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A key outcome of the Subaru-Jayco Central Australian towing safari has
demonstrated that towing over a range of road conditions is relatively easy,
whether its a camper trailer, pop-top or caravan hooked up behind a tow vehicle.
As the group on the safari included experienced recreational vehicle industry
journalists and motoring writers not used to towing it was a good mix, and
allowed those unfamiliar with the ways of towing to gain first hand experience.
Jayco’s national marketing manager Bruce Astbury acted more as a technical
adviser on matters towing, while Subaru had technical engineers also explaining
the performance capabilities of the Subaru Outback vehicles.
Jayco deliberately put together both standard and Outback models that
included Outback and standard Finch camper trailers, one Flamingo Outback camper
trailer, a 3.8 metre (12ft 7in) Freedom rear-door pop-top and a standard
4.9metre (16ft 1in) Expanda pop-top.
As Bruce Astbury explained: “We wanted to demonstrate that on most road
conditions, providing that common sense is displayed, Jaycos can be towed quite
comfortably. Obviously Outbacks have a stronger chassis, and we recommend them
for extended Outback trekking.
Bruce fitted larger rigs with two Hayman Reese 550 weight distribution
hitches and a Camec four-bar hitch. He also set Tekonsha electric braking
systems on each rig to respond as soon as the brake pedal was touched. This
activates a van’s brakes a split second before the tow vehicles’ brakes to
improve braking performance and keep vans straight under extreme braking
conditions.
According to Bruce, the rigs held up in all conditions, and on the corrugated
sections of road, the rigs travelled at between 60 and 80 km, to reduce road
shudder, as at that speed the tyres spread for a more comfortable ride, compared
to travelling at speeds under 40km.
“Again common sense prevailed,” said Bruce.
Bruce also fitted the towing mirrors so that each driver could see around the
RVs and adjusted the tow vehicle rear vision mirrors so they were looking at the
RV’s tyres because as he pointed out, if there was a blow-out on corrugated
roads a driver would not “feel” the burst tyre.
On the bitumen, the rigs travelled comfortably at 100km an hour. According to
Bruce it certainly proved there was no reason for a properly set up rig to can
travel at the sign posted speeds, especially where the towing vehicle is of
similar or greater weight to the vehicle being towed.
Bruce, who has driven a wide variety of RV rigs, using many tow vehicles, was
impressed by the Subaru Outbacks in terms of stability and towing capacity.
“All wheel drives certainly have an advantage over two-wheel drive vehicles
as they provide greater road handling and traction,” said Bruce.
He said the larger six-cylinder Outback 3.0R with 180 kilowatts and 297
Newton metres provided plenty of power and torque to comfortably tow any caravan
up to 1,800 kilograms.
Bruce also said that the towing capacity was enhanced by the flexibility in
the gear box which could be operated manually or in automatic.
“The manual operation means you can be in whatever gear you choose, so in
effect it operated much like a clutchless manual. When the automatic sports mode
is engaged you were always in the right gear, particularly over hilly terrain,
as it tended to hold the lower gear, keeping the engine in the ideal rev range
for maximum torque,” explained Bruce.
Because the Subaru-Jayco safari included dusty road sections in the
MacDonnell Ranges RV vents were taped up with plastic to reduce dust intruding
inside. It’s an old caravanner’s trick that reduces the amount of dust that gets
in, but it remains critical to remember to remove the plastic before using the
gas. Even stick a note on your gas appliances inside as a reminder.
The Freedom rear-door pop-top is very much designed as a weekend getaway for
a couple with a small tow car and not an ideal rough-road companion, so it was
pushed to the “max” in the MacDonnell Ranges and performed creditably when
pushed to the extremes. The only damage was a dented step up on the rear door of
when the rig went through a deep gutter. If it had been built on an Outback
chassis it would not have occurred.
As for the sleeping arrangements, even the most inexperienced of the motoring
writers were pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the accommodation was in
all the models.
Bruce said one of the most significant outcomes of the trip was that the most
inexperienced towing drivers truly discovered what the real essence of
caravanning is all about.
“Sitting around a camp fire telling yarns and being amazed at the galaxy of
stars above them in the clear night sky gave them the kind of experience
carvanners enjoy when they go Outback. For many, the worst part was the safari
was over far too quickly,” Bruce added.
The Subaru-Jayco Central Australian safari proved the towing abilities of the
Subaru Outbacks and the capacity of Jayco’s range of Outback and standard model
recreational vehicles to handle the rough stuff
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