New (to me) RV--lightweight toad recommendations

How do Subarus (Forester or Imprezas) do as 'toads'? I currently have a '16 Forester.

2wheeler wrote:
I just bought a 2001 30' Winnebago Brave with 42,000 miles and good condition.It has a Chevy Vortec engine, but I don't know which one. I'd like suggestions for a light weight vehicle to tow. We have Subarus and I don't want to tow with a dolly, plus I think 3,800 lbs is too much for an older RV. I'm hoping to pick up a car that's closer to 3,000 lbs. Any suggestions? Any comments would be appreciated.

Honda'a are popular and fairly light. Just depends on how light and what your budget is, but for us, if it doesn't qualify as a DD,then it doesn't qualify as a toad either. Most 4 x 4's are towable and the Wrangler fits the bill there, as being one of the most popular.
Specs are always for the weakest link, so hitch rating, then GCWR less GVWR. If a tad heavy, don't drive 70 mph, which is taken into account and especially with the wheelbase consideration. If more than a bit heavy, you'll still never know it's back there until maybe for climbing long 6% grades and in which case the transmission might overheat, so disconnect or get over in the right lane and limit your speed to 25mph in low gear. This will give you an extra 25% rating in itself.
Lastly and before towing, look or have a pro look it all over, for being structurally sound.
Your engine will handle anything, but some of the older ones, have been known to overheat on occasion. Your vortec, is most likely a 7.4 liter, should be fine and you're riding on a P30 chassis. Tranny is a 4L80E or 85E and yes will overheat under heavy load and steep climbing. Then again your coach is light. The good news is, that it will go into limp mode and save itself, if this should happen. Again, pull over and crawl a bit, unless you're in a race for being King of the hill.
Disclaimer: There's a lot of doom and gloom stories on this subject, so don't take anything I say here as fact. Just saying that I've been there and done that for quite a number of years. Nothing broke, nothing fell off, no one died or had any other mishaps. Just sayin...........

wolfe10 wrote:
First question on a toad is do you drive a stick shift or need an automatic?

Automatic

First question on a toad is do you drive a stick shift or need an automatic? That will help define what can be towed 4 wheels down.

To find out what you can tow:
On the manufacturers label, find the GVWR. For your vehicle, it may be 15,17 or 18K lbs (Assuming a 2001 Workhorse P-32 chassis). Next, find your GCWR from the same label. It could be either 19 or 21K lbs. That means that your total weight available for a towed vehicle could range from 3K to 4K. It is also dependent on you hitch weight rating (Class III or IV).

I think your tow capacity with the big block Chevy will be the same as mine(5000lbs). My "old" Ford v8 has no trouble with what I tow. I love my Honda Accord with a curb weight of less than 3200lbs. Up until 2012, they are towable 4down and are a nice ride when you get there.