Subaru Forester towing capacity: 1,800 kg petrol, 1,200 kg hybrid

The hybrid can carry more while towing less

If you're shopping for a Forester to tow a small camper, the current range throws up an odd choice. The strong hybrid can carry more inside the car, yet the petrol tows the heavier trailer: 1,800 kg braked against the hybrid's 1,200 kg in Australian MY26 form. Settle that 600 kg gap before you get to trim levels, fuel use or holiday plans.

Start with the camper packed for departure. At 1,500 kg loaded, it's already over the hybrid's rating, even with only the driver aboard. At 1,050 kg, both powertrains stay in the running, subject to their own ball limits and the other weight checks. Subaru doesn't let you swap unused payload in the car for extra trailer capacity.

The figures here cover the seven Australian MY26 variants in the 2026 Forester brochure. Earlier petrol, diesel, XT and e-Boxer models need their own handbook and build details, and a registration year alone won't tell you which table your car belongs in.

Seven trims, two sets of limits

Subaru's Australian towing table gives the petrol versions a 2,223 kg GVM, 4,023 kg GCM and 180 kg maximum ball download. The hybrid gets a 2,443 kg GVM, 3,643 kg GCM and a 120 kg ball limit. Both are rated at 750 kg unbraked. Each is its own ceiling, so a trailer inside the tow rating can still put the car, coupling or an axle over its limit.

Brochure kerb masses are 1,622 kg for the AWD, 1,632 kg for the Forester AWD Premium, 1,651 kg for the Sport and 1,662 kg for the Touring. The Hybrid AWD is 1,717 kg, the Hybrid Sport 1,763 kg and the Hybrid Touring 1,766 kg. Start from your trim's figure and add what's been fitted: a towbar, roof rack or different spare-wheel setup adds weight before anyone climbs in.

With the trailer and ball both at maximum, that leaves 421 kg for the petrol AWD, 411 kg for the Forester AWD Premium, 392 kg for the Sport and 381 kg for the Touring. The hybrids leave 606 kg (AWD), 560 kg (Sport) and 557 kg (Touring). That allowance has to cover people, accessories and luggage beyond brochure kerb, and where you put the load still has to suit the axle ratings.

Why the remaining allowance is a carrying limit

Here's the sum. Take GVM minus the ball load and GCM minus the trailer's total mass, keep the smaller of the two, then subtract the car's kerb mass or its measured weight. For a Touring petrol at maximum, that's the smaller of 2,223 minus 180 and 4,023 minus 1,800, less 1,662, which gives 381 kg. The GVM is the tighter limit here.

When the trailer stands on its own, its total loaded mass includes the ball download. Once you hitch up, the car carries that part. For the combined mass, add the unhitched loaded car to the whole loaded trailer, or add up all the axle loads while coupled. If the car's reading already includes the coupling load, add only the camper's axle reading. Our GCM guide walks through both ways of weighing.

The hybrid's bigger GVM is why it keeps more carrying room despite weighing more. Subaru doesn't say why it rates the hybrid's trailer at 1,200 kg, so treat the two ratings as limits for different jobs.

A Touring petrol, four travellers and a 1,500 kg camper

Here's a worked example for a family of four. The weights are guesses, so use your own. Start with the Touring petrol's 1,662 kg brochure kerb mass and add 30 kg of towing gear, 230 kg of people and 100 kg of camping gear and luggage. That makes the unhitched car 2,022 kg. The packed camper weighs 1,500 kg, with 150 kg measured on the coupling.

Hitch up and the car sits at 2,172 kg, 51 kg under its 2,223 kg GVM. The camper's axles carry 1,350 kg. The hitched car plus the trailer axles comes to 3,522 kg, which is 501 kg under GCM. The trailer and ball are also inside their 1,800 kg and 180 kg limits.

So the car has far less spare room than the combination does. Another passenger, a roof box or something left off the list can eat that 51 kg. Without front and rear scale readings this rig hasn't passed yet: the petrol's axle limits are 1,302 kg front and 1,130 kg rear, and both need checking. This camper can't go behind the hybrid at all, because 1,500 kg is over its 1,200 kg rating.

The envelope below uses the Touring petrol's maximum 1,800 kg trailer and 180 kg ball, the limits behind its 381 kg allowance. It's separate from the 1,500/150 kg family example above.

Read the towing instructions before booking the first trip

The MY26 petrol handbook sets a maximum towing speed of 80 km/h, or the legal limit if that's lower. It also says not to tow during the first 1,600 km and rules out a weight-distributing hitch. Plan the route and arrival time around 80 km/h, whatever the highway sign says.

The MY26 hybrid handbook has the same speed, running-in and hitch rules. Its puncture warning matters on a camping trip: don't tow on a tyre sealed with the repair kit. The petrol handbook also says not to tow on a temporary spare. Sort out the wheel and recovery plan for your actual car before you leave.

Neither a levelling hitch nor a spring change gets you a heavier trailer behind a Forester. If the weighed rig is over a rating, take load out or change the combination. If the car sits or handles oddly even inside the limits, get the setup inspected instead of trusting how it looks.

What Forester owners ask about campers

In a May 2024 question, an Australian 2021 Forester owner wanted to take the kids camping when the family Hilux wasn't free. They asked about a camper, brakes and suspension. That's a good order for an MY26 buyer too: get the loaded trailer match right first, then sort the equipment and the trip.

In a November 2025 pop-top discussion, the owner of an older Forester was working from the trailer's tare and a guessed ball percentage. Tare leaves out everything you pack for the trip, and a percentage can't tell you your loaded camper's actual download. Water, batteries, gas bottles and where you stow them are why weighing it beats a sales listing.

A 2015 Forester CVT owner wanted to step up from a light Cub to a Jayco Penguin. The point holds across model changes: towing the old camper happily says nothing about the new one. Older threads like these can't tell you how an MY26 transmission will hold up or what it'll use on fuel while towing.

A light box trailer still needs its own total

A 2017 Australian buyer discussion had to sort out whether a quoted load of mowing gear included the trailer itself. The Forester's 750 kg unbraked limit covers the whole loaded trailer: its own structure plus everything on it.

If the trailer has electric brakes, Subaru specifies an electronic brake controller. Have the towbar, wiring and controller matched to the car and trailer, and test the brakes before you leave. A coupling that physically fits doesn't sort out the brakes or raise either part's rating.

For a camper near 1,200 kg, weigh the loaded ball early in the purchase, because the hybrid's limit is 120 kg. Don't fix too much download by shoving heavy gear to the back. Follow the trailer maker's loading instructions and recheck its axle loads. Our weighbridge guide shows how to get the car and trailer readings you need.

Carry the camper match into every trip

A camper that fits once still has to fit on the next trip. The Touring example had only 51 kg of GVM room, and that was before the axles were checked. A replacement spare, more camping gear or an extra passenger can change the result.

Your departure list needs the camper load, a puncture plan and a route timed for 80 km/h. Set up that review around your recorded Forester and camper in the loadmate app. Its pre-trip checklist gives the family a repeatable way to work through what needs attention before setting off.

Where the buying lines fall

A packed trailer over 1,200 kg rules out the current hybrid on trailer mass alone. Over 1,800 kg rules out the MY26 petrol range too. Below those lines, the deciding numbers are the loaded ball, the family and fitted gear, and the axles. A camper well inside the tow rating can still leave too little payload for the people travelling.

To check it properly, take the packed combination to a weighbridge that gives separate front, rear and trailer-axle readings. Keep people, fuel, water and gear the same across each weigh, and note how it was coupled. Compare the petrol's axle readings with 1,302 kg front and 1,130 kg rear, as well as GVM and GCM. A combined-only ticket won't show those axle margins.

The hybrid is worth a look for a genuinely light camper and a heavier cabin load. For a trailer between the two ratings, the petrol is the one in this range. If neither covers the whole trip, compare the exact Subaru Outback variant or another tow vehicle using the same loaded trailer figures.

Specs and manuals were checked on 16 October 2026. A 7 October 2026 recall, REC-006737, covers 42 Australian Forester Hybrid AWD and Hybrid AWD Touring vehicles in a listed VIN range, where a transaxle manufacturing defect can affect the parking lock. Check your VIN and book the Subaru fix if yours is affected; the recall is limited to that range. Subaru's recall checker shows any outstanding work on your car.