Towing a TaB with a Subaru Ascent

Travelin3D

I know there are at least a few Ascent owners on the Forum.  I have one on order and a couple of questions came to mind.

1) I'm assuming it will not come with a 12V charge line already connected to the 7-pin.  Did you ask your dealer to install it (and have the confidence they knew what they were doing), or have an outside shop do it?  Any warranty issues?

2) My T@B will be a 320 Boondock Lite.  I'm pretty sure I read here somewhere that the factory hitch has the right amount of drop as-is.  Is that correct?

3) Do you just put it in "D" and go when towing?  One poster on an Ascent Forum said that he shifts over to manual mode and drops the CVT down one "gear" from the top when towing and finds this better.  Anyone else do this or have insight to share?

And speaking of the CVT: I had read early on that Subaru was using an in-house-designed CVT rather than the unit made by JATCO that's used by pretty much everyone in the industry.  But there have been instances of transmission problems with the Ascent's CVT - in fact, Subaru recently extended the warranty period on the CVT.  Has anyone experienced any issues with their CVT's?

We're long-time "Subaru people" and were thrilled to hear about the increased towing capacity of the Ascent, but I'm giving up my beloved 2015 6-speed Forester in order to be able to tow the T@B, so I want to feel good about the upgrade.

Any and all comments welcomed.  Thanks!

PedlinPT

We pull our 2017 320s with an Ascent. I leave gear select in Drive and have taken several trips thru the mountains around New York and Pennsylvania region with no issues what so-ever.
Yes, the Subaru is pre-wired to charge your trailer battery while in operation.
Note: be sure to turn off your collision avoidance on the overhead panel before you attempt to back your trailer up. Our first trip out, I thought I backed into a tree or something, just the Ascent thinking I was going to back into the trailer.
I was pleasantly surprised to see our mileage 18 when driving back from Tear Up the Adirondacks and find the new 2.4 turbo to be a fantastic motor.
I did modify the hitch by applying pieces of conveyor belt to the surface between the receiver and the hitch as I found Subaru was a bit generous on the 2" part of their receiver and did not care for the loose fit after hitch installation.
Hope this helps with your concerns.

BirdieJane

We have an Ascent, towing a 2017 Outback, I had to go with a 6” drop on my hitch to be level. We drive in D crossing Mountain Passes, and on the flats no problem. Average Mpg 16 while towing. That includes with a canoe on top of the car. Have hade this set up for 1 year and 21,000 miles so far.the car is pre-wired for your 7 pin, including charge if your trailer battery.
best of luck

SubaruLou

I have an Ascent + 2019 T@B 320 S. The dealer sold me an 8” drop (lowest they had) but I’d really need a 10” to tow level. The Boondock is higher, but you’ll probably need a 6-8” drop to tow level, especially if you want to have the fridge on while driving. I just drove in D but haven’t hit any hills yet. The trailer was a little bucky at lower speeds, but great at speed on highway.
Are you getting the vehicle with tow package from factory? That wasn’t even an option when I bought mine. Dealer installed and probably charged a lot more!

Travelin3D

Thanks for the input. Now that I've had the Ascent for a few months some of these questions have been answered, but here's my take.

Our Ascent Premium came with the factory-installed hitch package and the 12V line was active.  I found the supplied ball mount to be just about spot on level for towing my 2020 320 BDL.  @PedlinPT, I found the noise from the hitch very distracting (sounded like something was going to break) so I bought a hitch tightener and now the hitch is solid and silent. I'm still having a problem trying to disable the RAB and not finding the owners manual to be very helpful.  It says to disable the RAB using the button on the touchscreen but I find this doesn't always work. Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

So far, I've found the engine performance to be good with mileage ranging from about 16-19, depending on conditions. Towing has been smooth and problem-free. Now if I could only improve at backing up....

Thanks!

Homebodyatheart

@PedlinPT I’m camping this weekend close to home and wanted to try our Ascent Limited/08/2018. The bucking at the hitch was SO bad I only got about a mile from home, turned around snd swapped cars back to my reliable Highlander! I was getting queasy from the jerking motion. I can see about a 1/8” gap at the receiver with the hitch installed. I’m towing a 2017 S so I bought a 10” drop which seems to be ok. The hitch from the factory is useless for me, way too high! I see a hitch adapter in my immediate future! Thanks for sharing!

Sharon_is_SAM

@Homebodyatheart, what do you mean “bucking” at the hitch?  Do you need a hitch tightener or is there a problem with your brake setting?

Homebodyatheart

@Sharon_is_SAM I know there is slack in the receiver and I don’t know about the brake controller setting. I’ll have to check on that another time as life is crazy busy all the sudden. Thanks!

BrianZ

@Homebodyatheart, can you elaborate on what you didn't like about the Subaru Ascent as a tow vehicle, and what you love about the Toyota Highlander?  You must have had some very strong feelings, in order to trade in an expensive new car like that.  We will likely be considering both among our top picks for our next TV within a year or two.

Homebodyatheart

@BrianZ here’s my answer to another Tabber:
One of my biggest problems was slack in the receiver and the stinger moved when towing which made the Tab bounce like a cork. I used a hitch tightener, had my mechanic tighten it and by the time I drove home, then 1 hour to camp the next morning it had rattled loose. The Ascent also has built in anti-sway control so it would sense the Tab moving about and try to correct it, so I fought the steering wheel along with all the bouncing around for the drive both ways. I would have gone nuts if I had been on a trip any longer! 

If you're on facebook check out the Subaru Ascent Dead Battery group among others. I'm not the only one with a loose drop hitch, but others are just fine. Go figure!

The other issue that you probably do have is the depth of your drop hitch. The factory tow package comes with a 2" drop hitch. I needed a 10" drop hitch so the Tab was fairly level, and as close to 16" from ground to the top of the ball as possible (Tab factory standards. My 2015 Highlander takes a 2” drop hitch.) Now here's where it gets murkey. If you read the Ascent owners manual under towing it states that you must only use genuine Subaru parts when towing. I've never seen this in the manual for any other tow vehicle. I called Subaru USA and asked if they had other lengths of drop hitch, and they only manufacture the 2" drop. I also talked to a very knowledgeable customer rep who tows himself with something else, and had him ask someone in Product Development about the hitch. Everything is designed to operate with a 2" drop. 

My other concern then is if I'm towing, not using a factory drop hitch and I have any issues, say transmission, will my warranty be invalidated because of an after market part in use? I don't want to be on the wrong side of that question.

I decided that if I wasn't towing with the Ascent it made for a very expensive commuter vehicle. We've traded it in for a Toyota Rav4 Hybrid. We got money back on the Ascent, made a good deal on the Rav4, have lower payments and get much better gas mileage around town!

So that's why it went away.

I love towing with the 2015 Highlander. It is almost effortless, rides well, lots of interior room for extra gear storage. I’ve made my peace with the gas mileage, 14-17mpg. It’s part of the cost of towing and towing means camping and that’s what counts! 

Hope this helps. Again, not every Ascent owner has the towing issue, many do fine, but everyone has the aftermarket part issue unless using the factory provided 2” drop hitch. 

N7SHG_Ham

One plausible explantation on only using factory Subaru parts is they only make the 2" drop for good reason. Maybe the rest of the hitch and attachment points can't take the forces of bigger drop? The further you get away from center of the receiver, the bigger the forces on the rest of the components, the lever arm is longer.

BrianZ

Thank you, @Homebodyatheart, that all makes sense.  It's almost hard to believe that the Subaru would need a 10" drop.  The hitch on our Sienna needs a 3" rise and we don't even have the taller boondock, just regular 320.  Subaru seems to have really missed the mark when it comes to towing.  Glad to hear the Highlander works well.  14-17 mpg sounds pretty decent for towing.
Thanks again.

Travelin3D

Not wanting to hijack the discussion, I PM'd @Homebodyatheart regarding her switch from the Ascent and she shared her response to me above so for the benefit of those who may be interested, here's my take as a current Ascent owner.

I picked up my T@B in PA and had to tow it back to NYC - my first towing experience.  I found the racket coming from the hitch really disconcerting; I thought I was going to break something on the way home. However, I found a hitch tightener on eTrailer that works really well and it now tows solid and quiet.

As far as the hitch drop: I have a 2020 320 BDL and the stock hitch lined up within a few degrees of perfect, but I can see where there might be a problem if you have a standard 320 suspension. The concern about violating the warranty if not using Subaru-supplied equipment is a valid one.

So far, so good.

The comment about the Dead Battery FB page is about a problem I only recently discovered on my last camping trip. One quirk of the Ascent is that, unlike previous Subarus I've owned, there is no way to turn off the interior lights when a door is opened. They will eventually time-out and turn off, but they do stay on for a while. Oddly, if all the doors are closed and you open the tailgate the lights don't come on. Great, I thought, I can leave the tailgate open and not worry about draining the battery - WRONG! After getting a series of warning beeps everything was dead and of course the power tailgate wouldn't open. Luckily, I had brought a stand-alone jump starter and was able to get the car going but was now worried every time I shut the car down.

Come to find out from an Ascent Forum that when the tailgate is open, the car is waiting for a signal on what to do next and keeps its systems running to the tune of 4 amps per hour! This is obviously a problem for campers, dog trainer/show people and any others who want or need to keep their tailgates open for extended periods. According to the forum, reporting this to the dealer or to Subaru of America has not resulted in any acknowledgement of the problem, although some people have gotten their battery replaced.

This post has gotten pretty long so I'll wrap this up. Suffice it to say that this development has made me question whether my initial satisfaction with the Ascent will continue.

If anyone wants to PM me on this or the Mods want to spin this off to a new discussion, please feel free. Thanks for reading.

RCB

We towed about 7500km with the Ascent this summer. No issues ! The Subby hitch and supplied drop bar work just fine for towing the 400. The RAB can be a pain but turns off on its own or if you hold the button down for long enough. If you put the peddle down it will accelerate impressively. It is a big vehicle, and does the job. Fuel consumption varies with speed, wind and terrain. We averaged about 18L/100 km (13 mpg).  RAB is a feature that prevents backing up if the sensors detect an obstruction - ie the trailer.

VictoriaP

Travelin3D said:

The comment about the Dead Battery FB page is about a problem I only recently discovered on my last camping trip. One quirk of the Ascent is that, unlike previous Subarus I've owned, there is no way to turn off the interior lights when a door is opened. They will eventually time-out and turn off, but they do stay on for a while. Oddly, if all the doors are closed and you open the tailgate the lights don't come on. Great, I thought, I can leave the tailgate open and not worry about draining the battery - WRONG! After getting a series of warning beeps everything was dead and of course the power tailgate wouldn't open. Luckily, I had brought a stand-alone jump starter and was able to get the car going but was now worried every time I shut the car down.

Come to find out from an Ascent Forum that when the tailgate is open, the car is waiting for a signal on what to do next and keeps its systems running to the tune of 4 amps per hour! This is obviously a problem for campers, dog trainer/show people and any others who want or need to keep their tailgates open for extended periods. According to the forum, reporting this to the dealer or to Subaru of America has not resulted in any acknowledgement of the problem, although some people have gotten their battery replaced.

One of the first things I did when I bought my “certified preowned” Outback was kill the battery by accident. Twice. 🙄 Come to find out at that point through research that Subaru stock batteries are notoriously bad. Needless to say, did not have the dealer pick my expensive but worth it AGM replacement, but went elsewhere.

Looks like the same thing on the Ascent. Last two pages of this thread on the Ascent forum have several people who no longer have the liftgate issue after changing to a non Subaru battery.

 https://www.ascentforums.com/threads/draining-the-battery.3425/

Homebodyatheart

@Travelin3D I calculated the length of drop needed by measuring from the concrete pad up to the top of the receiver. The Ascent is 8” higher than the Highlander, Highlander takes a 2” drop, add 8” more inches which is how I got 10”. Yes, I’ve got the basic 320S so with that hitch the trailer was about level for towing. Also before I knew about the dead battery group we actually had a dead battery, I had it jumped and it tested as bad so I drove straight to the dealer and they replaced it no question. 

It has been our experience with our other Subarus that whenever we go in with a problem that we’ve checked out online as valid  first the immediate response is that they’ve never heard of xyz before. Always. Very frustrating at my end that’s for sure. 

BrianZ

@Homebodyatheart, I'm sure Subaru is not the only dealer who never heard of xyz before.  When our Corolla was totalled in an accident this summer, we told the Toyota service dept to remove it from their records.  We also mentioned we would have considered replacing it with a Rav4, but it doesn't work with Android Auto.  They said "Are you sure?  I've never heard that before."  We ended up getting our other top choice, a Honda CRV, which we're very happy with (not for towing, but for the "Comfortable Runabout Vehicle" that it is).

agemperline

I just recently towed a 2020 T@B 320S with an Ascent from Ohio to Maine. We experienced the see-sawing on the drive back from the dealer when we first bought it (2 hour drive). We originally thought it was not enough hitch weight, but even with the tanks filled it still did it, although not as bad. We got a hitch tightener and it made all the difference. It had to occasionally be tightened along the way. I suggest taking a crescent wrench with you for long trips. 

We went with a 10” drop. Factory drop is 8”, dealer sold us 11”. 10” was perfect. 

You barely notice you are towing anything as long as you are using the hitch tightener. The only noticeable difference is the drop is gas mileage (~12-18mpg) and some sway if it’s windy. 

The ascent is fairly close width wise to the T@B. We used trailer mirror extenders which were really nice although probably not 100% necessary. But they allowed us to see behind the trailer which provided some peace of mind.

RayJim

We purchase are Subaru Ascent last year to tow are T@B 320. We had the dealer install the Subaru trailer hitch. Initially we were a little concerned about the clicking noise the that it made when the T@B bounced around. On a smooth well paved road, which are far and few in-between these days, it rides smoothly no clicking, or it makes the clicking sound infrequently. Also when we load up the T@B, water, camping gear, etc. there is a significant reduction of the noise coming from the hitch. We usually only use the Ascent to tow the T@B, so we don't have a lot of miles on it and can't comment on its long term reliability. Overall the Ascent has performed admirably, whether traveling up into the mountains or on sandy desert road, it gets the job done. Lastly the 260 hp produced by the 4 cylinder turbo is more than enough power to pull the T@B along with all our gear and 7 adults in the car. Gas mileage pulling the T@B averages about 13 to 14mph, and 27mph when not pulling the T@B.. I have not towed the T@B with any other vehicle.,
Maiden voyage 2018 Colorado River near Blyth.  

rcuomo

RayJim- I am a longtime Subaru owner and seriously considered the Ascent as a TV for our 320S before I bought my Ridgeline.  I don't mean to be a "downer" but two things concern me with your post.  A dealer installed hitch and carrying 7 adults passengers and gear.  Hitch mounting holes and trailer harness connections are built into every Ascent regardless of trim level.  Installing a standard hitch is fairly straight forward.  But unless the dealer installed the factory CVT transmission cooler, your tow capacity is only 2000# not 5000# (page 391 of your owner's manual).  Your Boondock edition weighs 2231# with battery, spare, full propane and empty tanks.  Tongue weight for the standard 320S is listed as 157# wet but I believe the front mounted spare and Boondock front platform add around 75#.  My 320S was 2026# with full propane, stock battery and dry tanks and no extra gear inside.  Your tongue weight could be exceeding the 200# capacity unless the cooler was installed. The CVT is not a strong tranny and subjected to towing it will run considerable hotter than normal.  Your warranty will not cover the damage.  Second issue is overall vehicle cargo load limit (page 505).  Although it is listed as a seven passenger car, actually it works out to about 4-5 adults and 2-3 kids.  Subaru uses 154# per adult occupant or 1078# for 7 adult passengers and that exceeds the vehicle 900# cargo load limits.  (wish I weighed 154#).  If you don't have the tranny cooler installed I would buy something to monitor the tranny temps.

RayJim

I have the limited edition it has a towing capacity of 5,000-2000 for the T@B I still have about 3,000 to work with. The tow package is the same as the factory installed set up except the dealer installed it. We pre-order our vehicle but it came in the 8 passenger trim with a bench seat, we refused delivery so they sold us a limited edition at a discount, and added the tow package which they installed at the dealership. All limited editions have the cooler built in so there is no issue with overheating. 7 200 lb adults 7x200=1400lb and still have another 1600lb to go, usually the gear is about 200-400lb depending if we take water and the grill. Don't doubt the subi:)

rcuomo

Are you sure on the cargo load capacity being 3000#; is that what is listed on the door label?  Everything I researched said all the trims levels had a total capacity of 900# and that included the factory hitch at 22# and tongue weight calculated at 10% of the trailer weight.  It wasn't a problem for me since generally we travel with just 2 adults and limited extra gear.  My total tongue weight with bikes and front mounted spare was around 286# and my total loaded capacity was just over 700#, within the 900# capacity.

RayJim

Oh, no I thought you were talking about total towing capacity which includes whatever is in the car people gear etc. The cargo capacity of the vehicle is around 1500 all the gear gets thrown in the T@B I'm around 170lb so going by my weight is can fit 9 of me in the car.

rcuomo

The label shows 1500?  That’s a 67% increase over what’s stated in the manual. That’s a huge difference. 

RayJim

I took a looked at the  weight capacity sticker on the door after getting home and lo and behold its rated at 1158lb, oh no! Thanks for pointing that out need to be more mindful of how much weight I will be loading up with. It appears that I have been over loading the Ascent by a couple of hundred pounds. Well it seemed not to have caused any damage, but wont risk it anymore. 

Thanks again for pointing that out.