Tow vehicle for Escape 19

[gbaglo]

The following is from Scientific American magazine:

Most modern cars, however, are designed to employ a specific compression ratio, a measure of how much room is available to the fuel when the piston is at the bottom and the top of the cylinder. This compression ratio—somewhere in the neighborhood of eight to one—tolerates lower octane fuels (such as regular gasoline, good old 87 octane) without knocking. "The compression ratio is fixed by the designer of the engine," Green says. "The regular fuel will burn properly and the premium fuel will burn properly and therefore there is no reason you should pay the extra money." High-performance engines, such as those in some sports cars or older, heavier automobiles, often boast much higher compression ratios. These cars—for example, Shepherd's Subaru WRX—require premium gasoline and will definitely knock without it. "I have to put the 92 octane in," he says. "It has a turbocharger."
Such high compression ratios—and the premium fuels that go with them—could be turned to efficiency, rather than speed, Green notes, especially if put into the engines of lighter cars like his Honda Civic. Other automotive fuels, such as ethanol, can also offer high octane ratings, allowing oil companies to use more volatile gasoline in such blends. But for standard cars on the road today, purchasing premium gasoline is simply paying a premium for a fuel that delivers no added benefits. "If you think you need it," Green says, "you're being very eccentric."

Go here to read the full article: http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...ion-premium-g/



baglo

[TAfraser]

Honda recommends regular for my Ridgeline, unless I'm towing over 3500 lbs, then it's premium. Compression ratio is 10:1.

[azjack]

I also had a ridgeline and followed Honda's book that called for premium when towing and I still believe it is a good idea with the jeep as it has 9.6 ratio and I can slightly beat the advertised mileage at higher speeds.
Jack

[dylanear]

I'm considering a 17B or perhaps a 19, this will certainly require a new TV as my current TV is not ideal for my current 13' Scamp.

I do not like trucks and tall vehicles in general. Has anyone used a Sube Legacy/Outback for a 19 and felt comfortable about it?? I think the US rating is 2700lbs, But I've read the 6 cylinder model is 3000lbs, and that car in Europe is more like 3600lbs. Have not seen tongue weight numbers.

Is there any actual weight measurements of well equipped and packed 17Bs or 19s? Most heavy things I'd keep in the back of the TV, but I'm interested of weights with food in the pantry, day to day items in the drawers, water in the tank etc. Tongue weight number also very welcome.

[thoer]

There are folks pulling 17B's with the Subaru's but I don't know of anyone pulling a 19 with one.

[dylanear]

Yeah, not too worried about a 17, but the 19 may be pushing it.

Trailer Weights in the Real World - Fiberglass RV

[dylanear]

Hmmm.... I just posted a reply, but perhaps because it had an external link it has to be approved my the Mods.

Yeah, I suspected a 17 was pretty doable with an Outback, but wondered about the extra 2 feet and extra axle on the 19s.

[dylanear]

My perfect TV would be a 4wd wagon with a manual trans and a direct injection turbo diesel. But Sube will not bring their well reviewed diesel engine to North America. Mazda won't bring the 6 wagon here and it's not 4wd (and who knows when or if the 5 will get the diesel, the CX-5 will likely get it first). The German options seems expensive and reliability and repair costs seem less than ideal.

And, I'd like to not take on a loan, so a 10 year old used vehicle is probably about where I'm looking. So seems Outbacks are really the only practical options in this class? Anyone have a TV sort of near this class vehicle I'm overlooking?

But this "ideal" type TV and a 19' trailer? I don't know.

[cpaharley2008]

An Escape will outlast a lot of tow vehicles, that said a 10 year old used Subaru may not be you best choice. Even an Escape 17 with a gross weight rating of 3500# would exceed any Subaru's capacity and the 19' goes up another 500#. Most mid sized suv's will be okay for a 17 but for a 19' you have to move up.

[gbaglo]

I think you are going to run in difficulty with the tongue weight, towing even a 17 with an Outback. I don't recall offhand the Outback capacity, but my RAV is 350 lbs. and the actual tongue weight on my 17B is 320 (ish ).
Personally, I wouldn't use a new Outback to tow my 17B, never mind a 10 year old one.

[dylanear]

I hear ya. I don't want to be unsafe, but a truck/SUV I will loath driving any time I'm not towing with it. Would be more a dedicated TV.

Is a 10yo Outback simply not ideal? Or just plain unsafe?! I guess that's my question. Similarly, more or less unsafe than the small car and 13 footer I have now? It's far from ideal, but I have towed 4 thousand + miles so far without incident. But I do religiously drive under limits, avoid poor weather/visibility, have to be very intentional about packing, never take my eyes off the road save for quick glances of the instruments, etc. So whatever I get I want to have more safety margin than I have now.

[paulw]

The limiting factor on an Outback is the hitch weight - you're only allowed 200 pounds.
My 17b never weighed in below 320.

I see Glen beat me to it.
Loading up a Subie like that would probably tear it up.

[dylanear]

I've modified my Scamp to bring the TW down. Have a tiny propane tank and at times have put the tongue battery in the TV, have a second (yes agm) under the sink. Could probably look at doing that. I need to see a 17b. That might be big enough for me.

I'd love talk to anyone who has actually towed an Escape (larger than a 15) with a Legacy.

[thoer]

Lot of discussion of Subaru and Escapes on this thread:http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f1....html#post8652

I was thinking Elizabeth and Dan were towing their 17B with a Subaru as I remember all the discussion, but now I remember that they ended up with a Rav4 with the V6. So I don't know any folks towing a 17 with a Subaru to amend my earlier statement...... CRS again...

[MyronL]

We bought a 2013 Outback Legacy but when I asked the dealer fellas about towing they clearly had no clue. Evasive, puzzled, vague, take your pick. To me that speaks loud.

[dylanear]

Very good link! Thanks!

Sounds like if it is to be done a better than factory hitch, probably with stabilizer/weight distribution is a wise option.

[dylanear]

Originally Posted by MyronL

We bought a 2013 Outback Legacy but when I asked the dealer fellas about towing they clearly had no clue. Evasive, puzzled, vague, take your pick. To me that speaks loud.

I don't trust dealers to know ANYTHING other than how to sell a car. Them not knowing, means little to me either way.

Do you tow with your '13 Outback? If so, what have your experiences been?

[MyronL]

Love our Subie, think it is an excellent vehicle but we have a 19 and no way I would ever tow with it. I tow with a '96 Tahoe, 5.6L V-8 which I bought 3-4 years ago.

I suppose you could use a Subaru for towing a 15 or even a 17 but I'm guessing in the end towing will seriously shorten the Subie's life. That would be bad.

[dylanear]

If the weights are under tow rating and I don't abuse it, I don't see why it would shorten the car's life to the point that it's not worth doing. Granted you are putting a LOT more stress on the drivetrain than not towing at all. I understand suspension bushings, transmissions, etc do take plenty of extra stresses and would expect them to ware faster, but these cars go hundreds and hundreds of thousands of miles when not towing before reaching their practical end of life.

My main concern by far is making sure my rig is stable, controllable and nothing is going to catastrophically fail while underway. If I need a new transmission some time down the line? That's the price I expect to pay for towing around rated capacity.

[gbaglo]

You are trying to convince yourself.
You are not convincing anybody else.