2000 SUBARU LEGACY Owners Manual

Driving tips8-23
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CONTINUED –

Connecting a trailer
1. Remove the rec eiver c over from the hitc h rec eiver tub e. Then in-
sert the b all mount into the hitc h rec eiver tub e.
2. Insert the hitc h p in into the hole on the hitc h r ec eiver tub e so that
the p in p asses throug h the b all mount.
HB8018BA
3. Insert the safety p in into the hitc h p in sec urely .
HB8019BA

8-244. Pull the b all mount to make sure it d oes not c ome
off the hitc h re-
c eiver.
HB8020AA
5. Use only a hitc h b all that is ap p rop riate for the b all mount and your
trailer. The hitc h b all must b e sec urely installed on the b all mount.
6. Connec t your trailer to the hitc h b all.
7. Connec t the trailer and the hitc h with safety c ha ins that will hold
the trailer ’s maximum g ross weig ht. The c hains should c ross und er
the trailer tong ue to p revent the tong ue from d rop p ing onto the
g round in c ase it should d isc onnec t from the hitc h b all. Allow suffi-
c ient slac k in the c hains taking tig ht –turn situations into ac c ount; how-
ever, b e c areful not to let them d rag on the g round .
HB8022BB
HB8020BB

Driving tips8-25
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CONTINUED –
8. Connec t the hitc h wire harness
’s b lac k four –p in wire c onnec tor to
the towing trailer ’s wire harness
HB8021BB
9. Confirm p rop er func tion of the hitc h wire harness b y ind ivid ually
ac tivating the b rake, rig ht turn sig nal, left turn sig nal, stop , and p ark-
ing lig hts on the trailer. NOTE Always disconnect the trailer wire harness before launching or retrieving a watercraft. When you do not tow a trailer
Remove the b all mount from the hitc h rec eiver tub e and insert the
rec eiver c over onto the hitc h rec eiver tub e. Plac e the d ust c ap over the four –p in c onnec tor of the hitc h wire
harness to p rotec t ag ainst p ossib le d amag e. Oc c asionally lub ric ate terminals of the four –p in c onnec tor using
the terminal g rease.

8-26Trailer towing
Your c ar is d esig ned and intend ed to b e used p rimar
ily as a p asseng er-
c arrying vehic le. Towing a trailer p uts ad d itional load s on your c ar’s en-
g ine, d rivetrain, b rakes, tires and susp ension and has an ad verse effec t
on fuel ec onomy.
If you d o d ec id e to tow a trailer, your safety and satisfac tion d ep end
up on p rop er use of c orrec t eq uip ment and c autious o p eration of your ve-
hic le. Seek the ad vic e of your SUBARU d ealer to ass ist you in p urc has-
ing a hitc h and other nec essary towing eq uip ment ap p rop riate for your
vehic le. In ad d ition, b e sure to follow the instruc tions on c orrec t installa-
tion and use p rovid ed b y the trailer and other towi ng eq uip ment
manufac turers.
SUBARU assumes no resp onsib ility for injuries or ve hic le d amag e that
result from trailer towing eq uip ment, or from any e rrors or omissions in
the instruc tions ac c omp anying suc h eq uip ment or for your failure to fol-
low the p rop er instruc tions.
Warranties and maintenance
SUBARU warranties d o not ap p ly to vehic le d amag e or malfunc tion
c aused b y trailer towing . If you use your vehic le t o tow a trailer, more
freq uent maintenanc e will b e req uired d ue to the ad d itional load .
(Refer to “Maintenanc e sc hed ule und er severe d riving c ond ition s” in
the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”.)
Und er no c irc umstanc es should a trailer b e towed wi th a new vehic le
or a vehic le with any new p owertrain c omp onent (eng ine, transmis-
sion, d ifferential, wheel b earing s, etc .) for the f irst 1,000 miles (1,600
km) of d riving . Maximum load limits
WARNING
Never exceed the maximum load limits explained below. Exceed- ing the maximum load limits could cause personal injury and/or
vehicle damage.

Driving tips8-27
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CONTINUED –
CAUTION
Adequate size trailer brakes are required when the trailer and
its cargo exceed 1,000 lbs (453 kg) total weight. Before towing a trailer, check the trailer total weight, GVW,
GAWs and tongue load. Make sure the load and its distribution inyour vehicle and trailer are acceptable.
n Total trailer weight
The total trailer weig ht (trailer weig ht p lus its c arg o load ) must never
exc eed the maximum weig ht shown b elow.
Model
ConditionsMaximum totaltrailer weight
MT modelsWhen towing a trailer without brakes.1,000 lbs (453 kg)
When towing a trailer with brakes.2,000 lbs (906 kg)
AT modelsWhen towing a trailer without brakes.1,000 lbs (453 kg)
When towing a trailer with brakes.2,000 lbs (906 kg)
When towing a trailer on a long uphill grade continuously for over 5 miles (8 km) with an outside temperature of 104 F
(40 C) or above.1,000 lbs (453 kg)
OM-H2781
Total trailer weight

8-28n
Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) and Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)
The Gross Vehic le Weig ht (GVW) must never exc eed th e Gross
Vehic le Weig ht Rating (GVWR).
Gross Vehic le Weig ht (GVW) is the c omb ined total of the weig ht of the
vehic le, d river, p asseng ers, lug g ag e, trailer hitc h , trailer tong ue load
and any other op tional eq uip ment installed on your vehic le. Therefore,
the GVW c hang es d ep end ing on the situation. Determi ne the GVW
eac h time b efore g oing on a trip b y p utting your ve hic le and trailer on
a vehic le sc ale.
GVWR is shown on the c ertific ation lab el loc ated on the d river’s d oor
of your vehic le.
HBF019BB
Gross Vehicle Weight
OM-H2782
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 lab el.

Driving tips8-29
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CONTINUED –
HBF019BB
Gross Axle Weight
OM-H2784
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 ).
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.

8-30
OM-H2786
Tongue load
OM-H2785
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