Tom The hitch is a small part of what determines the tow rating of a vehicle. You could put on a hitch rated for 6000 lbs and it would not increase the tow rating of the vehicle one ounce. There are a lot of things that determine the tow rating. Transmission, drive line, u joints, axles, brakes, differential, frame, are included. The horsepower does not have much to do with the tow rating. The weakest link of the vehicle is what determines it. I drive a Dodge diesel pickup with 180 hp, and it is rated to tow 11,500 lbs. Most of the big-rigs are not over 300 hp., and tow 80,000 lbs. All the things I mentioned are built stronger, that is the difference. That is why my truck weighs 3000 lbs more than the car that can tow 2000 lbs, everything is stronger and heavier. Vehicles with automatics usually have a higher tow rating that manual transmissions. The automatics are more forgiving of the driver when towing, and it puts less strain on the rest of the running gear. A few years back Ford increased the tow rating of their pickups by 1000 lbs, all they did different was put synthetic oil in the differential housing, which made it run cooler. Heat is another factor in determining tow ratings. Cooler is better. Even at $5.00 a gallon for diesel I still would buy another truck. I get 22 mpg on the highway,17-18 in town, and 13-14 mpg towing my 8000 lb 5th wheel. Some of the post I have read here are not much better than that towing a 1600 lb M boat, and they are at the capicity of the vehicle. Dave M17 206 Tom Jenkins <tjenk@gte.net> wrote: Bob and group: Gary Hyde is possibly out sailing, so I will be presumptuous and repeat what he told the group regarding his tow vehicle a while back. He has a turbo Subaru Forester with automatic transmission and surge brakes on the trailer. He is evidently happy with the way the rig tows his 17. The current (2009) version of this vehicle has 224 hp and 226 foot pounds of torque, and a tow rating of 2400#, which is the same as the 170 hp non-turbo models. Maybe you guys can figure why a vehicle like the Escape/Tribute that weighs the same as the Subaru and has fewer horsepower (200) and torque will safely tow 1100 pounds more than the former. Perhaps it is the lower capacity of the Class I receiver on the Subaru, but one can buy a Class III setup with a 2x2 receiver rated at 3500# and a 350# tongue weight. Tom Jenkin