Fox Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Now, I have to travel across Australia, relocating, with a trailer (7x4) I am only taking a trailer because I have dogs, the trailer will be loaded lightly, all weight over the axle and its not a heavy one itself, I pick it up tomorrow. I know, soob's arent made for towing, however I dont have a choice in the matter. New head gaskets, done. Brakes, about to do, valve gapping, doing yet again (cant ever get it just right), cooling system flush done, thermostat replaced, water pump checked and is fine, additional lighting obtained (rural outback driving).. Umm.. tyres are great, filters changed, hoses/belts checked, one changed and will have spares on me. (Probably will be changing all belts before I go) Battery is fine, all oils changed and lubed up. What else should I do? I will be sitting on about 100kph/60mph for 10 hrs or so, for 4 days straight. Trailer is around 400lbs unladen, soob will only be carrying another 500lbs at most, most things in the trailer arent heavy, just no room in the car. (The trailer is only a few years old and is in good nick) I dont want to break down, dont want to blow up my soob.. so whats next? Oh, 84 gl, ea81, mostly in great nick. Roadside assistance as backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 One time moving kind of gig, I wouldn't worry about it. I used to drive like this multiple times a year 45,000 miles in one year before. If the car is running fine now you're not likely to have problems this one time. The trailer should be fine, just drive safely and leave lots of room between you and the car in front. Make sure the trailer tracks straight, oscillating is BAD. very scary on a full size truck, hate to see a small vehicle. Biggest convenience for me when traveling long distance all the time was having a full size spare. Relying on a real spare is annoying on a road trip. Having good battery cables (connections) and alternator connections is key to your battery and alternator lasting a long time and not dying randomly. I'd usually have extra parts like an alternator ,coil, and distributor, easy to fix and will leave you stranded if they go. But for a one time shot, you'll be fine, I used to do this all the time. I'm going on a 1,700 mile (2,700 km) trip in a month with my 1988 XT6 and I'm not too worried about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 The trailer should be fine, just drive safely and leave lots of room between you and the car in front. Make sure the trailer tracks straight, oscillating is BAD. very scary on a full size truck, hate to see a small vehicle. Make sure you have plenty of tongue weight on your trailer, but not too much. Loading the trailer will be key, and propper weight distribution will prevent alot of problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVIL_NTT Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I did very similar matinence to my '82 wagon before I went out to the desert for nine day trip a few weeks ago and the car was fine. No trailer, but the interior was loaded to the point that there wasn't any extra room in the back (or the front for that matter.) Just load the trailer carefully, paying attention to weight distribution and you'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowmastered87GL Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 just make sure you arent overdoing what the wheel bearings on the trailer can handle... if it has tiny tires you may have to go slower than 100 KPH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox Posted September 19, 2009 Author Share Posted September 19, 2009 Yay, I just got my trailer. Its -just- inside the "no need to be registered" category. Its steel, under a couple of hundred kilos, 750 gross weight, speed rated to 120kph and is commercially built, surface rust, good suspension, 15 inch tyres. Not bad for 180$ AUD Thanks for the tips, I will be checking out how to load trailers online, it wont be carrying more than a few hundred kilos. My manual says the carry limit is 400kg, what could I safely tow if the car is barely loaded? Do I go by the tongue weight or the total weight? I have no idea how to calculate drag, but the trailer will be loaded up much much lower than the car and tarped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Quixpunch Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Tongue weight affects your suspension. And total weight affects your brakes. Never actually been, but my impression of Australia is it's relatively flat. If I'm correct and you have no severe mountain passes to cross, you can get away with a lot more weight than is recommended by the factory. I think the biggest factor is simply that dragging more weight is making the car work harder. If you're able to take the extra time to casually bop around at 55 or 60 MPH rather than trying to scoot at 75, you'll put far less stress on the car. Were I taking my Subbie on such a long trip, I would definitely bring a few spare parts, and I'd throw in a simple tool kit. Kind of a gimme, but sometimes we get so busy thinking about the out of the ordinary stuff we forget the obvious. Best of luck with your trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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