2018 Subaru outback towing a 1972 Shasta

Asked by 72ShastaJolene Dec 01, 2019 at 08:41 PM about the 2018 Subaru Outback 2.5i AWD

Question type: General

Hi,  I have a 2018 Subaru Outback.  Last summer I bought a 72' Shasta.  
Weight is 1600lbs and the Hitch weight is 245.  I am very new at the camper
thing and have read mixed reviews about towing it.  I do not know if it has
brakes.  I know it has emergency breakaway brakes but don't know if that
makes a different.  I would love some advice on what to do to make it road
worth.  I have only driven it a couple hrs and it felt fine but want to make sure I
am not doing anything I shouldn't.  Thanks!

4 Answers

I think the tongue weight is too much. If you can rebalance the trailer you might be OK. Trailer brakes will make it a lot safer to tow so have someone that knows trailers take a look at it.

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I agree. The OB's rear springs and struts are WAY too soft for a tongue weight above 100lbs. I automatically replace the wimpy 16mm rear anti-swaybar on all my OBs with Subaru's much beefier 20mm Sti version to improve handling and reduce body roll, but even that won't reduce much the effects of a symmetrical "sag" from the equivalent of two people sitting on the bumper! I'm not currently aware of good aftermarket stiffer springsets and mating struts that would be cost-effective, but make sure that you treat all 4 corners as a system, and not just stiffen the rear, or you may engineer a lot of unintended oversteer when NOT towing your behemoth. Is there any way to rebalance the camper to reduce tongue weight in half or more? And do you really mean 72' long?

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