Subaru towing 320 Boondock and where does the bike go?

Birdwatcher

My 2017 Subaru Outback with 6 cyl handles the Boondock Edge well, but the gas mileage is terrible. Is this normal? I want to carry my electric bike, but the 2017 Subaru doesn't have the tongue weight capacity. Perhaps if I put a basket and mount the spare on the rear I could carry the ebike on the ball hitch. Anyone have experience carrying a bike between the TT and TV?
That discussion again!

VictoriaP

Even moving the tire, a BD Edge will be at 200 lbs + at the hitch, so no, your ebike won’t work on there. You’re already overweight for your tongue weight limit, and you risk cracking the unibody construction of the Subaru as a result. Specs say dry (empty) weight of a BD Lite is 200 lbs at the tongue, and I’ve weighed mine enough to know that’s true. The Lite is lighter than the Edge and already has the tire at the back. With the tire up front and nothing else, you’re around 240-250. This is why I gave up my 3.6.

What mileage are you seeing? It’s going to depend on how much weight you’re towing, the terrain, your speed, and if you’re pulling into a headwind. 15-17 MPG is pretty normal for the 3.6 when towing. 

Birdwatcher

I know I need to change the 3.6. Considering the XT or the Ascent. The Ascent would give the option of pulling the 400 Lite, I believe. 
Gas mileage is around 11 - 12. 

VictoriaP

The Ascent will pull a 400, yes, but then you’re back in the same situation of not having enough tongue weight left for the ebike and bike rack once the trailer is loaded. It’d be a fine possibility if you’re sticking with a 320 though.

This is a problem that comes up frequently on the Facebook groups, and my answer is always the same. You need to size your tow vehicle to cover everything you intend to carry, not just the empty trailer weight, and you need to leave yourself a margin of error below ALL of the vehicle’s weight limits, not just overall towing. Most people want to carry more than a minimally capable car can handle. A minimally capable tow vehicle—meaning one that tows 3500 lbs for the 320, or 5000 for the 400–means having to compromise on how much additional gear you bring along. If you’re like me—solo traveler, one 50 lb dog, very light packer, not full timing or even part timing, no kayaks or bikes, and willing to weigh the tongue regularly as I tweak my packing or onboard equipment—you can probably get away with it just fine.

But if you happen to travel as a couple? You’re already carrying more stuff than I do, plus the weight of that second person counts toward the vehicle payload, something we don’t often consider. The 2020 Outback XT has only 900 lbs total payload, which includes all people, pets, interior cargo, anything on the roof, and the actual loaded trailer tongue weight. It adds up fast, especially if you’re adding to the tongue weight too. An ebike weighs 50 lbs minimum...most of them weigh more, and the rack for one typically has to be stronger than a regular rack, so that’s more weight to add in. If you have two 6v batteries in the front tub, your tongue weight goes up quite a bit. Want to carry a generator and extra gas for it? Or extra water for boondocking? Black tank is full? (That one is a big non-safety related reason why 320 owners need that extra margin of staying below your tongue weight limit, it’s right in front on a 320!) People tend to look at dry weights, and forget to add all this other stuff into their calculations.

As you’re already seeing, with these trailers, the overall weight may be pretty light, but the tongue weight once loaded really is not. That’s a good thing, since tongue weight should be 10-15% of overall weight for safe towing. But in your case, just knowing you want to bring the ebike along tells me your safest option if you keep the 320 is a tow vehicle in the 5000 lb class or higher. With a 500 lb tongue limit, you don’t need to move the tire, you can add a rack to the tongue and bring the bike along, whereas with a limit of 350, you’ll have basically no safety margin left. If you decide the 400 is likely in your future, I’d get something in the 6000 pound range or more instead as we’re seeing loaded weights close to 500 without an added bike rack.

On the mileage you’re seeing, that seems really low for the 3.6, unless you’re towing mountain ranges and fighting headwinds the whole time. Or trying to tow at more than 65 mph, which the trailer tires are not rated for.

(As a side note, a month and 1000 miles in with the new car, I miss my 3.6 so much. Not fond of Subaru’s turbo, and I say that as a die hard loyalist on my fourth Subaru wagon. Sigh.)

NotYourGuy

Maybe you could modify a Yakima "showdown" to lift your bike to a roof rack on your Subie? That would actually be pretty epic..... 

ClaudeA

@VictoriaP What is it that you don't like about the XT. I was interested in it as my next tow vehicle.