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Topic Closed4-cyl towing thoughts?
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CharlieM View Drop Down
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    Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 2:44pm
OK. One more input. No dog in this fight but I do have the experience of towing a similar trailer (RP172) with a 3.5L V6. The 2015 Outback was offered with a 2.5L 4cyl and 3.6L 6cyl. My guess is the structure of the basic vehicle including frame and brakes was the same. Towing capacity of the 6cyl model is 2700-3000 pounds. Therefore I think safety of the 4cyl model is not an issue. The remaining issues are performance and vehicle life.

Performance of the 4cyl will extremely marginal. Hills and mountains will be very slow but you're prepared for that it may be OK. Air resistance increases as the square of speed so maintaining 60 MPH may be difficult. You might find yourself hunched over the steering wheel shouting "Go, go" but that might be acceptable.

The last issue is vehicle stress and its impact on vehicle life. Pulling a full sized trailer with high frontal area will stress the little engine and drive train. This will be the real difference from the popup experience.  According to other forums towing with a CVT may be iffy. So if you don't mind reducing the life/reliability of the vehicle this also may be acceptable.

Towing my 172 with a Honda V6 was OK on level ground at sea level but it was on the edge on mountain grades. I accepted it but wouldn't want any less engine. Consider these comments in your decision. Either way you'll be safe but you may not be the first one to the campground. Wink
Charlie
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OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD
PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD
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lostagain View Drop Down
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Posts: 2595 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 10:20pm
Seems to me the horse is dead.  So I, for one, am not going to beat it any more; at least not until its morale improves.
Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
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TrailerTrish View Drop Down
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Posts: 32 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 11:10pm
Originally posted by CharlieM

OK. One more input. No dog in this fight but I do have the experience of towing a similar trailer (RP172) with a 3.5L V6. The 2015 Outback was offered with a 2.5L 4cyl and 3.6L 6cyl. My guess is the structure of the basic vehicle including frame and brakes was the same. Towing capacity of the 6cyl model is 2700-3000 pounds. Therefore I think safety of the 4cyl model is not an issue. The remaining issues are performance and vehicle life.
<snip>
Either way you'll be safe but you may not be the first one to the campground. Wink



Ok, fair ‘nuff. :) things to think about. Re durability, I have great faith in the Outback engine – perhaps too much – but my step-daughter just traded in her 22-year-old Outback with over 250,000 miles on it. And she wasn’t someone who took especially good care of things, used it for farm work, hauling hay and feed, things where she didn’t want to take the F250 out. Ours is now three years old and has about 20,000 miles on it. We are in our 70s, we tend to keep our speed down when we tow and are in no hurry when we travel - and we don’t mind being late to the campground! (grin) I have every faith (again, perhaps misplaced) that it will outlast us. 
Thanks so much for your thoughts and experiences. (Nice loco in your profile - my husband is a railfan)
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TrailerTrish View Drop Down
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Posts: 32 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 11:54pm

Originally posted by Ben Herman

 Not sure what else to add - if you google around a bit about cvt transmissions and towing up significant grades you'll see that the recommended weights are well below the published max capacity. My experience and that of many others is that ideally I'd be towing somewheres around 70% or so of the tow vehicle's max capacity, to allow for hills w/o significant strain. If you are really set on doing this go for it, but not sure you'll find any enthusiasm from this crowd. 


Please take this in a positive spirit; my experience is that members of this forum are eager to help and would be cheering you on if we thought otherwise. 


Your other questions about weight, structural integrity and such - really can't offer any help on that, without knowing the older 173s. I do alot of furniture and cabinet-building though and while what you are suggesting would make some difference, you might only be talking about maybe 100 lbs or so difference at the most, unless you go really high end like honeycomb plywood, but cost would be considerable.


All I have to offer - if it were my rig, I wouldn't do it, but only you can decide.


Thanks, Ben, I’ve appreciated your insights. I’ll keep the 70% in mind. And about the furniture, I guess I thought it would be a lot heavier. I based that assumption on the bloody dining table we took out of our A-frame and replaced with a slab of plywood. That table cracked my rib!  I was trying to switch it from bed to table, and the leg was hung up, so I picked it up, bent back and rested it on my sternum on edge for a second to adjust my grip and Crack! Three months of misery, a rib belt, absolutely agonizing. So I assumed everything was made out of that stuff. 
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TrailerTrish View Drop Down
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Posts: 32 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jun 2018 at 6:34pm

Originally posted by Ben Herman

 Not sure what else to add - if you google around a bit about cvt transmissions and towing up significant grades you'll see that the recommended weights are well below the published max capacity. My experience and that of many others is that ideally I'd be towing somewheres around 70% or so of the tow vehicle's max capacity, to allow for hills w/o significant strain. If you are really set on doing this go for it, but not sure you'll find any enthusiasm from this crowd. 


Please take this in a positive spirit; my experience is that members of this forum are eager to help and would be cheering you on if we thought otherwise. 


Your other questions about weight, structural integrity and such - really can't offer any help on that, without knowing the older 173s. I do alot of furniture and cabinet-building though and while what you are suggesting would make some difference, you might only be talking about maybe 100 lbs or so difference at the most, unless you go really high end like honeycomb plywood, but cost would be considerable.


All I have to offer - if it were my rig, I wouldn't do it, but only you can decide.


Thanks, Ben, I’ve appreciated your insights. I’ll keep the 70% in mind. And about the furniture, I guess I thought it would be a lot heavier. I based that assumption on the bloody dining table we took out of our A-frame and replaced with a slab of plywood. That table cracked my rib!  I was trying to switch it from bed to table, and the leg was hung up, so I picked it up, bent back and rested it on my sternum on edge for a second to adjust my grip and Crack! Three months of misery, a rib belt, absolutely agonizing. So I assumed everything was made out of that stuff. 
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2707 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2018 at 10:14am
 
Originally posted by TrailerTrish

Thanks, Ben, I’ve appreciated your insights. I’ll keep the 70% in mind. And about the furniture, I guess I thought it would be a lot heavier. I based that assumption on the bloody dining table we took out of our A-frame and replaced with a slab of plywood. That table cracked my rib!  I was trying to switch it from bed to table, and the leg was hung up, so I picked it up, bent back and rested it on my sternum on edge for a second to adjust my grip and Crack! Three months of misery, a rib belt, absolutely agonizing. So I assumed everything was made out of that stuff. 
While the weight is an issue, I think the bigger issue for you will be the wind resistance/sail issue. The R-pod is going to be this very large wind catcher pulling from behind.
bp
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TrailerTrish View Drop Down
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Posts: 32 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2018 at 12:02pm
Yeah, it always comes back to the wind issue. Sigh.  It’s a biggie.  I got an answer to my UK-small-car-towing-big-trailers question from a friend. He doesn’t tow a trailer, but he knows a lot about cars and their characteristics in general and is a freelance writer for automotive publications (gets to drive lots of different cars for reviews). He was explaining the torque in TDI engines, which is what they seem to test in the UK caravanning reviews. And while he thought UK drivers tend to be a lot safer than US drivers – his opinion – he said that his concern still was about the tail wagging the dog.

Maybe I could talk my husband into buying a Golf TDI for our TV. Hahaha. (I’m kidding!)
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Ben Herman View Drop Down
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Posts: 356 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2018 at 12:29pm
Originally posted by TrailerTrish

Yeah, it always comes back to the wind issue. Sigh.  It’s a biggie.  I got an answer to my UK-small-car-towing-big-trailers question from a friend. He doesn’t tow a trailer, but he knows a lot about cars and their characteristics in general and is a freelance writer for automotive publications (gets to drive lots of different cars for reviews). He was explaining the torque in TDI engines, which is what they seem to test in the UK caravanning reviews. And while he thought UK drivers tend to be a lot safer than US drivers – his opinion – he said that his concern still was about the tail wagging the dog.

Maybe I could talk my husband into buying a Golf TDI for our TV. Hahaha. (I’m kidding!)

That makes sense - I drive a VW TDI wagon (think dieselgate) and it has way more torque than our big V6 Ridgeline - the diesel eats hills for breakfast. My towing vehicle of choice would be a VW Routan Diesel if I could ever find one.
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furpod View Drop Down
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Posts: 6128 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2018 at 12:52pm
True story... A few years ago we were camping at our 1000 Trails home park, Diamond Caverns in KY. In the park was a young Canadian couple, doing a 10,000 mile trip around the USA. They were on their way home. Can-Am RV in Canada had set up their TDi Jetta sedan, to tow.. a 25 foot Airstream.

I love VW, but.. I wouldn't do that. LOL
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Ben Herman View Drop Down
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Posts: 356 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2018 at 2:37pm
Originally posted by furpod

True story... A few years ago we were camping at our 1000 Trails home park, Diamond Caverns in KY. In the park was a young Canadian couple, doing a 10,000 mile trip around the USA. They were on their way home. Can-Am RV in Canada had set up their TDi Jetta sedan, to tow.. a 25 foot Airstream.

I love VW, but.. I wouldn't do that. LOL


Yikes........Disapprove
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