2000 SUBARU FORESTER trailer

7-52n
Gross Axle Weight (GAW) and Gross Axle Weight Rating
(GAWR)
The total weig ht ap p lied to eac h axle (GAW) must ne ver exc eed the
Gross Axle Weig ht Rating (GAWR). The front and rear GAWs c an b e
ad justed b y reloc ating p asseng ers and lug g ag e insid e the vehic le.
The front and rear GAWR are also shown on the c erti fic ation p late.
HS0143
Gross Axle Weight Certification plate
HS0144
To c hec k b oth GVWR and GAWR and to c onfirm that the total weig ht
and weig ht d istrib ution are within safe d riving lim its, you should have
your vehic le and trailer weig hed at a c ommerc ial we ig hing station.
Be sure that all c arg o is firmly sec ured to p revent a c hang e in weig ht
d istrib ution while d riving . n Tongue load
WARNING
If the trailer is loaded with more weight in the back of trailer ’s
axle than in the front, the load is taken off the rear axle of the tow- ing vehicle. This may cause the rear wheels to skid, especiallyduring braking or when vehicle speed is reduced during corner-
ing, resulting in over-steer, spin out and/or jackknifing.
Ensure that the trailer tong ue load is from 8 to 11 p erc ent of the total
trailer weig ht and d oes not exc eed the maximum valu e of 200 lb s (90
kg ).

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The tong ue load c an b e weig hed with a b athroom sc al
e as shown in
the illustration b elow. When weig hing the tong ue lo ad , b e sure to p osi-
tion the towing c oup ler at the heig ht at whic h it w ould b e d uring
ac tual towing , using a jac k as shown.
HS0145
Tongue load
OM-H2785
Bathroom scale
Jack
The tong ue load c an b e ad justed b y p rop er d istrib ut ion of the load in
the trailer. Never load the trailer with more weig h t in the b ac k than in
the front; ap p roximately 60 p erc ent of the trailer load should b e in the
front and ap p roximately 40 p erc ent in the rear. Als o, d istrib ute the
load as evenly as p ossib le on b oth the left and rig ht sid es.
Be sure that all c arg o is firmly sec ured to p revent a c hang e in weig ht
d istrib ution while d riving .
OM-H2787

7-54
Trailer hitches
WARNING
Never drill the frame or under-body of your vehicle to install a
commercial trailer hitch. If you do, dangerous exhaust gas, wateror mud may enter the passenger compartment through the drilledhole. Exhaust gas contains carbon monoxide, a colorless andodorless gas which is dangerous, or even lethal, if inhaled. Also,drilling the frame or under-body of your vehicle could cause dete-rioration of strength of your vehicle and cause corrosion aroundthe drilled hole.
CAUTION
Do not modify the vehicle exhaust system, brake system, or
other systems when installing a hitch or other trailer towingequipment. Do not use axle-mounted hitches as they can cause damage to
the axle housing, wheel bearings, wheels or tires.
Choose a p rop er hitc h for your vehic le and trailer.
The use of a g enuine SUBARU trailer hitc h is rec omm end ed . A g enu-
ine SUBARU hitc h is availab le from your SUBARU d eal er.
If use of a non-g enuine hitc h is unavoid ab le, b e su re the hitc h is
suited to your vehic le and trailer. Consult with a p rofessional hitc h
sup p lier to assist you in c hoosing an ap p rop riate h itc h for your
vehic le. Be sure to follow all of the hitc h manufac turer’s instruc tions for
installation and use.
Never use a hitc h that mounts only to the rear b ump er. The b ump er is
not d esig ned to hand le that typ e of load .
For all typ es of hitc hes, reg ularly c hec k that the hitc h mounting b olts
and nuts are tig ht.

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Connecting a trailer
n Trailer brakes
WARNING
Adequate size trailer brakes are required when the trailer and
its cargo exceed 1,000 lbs (453 kg) total weight. Do not directly connect your trailer ’s hydraulic brake system
to the hydraulic brake system in your vehicle. Direct connectionwould cause the vehicle ’s brake performance to deteriorate and
could lead to an accident.
If your trailer ’s total weig ht (trailer weig ht p lus its c arg o weig h t)
exc eed s 1,000 lb s (453 kg ), the trailer is req uired to b e eq uip p ed with
its own b rake system. Elec tric b rakes or surg e b rak es are rec om-
mend ed , and must b e installed p rop erly. Chec k that your trailer’s
b rakes c onform with Fed eral, state/p rovinc e and /or other ap p lic ab le
reg ulations. Your SUBARU ’s b rake system is not d esig ned to b e
tap p ed into the trailer ’s hyd raulic b rake system. Please ask your
SUBARU d ealer and p rofessional trailer sup p lier for more information
ab out the trailer ’s b rake system.
n Trailer safety chain
WARNING
Always use safety chains between your vehicle and the trailer.
Towing trailer without safety chains could create a traffic safetyhazard if the trailer separates from the hitch due to coupling dam-age or hitch ball damage.
In c ase the trailer hitc h c onnec tor or hitc h b all s hould b reak or
b ec ome d isc onnec ted , the trailer c ould g et loose an d c reate a traffic
safety hazard .
For safety, always c onnec t the towing vehic le and t railer with trailer
safety c hains. Pass the c hains c rossing eac h other und er the trailer
tong ue to p revent the trailer from d rop p ing onto th e g round in c ase
the trailer tong ue should d isc onnec t from the hitc h b all. Allow suffi-

7-56c ient slac k in the c hains taking tig ht-turn situati
ons into ac c ount; how-
ever, b e c areful not to let them d rag on the g round .
For more information ab out the safety c hain c onnec t ion, refer to the
instruc tions for your hitc h and trailer. n Side mirrors
After hitc hing a trailer to your vehic le, c hec k tha t the stand ard sid e
mirrors p rovid e a g ood rearward field of view witho ut sig nific ant b lind
sp ots. If sig nific ant b lind sp ots oc c ur with the ve hic le’s stand ard sid e
mirrors, use towing mirrors that c onform with Fed er al, state/p rovinc e
and /or other ap p lic ab le reg ulations.
HS0146
n Trailer lights CAUTION
Direct splicing or other improper connection of trailer lights may
damage your vehicle ’s electrical system and cause a malfunction
of your vehicle ’s lighting system.
Connec tion of trailer lig hts to your vehic le ’s elec tric al system req uires
mod ific ations to the vehic le ’s lig hting c irc uit to inc rease its c ap ac ity
and ac c ommod ate wiring c hang es. To ensure the trail er lig hts are
c onnec ted p rop erly, p lease c onsult your SUBARU d eal er. Chec k for
p rop er op eration of the turn sig nals and the b rake lig hts and p arking
lig hts eac h time you hitc h up .

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n
Tires
Make sure that all the tires on your vehic le are p r op erly inflated to the
p ressure und er towing c ond itions as shown in follow ing tab le. These
tire inflations are also shown on the tire p lac ard loc ated on the left
c enter p illar of your vehic le. Trailer tire c ond iti on, size, load rating and
p rop er inflation p ressure should b e in ac c ord anc e w ith the trailer
manufac turer ’s sp ec ific ations.
Front
29 psi (200 kPa, 2.0 kg/cm 2
)
Rear41 psi (275 kPa, 2.8 kg/cm 2
)
Trailer towing tips CAUTION
Never exceed 45 mph (72 km/h) when towing a trailer in hilly
country on hot days. When towing a trailer, steering, stability, stopping distance and
braking performance will be different from normal operation. For
safety’ s sake, you should employ extra caution when towing a
trailer and you should never speed. You should also keep the fol-lowing tips in mind:
n Before starting out on a trip
Chec k that the vehic le and vehic le-to-hitc h mountin g are in g ood
c ond ition. If any p rob lems are ap p arent, d o not tow the trailer.
Chec k that the vehic le sits horizontally with the t railer attac hed . If
the vehic le is tip p ed sharp ly up at the front and d own at the rear,
c hec k the total trailer weig ht, GVW, GAWs and tong u e load ag ain,
then c onfirm that the load and its d istrib ution are ac c ep tab le.
Chec k that the tire p ressures are c orrec t.
Chec k that the vehic le and trailer are c onnec ted p r op erly. Confirm that
– the trailer tong ue is c onnec ted p rop erly to the hit c h b all.
– the trailer lig hts c onnec tor is c onnec ted p rop erly and trailer’s
b rake lig hts illuminate when the vehic le ’s b rake p ed al is p ressed ,
and that the trailer ’s turn sig nal lig hts flash when the vehic le ’s turn

7-58sig nal lever is op erated .
–
the safety c hains are c onnec ted p rop erly.
– all c arg o in the trailer is sec ured safety in p osit ion.
– the sid e mirrors p rovid e a g ood rearward field of v iew without a
sig nific ant b lind sp ot.
Suffic ient time should b e taken to learn the “feel ” of the vehic le/
trailer c omb ination b efore starting out on a trip . In an area free of traf-
fic , p rac tic e turning , stop p ing and b ac king up . n Driving with a trailer
You should allow for c onsid erab ly more stop p ing d is tanc e when
towing a trailer. Avoid sud d en b raking b ec ause it m ay result in skid -
d ing or jac kknifing and loss of c ontrol. Avoid ab rup t starts and sud d en ac c elerations. If yo ur vehic le has a
manual transmission, always start out in first g ear and release the
c lutc h at mod erate eng ine RPM. Avoid uneven steering , sharp turns and rap id lane c hang es.
Slow d own b efore turning . Make a long er than normal turning
rad ius b ec ause the trailer wheels will b e c loser th an the vehic le
wheels to the insid e of the turn. In a tig ht turn, the trailer c ould hit your
vehic le. Crosswind s will ad versely affec t the hand ling of yo ur vehic le and
trailer, c ausing sway. Crosswind s c an b e d ue to wea ther c ond itions or
the p assing of larg e truc ks or b uses. If swaying oc c urs, firmly g rip the
steering wheel and slow d own immed iately b ut g rad ua lly.
When p assing other vehic les, c onsid erab le d istanc e is req uired
b ec ause of the ad d ed weig ht and leng th c aused b y at tac hing the
trailer to your vehic le. When b ac king up with a trailer, never ac c elerate or steer rap id ly.
When turning b ac k, g rip the b ottom of the steering wheel with one
hand and turn it to the left for a left turn, and t urn it to the rig ht for a
rig ht turn.

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OM-H2791
If the ABS warning lig ht illuminates while the vehi c le is in motion,
stop towing the trailer and have rep airs p erformed immed iately b y the
nearest SUBARU d ealer. n Driving on grades
Before g oing d own a steep hill, slow d own and shift into low g ear
in ord er to utilize the eng ine b raking effec t and p revent overheating of
your vehic le ’s b rakes. Do not make sud d en d ownshifts.
When d riving up hill in hot weather, the air c ond iti oner may turn off
automatic ally to p rotec t the eng ine from overheatin g .
When d riving up hill in hot weather, p ay attention t o the water tem-
p erature g aug e need le (for all vehic les) and ATF OI L TEMP warning
lig ht (for AT vehic les) sinc e the eng ine and transm ission are relatively
p rone to overheating und er these c ond itions. If the water temp erature
g aug e need le ap p roac hes the OVERHEAT zone or the AT F OIL TEMP
warning lig ht illuminates, immed iately switc h off t he air c ond itioner
and stop the vehic le at the nearest safe p lac e. Ref er to “Eng ine over-
heat ” sec tion (c hap ter 8), and “Warning and ind ic ator lig hts ” sec tion
(c hap ter 3) in the owner ’s manual.
If your vehic le has a automatic transmission, avoid using the ac c el-
erator p ed al to stay stationary on an up hill slop e instead of using the
p arking b rake or foot b rake. That may c ause the tra nsmission fluid to
overheat. Also, if your vehic le is eq uip p ed with an automatic transmis-
sion, avoid d riving with the g ear selec tor lever in “ D ” when towing a
heavy trailer to p revent fluid overheating .