That makes sense that the increased tongue weight would give you less stopping power up front. My plan is to get trailer brakes if I decide to retire the 1989 Ford and tow full time with the Subaru. Jim E M-17 #603 Grace On Fri, Sep 18, 2015 at 5:55 AM, Mike Graf <grafsriverhouse@me.com> wrote:
As I understand it, the real safety issue is about stopping more than pulling. And extra weight at the tongue lessens the weight of the front wheels where the majority of stopping power is.
Consider putting brakes on the trailer.
Regards, Mike G. Montgomery 15 ComPac Sun Cat
On Sep 17, 2015, at 7:19 PM, John Schinnerer <john@eco-living.net> wrote:
Hi all,
As promised a while back, a report on towing. In particular for those wondering about what a "small" car can do with an M17.
Yesterday I drove from Maple Valley, WA to Ashland, OR, 450 miles, mostly on I-5, towing my recently purchased 1974 M17 "Pajarita" with my 2001 Subaru Outback wagon.
Basically, it works just fine. I had to shift down for some of the steeper uphill grades on I-5 in southern Oregon. I cruised at around 60 mph on the freeway, except for a few slower uphills. Nothing I wasn't used to from owning a 71 VW van for many years a while back :-). I can definitely tell there's something wagging my tail a bit, but got used to it eventually. Just needs thoughtful driving, taking a bit more care than without the tow.
So now outings to various nearby lakes or Pacific coast won't seem like much of a long tow! ;-)
Specs of tow vehicle: base model Outback wagon, 2.5L engine, 165 HP rated, 5 speed manual transmission. Official tow rating is max 2000 lbs. load, max 200 lbs. tongue weight.
Has overload rear springs (std. height) from RalliTek:
http://www.rallitek.com/lifted-springs-kits/5634-rallitek-rear-overload-spri...
Front brakes are high carbon disks and ceramic pads (in plain English, a
small upgrade from original equipment).
Hitch rig is this one:
http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Subaru/Outback+Wagon/2001/90176.html?v...
...which I installed myself some time ago, easy-peasy. Along with electrical rig identified on etrailer.com - the car has a
plug and play plug, no splicing or manual wiring required.
Sometime fairly soon I will try and get the boat & trailer on a scale
and see what it actually weighs.
Also sometime soon I will be doing the boat ramp shuffle, so will see
how it handles that part.
cheers, John S.
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com