I have to throw in my 2 cents for the Subaru option. I have a subie Impreza which unfortunately doesn't have quite the official towing capacity needed for a heavy trailer (max 900kg), athough in reality it tows quite well. When I tow glider trailers I usually do it in a Subie Forester, which tows brilliantly. I had a very similar situation to Glen, where I had one of the tyres on the trailer shredded and lock up... I felt the bang, and the extra drag, but there was no swerving and the combination continued in a straight line until I could bring it to a stop. The Forester also has plenty of room in the back for tow kits / luggage / spares / anything, and does not chew up a lot of fuel :-)
Plus on the whole Subarus are a dream to drive... without the trailer on the back you can really enjoy the low C of G and the AWD around the corners :-) Gus On 9/11/07, Dave <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi All, > > Mark, > > News flash, Europeans do not tow long distances in strong winds and 40+ > degree temps often. Different location=different requirements. > I was born in the UK and lived there for years, in fact my first school > camp > was in Switzerland, and I have returned for holidays twice, so I am well > aware of how small cars are used to tow trailers. The Europeans do not > have > 1000's of km to travel. I have travelled around Europe in a small car and > it > was cramped and uncomfortable. Not the sort of setup I would want to spend > a > long time in with young children. > > I do not deny small cars can be effectively used for towing in this > country, > Just they are not the best option. Medium to large cars are. > > The thread did cover the issue, and this was the pertinent post. > > "Whatever you get - and there has been plenty of advice so far - look for > a > vehicle with sufficient weight (and this probably means size) to able to > remain the dominant influence in the towing combination. I know of > several > road dramas with gliding trailers where the towing car had the horsepower > - > but not the weight - to allow the driver to be in totally charge of what > was > happening all of the time, and things went badly wrong when the trailer > took > over. There were probably other factors in the instances I recall, but > the common question in those mentioned was a towing vehicle which on > reflection, was probably on the smaller (lighter) side of what perhaps > should have been used." > > Such cars as the Outback and Forresters as I recommended are NOT big cars, > they just are not deliberately built light weight small cars. Perhaps > being > a boy racer has clouded your assessment of cars for this purpose. > > The other factor that families with children would take into consideration > is safety. It is well established and simple physics, in an accident the > heavier car comes off best, as evidenced by a radio interview I heard, the > guests were, Head of the traffic police, Chair of the Road safety council, > and the President of the Crash repair assoc. ALL of them had 2 ton + > Mercedes, and they categorically stated that they had them because of > their > crash rsults experience, the heaviest car is the safest, and the > crumple-ability of modern small cars simply meant they were even better > off. > Which car would you rather be driving in a head collision on between a V8 > commo and a WRX? > > You may feel different when it is your own children whose safety is a > concern. > > Is "yeh whatever" as your way of saying of yes you're right? > > I knew this was a worms.... > > Dave > > > > > > > al Message----- > From: Mark Newton [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, 10 September 2007 3:39 PM > To: Dave > Cc: 'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.' > Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Family Tow Car > > Dave wrote: > > > <sigh> Spot the boy racer huh. I gave up worrying about dragging people > 20+ > > years ago. > > Thing is Mark, the more weight is a good thing for towing bringing a > > definite improvement in stability. > > Thing is, Dave, this thread has already covered a bit where it was > pointed out that the Europeans tow their gliders around behind 1.6L > hatchbacks without problems, so maybe the extra weight thing is overrated. > > I have some video from some World Championships in Poland in the 1970's > showing an outlanding retrieve behind a VW Beetle. Were they doing > something > wrong? > > > Not to mention for a family with children > > as the poster stated, a WRX might lack a little room. > > Again, the Europeans don't seem to have a problem with that. A Commodore- > sized vehicle is viewed as an ostentatious luxury over there, and the > French regularly cram four people and all of their luggage into > microscopic > Peugeots for their summer holidays. Perhaps you're following ideal gas > laws, and your requirements have expanded to fill their container. > > I remember having a conversation with an American farmer who vowed and > declared that he couldn't do his job with anything smaller than his > 8 litre, four ton pickup truck. Showing him the utes that aussie farmers > use in way more rugged conditions was an eye opener for him, and he > realized that perhaps his huge-vehicle upbringing and his view of what > everyone else around him was doing had clouded his assessment of his > requirements. Maybe the same is happening for you. > > > I am guessing your previous > [ blah blah blah ] > > Yeah, whatever. > > - mark > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > I tried an internal modem, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > but it hurt when I walked. Mark Newton > ----- Voice: +61-4-1620-2223 ------------- Fax: +61-8-82356937 ----- > _______________________________________________ > Aus-soaring mailing list > [email protected] > To check or change subscription details, visit: > http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring >
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