Towing the 16 with a Subaru Legacy

[robb_black]

Hello all...

Just curious if anyone here has ever used a Subaru Legacy to tow their CP-16.  I have just bought a used 1995 Legacy and would like to use it to launch my boat (I keep it dry docked at the marina).  Based on the manual I think I should technically be able to do it but wanted to know if anyone had any real life experience with this vehicle and launching a CP-16.

Thanks!

Robb

[mrb]

Robb

Is the legacy 4 wheel drive.

melvin

[Rick Klages]

Subies make good tow vehicles.  The newer ones don't require any mods to tow a 16.  Check with the manufacturer if you will need trailer brakes. 

[robb_black]

It is an all wheel drive (still don't know the difference between that and 4 wheel drive).  It doesn't have a hitch yet.  I will have to install one which is why I am curious if anyone else has towed with a 1995 Legacy.  I want to get some feedback before I go ahead with the purchase and installation.

Robb

Is the legacy 4 wheel drive.

melvin

[romei]

A quick google search says that the Subaru Legacy's towing capacity is 2700 lbs.  You should be fine.

[robb_black]

You are right about that, but if you read the owner's manual they pretty much tell you to tow at your own risk and you have to install your own hitch.  It isn't "hitch ready".  That is why I was looking for someone out there that might have had experience towing a 16 with a Legacy.

A quick google search says that the Subaru Legacy's towing capacity is 2700 lbs.  You should be fine.

[mrb]

Robb

Yes all wheel drive and 4 wheel are basically the same,  which is good when pulling boat out of a slippery launch ramp.

You will probable not find any one who has towed a compact with a legacy, however that does not mean you shouldn't try.  Most manufactures of small cars put that same disclaimer in their books.

I have personally pulled a pop up camper through the high Rocky's with a 72 dodge colt, 4 cylinder.  Also towed trailers cross country with Toyota Corolla station wagon.   If you go to a good muffler shop that also installers trailer hitches and give them the make and model they will look up any hitch made for your car and install it with wiring for trailer lights.  Any auto parts store will be able to find a hitch but you would have to do the installation.

We even had a hitch on a Toyota Camry sedan.

Good luck
Melvin

[NateD]

I towed our Com-Pac 16 with a BMW 328i (two wheel drive) last year. Just to give you an idea of how flimsy this whole setup is, my aftermarket hitch bolts to the sheet metal that comprises the underside of my trunk. It's a little unnerving, but the car handles OK and can still stop in a reasonable distance. I had no problem pulling the boat out of the water, but the ramps I used were well maintained. I think a Subaru could handle the launch and recovery just fine, assuming the launch is steep enough to keep your bumper out of the water.

[Craig Weis]

You can darn near pull a Com-Pac 16 with a bicycle. Or lawn tractor.
The trick is stopping. So as the driver, you need to look
past the hood ornament. Look way down the road.

Bob Burgess in his Trailer Sailing Handbook pulled his 16 with a Ford Pinto.

As far as trailer hitches go I made a hitch for my Ford Maverick with drum brakes
out of 2-1/2 inch flatbar x 1/4 or 5/16 thick. I pulled a 1957 CJ3A Jeep
back from Normal, Illinois to Glenview Illinois with a tow bar I made to
hitch onto the hitch I made. Point is nothing mf'g. or purchased from a catalog.

To mount just drill clean through the sheet metal floor in the trunk and
bolt that beast to the floor with regular grade 5 bolts and double
stack of big flat fender washers bothsides of the hitch and floor.
The idea is to spread the weight out over the trunk's floor. You
can make backing bars for the inside of the trunk if wanted.

If you want you can play around with numbers. As we all know from Obama's
cyphering figures don't lie. Lier's do figure. And it's OK to be clewless. So...

Take the thickness of the trunk steel in decimal inches x 10,000 lbs divided by 4 for
a safety factor....The ultimate strength of steel is 10,000 pounds x thickness...for
each bolt and consider the number of bolts. Say eight. Three on each fore and aft
longitudinal an two facing toward the back seat on a 3" tang. An end bent 90 deg
toward the center for bolting.

Assume this hitch to be a open rectangular horse shoe of flat bar and welded where
she's cut bent and ground pretty.  The closed end of the horse shoe is for the ball
so it sticks out from under the 'bumper'. Don't use the bumper to support anything.

I never tow anything with less then a 2 inch ball. Shanks for balls are in two sizes.
If possible I use the big shank. The 1-1/8 inch ball is too wimpy.
skip.

[robb_black]

Thank you all for your thoughts and feedback.  It gives me a bit more confidence now to go ahead and install the hitch on my Legacy.  This will help cut down on my insurance premiums as well since I'll be able to get rid of my pickup truck now.

I can't wait...it is warming up out here in MD.  Sailing season is just around the corner!

[Brian 1851]

Hi Robb,

I installed a hitch on my minivan last year.  I ended up getting my hitch from my local U-Haul because the price was the same if not cheaper than many other online retailers.  Nice to get local because if I had any problems it would be easy to return or remedy the situation.  With U-Haul you can install it or they will.  The charge for them to install was reasonable but it looked pretty easy to install so I ended up doing it myself.  It was pretty much taking bolts off your frame and bolting on the hitch, I know a little oversimplified but that was basically it.  The most difficult part which was not that difficult was balancing the hitch to get a bolt in on each side.  I ended up using a bucket to hold up one side while I started the bolts.  I looked up your hitch and for that year it looks like a straight forward installation.  The cost of the hitch is $165.00.  The hitch is class II, which I would recommend because it is beefier and is about the same price as a class I.

[B.Hart]

   Hi Robb, most local auto parts houses can order hitches to fit your particular vehicle, or u-haul like Brian said. I also use a  extension to make it easier to launch(6')  BILL