Subaru Outback...how well does it tow a sailplane trailer?

Car: 2005 Forester 4-speed automatic with 2.5l 4 cylinder engine.
Rated to tow 2,400 lb with 200 lb tongue weight, if the trailer has brakes. Max trailer wt drops to 1,000 lbs if the trailer doesn't have brakes.

Trailer: Swan
Glider: LS1
Trailer has brakes
Loaded Trailer weight: 2,040 lbs (from truck scales at a truck stop)
Loaded Tongue weight: 180 lbs

The car tows the glider just fine. Don't expect neck-snapping acceleration (either with or without the trailer. This is the non-turbocharged version of the Forester)

While the trailer's weight is below the max towing limit, I still had a transmission cooler installed. Was it necessary? Probably not, but I did it anyway.

Towing has been mainly in the North Carolina/South Carolina/Georgia area and sometimes into the mountains. Mostly in the piedmont area where there are some hills that slow me down. I just pull the transmission handle into 3rd and usually can hold 50 mph up the steeper grades. The transmission can't be shifted out of the "torque converter lock-up" and leaving it in fourth on the steeper hills forces the tranny to shift into and out of the "lock-up" and into and out of third. So, for those short sections of steeper climbs, pulling the lever into third works just fine. And I'm usually in no hurry to get anywhere. Heck, y'all know that by looking at the score sheets....

The six cylinder in the Outback should do just fine. Just don't tow heavier than recommended and don't tow with a tongue weight heavier than recommended. I've got a diploma from School of Hard Knocks about those two items....

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina