Subaru for towing a medium sized boat? opinions please?

[B1]

Hello, am in the process of doing some research for my mother who has just bought a new(old) boat. Now she currently has a Toyota Raum granny car which is 1.5L gutless pile of poos which tows the jetski fine but struggles to get up wet boat ramps at low tide because of its FWD awesomeness.

The other problem is she doesnt like big cars so the likes of a hilux or 4wd ute type thing is probably out of the question so I had a thought.

What about a Forester or a legacy, I know they are slightly bigger but are not quite as big as a 4WD and at least are nice cars to drive. My question is what versions are out there that are suitable for this application? The Boat is a 14.6FT Fibreglass on a single axle trailer and they vehicle would have to be an automatic and non turbo.

Are the Subaru Autos any good to tow with? bearing in mind that it will very rarely ever see hills if ever. What options are there? The Forester only has engines up to 2L right? The older Legacy grand wagons and Outbacks have an option of 3L engines don't they?

Oh also she would probably be looking at a sub $10k car, thanks for your time in advance :-)

[Guest boostin]

What about a mid-late 90's 2.5 Legacy, either wagon or sedan? Like a 250T or a Grandwagon/Outback?

[Joker]

trans cooler may be wise - BUT no problem (I tow with a Manual)

next is going to be a slushbox 3.0r for the tow wagon!

[Guest boostcut]

i could get her a 110km 3.0r legacy lancaster which just had auto rebuilt and new brakes for 9k.. and its pretty fast too

[B1]

 boostin said:

What about a mid-late 90's 2.5 Legacy, either wagon or sedan? Like a 250T or a Grandwagon/Outback?

That's what I was thinking of, would it be any good for this application? They come in engine sizes of 2.0 2.2 2.5 and 3.0 don't they? Are the 3.0 ones 6 cylinder? Would probably rather stick with a 4 banger if possible.

Do the outbacks have a higher ride height?

[Old Skool Subbie]

 B1']

[quote name='boostin said:

What about a mid-late 90's 2.5 Legacy, either wagon or sedan? Like a 250T or a Grandwagon/Outback?

/quote]

That's what I was thinking of, would it be any good for this application? They come in engine sizes of 2.0 2.2 2.5 and 3.0 don't they? Are the 3.0 ones 6 cylinder? Would probably rather stick with a 4 banger if possible.

Do the outbacks have a higher ride height?

When I get the cash Im going for a lancaster 6 wagon.

I Think they are a little higher than a legacy?

Yes the 3.0L is a 6 cylinder. has timing chains so no worry of the cam belt braking.

They should be a very good boat tower.

[funkytown]

2.5l = head gasket issues right.? most people stay away from the 2.5l.

towing would warrant the 6 banger, just giving the engine less stress and like oldschool said its got timing chains so no worrying about cambelt

[B1]

 funkytown said:

2.5l = head gasket issues right.? most people stay away from the 2.5l.

towing would warrant the 6 banger, just giving the engine less stress and like oldschool said its got timing chains so no worrying about cambelt

problem being that she will be using it to go to work every day as well to which she doesn't tow a boat, it will probably tow a boat once a month if lucky weather permitting about 10-15kms between Hastings and Napier on an expressway with the biggest incline being a rise of about 10m to a bridge approach.

The extra 2 cylinders and 500cc's would mean more drinking petrol for normal use I would expect?

[cpt kernow]

What about a 2l NA impreza? Looks like a car, easy to park and run-about, has the same running gear and trans as a forester.

[Guest lan_killa]

i would deffinatly point her in the direction of the 3L 6 Cylinder Legacy, mainly because it will have the torque down low for doing the towing.

on a fuel economy scale i would say its not going to be that bad and seeing as the hawkes bay is pretty much flat (i think theres one hill in napier... somewhere) the larger cubes shouldnt be an issue, if she thrashes it about town then its going to drink like a fish, as would any car.

[Guest Oscar]

 lan_killa said:

i would deffinatly point her in the direction of the 3L 6 Cylinder Legacy, mainly because it will have the torque down low for doing the towing.

on a fuel economy scale i would say its not going to be that bad and seeing as the hawkes bay is pretty much flat (i think theres one hill in napier... somewhere) the larger cubes shouldnt be an issue, if she thrashes it about town then its going to drink like a fish, as would any car.

This. Lots of this. So much this that you need a large warehouse to store all the this.

[Guest]

my old man uses mums grand vitara 2 pull our old one. had guts but yeh id say a forestor as its higher

[funkytown]

 B1']

[quote name='funkytown said:

2.5l = head gasket issues right.? most people stay away from the 2.5l.

towing would warrant the 6 banger, just giving the engine less stress and like oldschool said its got timing chains so no worrying about cambelt

/quote]

problem being that she will be using it to go to work every day as well to which she doesn't tow a boat, it will probably tow a boat once a month if lucky weather permitting about 10-15kms between Hastings and Napier on an expressway with the biggest incline being a rise of about 10m to a bridge approach.

The extra 2 cylinders and 500cc's would mean more drinking petrol for normal use I would expect?

as i said in first quote, 2.5l are known for being ghey, they blow lots of head gaskets. So id go with either a 2.0NA or a 3.0NA, leaning towards the 3. Its all personal choice at the end of the day. You asked for opinions and they have been given.

anything trashed will drink the gas

[Joker]

GTB is good (2.0TT) - good breaks (a must for stopping with load)

Clutch could be better - image that may be an issue with hill starts + load

[nzkaosnz]

commodore.

2.5L like headgaskets, and chew gas worse than a TT Manual being raped (i know - had a 250T while GT died)

3.0L if you could get one.

But for say $8k - you would struggle to get something newer than 01? Same money in a commodore will get you 03/04. Open road trips - commodore uses SFA gas (8l/100k - what iv got, not overly trying)

[funkytown]

 JoKer said:

...good breaks........

ummmmm ??? you mean it breaks good? or it has good brakes?

[Joker]

I know what I mean

[Munkvy]

I managed to tow my RS Legacy Rally car on a twin axle unbraked trailer with a 2.5L Outback auto, was a bit iffy to be honest. Brakes werent up to it and I was constantly expecting to kill the thing as it was straining a fair bit up hills - especially Ngauranga Gorge!

[Joker]

yea un-braked is hairy at best of times (towing car)

will never do that again - waited 6 months before I had brakes installed on my trailer...

[Guest]

how do brakes on trailers actually work?

ive been woundering this, coz i plan to get a trailler made in the future for the car, and i wounderd how the brakes actually know when to break.

-smurff

[Joker]

Electric brakes are becoming the norm now (sense pressure somehow)

I like my hydrolic version, you stop - pushing piston in on coupling stopping trailer (front axles only braked)

[funkytown]

 JoKer said:

Electric brakes are becoming the norm now (sense pressure somehow)

I like my hydrolic version, you stop - pushing piston in on coupling stopping trailer (front axles only braked)

yup the coupling to the towball is basically a piston at the same time.. as the trailer pushes forward on the towball (car on brakes) it pushes the master cylinder on the trailer and squeezes on brakes.

They come as made up ready to go units. Electronic versions i dont know about.

google "tralier brake coupling" under images and you will see

[cpt kernow]

TBH if it's gonna be a mum's car. How often is the boat gonna get towed? If it's only once a month through summer you won't need a big car for the other 350 days of the year?

Or if it's gonna be at least everyweek, there's no replacement for displacement and a diesel wins everytime.

[johndoe1003]

electirc versions either work of a brake pedal sensor or a sensor hooked up to your brake lights. the real advantage of these is the panic button, eg your trailer starts 2 sway outta control? hit the panic button, and accelerate at the same time. will straighten the trailer way faster. adjustable gain from inside the vehicle too. lots of different options these days, best one ive come accross is the redarc item, with the remote adjuster. either that or sensabrake

[B1]

 cpt kernow said:

TBH if it's gonna be a mum's car. How often is the boat gonna get towed? If it's only once a month through summer you won't need a big car for the other 350 days of the year?

correct, if the 2.5's eat gaskets then I'll look at a 2.0L Forrester maybe? Diesels are a waste of space I've found unless your towing heavy stuff regularly or doing long distances, RUC's are a rip off.