jbordwine Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 Any of you guys ever do any light duty towing with your forester? I have a small 4 x 6 utility trailer that is very light, and was wondering if the forester could tow some light loads without damage to the AWD system or any other components. I have the manual transmission and the owners manual does say you can tow up to 1000 lbs w/o trailer brakes. I would mainly be towing light loads such as brush, garbage, landscaping material, my sons small atv, etc but there would be times I would need to tow my riding mower which probably weighs 700 lbs or so which combined with the trailer would be pushing the 1000 lb mark. Also, where is the best place to buy a hitch? I had a class III hitch installed on a truck once for $99. What about wiring? Is there a harness you can buy from the dealer. Thanks! Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogsubie Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 If you stick to light loads you should be just fine, and towing your mower for short distances over relatively flat roads should be fine as well. As for hitches, start searching online. I just got, for my Suzuki XL-7, a class III receiver hitch, receiver, ball and locking hitch pin for less than what it would have cost locally to purchase just the hitch before sales tax. I did go ahead and buy the Suzuki wiring harness so it would plug right in to the factory plug. All in all, I saved over $50-$100 compared to local puchase/install prices. My total cost was about $175. It was simple and only took about an hour for everything, wire harness and hitch. The place I ordered from had free shipping on purchases over $100, which you are guaranteed to exceed to cover all you need. I can't remember the name of the place but I can get it if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderhound Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 I wouldn't worry about towing small loads at all. I have towed heavy loads (4X8 trailer full of firewood) with my legacy virtually every weekend every summer for 6 years with no adverse effects as of yet...knock on wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet82 Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 I tow, http://usmb.net/gallery/albuo21/cap_111203_102535_16_1 Forester towing my SubaruHummer (frame). I tow a riding mower, hobie cat and a snowmobile on a regular basis and the Forester does not even notice. Glenn, 82 Summer 01 Forester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtp373 Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 I had a hitch put on at UHaul back when I bought my 02 Outback Wagon. They hardwired the harness into my driver's side taillight. I store the hitch in the area by the spare tire and pop it in the tow bar when needed. Made many trips to storage while moving across town to a new home as well as hauling things to and from my father-in-law's barn which is over an hour away on back roads. Haul trash to the dump weekly. This is a 4 x 8 trailer as well. Advise is to just go easy when starting out, 1st gear isn't all that low and if I over-rev to start up with a load, I'll be greeted immediately by that distinguished scent de clutch. Just rev the motor enough to keep it from stalling if you're loaded. My having a steep driveway adds to the adventure. Sometimes I wish I had the automatic for ease of towing and backing up a trailer, but I've learned to work with it. Goes fine and am at 40,000 mi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subyroo Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 I had a hitch put on at UHaul back when I bought my 02 Outback Wagon. They hardwired the harness into my driver's side taillight. I store the hitch in the area by the spare tire and pop it in the tow bar when needed. Made many trips to storage while moving across town to a new home as well as hauling things to and from my father-in-law's barn which is over an hour away on back roads. Haul trash to the dump weekly. This is a 4 x 8 trailer as well. Advise is to just go easy when starting out, 1st gear isn't all that low and if I over-rev to start up with a load, I'll be greeted immediately by that distinguished scent de clutch. Just rev the motor enough to keep it from stalling if you're loaded. My having a steep driveway adds to the adventure. Sometimes I wish I had the automatic for ease of towing and backing up a trailer, but I've learned to work with it. Goes fine and am at 40,000 mi. One way around this problem with the MT box is to put it in LOW range 1st and get rolling and then go to either LOW 2nd or NORMAL 1st, (it is not only for pulling up steep hills) after that just drive it normally with all due consideration of towing a trailer. TIP: LOW 1st and 2nd are also handy gears for snails pace traffic where you are doing stop go type driving you just crawl along a fraction above idle speed so it is not "kangaroo hopping" (jerking) :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtp373 Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Mine has no low range, unfortunately. I seriously wish it did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtp373 Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Ah, I see you're in Australia. For whatever reason, they don't give us low range in the states. Ever since they went to the AWD in the early-mid 90's, they got rid of the low range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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