Automatic or Manual?

To me, it doesn't matter, as long as the vehicle is rated to tow the weight of your loaded trailer. Some have mentioned power, some have mentioned brakes, but nobody has mentioned maximum tongue weight.

I had to sell my 2000 Accord V6 (automatic) because the Swan trailer, loaded, far exceeded the max tow capacity and max tongue weight capacity. Honda listed those as 1,000 lbs and 100 lbs, respectively. After the trailer had "almost" ripped two different designs of hitches from the rear of the Honda, I decided to weigh the trailer: 2,040 lbs with a tongue weight of 180 lbs. There's not much metal in the back of cars these days to attach a hitch to. It's all "crumple zone" stuff. Made to fold up in event of a crash.

I searched the interwebs for an affordable vehicle, in both purchase price and feeding price, to tow the trailer and came up with a Subaru Forester. Mine has an automatic because that's what I found on the dealer's lot of used cars. I wasn't going to be too picky. It's rated to tow 2,400 lbs with a max tongue weight of 200 lbs. I did have a transmission oil cooler installed. The car does have a "hot transmission oil" light, but I've never seen it come on, including some towing when the outside temperature was hitting 101F degrees.

Ray
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA