Subaru Outback and Escape 15

[medora]

Hi, All ... after almost going with a Scamp 16', we're pulling back and giving the Escape a good hard look.

But before we start getting too excited, I am very curious if there are any forum members who have towed the Escape 15 with a Subaru Outback. Our max tongue is 200 pounds, our max tow is 2700. Talking to Tammy yesterday I believe she indicated the tongue on the Escape 15 was around 140 (significantly less than the Scamp 16), and that the tow was 1600. She indicated that even if we add A/C and some perks we'd still have "plenty of wiggle room."

Thoughts?

I have some other questions which I'll post in the general forum. Thanks!

Elizabeth

[Texscapees]

I believe that there are at least a couple of members of the forum (Serendipity & Kotals) who tow Escape 17's with their Subaru Outback. Just make sure you're comparing "apples to apples" b/c their particular Outback models aren't necessarily tow rated the same as yours. Also, Brian Van Snell pulls an Escape 13 "Ladybug" with a Subaru Forester & seems to be more than happy with his setup. Maybe one of these Subaru/Escape owners could chime in more on this for you.

Originally Posted by Serendipity

Topic: Eight days to Chilliwack! « on: November 30, 2009, 10:51:52 PM »
Next Tuesday, December 8th, Bettina and I go to "Escape Country" to pick up our 17B. We are getting quite excited!...
...I also bought a new car to pull the trailer, now known as Serendipity. It is a 2010 Subaru Outback 3.5R. The six cylinder engine develops 256 hp with 247 pounds of torque. Subaru now rates this model with a 3,000 lb. towing capacity. It should handle the trailer without a problem - I hope. I could not use the class I factory hitch, so I got a Curt class III, but getting the brake controller installed is another story. The hitch shop in Chilliwack will finish the job...

Jerry Robillard
2010 Subaru Outback 3.5R
2009 17B "Serendipity"
Langley, WA

Originally Posted by Serendipity

Topic: Disappointing mileage « on: December 10, 2009, 10:32:57 PM »
I have a new Subaru Outback with the H6 3.5 engine with just 900 milles on it when I picked up the 17B on Tuesday.

Jerry Robillard
2010 Subaru Outback 3.5R
2009 17B "Serendipity"
Langley, WA

Originally Posted by Kotals

Topic: Equalizer Hitch « on: January 04, 2009, 10:27:01 AM »
We towed our 17' with a Ford Windstar minivan using the equalizer hitch. Now we will be towing it with a Subaru Outback and are wondering if we will need the equ. bars. I think I saw someone post about towing with an Outback. The max tongue weight is 200#.
Thanks for any info. and thanks for this forum. It would have been great to reference when we were researching our '08 trailer!

Originally Posted by bvansnell

...We did not need to buy a new vehicle -- our Subaru Forester tows the trailer just fine, even on the long haul to the Merritt rally!

Brian
2003 Subaru Forester
2010 Escape 13 "Ladybug" Feb 2010

Good Luck on your decision making!

[thoer]

Elizabeth - I would ask Tammy and Reace and look in your vehicle owners manual about a weight distributing hitch. If you are close to the maximum tongue weight of your vehicle I think that a WDH might greatly help with making a better ride.

Eric

[reace]

Hi Elizabeth

I have some concerns... I am not sure if Tammy missed on her numbers but the dry hitch weight on the 15' is 190 lbs with a total dry weight of 1600 lbs for the Plan A and 1750 lbs for the Plan B. You mentioned your Subaru can only handle a 200 lb hitch load. Is this what the hitch is rated for? If available, changing to a higher capacity hitch would solve the problem.

Reace

[medora]

Reace,

Glad to "meet" the Man, Myth, and Legend behind the beloved Escape!

I thought 140 on the tongue weight seemed too good to be true

My husband (Dan) is assigned the role of "Hitch Man," so he'll give a call today. We don't have a hitch on the car yet, so we have time to figure out the best solution.

My main concern is whether we'd constantly be managing weight in the Escape (as we obviously would have in the Scamp). Thoughts on this? We have an idea of the options we'd want (A/C def) ... and we do know we'd want some modifications on the innards.

~e

[medora]

Oh, we're looking at Plan A in the 15' btw ... though there has been some discussion of adding the outdoor shower option. That's optional though if the added weight would drag us down. We really don't want to overtax the Suburu, or put ourselves in a situation where we're overweight and in danger of nullifying insurance, etc.

~e

[Jim Bennett]

Elizabeth, maybe look into your crystal ball, and see if a new tow vehicle is in the future.

Seriously though, you might likely have the trailer through a few different tow vehicles. I don't think I would want to cut it too close with the rated towing weight, unless you know for certain you will be mostly on flat terrain.

[medora]

Jim, yeah, I know -- my husband and I are the types that buy something we love and stick with it until it's time for the graveyard (witness our 1989 Honda Civic, "Berry," forever faithful chariot, still chugging along).

That's why we're thinking Escape now, frankly ... we get the sense that this is the kind of thing we'd be able to keep and love for years. But it's also why we're really set to do whatever we can to carry our choice with our Subaru. We can't afford a third car, and really don't want to trade the Subaru in for something larger than we really need for everyday use.

Maybe ultimately we'll HAVE to, but we really want to try to investigate options that would allow the two to coexist, safely, and without us pulling our hair out over weight.

~e

[thoer]

Elizabeth - do other/newer versions of the Outback have more tow capacity? If so that might be a trade option and still keep almost the same vehicle. Often the car makers are able to squeeze more mpg out of each new model, even with more powerful engines. I am hooked on Corollas and each one we have bought has had more power, but also had higher mpg ratings than the one it replaced.

[medora]

Eric,

First, thanks for bringing me here! If we end up with an Escape you deserve alot of the credit for getting us started.

Second, I believe that the 3.0L (or something along those lines) Subaru has a tow capacity of 3000 -- ours is 2700 -- so not a whole lot more ... I'm not sure what the tongue weight limitation is on those but I doubt it's much more than 200, which ours is rated at.

But it's interesting that you pointed out people towing a 17' using one of these "upgraded" Subarus ... hmm. You'd think that we could handle the 15' with ours.

I'm going to ring Escape now and see how Rease weighs in.

~e

I pull a 17B that weights about 3000 lbs, and has a tongue weight of over just 300 lbs. with a H-6, 245hp, 2010 Outback. Subaru sets their 3000 lb. limitations based on the lightweight 1.5 inch hitch that they sell. I found a 2 inch hitch that is bolted to the frame, and is rated for 7,000 lbs. My dealer told me that I should have no problems. The car and trailer goes over the mountains without a strain.

Jerry

[thoer]

Originally Posted by medora

Eric,

First, thanks for bringing me here! If we end up with an Escape you deserve alot of the credit for getting us started.
~e

E - if you end up with an Escape I know you will be happy you did so!

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Serendipity

I pull a 17B that weights about 3000 lbs, and has a tongue weight of over just 300 lbs. with a H-6, 245hp, 2010 Outback. Subaru sets their 3000 lb. limitations based on the lightweight 1.5 inch hitch that they sell. I found a 2 inch hitch that is bolted to the frame, and is rated for 7,000 lbs. My dealer told me that I should have no problems. The car and trailer goes over the mountains without a strain.

Jerry

I've got a Toyota RAV4 and 17B. The factory hitch was only class II and cost a thousand dollars. The Toyota dealer brought a guy into their shop and he installed a class III hitch ( you need that for the equalizer ), installed the Prodigy brake controller and upgraded wiring and it cost me $650 - through the dealer.
So, my advice is scrap the Subaru "factory" hitch and take it to a respected hitch dealer.

baglo

[medora]

Eric, I'll owe you a coffee or beer sometime

And everyone else ... we spoke at length with Reace and Tammy today. Reace is recommending a class 3 hitch with the stabilizer. If we go ahead and purchase an Escape 15A we will have to be somewhat mindful of our options and load, but we should be okay.

And BTW, for future reference, the tongue weight of the 15A is 190 pounds, not 140 ... Tammy corrected this today. Reace explained -- very patiently, as we are new to this -- how the stabilizer would help us handle that tongue weight. Ultimately he thinks we'll be good to go. And so did the people at Scamp, but I have to say that Reace's explanations were a whole lot more thorough and understandable (as opposed to the quicker and off the cuff responses from Scamp). Where we didn't quite believe the Scamp folks, we DO believe what Reace was laying out, and we believe it will work.

Now, the question is ... can we come up with the $$ difference!?

Fingers crossed,

And many thanks,

Elizabeth

[gbaglo]

Maybe I'm wrong, but the term isn't "stabilizer" hitch. It's "equalizer" hitch. You'll need the proper term to talk to the hitch installer.
Don't ask me how, but the equalizer hitch transfers weight at the hitch to the front wheels of your tow vehicle.

baglo

[Hokie Escape]

Originally Posted by medora

Eric, I'll owe you a coffee or beer sometime

And everyone else ... we spoke at length with Reace and Tammy today. Reace is recommending a class 3 hitch with the stabilizer. If we go ahead and purchase an Escape 15A we will have to be somewhat mindful of our options and load, but we should be okay.

And BTW, for future reference, the tongue weight of the 15A is 190 pounds, not 140 ... Tammy corrected this today. Reace explained -- very patiently, as we are new to this -- how the stabilizer would help us handle that tongue weight. Ultimately he thinks we'll be good to go. And so did the people at Scamp, but I have to say that Reace's explanations were a whole lot more thorough and understandable (as opposed to the quicker and off the cuff responses from Scamp). Where we didn't quite believe the Scamp folks, we DO believe what Reace was laying out, and we believe it will work.

Now, the question is ... can we come up with the $$ difference!?
Fingers crossed,

And many thanks,

Elizabeth

It will be more than worth the difference in $$, I'll assure you. If necessary, it'll be worth the wait, because you'll have your Escape for many a year! And loving every minute! Long after the extra cost has been forgotten.

[thoer]

Originally Posted by medora

Eric, I'll owe you a coffee or beer sometime

And everyone else ... we spoke at length with Reace and Tammy today. Reace is recommending a class 3 hitch with the stabilizer. If we go ahead and purchase an Escape 15A we will have to be somewhat mindful of our options and load, but we should be okay.

And BTW, for future reference, the tongue weight of the 15A is 190 pounds, not 140 ... Tammy corrected this today. Reace explained -- very patiently, as we are new to this -- how the stabilizer would help us handle that tongue weight. Ultimately he thinks we'll be good to go. And so did the people at Scamp, but I have to say that Reace's explanations were a whole lot more thorough and understandable (as opposed to the quicker and off the cuff responses from Scamp). Where we didn't quite believe the Scamp folks, we DO believe what Reace was laying out, and we believe it will work.

Now, the question is ... can we come up with the $$ difference!?

Fingers crossed,

And many thanks,

Elizabeth

E, a couple things you can be sure of. 1) The info you get from Reace and Tammy will be honest and truthful. As you can tell from all the folks here, they want satisfied customers, not just customers. 2) The difference in cost between a Scamp and Escape is due to higher quality components and better manufacturing processes. If you value quality the choice is an easy one in my opinion!

[medora]

Baglo, my bad -- you're right. It's the end of a long day ...

Thx, ~e

[gharms]

Baglo, you are correct about the term "equalizer hitch". Another term for the same thing is "weight distribution hitch", often referred to as WDH.

[medora]

Ok, let me throw one more wrinkle in here ...

Given all I've said about our car ... do any of you think we could successfully pull a 17A with a equalizer hitch?

I'm guessing not, though I just looked at the numbers here:

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...rld-43010.html

(thanks Eric) ...

And I note that most of the 17s are actually BELOW our max tow of 2,700 pounds. The issue is the tongue. We're rated at 200.

Thoughts? Again, this is a 2005 Subaru Outback.