Towing 400 with Subaru

apossible · June 2021

I just sold my motorhome and am downsizing. I have a 2020 Subaru Outback Onyx ET vehicle. I have a down payment on a 2018 T@B 400 to be picked up in a week. I have been so excited, but am now told that my vehicle will not tow the #400. Has anyone towed a #400 with a vehicle like mine? I had wanted the separate bed and dinette, but am thinking that won't be possible. What recommendation do you have on a T@B model that my vehicle can pull? Thank you.

(Mod note: discussion title expanded to include pertinent details.)

manyman297 · June 2021

We just got our 400 and I tow with a V6 Tacoma (rated at 6400lbs or so) and I probably wouldn't tow with anything less. It looks like your vehicle is rated up to 3500lbs. My guess is your tongue weight rating is 350lbs (10% of tow capacity usually) which is less than the dry tongue weight of the 400 (or maybe right at max capacity). So by the numbers your Subaru probably won't do a great job pulling it and if any accident were to happen, you'd probably be on the hook legally regarding insurance.

Verna · June 2021

The in-use tongue weight of a 2018 T@B 400 is in the neighborhood of 500 lbs. Typically a vehicle that can tow a camper with a 500 lb tongue weight has a towing capacity of 5,000 + lbs.

I like my F-150 and it towed a 400 for a year with no problem. The Tacoma 6 cylinder I had did not like the Canadian Rockies, hence the upgrade to the F-150.

If you query 15 people on the forum, you are likely to get 10+ different vehicles of their choice, by the way. If you don’t want a truck (better gas mileage than you expect) there are larger SUV’s that can tow the 400. Just be sure to research tongue weight and tow weight, for starters, the. How much cargo you can add for food and camping gear.

AnOldUR · June 2021

apossible said:

I had wanted the separate bed and dinette, but am thinking that won't be possible. What recommendation do you have on a T@B model that my vehicle can pull?

With some mods (depending on the sleeping arrangements you'd be happy with) you can meet that requirement with a T@B 320S. Last time on a scale had me at a little over 2000lbs fully loaded (excludes tongue weight). Here's my 2020 purchased earlier this year used. The bed is a 6" thick full size mattress with the length cut down from 75" to 71" to fit side-to-side sleeping.

manyman297 · June 2021

Verna said:

The in-use tongue weight of a 2018 T@B 400 is in the neighborhood of 500 lbs. Typically a vehicle that can tow a camper with a 500 lb tongue weight has a towing capacity of 5,000 + lbs.

I like my F-150 and it towed a 400 for a year with no problem. The Tacoma 6 cylinder I had did not like the Canadian Rockies, hence the upgrade to the F-150.

If you query 15 people on the forum, you are likely to get 10+ different vehicles of their choice, by the way. If you don’t want a truck (better gas mileage than you expect) there are larger SUV’s that can tow the 400. Just be sure to research tongue weight and tow weight, for starters, the. How much cargo you can add for food and camping gear.

@Verna is right. Didn't see you were buying a 2018. It's even heavier than a new 2021.

It all comes down to what you're comfortable with too and how much travel you're doing as well. If you're a weekend warrior then you probably won't need a ton of power (assuming you're camping within maybe 100 miles or so). We towed an 1800lb 10' popup with a CX5 (rated at 2k lbs tow) and it was totally fine even on long trips. No sway, tranny stayed cool and pulled it really well and it was at the upper end of its limits. The Tacoma, while rated at 6800lbs would struggle towing something at its upper limit.

Towing 400 with Subaru

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