in great shape and runs very well.  I figure it'll do for a couple of years until I decidce what I really want.

I havn't towed the camper yet, but I spent last weekend hauling firewood in a 4x8 trailer.  I figure I was pulling at least 2000lbs loaded.  The car handled it great!!  So much better than the Chrysler.  The 2.2 has plenty of torque. I know the 2.5 would be much better still, but the 2.2 handled it fine.  The clutch is fine.  It feels like a fairly heavy clutch, and it gets the weight moving without any complaints at all.

The brakes were adequate for the job, but I still need to pusue a surge brake of some kind on the trailer.

So, thanks for all the input.