Hello everyone. Nice to find forums on Subarus! I live in the Pittsburgh area of PA so I need an AWD vehicle and one with some room.

I bought my first Subaru last year, a Forester. So far, it has been wonderful, only slipping once on bad roads. I travel with dogs quite a bit and it fits all the stuff I need. I enjoy the handling and size. I don't like sitting real high up in a vehicle.

I currently own an 89 Coleman Columbia pop-up that I like, but am looking for something newer either in a pop-up or a trailer. What brands/models of trailers have you all pulled with a Forester ? I drive about 6-7 hours a day for 3 or 4 days on long journeys. Most of my travel is 7 hours and then stop for 3 days or so. I do not want to put alot of weight on my car. I usually have about 400 lbs of stuff in my car when towing, maybe 600 once in a great while.

I'd really appreciate the advice as I do not know all the travel trailers made. Thanks!

Laurel

I have an 01 Outback Wagon, same drive train as your Forester. 2.5l, Automatic, AWD, etc...

 

I have a 97 Coleman Laredo Pop Up (bought it new). It's the smallest Coleman made for that year. It's about an 8ft box, weighs (unloaded) about 850-900 Lbs, sleeps 6 people. We've had it loaded and the car too, and have been camping at least a couple of times a year with it since 01. Never had any trouble with towing. I do regular maintenance on the car, so I've never been worried about issues coming up on the road while towing. We do have AAA too.

 

When we bought the Coleman, we did a lot of research on all of them, and found Coleman/Fleetwood to be the best built and VERY fair priced. I'd buy another tomorrow if I had to. I've kept the crank up system maintained every year. I had a friend who didn't, had to pay $750 to have it replaced on a 20 year old trailer. Our dealer only charges $59.00 to do their check over of tires, bearings and the crank system. Oh yeah, that includes the wonderful New York State Inspection cost too.

 

Oh yeah, I don't have any brakes on the trailer either. No trouble ever stopping either...

 

Any other questions, drop me a PM...

You should also consider an aftermarket transmission cooler to keep your fluid healthier.

We have twice towed a U-Haul trailer loaded with household goods between San Francisco and Seattle with our 2003 Baja. I would estimate that the load was in excess of 1500 lbs, especially the second time. Towing through the Siskiyous was no fun; there are several grades that are over a mile long and we were down to 40 mph on some of them. Rough or buckled pavement was terrible to drive on. In general, though, the car did pretty well but if I were to purchase a Subaru thinking that I would be pulling a trailer regularly, it would be a 6-cylinder one.