Weekender Weight

[angib]

yeah, split speed limits are done on a state by state basis and as a trucker let me say they are STUPID

Come to Yurp - all trucks have to be fitted with governors so they can't exceed a true 56mph/100kph!

Andrew

[jimqpublic]

...
Swizz, you want to watch out repeating UK towing recomendations to the US - you will be way over US norms. Typically the same vehicle will only be rated to tow half the weight in the US compared to its tow rating in the UK.

I think there are two factors at work:

- US tow demands are higher. The weather and hills are bigger but I think the main difference appears to be that US drivers do not expect to slow down much when towing...

Right. Even if they're only going to do it once in their life, many people want to be sure they can tow up the 5% grade to the Eisenhower tunnel, 10,000 feet elevation, on a hot summer day at 65 miles per hour.

I'm guilty of this. When shopping for a new vehicle I bypassed the Forester X with its 165 horsepower motor and went with the XT turbo with 210 hp and virtually no power loss at altitude.

- Most manufacturers have bigger vehicles available in the US, so there's no encouragement to give smaller ones a generous tow rating.
Andrew

That's the main one that earns the prize. In the last few years of the big V-8 engined, rear drive 4 door sedan "cop" cars each time a new SUV was added to the manufacturer's lineup they dropped the car tow rating. A big old Chevy Caprice Classic or Ford LTD had a heavy steel frame, big V-8 motor, strong brakes. People used to tow 7000 pounds with them, then the rating dropped to 5000 pounds, and finally 1500. Even with the "police model" which had heavy duty cooling system, alternator, and stiffer springs.

[angib]

Jim,

I'd now add a third one which is that one of the few (often the only) differences between the same vehicle sold in Yurp and Merka is that the Merkan version will have softer springs - Yurpeens have a lot more corners to go around and are happy to compromise straight-line comfort for it.

I suspect that soft springing reduces the anti-sway abilities of almost any tow vehicle. Certainly the tow vehicle that is loved over here is the Land Rover Defender - the small old one you no longer get, not the bling Range Rovers - and that has springs that only flex when crossing land mines. That vehicle is rated to tow twice its own kerb weight and is regularly used to do so by pros.

But I don't doubt that marketing is still the number one reason.

Andrew

[jimqpublic]

Our car (2004 Subaru Forester XT2.5) is rated here in North America for 2400 pounds total, 200 pounds nose weight.

All the Foresters come from the same plant in Japan. The Australian model is virtually identical to ours except for the steering wheel being on the right/wrong side.

Tow rating was 3100 pounds there, then bumped to 4000 pounds with virtually no chassis, suspension, or drivetrain changes (other than a minor bump in power).

The curious thing is that in OZ the maximum nose/hitch weight is 165 pounds if you're using a standard weight carrying hitch. It only goes up to 400 if you use a weight distributing hitch, which Subaru approves of.

In North America, no mention is made of a WDH and in fact there is no Class II or III hitch available. I suggest that the Australian limit of 165 pounds hitch weight is probably a better maximum to subject the rear suspension to.

My solution for our nose-heavy Chalet (300+ pounds) was to get a custom hitch and use WD spring bars. It tows beautifully- 65 mph up a steep grade at 8000 feet elevation! If only the cooling system could keep up with all that power.