Tow vehicle

[Jared MacKinnon]

Hi All,

A few questions about towing and tow vehicles others are using.

We bought our boat in August and hauled it home to Nova Scotia from Quebec with our 2009 Santa Fe 2.7l 6 cylinder with a 5 speed manual transmission. Worked great. However it is getting a bit old and we are looking to upgrade.

We  don't plan to travel far with our boat. We keep it on a mooring but could see a few trips on the trailer annually to the Bras d'Or Lakes.

Thinking of a Subaru Outback. Specifically the 3.6R engine. Anybody else tow with an Outback? My main concern is the CVT transmission.

What are people using as tow vehicles?

Any idea on the tounge weight? All up weight (trailer, boat, 2hp honda and one set of sails)?

Thanks,
Jared

#86 Hola

[David Krausz]

U20 owner Mike Josselyn towed his U20 from San Francisco to Park City, UT with his Subaru without any problems.   The specs say the U20 weighs 1,260lbs.  Add in the trailer and other camping/sailing gear that may not be included in the spec and maybe the total weight is 2,000lbs.   I think a Subaru is good for 2,700lbs.

Edit:  I viewed a Subaru spec page and the tow limit is 2,700lbs with trailer brakes.  Hard towing (hot, uphill, no trans cooler) 1,500lbs.  Regular towing without trailer brakes: 1,000lbs.   Seems that brakes are the biggest weakness and if your trailer doesn't have brakes and you were planning on traveling over mountains, it could be a problem. If you are traveling on relatively flat terrain and only a few small trips, then I don't think it would be a problem without trailer brakes. Just know that your stopping time will need to increase and the brakes might get soft.
 

[Michael Eisenberg]

When I bought my boat out of Florida, I rented a RAV4 in California on a one week rental ($279) to make the round trip drive.  But Hertz didn't have a Rav4 manual trans in stock.  They had a Nissan equivalent with a CVT transmission.  I can conclusively tell you NOT TO GET A CVT TRANSMISSION for towing. The transmission computer just doesn't learn how to handle the increased load. It eventually adjusted after about 1500 miles.  But then when I got to LA it didn't know what to do with no load and the engine barely would run.

[Jared MacKinnon]

Thanks David and Michael.

What are others using as tow vehicles?

[Michael Eisenberg]

Early Bronco works well.

[Mike Reyes]

My tired old Acadia seemed ok bringing our new toy home. Hopefully  the steep ramp at our lake won't  be an issue.

[Mark Allen]

I used to tow my U20 in Colorado with a 2000 Subaru Outback with the 2.5L 4 cylinder. Took it up to Dillon 9000'. I would not recommend it but worked in a pinch. Had to keep an eye on the engine temp to see how fast I could go. Downhill was no problem with no trailer brakes. The CVT for towing is a question. I would refer to Micheal since he knows all things mechanical. Anything with a 6 cylinder is fine for towing the U20.