BAJA questions (towing)

[BAJAwanabe]

Hello all I’m very interested in a Baja but I have a few questions I hope you can answer.
My wife and I just had twin girls and I need to simplify my vehicles. I have my commuter car (two door) not kid friendly and I have my F-150 not a commuter vehicle (bad MPG) but it does all my towing and hauling. So I need a car/truck that I can commute to work 100 miles a day (need good mileage) can tow my two snowmobiles and boat, be 4 wheel drive or all wheel drive and haul messy stuff. Now with all that said. 1) I will be towing close to the limit of the Baja how well does the Baja tow and has any one towed close to the limit? How is the reliability of the automatic transmission? 2) I will also need a truck cap and I believe there is only one the A.R.E. cap. Does anyone own this cap what did you pay, is it well built, does it allow you to lock the bed and does it seal out the rain? 3) What were the different upgrades from year to year and is there one year that is better then the rest? 4) Is there anything I need to watch for when buying?
And anything else you feel is relevant.

Thanks
BAJAwanabe

[Cowtown Dave]

I'll you my 2 cents. Buy a turbo for power a sport for gas mileage. I have a 04 sport auto and it has enough power but it won't drive out from under you!! If you need a hiytch get it installed already. The hitch part is not hard but I read that the wiring for the lights can be a bit of a hassle. 03's just had the sport the turbo came out on 04 and I looked at 06's and my 04 and didn't see much difference, just a mesh net between the back seats? There are several types of caps I've seen prices from $550 to $1500? I have heard that the tonneau cover will leak on you. I went from a 4 door to the baja and noticed locakjable storage to be an issue, I don't have kids so I fill up the back seat. A locakable cap for the back would do the trick.

[BAJAwanabe]

When I say cap I’m referring to a truck topper not a tonneau cover have you seen a cap for $500 who makes it? I read on another sight that the suspension was changed between 03 and 04 any info on this? And if I was to tow more than 1000 lbs Subaru says you need trailer brakes any one using trailer brakes?

Thanks
BAJAwanabe

[jrm123180]

I drive an 05 sport and installed the hitch and wiring myself. The entire project took me a total of 30 min with no help from anyone. The wiring is just a harnest that plugs into and existing one that was located (on mine) behind the passengers rear wheel.

I looked at all the hitches on the market and I would sugest going with the factory one. The entire packages comes with the hitch, draw bar (no ball) and the wiring package. Also, I've seen people with after market hitches on their cars and they don't look good at all comparing to the factory one.

As for weigh, I haven't towed anything too big yet, but what I have towed, the sport has handled it well.

~Murph

[mbaksic]

I tow with my 03 Baja. When I am towing my trailer and atv, I prolly have about 1200 lbs behind it. I have not had a problem so far. I did install a trans cooler on mine, because even without towing, I like to keep the trans cool. For a n/a Baja, it does quite well. Its sure not a racehorse, and I don't pass anybody. The a/c sucks a bunch of power also. I think thats ok, because I don't wanna pay for all the extra gas with a fullsize truck. This summer on one trip I took, with the a/c on, it stayed in 3rd gear most of the time, and ran about 4200 rpm's. Still ran cool, and doesn't seem to overwork it at all. I got about 19.5 mpg on that trip towing, I usually get about 24-25 back and forth to work, but have got 31 on one trip in cooler weather without the a/c on. If you have anymore questions, just send us another note. Mike

[Highlander]

snugTop has a cover that I'm going for - I posted several times to see if I could find anyone to advise about ARE and did not receive any replies. You can check out my eval on the SnugTop under seperate post. Good luck and its a great car!

[BAJAwanabe]

I started looking at Baja’s after my twin girls were born. I need to simplify my vehicles get rid of two and get one to do it all. . I have a commuter car but it is a two door (not kid friendly) and a full size pickup (with a cap) this I use for all my towing and hauling duties but it is a gas hog so not a good choice for commuting (100 miles a day). I also need 4 wheel drive. I need to tow two snowmobiles and a boat both of which are over the 1000 lbs limit without brakes so this is my main concern. After looking at most of the 4 door small pickups the only one with acceptable mileage was the Baja. I’m 6-1 and they are definitely smaller than what I have now but that’s just something I will need to get used too. I have some more questions if you don’t mind.

Does anyone use trailer brakes on there trailer?
I’ve read you can only tow 1000 lbs with out brakes.
Is the Subaru trailer hitch class 1 or 2?
All the class 1 I have seen are rated for 2000 lbs so you need to put a class 2 on to tow 2400 lbs and use trailer brakes to be able to use all the towing capacity right?
Has any one added electric brakes to there trailer? How was the install?
I would add the biggest transmission cooler I can. Has any one had or herd of transmission trouble with a Baja automatic transmission? And finally is one year better then another and what is the difference?


Thanks
BAJAwanabe

[cliffhanger]

i know the subaru trailer hitch is a class I , but as to all the other questions... i was wondering that myself!

[mbaksic]

The only hitches that were available when I did mine was a Class 1. So thats what I went with. I have towed the atv, and with my trailer, is about 1200 pounds I think. So far, no problems stopping with it at all. As far as a trans cooler, I tried to put a larger one on mine. The problem is that there is VERY little clearance in front of the radiator and the crossbar in front of it. I had to use the smallest one that I could get from the local parts house by work. It was still a pain to get it in place, and makin the hoses run up to it was no fun either. It would be easier to run them under the radiator, but that would make them vulnerable to getting whacked if you bottomed the front of the Baja on somethin. So I routed them next to and radiator support on the right side, between the support and the headlite, and it was a very tight fit. I had to heat the headlite, and collapse the left side of it in a bit so the bend wasn't too extreme. Also cut the radiator support down and opened it up next to the headlite so there was a little more room. Then I used on of the factory hoses with a 90 degree bend in it already to get the hose on the nipple of the cooler. Took me about 2 hours to do at the dealership with my tools and a hoist. Definate PITA, but worth it in my book. I had to fit the cooler tight to the right side of the radiator to clear everything. Maybe do it different if I had to do it again, but it seems to work, and no leaks so far. It had been on for about a year and a half now.