So i have a 97 coupe that ive upgraded the struts/coiils with 99 Forester units, Im wondering if i could tow a pop up trailer with the car, ive seen obs and leggys with hitches but never a coupe. With the coil swap i gained 3-4 inches of lift in the rear, the trailer weighs around 13-1400# with a 2" hitch.

 

Thanks for any help

what do you mean by coupe? an impreza or legacy? the car will do it just fine, but remember every time you tow or add weight you are increasing risk. that's why some will say "no way" and others "oh yeah, i towed another car across the country with my justy". so yeah, lots of things are possible, just depends on how much you value safety and mitigate risk. many oppinions forthcoming....

 

1400 pounds is quite heavy particularly if you plan on loading it with more stuff....traveling, food, bags, equipment, camping, tools...you might get close to 2000. that's a lot of weight for a small vehicle. i would be very cautious about towing something this heavy and in general would'nt recommend it. not because it can't do it..but it's not safe for everyone to be doing it.

 

first thing is brakes. even with my full size truck i'm getting trailers with brakes. that's a very good idea. if your "coupe" is an impreza, then it has rear drums and small front brakes. if it's a legacy the brakes are much better, larger in the front and discs in the rears. i would feel much better with a legacy over an impreza. or consider upgrading your impreza brakes, that's what i do.

 

if anything happens you will loose control very quickly with nearly 2000 pounds behind you. if you have an automatic then you'll probably want to look at a dedicated transmission cooler.

i think my outback owner's manual says i can tow 2000 lbs max, but anything over 1000 needs electric? brakes on the trailer.

 

i've read that the towing limits are different in other countrys.?

Real life experience here although not in a subie.We went out to cut and haul firewood in a very beefed up Chevy Blazer very capable of towing the weight motor wise,fully loaded 18 ft car trailer with 4 ft sides.Towed fine till we started going down a hill and the trailer attempted to pass the Blazer weaving in and out of lanes as it tried,broke the side boards and spewed logs all over the interstate,taking out the oil pan on a Uhaul truck that ran over the pile.What was missing? Trailer brakes and even loading.Sure your Subie will pull it but it won't manage it unless set up properly.

its an Impreza Coupe, never seen a legacy coupe

 

Im upgrading the brakes soon with ones from a leg, disc's in the rear and bigger discs in the front, plus adding skid plating, plus all my gear loaded, bikes on top, plus passenger(s), my weight should be pushing 3k #. The Forester shocks will help with the weight.

 

I can't find the exact #'s for my trailer but i can get close on the net, 13-1400#. Its a 1996 Viking model 2006 pop up trailer. It looks just like this except no ac http://images.craigslist.org/0101030102040104022007070496c505bb6ba179e59100d665.jpg

http://images.craigslist.org/01010901020201030420070704e1edd7481644667977004160.jpg

I want to put better wheels on it, maybe work something with my leftover brake swap drums and junk, put maybe some sort of skid/mud guards. I usually tow it with my Tacoma, but it was under the weather this weekend (tear