I just wanted to pick some brains out there and see what other people may think since I have no experience with hauling a trailer long distances.
I'm looking to rent a u-haul trailer to tow from Indianapolis, IN to Evansville, IN, than to St. Louis, MO and back to Indy. I plan on doing this with my Forester here in the next few weeks. I purchased the Curt trailer hitch and plan on installing it as soon as it arrives. I will not be getting electric brakes for the car either. With it, I plan on renting and towing either the 5x8 or the 5x10 trailer. I will be loading it with a queen bed, small entertainment center and a recliner. I don't think it should be a very heavy trailer.
My biggest question is how the forester handles with a trailer. I have my 99 GMC Sierra extended cab that I usually use to tow with, but I think I can make this work with my subbie.
The next question is at what speed would be OK. I know u-haul says the speed of the trailer shouldn't exceed 55 MPH, but on the interstate, I'd be asking someone to hit me going that slow, since the speed limit here in Indiana is 70 MPH. Would there be a problem with going that fast?
My last question is what do I do if the tire fails on the trailer? Am I responsible for the repair? Can I get a spare to take with the trailer?
Any help and suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated! :icon_wink:
I'm looking to rent a u-haul trailer to tow from Indianapolis, IN to Evansville, IN, than to St. Louis, MO and back to Indy. I plan on doing this with my Forester here in the next few weeks. I purchased the Curt trailer hitch and plan on installing it as soon as it arrives. I will not be getting electric brakes for the car either.
The maximum total weight for a trailer without brakes is 1,000 lbs. With trailer brakes, the limit is 2,400 lbs in mild environmental conditions. See page 8-19 in your car's OM.
With it, I plan on renting and towing either the 5x8 or the 5x10 trailer. I will be loading it with a queen bed, small entertainment center and a recliner. I don't think it should be a very heavy trailer.
U-Haul's trailer weight and load capacity specs are on line. The 5 x 8 cargo trailer weighs 900 lbs and does not have brakes. That leaves 100 lbs. for cargo.
The 5 x 10 cargo trailer weighs 1,250 lbs and has hydraulic surge brakes.
Any help and suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!
... I'm looking to rent a u-haul trailer to tow from Indianapolis, IN to Evansville, IN, than to St. Louis, MO and back to Indy... either the 5x8 or the 5x10 trailer. I will be loading it with a queen bed, small entertainment center and a recliner... My biggest question is how the forester handles with a trailer... The next question is at what speed would be OK... since the speed limit here in Indiana is 70 MPH. Would there be a problem with going that fast? My last question is what do I do if the tire fails on the trailer? Am I responsible for the repair? Can I get a spare to take with the trailer?...
The Forester is rated to pull 2400 lbs. The car's weight and brakes reduce that to 1000 lbs without trailer brakes. In addition, when towing a heavy trailer with an automatic, a transmission cooler is recommended. You don't say whether you have a 4EAT or a 5MT.
Speed and momentum are your enemy when towing. I would only use the 5x8 to stay within the pull rating, and would not exceed 60 mph. You could be pulling 2000 lbs. Load the trailer so that the tongue weight is about 10% of total weight, up to 200 lbs, so the trailer does not wiggle and wag the car.
There will be some danger in being unable to stop quickly, made extremely dangerous because any turn of the steering wheel in a fast stop can make the trailer jackknife. The trailer will also jackknife if you apply even moderate braking in a sharp turn. Jacknifing is when the trailer pushes the back end of the car sideways, trying to fold both of them together. I recovered from the beginning of a jackknife in a turn only by releasing the brake and coasting around much too fast. You don't have the option of releasing the brake in a panic stop.
The heavy load, high wind resistance of the enclosed trailer, and high summer temperatures will raise the temperature of the fluid in a 4EAT. If that's what you have, keep an eye on the AT warning light and be prepared to stop and allow a long time for cooling if it comes on. If it comes on, after the trip I would freshen the fluid with a drain and refill (does 4 of the 10 quarts).
Lot's of people have done what you propose. I did it for years with a boat on a compact 5MT pickup. Just be aware of the risks of a heavy trailer behind a light vehicle.
The Forester is rated to pull 2400 lbs. The car's weight and brakes reduce that to 1000 lbs without trailer brakes. In addition, when towing a heavy trailer with an automatic, a transmission cooler is recommended. You don't say whether you have a 4EAT or a 5MT.
I have a 5MT and it's specified in my signature at the bottom of my posts.
I am also not new to pulling trailers. I have a 99 GMC full size pick-up that I've pulled my 68 Buick with (on a dove-tail trailer) in addition to pulling a bob cat all the way from Dayton, OH to Jasper, IN on the interstate.
It seems everybody will impose a speed limit. Only go as fast as you can stop safely. Load the trailer 60/40... meaning 60% of the load in front of the trailer axle, 40% behind the trailer axle. Don't go over your car's gross towing limit or tongue weight.
If you do decide to go at a slower speed than the posted limit, please for the love of God, stay in the right hand lane so everybody can get by you.
It seems everybody will impose a speed limit. Only go as fast as you can stop safely. Load the trailer 60/40... meaning 60% of the load in front of the trailer axle, 40% behind the trailer axle...
For years I drove as fast as I could stop safely. In other words, I felt I was able to "stop" just fine. But then one year I almost jackknifed just slowing in a turn. And I never had to do a panic stop. So there is no truly safe stopping or even slowing without trailer brakes. You hope to feel in control of stopping, but a heavy unbraked trailer is always waiting to bite you.
In addition to front loading, I put an old bathroom scale under the tongue to see what the result was. Once it got to 100 lbs I could no longer lift it, and might think it was enough, when it could actually need another 100 lbs.
In Australia the Forester XS is rated to tow 750kg/1650lbs without brakes and 1400kg/3090lbs with brakes. It looks like the US Foresters X's towing numbers are quite conservative. I think you'll be fine if you drive carefully and keep the speeds within reason, and plan ahead for stops.
I've also toyed with the idea of hauling uhauls, but never did it because I think the forester can tow the 4x8 just fine, however subaru's worthless conservative ratings will get you in trouble with insurance in the event something does happen. You're essentially driving without insurance if you pull a 4x8 or 5x8 uhaul with a forester.
The 5x10 with the surge brakes is within the forester's ratings to enable you to haul something light, but man, a trailer that big would have me worried about trashing the transmission.
I wouldn't even consider going 70mph. It's not like you're gonna take I-65 to Evansville anyway, should go through Bloomington.
I would go buy a TSC/Lowe's 5x8 trailer(they don't weigh much) and use that for your trip. As long as you stay "around 1000 pounds" total...you are fine.
Once you are back from St. Louis, put the trailer on CL or Ebay and you'll probably be able to re-sell it. Basically, deduct out what you would have paid for the U-Haul rental...maybe another hundred(which you will "save" in gas having not pulled a crappy/heavy trailer) off...
That gets you two things...
1. A trailer, and stuff, you can actually pull.
2. A chance you won't spend as much as a U-Haul rental.
I would go buy a TSC/Lowe's 5x8 trailer(they don't weigh much) and use that for your trip. As long as you stay "around 1000 pounds" total...you are fine.
Once you are back from St. Louis, put the trailer on CL or Ebay and you'll probably be able to re-sell it. Basically, deduct out what you would have paid for the U-Haul rental...maybe another hundred(which you will "save" in gas having not pulled a crappy/heavy trailer) off...
That gets you two things...
1. A trailer, and stuff, you can actually pull.
2. A chance you won't spend as much as a U-Haul rental.
The only reason I can't use my truck is that my sister is borrowing it and I don't want to make the trip to Evansville to go get the truck. It'll be an extra 6 hours drive time when my initial drive will only be 4 hours.
Seems like you've already made up your mind. Just get the 5X10, drive slow, leave plenty of buffer space, stay to the right.
Personally, I'd tow the 5X10 to Evansville (using the Forester) and then switch the tow vehicle to the 99 GMC, drive on to SL, then back to Evansville and switch the vehicles again. The 5X10 should be empty on the return? Kinda complicated though.
Yeah, It wouldn't be much of dead and I would do that, but I don't want to make a 3 hour detour just to get the truck. The u-haul won't be that loaded, just a mattress, bed frame, dresser, and recliner. The only thing I'm worried about is the speed with the u-haul on the interstate. My biggest fear is a tire will blow on the trailer and there's NOTHING between Indy and St. Louis, save for Effingham. I wish they included spares with the trailer.
I've got some first hand experience with this so I think I can help out here.
I've got an MY05 4AT, which I fitted myself with a towbar (I think it's the OEM one, not sure as I got it second hand) and a transmission cooler (fairly genric one from eBay but slightly bigger than the OEM subaru cooler). Both were pretty straightforward to fit, as was the wiring harness for the trailer lights (I got the type with the flat cable so I can stow it under the boot floor near the spare when not in use).
In July last year I pulled a fully loaded 8x5 U-Haul from Sydney to Melbourne with it, around 900km of mostly freeway. The road has a few decent hills though nothing too steep. The car handled it well, though the engine did get rather warm over the hilly section near Gundagai. It helped that I did the drive in winter when tempratures were cool- I would not want to have attempted it in summer. I was able to set cruise control to around 105km/h and cruise along nicely at that speed, obviously you don't really have any overtraking grunt but it manages okay!
The car has done another 10,000 odd km since with no ill-effects and now has 165K on the clock, and I'm about to repeat the exercise in the other direction this weekend.
Take it easy onthe speed and drive in cool weather, and you should be okay. Expect about a 50% increase in fuel consumption though!
I would stick with the 5 x 8. You lose too much weight capacity with the 5 x 10 because it's so much heavier. I have towed a lot of things with the 5 x 8, probably approaching 2,000 lb but not very frequently. I have towed a small upright piano in one, or a lot of boxes from storage, for example. I have towed them in the rain in the mountains. It doesn't feel bad, but I did slow down more than just the car when wet. The subaru is a great tow vehicle.
The 4 x 8 would be tempting from an aerodynamic standpoint if I didn't have a lot to tow, but the low headroom may mean a few bumps.
The tires make me a little concerned too, but I have mostly towed locally or knew the stretches of highway well enough on hours-long trips I wasn't concerned. The best you can do is get the newest trailer you can find if you're going on a longer trip. Try to check out the u-haul lots beforehand and go to the one with the best selection. Actually check the tire pressure.
I have a 2000 lb + popup. I would have no qualms towing it locally without brakes. The car seems to stop about as good as the old suburban did towing it. I did install electric brakes on it to be safe, since I planned on taking it on longer trips occasionally. I also got one of the better "sensor" brake controllers instead of old-style "timed" controllers.
edit: I try not to go much more than 70 with a trailer but it's hard not to sometimes. Fuel consumption ~15-18 mpg with moderately loaded 5x8, depending on speed. Normally 25-27.
... I have a 2000 lb + popup. I would have no qualms towing it locally without brakes. The car seems to stop about as good as the old suburban did towing it. I did install electric brakes on it to be safe, since I planned on taking it on longer trips occasionally. I also got one of the better "sensor" brake controllers instead of old-style "timed" controllers...
You are saying that the Suburban stopped the unbraked trailer as well as the Forester now stops the braked trailer. That is expected.
But you also said you would have no qualms about the Forester towing the 2000-lb+ unbraked trailer *locally*. I guess that means slower for a shorter distance, minimizing the exposure.
The exposure is unanticipated, uncontrollable jackknifing caused by a panic stop or braking in a corner. An unbraked trailer over 2000 lbs is not heavy enough to push the back end of a Suburban up and to one side, but can more easily do it to a Forester.
In a panic stop, the front end of the car dives, the rear end rises,and weight transfers to the front and comes off the back. The trailer tongue goes up with the ball, then pushes up on the ball, further lightening the weight on the car's rear suspension. Meanwhile the trailer is looking for the slightest turn of the front wheels to create a front to rear offset in the track, which gives it the beginning of a lever to push the lightened back end to one side. Once that lever is created, it can only be stopped by getting off the brakes. The instant choice is to either crash or jackknife.
Posting on a coffee stop 700km into my drive and the trusty Foz is handling it like a champ. Outside temps have been 8-11 degrees Celsius most of the way, and the temperature needle has sat a little below half way the entire drive (ie exactly where it usually sits). Handling is fine, the trailer doesn't move, jerk or sway at all. Braking is obviously a lot slower, but I've got experience driving heavy trucks so I'm used to allowing for momentum.
Speed wise the Foz will cruise happily at around 105km/h (about 65mph), some of the longer hills slow you down a bit but nothing drastic.
In terms of load the u-haul is basically full - I've got a queen mattress, home theatre system, fridge, washing machine plus a bunch of boxes in there.
Here's a pic of the beast loaded up:
One more thing- there seems to be some variation in the weight of individual u-hauls of the same size, the last one I got was noticeably more heavily built and felt heavier to tow as a result. Grab a light one if you can.
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