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Question for those who know a lot about Subarus
14 years ago
Ian and I are looking into getting a camper RV for next year, and while we've found a lot of them you can just drive yourself, we were thinking about getting a 5th wheel and were curious as to weather or not our 96 Subaru Outback could tow one of those. We've got the manual, but it's lost who knows where, and we can't seem to find the answer online anywhere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGeUSjRMlQ4
I own an Impreza WRX, which is smaller than the Outback, and I'll give you some numbers from my manual:
The car is rated for a Class 1 trailer, max 2,000 pounds gross trailer weight, and max 200 pounds gross tongue weight (the part of the hitch with the ball attached). Trailer brakes are required for towing loads in excess of 1,000 pounds. Safety chains are required, and must be rated for the towing load. The safety chains must be connected to the safety chain hooks located to each side of the hitch receiver tube. If your car is an automatic and the outside temperature is over 105 degrees, it's not recommended that you tow more than 1,000 pounds while going uphill. This can cause the automatic transmission to overheat. There is a warning light on the dash to show if this happens. Stop the car for a few minutes to let the transmission cool.
As Fluffdance pointed out, additional oil cooling is a good idea, as is cooling for an automatic transmission. A manual transmission does not need any extra maintenance, but be careful with the clutch. Talk to a mechanic about this stuff.