Lolloolol,,,, RIGHT ON DAVE,,,, I had a 68 or 69 VW Camper once.... LOVED IT....wish I had it now (at 73) might hit the road again.. Don't remember which year it was for sure,,, and then that's another story.... Bill Tosh www.tcboat.com Henderson, TX. -----Original Message----- From: montgomery_boats [mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Dave Scobie Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2015 7:36 PM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Subject: Re: M_Boats: Towing report - Subaru Outback and M17 Lol ... A VW van is about slow in almost all situations. Growing up the family's car was a 1969 van. Loved it and great for loading up all my friends. Folks sold it for more than they paid around 1990. Over 300,000 miles and three engines. :: Dave Scobie On Sep 17, 2015 6:19 PM, "John Schinnerer" <john@eco-living.net> wrote:
Hi all,
As promised a while back, a report on towing. In particular for those wondering about what a "small" car can do with an M17.
Yesterday I drove from Maple Valley, WA to Ashland, OR, 450 miles, mostly on I-5, towing my recently purchased 1974 M17 "Pajarita" with my 2001 Subaru Outback wagon.
Basically, it works just fine. I had to shift down for some of the steeper uphill grades on I-5 in southern Oregon. I cruised at around 60 mph on the freeway, except for a few slower uphills. Nothing I wasn't used to from owning a 71 VW van for many years a while back :-). I can definitely tell there's something wagging my tail a bit, but got used to it eventually. Just needs thoughtful driving, taking a bit more care than without the tow.
So now outings to various nearby lakes or Pacific coast won't seem like much of a long tow! ;-)
Specs of tow vehicle: base model Outback wagon, 2.5L engine, 165 HP rated, 5 speed manual transmission. Official tow rating is max 2000 lbs. load, max 200 lbs. tongue weight.
Has overload rear springs (std. height) from RalliTek:
http://www.rallitek.com/lifted-springs-kits/5634-rallitek-rear-overloa d-springs-outback-1999-2014.html
Front brakes are high carbon disks and ceramic pads (in plain English, a small upgrade from original equipment).
Hitch rig is this one:
http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Subaru/Outback+Wagon/2001/90176. html?vehicleid=2001201023
...which I installed myself some time ago, easy-peasy. Along with electrical rig identified on etrailer.com - the car has a plug and play plug, no splicing or manual wiring required.
Sometime fairly soon I will try and get the boat & trailer on a scale and see what it actually weighs.
Also sometime soon I will be doing the boat ramp shuffle, so will see how it handles that part.
cheers, John S.
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com