i have a friend looking into cars to tow his tear drop trailer he asked me what i would recomend. i know that he will be happy with a subaru, and doesn't want to get a brand new one. any advice? OB, Legacy, forrester?
4dr Frontier or Tacoma with light pop top 4x4 camper is a great alternative if rough back country camping is in the cards. Get the artic package on the pop top and you'll be cosy.Well, I will throw this out since you didn't tell us:
Where does he want to tow that trailer? If it is just on groomed roads (paved or gravel) then an Outback would be fine. If he wants to venture onto rougher forest roads and loose surfaces like some of the remote 10,000 foot passes in Colorado, he should be looking for a taller vehicle like a small SUV with a low range. The small approach and departure angles of the OB are real handicaps.
If he is regularly going to visit high altitude places (over a mile up) or travel steep mountain grades, he definitely needs the bigger engine. Flat towing a sea level is easy for just about any car. The high mountains are where things get rough....
I am in a minority here, but I would choose a body on frame truck any day over an OB for towing ... even with a dinky teardrop trailer or my 750 pound (loaded) utility trailer. The LASTi things I want to worry about when on a PRECIOUS vacation is if my engine will overheat going up Wolf Creek Pass, or if I can get across that deep washout leading into that pristine creek-side campsite, or if that pointy rock is going to rip off my rear bumper or smash my tranny pan, or if I will get bogged down in sand or mud and have no way to extricate the car (no suitable winch or jacking points). Cars are just too worrisome when you are miles from any help. They are such a handicap that they really dampen the enjoyment you can get from being outdoors.
IMHO of courseThe rest of the members here can flame away.
John Davies
Spokane WA USA