[stevecr25]

Looking for the payload capacity for a 2006 Outback Limited Wagon

Tried searching on here and came up with nothing... Anyone have these specs?

Thank you!!

 

[AWDFTW]

What do you mean by "payload capacity"?

 

[plain OM]

I presume it means how much weight the car can carry (beyond the weight of the car itself).

According to some specs I have, the curb weight is about 3520 lbs for the 2.5 with 4-speed AT. This varies with engine, transmission, and probably year, and is based on the weight of the car with fluids but no passengers or personal contents (e.g. as it leaves the factory). But it's a start.

The Gross Vehicle Weight is is listed on a label on the lower rear of the driver's door. For my 07, it's about 4430 lbs. This is the maximum weight of the car plus passengers and contents.

The difference is about 910 lbs, which is the added weight (passengers, contents) the car can carry.

 

[subiesailor]

Physical cargo on board weight is what I'm guessing when someone asks for payload capacity

I recall subaru listing this back in the early 2000 years but not in later models.

 

[stevecr25]

Yes, I'm trying to find out how much weight the car can carry safely. I've looked around online and have not found any solid info.

Only one site I found had it listed at 1285 lbs total for passengers and payload. Have not been able to verify that number on any other site.

This is only for payload within the car itself. I'm not towing anything...

 

[plain OM]

I'm trying to find out how much weight the car can carry safely.

Some more details:

The Owners Manual states (in these or similar words):

The certification label attached to the
driver’s side door shows GVWR (Gross
Vehicle Weight Rating) and GAWR (Gross
Axle Weight Rating).
The GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) must
never exceed the GVWR. GVW is the
combined total of weight of the vehicle,
fuel, driver, all passengers, luggage, any
optional equipment and trailer tongue
load. Therefore, the GVW changes depending
on the situation.

So this is the overall weight of the car, when loaded to it's maximum capacity (by weight).

If what you're looking for is how much you can carry in the car, that would depend on what the car itself weighs to begin with. This is the "Curb Weight", the weight of the car when it leaves the factory, with whatever equipment and accessories are listed on the window sticker.

The difference between the curb weight and GVWR is what the car can carry safely (based on the original equipment, including the factory-installed tires.) That difference includes passengers and cargo.

The "curb weight" might be found on the original factory window sticker for that car.

For my 2007, Subaru Canada included "Curb Weight data in its "Specifications" brochure.

Here's what it has:

Curb weight manual transmission(pounds): 2.5i = 3331, 2.5XT=3534, 3.0R=n/a
Curb weight automatic transmission (pounds): 2.5i=3375, 22.5XT=3605, 3.0R=3516

To get an idea of what the car can safely carry, subtract the curb weight from the GVWR on the car label.

If you normally keep a booster battery, a box of tools, and a full size spare tire in the car, then the additional cargo the car can carry is reduced, as these are not included in the original curb weight.

To more accurately determine what "additional" cargo can be put in the car in any particular situation, weigh the car at a vehicle weigh scale. That will establish the effective curb weight at that time. The difference between that and the GVWR is what additional cargo (including passengers) can be added.

Consumer Reports often includes Curb Weight and Maximum Load in its car data. In their August 2005 report on "wagons and car-based suvs", they listed the 2005 Subaru Outback 2.5i with a Curb Weight of 3545 pounds, distributed 54F/46R (%), and Maximum Load 900 pounds.

Note that in addition to the GVWR, there are also limits on the weight at the front and rear axles, and that the weight at each tire must not exceed the weight rating of the tire.

 

[subiesailor]

Some more details:

The Owners Manual states (in these or similar words):

The certification label attached to the
driver’s side door shows GVWR (Gross
Vehicle Weight Rating) and GAWR (Gross
Axle Weight Rating).
The GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) must
never exceed the GVWR. GVW is the
combined total of weight of the vehicle,
fuel, driver, all passengers, luggage, any
optional equipment and trailer tongue
load. Therefore, the GVW changes depending
on the situation.

So this is the overall weight of the car, when loaded to it's maximum capacity (by weight).

If what you're looking for is how much you can carry in the car, that would depend on what the car itself weighs to begin with. This is the "Curb Weight", the weight of the car when it leaves the factory, with whatever equipment and accessories are listed on the window sticker.

The difference between the curb weight and GVWR is what the car can carry safely (based on the original equipment, including the factory-installed tires.) That difference includes passengers and cargo.

The "curb weight" might be found on the original factory window sticker for that car.

For my 2007, Subaru Canada included "Curb Weight data in its "Specifications" brochure.

Here's what it has:

Curb weight manual transmission(pounds): 2.5i = 3331, 2.5XT=3534, 3.0R=n/a
Curb weight automatic transmission (pounds): 2.5i=3375, 22.5XT=3605, 3.0R=3516

To get an idea of what the car can safely carry, subtract the curb weight from the GVWR on the car label.

If you normally keep a booster battery, a box of tools, and a full size spare tire in the car, then the additional cargo the car can carry is reduced, as these are not included in the original curb weight.

To more accurately determine what "additional" cargo can be put in the car in any particular situation, weigh the car at a vehicle weigh scale. That will establish the effective curb weight at that time. The difference between that and the GVWR is what additional cargo (including passengers) can be added.

Consumer Reports often includes Curb Weight and Maximum Load in its car data. In their August 2005 report on "wagons and car-based suvs", they listed the 2005 Subaru Outback 2.5i with a Curb Weight of 3545 pounds, distributed 54F/46R (%), and Maximum Load 900 pounds.

Note that in addition to the GVWR, there are also limits on the weight at the front and rear axles, and that the weight at each tire must not exceed the weight rating of the tire.

^ He nailed it - I didn't have time to explain the curb weight vs GVWR.
As I mentioned above way way WAY back in the day I recall something around the range of 900lbs or 1000lbs which is in line with what Plain explains here. Your max towing weight also impacts your max packed weight inside the car. More or less you subtract your vehicle load weight from your max towing weight.

Max Towing weight is just what it suggests - empty cars max towing capacity. Add 900lbs of gear to the car your max towing capacity just dropped by a considerable amount in two ways. #1 the axle weight on the car from the tongue weight from the trailer if your max car load is 900lbs and your trailer is putting 200lbs of tongue weight on the car then you more or less only have 700lbs of car load capacity not the full 900lbs of gear capacity. Also safe to assume that your trailer should not be at the max empty car towing capacity of 2700lbs more like 2000lbs given you have 700lbs of gear/passengers inside the car.

By the way this whole curb weight vs GVWR thing is hard for many people to understand even people with heavy pickup trucks have trouble understanding why a basic cab 8ft bed pickup will have a higher load capacity than what appears to be a larger pickup with 4drs and duel rear wheels. The gotcha is that the 4dr pickup with duel rear wheels weighs more and still has the same Max GVWR rating the basic standard cab 8ft bed pickup has. <--- This is why Plain mentions options of that particular vehicle given pending which model vehicle you have the weight might be more or less but your max GVWR is still the same between the two vehicles. Meaning the lighter of the two cars has more load carrying capacity over the heavier vehicle.

Interesting topic for folks who really do use their vehicles to their full capacity.
Many people wonder why pickup owners opt for duel rear wheels over the standard two etc when the standard pickup will usually rate with a higher load capacity?

Duel rear wheels add traction and stability for on road highway aka long haul needs not to mention the added security of an extra tire on both sides if one were to fail. Duel tire pickups are however lousy for any type of off pavement work you easily get rocks jammed between tires and can suffer damaged or blown tires easily as a result, also the duel tires tend to float across poor surfaces vs sink in for better traction etc.

Standard axle pickups are superior for rough off road use - are clearly narrower and fit in tight spots better etc. However you loose the security of extra tires and the added width/ stability and traction for pavement use.