slaber Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I have a question regarding towing a camper with my 2014 Outback 3.6R. I had a class III Curt hitch installed when I purchased an Aliner Ranger 12 camper. The towing capacity is 3000 lbs for the OB and the camper is less than 1600 lbs. The tongue weight of the camper is 170 lbs. and I believe the tongue weight capacity for the Outback is 200 lbs. The question I have is this: If I use a Curt 18 inch hitch extension, is the Outback still safe with regards to tongue weight? Thanks for any help... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 That is quite a bit of extension. Whats the reason for wanting that? The higher concern than tongue weight is how will that extension affect the way the forces exerted by the trailer are transferred to the car. By moving the leverage point further away from the vehicle, you're multiplying the amount of force the trailer can exert. That extension is going to allow the trailer weight to push the car around more. When braking, it will cause the car to lift more, causing a loss of traction between the tires and the road surface. When turning, the trailer will have more leverage to push the back of the car toward the outside of the curve, especially if you need to brake in a curve. (Could cause the car to spin out/jack-knife) You can weld an extension to the trailer and avoid that problem, because the leverage will be in the same place in relation to the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 (edited) do you need that to clear opening the hatch? would an equalizer hitch help with the extension? (I think that's what they're called - with the springs and chains) Edited July 21, 2015 by 1 Lucky Texan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaber Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 Thank you both for your feedback...the reason that I am looking into the extension is because I would like to take 3 bicycles with me and the camper as well. Currently I have a rear-mounted bike rack for the 3 bikes which just latches on to the hatchback of the Outback, completely independently of the hitch. With the trailer connected to the hitch, there is not enough room for the 3 bikes. However, with the 18 inch extension, there is enough room for the rack and the 3 bikes. My initial solution was to look into roof mounted bike racks, and I was ready to purchase 2 Yakima individual roof bike racks (expensive at about $170 each) and perhaps carry the 3rd bike either in the camper or the Outback. The funny thing is that the guys at the bike rack store talked me out of this option (even though they would have had a revenue of about $400 from me...). They are the ones who told me the better solution was the hitch extension which I could get at an auto parts store down the street for less than $100. One of them, an experienced trailer, said that "everybody gets extensions". (I should add that I am only 5' 6" and it is not all that convenient for me to use roof bike racks.) Are the potential issues that Fairtax4me described lessened at all by the fact that my camper is relatively light at under 1600 pounds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 what about mounting the bikes on the back of the trailer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaber Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 Mounting the bikes on the back of my camper is not recommended by the manufacturer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 well, I doubt an extension is approved by Subaru but, you may need to send an email to confirm. Wonder what the exclusion for mounting bikes on the trailer's rear is about? seems to me, If was going to violate 'someone's' guidelines, I'd choose the least dangerous one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdconvert Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 well, I doubt an extension is approved by Subaru but, you may need to send an email to confirm. Wonder what the exclusion for mounting bikes on the trailer's rear is about? seems to me, If was going to violate 'someone's' guidelines, I'd choose the least dangerous one. The bumpers on many campers are rated for very little weight and many manufacturers do not recommend mounting a receiver on them for hauling bikes, generators, etc... Many campers also already have the spare tire mounted onto the rear bumper. I've followed some of the trailer forums and have read stories of people still doing it; some have said it's fine, others have reinforced the rear bumper, and some have had their bumpers break, losing bikes or whatever else was mounted on them. Mounting the bikes on the roof may be your best/safest option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Something that people forget to add in the math, Stuff. Stuff weighs a lot, as do people, then combine the two, and add in a trailer etc etc. I would strongly suggest a external tranny cooler and a tranny temp gauge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 (edited) I had a 96' Lincoln Mark VIII for years that had a base weight of 3800 pounds, but was closer to 4100 with me, tools, and stereo equipment. I installed a Class II hitch and could pull a 750 pound dolly, and had as much as 5500 pound Ford F150's and 4000 pound minivans on the dolly, and also pulled numerous cars weighing 3800+ pounds. While I didn't use an extension, I was WAY over the "rating" for the Class II assembly bolted to the floorpan of a unibody's trunk rails not to mention pulling more weight than the actual car. Most weight pulled moved 4100 + 750 + 5400 = 10250 and the car never pushed or had issues stopping. Granted it was a different car and DID have air bags so it always leveled out, it was never an issue pulling the combined weight. I also was NOT using electric brakes and regularly pulled vehicles in the hilly section of PA highway roads at 70 MPH. You are in a similarly powered AWD Tribecca with a similar curbweight, pulling a fraction of what I pulled with a car plus you have a Class III hitch. That 1600 pound puddle jumper isn't going to tax the handling of your Tribecca, even if you extend the hitch further out. Most of the weight will be on the trailer's axles. If you want to offset the weight laying on top of the hitch, add a couple 45 pound barbell weights to the floor at the BACK of the camper. 90 pounds should shift the weight to be behind the axle, which will make it feel lighter from the car. I also drove semis for over 10 years and had to manipulate the weight of trailer quite often (moving the axles on the trailer to create the same effect to not have too much weight on the tractor or the trailer). The amount of weight you are pulling isn't much to be worried about even if you extend the hitch. My advice like niper's would be to add an external cooler to an auto trans. I also STRONGLY suggest leaving the trans in "3" or pulling OUT of OD on the highway as it's harder on the converter's OD lock up. You should also change the auto trans fluid yearly at minimum if towing to get the most life out of the trans. Edited July 26, 2015 by Bushwick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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