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Old 12-13-2020, 01:47 PM   #1
scubaman
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I want to purchase a tandem axle travel trailer for safety reasons. My problem is I want to tow it with a Subaru Ascent with a 500# hitch max and a 5000# tow max. Do you think I can tow this trailer? I will not be boondocking but will be traveling cross country.
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Old 12-13-2020, 02:37 PM   #2
chuckster57
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Welcome to the forum

From what I can tell the dry tongue is 412 pounds. That’s before a battery and propane are added. That by itself probably puts you over the hitch rating. Using any type of weight distribution will definitely put you over.

That said, CAN you tow it? Yeah most likely. Will it put your Subaru to the test? For sure and it might break it. Would I do it? In a simple answer, no.
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Old 12-13-2020, 02:42 PM   #3
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That trailer is almost 5700 pounds with almost 740 pounds of tongue weight. Not a safe trailer for your tow vehicle. Try sticking with something around 4300 or 4400 pounds maximum weight or get a more robust tow vehicle. Sorry for the bad news but you deserve credit for asking before you buy.
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Old 12-13-2020, 02:53 PM   #4
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Attaboy!
The best move you've made is to ask someone/anyone besides the dealer before you bought something you would be sorry for.
To be honest your Subaru was not designed nor intended to be a tow vehicle for more than a snowmobile/skidoo/lawnmower trailer.
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Old 12-13-2020, 02:59 PM   #5
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The Subaru is a unibody construction......NO weight distribution hitch can/should be used.

With that vehicle you are VERY limited in your options....basically a pop-up camper is about as big as you should go (or other single axle lightweight camper). I won’t even get into the limitations of cargo capacity or short wheelbase of the vehicle.

Physics are not on your side here. By the time you get into a dual axle camper, you have exceeded the capabilities of your vehicle. Ironically, with your current vehicle you are safer towing a single axle (and weight appropriate) camper than you would be trying to tow a dual axle (and too heavy) camper.

It’s never what one wants to hear, but sugar-coating it doesn’t make it right or safe.
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Old 12-13-2020, 04:59 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog View Post
The Subaru is a unibody construction......NO weight distribution hitch can/should be used.

Please explain what you mean by this statement. I haven't heard this one before. Thanks wg
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Old 12-13-2020, 05:07 PM   #7
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No frame to transfer weight to front of vehicle. Wdh manufacturers and vehicle manufacturers warn against using them. Our Rav4 has major warnings against using them and you can be sure all do as a cya move.
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Old 12-13-2020, 05:54 PM   #8
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Unibody vehicles lack the strength and rigidity of a body-on-frame design to safely and effectively transfer weight to the front wheels of the vehicle through a weight distribution hitch set-up. The Subaru Ascent owner’s manual advises NOT to use a weight distribution system (as does any similar sized/rated vehicle).

One reason is the thickness of the steel and how the hitch is mounted. Horizontal loads pull on the end of the strongest part of the body which is where the bumper is mounted, which is good for pulling a load or absorbing an impact. But the design and mounting location/method cannot take the vertical stresses associated with a weight distribution hitch and will literally rip the steel, which could lead to a catastrophic failure of the hitch and or vehicle integrity.

Again, that is only one piece of this puzzle without getting into vehicle cargo capacity, whether the vehicle has the necessary mechanical upgrades that are required to increase base towing capability from 1,000 lbs. to 5,000 lbs. the trailer frontal area limits, the short wheelbase, etc. etc.
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Old 12-13-2020, 05:55 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wiredgeorge View Post
Please explain what you mean by this statement. I haven't heard this one before. Thanks wg
George, Check the photo of the page in the Subaru Owner's Manual at this link: https://www.ascentforums.com/threads...ay-hitch.7825/ Essentially, Subaru says "Do not use any type of weight distributing hitch with the Ascent".....

So, as Danny suggested in his comments, the Ascent is pretty much engineered to tow a snowmobile, a SeaDoo or a small pop-up camper. Certainly nothing as big as a dual axle 7000 pound travel trailer.....
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Old 12-14-2020, 05:44 AM   #10
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Thanks. Don't believe we have ever owned this type vehicle, that is a unibody. Sounds like the Subaru shouldn't really be towing any type of camper.
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Old 12-14-2020, 06:47 AM   #11
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If you want to see what's appropriate for passenger cars to tow look to Europe. Caravaning is very popular in Great Britain and France, Germany, etc. "Over there", driving is very costly, roads are very narrow, and the governments take driving very seriously. The "typical" camper is under 25', no slides, single axles, and are constructed with as little weight as possible.

IMHO the Subaru, like so many "small" vehicles in this country are fantastic for what they are intended and design/engineered to do. Towing dual axle heavy (in relationship to the vehichle) trailers are not in that design/engineered scope.
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Old 12-27-2020, 12:28 PM   #12
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Last summer we ran into a club that traveled together with small trailers, towed by small & medium sized front wheel/all wheel drive cars.
The trailers were in the Casita, Scamp, and teardrop category. Most had a neat little lightweight spring loaded weight distribution gizmo on the hitch.
These owners seemed well aware of the limitations of their tow vehicles, and packed accordingly.

I think though when most people see the 2" receiver socket on a car they think they should be able to use it to tow with. Actually, that receiver was put there to carry bicycles and racks.
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Old 12-27-2020, 01:58 PM   #13
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Old 12-27-2020, 03:48 PM   #14
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I always relate this to a simple analogy: How many pounds max can you carry? Let's say it is 100 pounds. Now, could you carry the 100 pounds 1 mile? No. Maybe half that. IMHO, if you ever have a question about whether or not a vehicle can tow a trailer because the numbers are close, it means you cannot pull that trailer. My Subaru Outback is rated at 2700 pounds. But I would never pull over 1/2 that. My Tundra is rated at 11,000 pounds, but I wouldn't pull more than half that. It is a pita to tow anything close to the vehicles tow rating.
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Old 12-28-2020, 06:44 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scubaman View Post
I want to purchase a tandem axle travel trailer for safety reasons. My problem is I want to tow it with a Subaru Ascent with a 500# hitch max and a 5000# tow max. Do you think I can tow this trailer? I will not be boondocking but will be traveling cross country.
scubaman asked this exact question in another forum the moderator eventually shut down. Notice the OP has not responded. He/she did the same thing in the other forum.

Close this discussion.
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Old 12-31-2020, 04:58 AM   #16
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Simple answer

Quote:
Originally Posted by scubaman View Post
I want to purchase a tandem axle travel trailer for safety reasons. My problem is I want to tow it with a Subaru Ascent with a 500# hitch max and a 5000# tow max. Do you think I can tow this trailer? I will not be boondocking but will be traveling cross country.
NO!!! That does not have enough oomph to be able to safely pull any dual axle trailer and probably not most small single axle except maybe a small popup!

Having been in a serious accident with a 24' trailer and a full retread and 2 other cars, it is not something you want to experience. Fortunately no one was hurt. A big Lincoln tried to avoid it and slid sideways hitting our truck/trailer right at the hinge- front of trailer/rear of truck. Sliding down the road at 60+ mph BACKWARDS with about 5000#s of trailer "somewhere back there" is not a good feeling. We ended up sliding nice n easy into the inner ditch of the meridian. We hit the car in front of the Lincoln and pushed him across a large meridian almost into oncoming traffic- again no injuries. Our camper spun upside down and came down on its roof spraying our worldly belongngs across a swath of the meridian. The only reason the trailer did not take the truck over is because just over 1/4" thick steel plates where the torsion bars connect to the hitch sheared. Do you believe in a God that protects? I do. If it had gone over, we and the dogs would have been hurt.
We liked that trailer so much we found another used in good shape and had it another 8 years and sold it past Spring (in COVID season) for $6000 in 4 hours! We had first trailer 7 years. No you do not want to experience anything like this. Our truck and trailer were well within the towing specs but the over 70 gentleman didn't know how to just go over a retread and tried to avoid throwing him into a skid which took all the vehicles out of play.
We booked a cabin and cancelled campsite and rented a car and met the kids for a nice vacation anyway in Land Between The Lakes KY.
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