Subaru toad, best bars and...

We bought at 2015 Vista 26HE last year and have been very pleased. We don't tow (not retired yet) and we carry bicycles on the back so the toad would get in the way. We made very few changes to the rig last year, thinking we should live with it first. But now we've spent the winter making a list of all the things we want to do. It comes out of storage next week. Yay!

I thought this was best Bars for Beer posting.

Ready Brute Elite tow bar. Has an integrated surge brake. I'm not towing a Subaru but decided on a Road master face plate.

I lean Roadmaster on Japanese cars.

I tow an 07 Outback. I use the blue ox system. The tow plate was an easy mount, but the front fascia does have to come off. It is virtually hidden when I take out the tow hooks.

I use the M&G braking system. Nothing to take in and out of the car. Easy install if you are handy. Easy to hook up with one air disconnect fitting, and no power required.

I did two other things for ease and safety. One, I removed the steering wheel lock so I did not have to leave the keys in while towing. This is not a job for the faint of heart.

Two, I wired the car and tow harness so the yellow blinkers blink when using the turn signals. It's easy to do, but it takes an extra wire. At first I used the standard trailer wiring configuration that blinks the running/stop lights when using the signal. I noticed not people would let me over on the interstates when I signaled. I noticed that the blinkers were not very noticeable in bright light. When I rewired the harness to blink the yellows on the car, the response from other motorists has been much better. It is really worth doing since you will be wiring the car from scratch.

I have towed the Subie over 30k miles with no issues.

Enjoy your retirement. We have a fantastic country to see.

If the Subaru has an automatic transmission you cannot tow flat four, manual stick ok.

I tow a stick 2012 Subaru Outback, and use a RoadMaster Falcon All Terrain tow bar, and an Even Brake auxiliary braking system (required in most states due to the toad's weight). I had the Subaru dealer install the "receiver" portions of the tow bar on the vehicle's frame, and had them attach the break-away switch and run its wire to the transmitter unit in the Subaru (which I wired in).

I use Harbor freight magnetic tow lights ($10 on sale) on the top back of the toad for turn signal and brake lighting, although the Even Brake will light up the vehicle's brake lights with hard stopping, when the Even Brake is activated (minor gentler braking does NOT necessarily activate the Even Brake, but the sensitivity is adjustable). You can pay more to have the toad's lights able to direct connect to the RV's light output.

The tow bar setup has given no problems, but I have had a few issues with the Even Brake unit (sometimes I have difficulty getting it to "test out" correctly so it will give the green light to go!).

You can't beat etrailer.com for customer service and pricing, in my opinion!

http://www.etrailer.com/dept.aspx?furl=pg-Tow_Bars-pm-Roadmaster&gclid=COSax_6rvMsCFYqPfgodOV4NIQ

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