Hello all,
I wanted to share my towing experience with my 2008 3326 Trailmanor. I packed super light with just my wife and two kids. We literally had only our backpacks with a few clothes. I did this to ensure we were well within the limits of the Ascent specificatins. All camping stuff such as food, ice chests, drinks, etc went into my buddies Tundra. We towed from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree and averaged 16 miles to the gallon. The Subaru never struggled once and I felt stable keeping my speeds at 65 and under. My tongue weight was measured at 460lbs. Not sure what the trailer weighted but I had no extras and the water tank was empty (dry weight from factory is about 3500lbs). Let me know what you all think, here are some photos of the trailer and Subaru.
Those are nice. Surprised that there aren't more built that way. The current Trailmanor models are all smaller with single axle. Must tow really nicely with so much less frontal drag than non-popups.
Yes it does tow well without the drag. I did a lot of research and this is the only company that makes hardshell pop ups. It allows me to camp in bear country.
First of all, wow! That's a cool looking camper! Super happy to hear your positive review as I just got into an ascent. Camper, boat, jetskis, and probably a uhual trailer from time to time are all things I was worried about with the smaller In class engine. Don't get me wrong I've built 2.5 ej motors up to push 4-800 hp, so I know the glory that can be had with these subi boxer engines!
Braking was also a non issue? Idk if a full powerstop setup is worthwhile... haven't looked in to any brembo swaps or anything for these guys yet. Just getting my toes wet in this ascent world
Ascent already has the largest brakes, more or less, on this class of vehicle and the second shortest stopping distance (by a really short distance from number one) in its class. Most (like nearly all) of the trailer braking should actually come from the trailer brakes which is why Subaru (and some other manufacturers) require trailer brakes for loads over 1000 lbs which is lower than the typical legal requirement for trailer brakes.
Panic stops with our trailer are almost a non-issue as well.
That Trail-Manor is pretty neat, we couldn't find any in decent condition near us or we may have gone with one of them. Awesome to see an Ascent tows it so well.
Apparently bears can smell exponentially better than even dogs, so keeping food cleaned up is a must. We have been fortunate not to have come close to a bear while camping, but squirrels are another issue. Our last outing my wife was cooking pancakes on our folding table outside and right under the table on a tire a squirrel was trying to steal some breakfast.
I don’t remember the last time we cooked at a campground without some sort of little critter angling for a bite. Have seen quite a few bears in the Sierras but none in our campgrounds. We are very careful with food storage and cleanup.
Nice!
We have been towing a Jayco X17Z hybrid which would probably be 3800 or 3900 lbs with 2021 Ascent Limited, camping in New England. The Jayco is clearly higher than your Trailmaster and there are quite some ups and downs. I try not to exceed 60 mph and get 12.5 to 13 mph. I use an Echo brake controller linked to my phone and a rearview camera. It all works like a charm.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Subaru Ascent Forum
182.2K posts
18K members
Since 2017
Ascent Forums, The Largest 2019 and newer Subaru Ascent community & owners club. Tech discussions, turbo & tuning and more.