Welcome CubbyOnWheels. Hope you enjoy this forum. We haven't noticed any Subaru Foresters towing but we tow wih an XTrail. Not sure what the difference is in towing capacity.

CubbyOnWheels wrote:

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 Hello wanderers...am wondering if any of you out there have noticed Subaru Foresters being used as the towing vehicle for smaller vans. If so, have you heard any negatives please....many thanks in advance..

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 Welcome to the site.  You'll get lots of hints and tips about lots of stuff.  In relation to your query;  as has been mentioned check your owner's manual for specs.   If the manufacturer says it's O.K. then you know you are covered re warranty.   Please keep in mind your Gross Vehicle Mass.   This means the total weight of your vehicle and van together plus passengers and gear you're taking with you (this is going to increase with who/what you load up and any extras added by the manufacturer or dealer).   If your tug manufactuers recommended tow weight is say 1000 kgs and you buy a van of say 990 kgs, you are only left with 10kgs for all your van gear, this also applies to GVM (certainly here in Vic, cars can be put off the road for exceeding the GVM).  I would caution you on one point though.   A smaller engine will use proportionately more fuel than a larger engine when towing.  This doesn't necessarily mean more fuel overall, but even this can happen as the towing weight increases.  As a rough example, a Forrester with the smaller engine vs the larger powered Forrester when both pulling the same sized van, the larger Forrester should return the better overall economy.  Also, the longevity of your engine and gearbox/transmission will decline more quickly than with a larger engine.  Diesels of course are less prone to this problem.  Collyn RIVERS (the engineer turned author) has written some interesting short articles on this (and other) subjects.  You can google him on Collyn Rivers Articles.  For what it's worth.   

Hi Cubbyonwheels. Welcome to the forum. You'll get lots of great advise on here.

As you'll see by my avatar and signiture at the bottom, I tow a Viscount Nipper with my 2lt Hyundai i30. The towing capacitly is 1200kg braked or 500 unbraked.

I haven't taken my Nipper on a long trip yet, but I fully expect to go through more fuel when towing.

As Doug said, how about an Avan or similar lightweight camper. There are lots out there to choose from.

Good luck.

Thank you all so much, it is very reassuring to read all the knowledge and commonsense you have to share. I have been looking at a Sportsliner gillyb, so your input was especially helpful. There is also a smaller Avan I have seen on Trading Post (hope mentioning that is permitted)..it isn't quite as wide as the Sportsliner, but basically has the same space. I am only planning short trips at present to get a feel for things, will just have to remember your good advice everyone, if I decide to get more adventurous and perhaps bid my much loved Forester farewell. Thanks again and happy days all of you...Cubby

Cubby I think you will find that the Sportliner is the smallest in the Avan range of the fold up camper, next comes the Aliner then the Cruiseliner both of which are a tad too heavy for our Subaru vehicle towing capacity. I will point out that I find my Sportliner more than adaquate for 1 person and has everything I need (apart from bathroom) to travel very comfortably and easily. Something I also noticed about it also was no water leaks in heavy rain which a lot of other campers seem to suffer, I highly recommend it if you don't want to part with your Forester.
Good luck