Anyone tow with a Subaru Forester?

[Esteban]

I have a 2015 Forester Premium with a CVT and 4 cylinder engine. I added a class III 2" Hidden Hitch to it myself that I bought from etrailer.com. A helper would have made it easier to lift up and bolt on the awkward weight of the trailer hitch. Later I had a car stereo shop install a combined 4 way and 7 way trailer coupler and the required 7 way wiring, to be able to use trailer brakes. They also wired and installed a brake controller for me. My Forester is rated to tow 1000 lbs. without brakes or 1500 with trailer brakes.

I'm slowly building a 5' 4" wide by 10' 1" long Benroy(ish) teardrop trailer. It has a Dexter Torflex #9 axle with electric brakes. My design goal if for the teardrop trailer to weigh 1200 lbs. or less. I will use fiberglassed and marine painted 1/8" plywood for the outside skin as one way to keep the weight in check. I'm cutting down excessive weight as much as reasonably possible to meet my weight goal. Occasionally I tow a 4' x 8' Harbor Freight utility trailer with my Forester. I don't have any experience yet towing my (under construction) teardrop trailer with my Forester.

In the future I may have a transmission cooler installed. I may also install a new navigation head unit (radio), possibly a Kenwood eXelon DNX895S, with an iDatalink Maestro RR steering wheel control adapter that will allow me to monitor engine oil and transmission fluid temperatures on the stereo screen. (Only) If needed I may add higher capacity rear springs too.

The subaruforester.org forum is very helpful to keep me informed about how to use, maintain, and modify my Forester.