Att: Subaru owners

The Kalmyk

The Kalmyk

Well-Known Member
Subject: Trailer hitch for Crosstrek.

OEM installed Lester Glenn quoted me $660---- $300 for hitch & 3h of labor at $119 an hour. After market is cheaper and I can install myself.


The sell: I was told the OEM hitch was one with the crash bar; meaning they would take off the original crash bar. And I quote "aftermarket hitches require drilling into the crash bar. In turn you are compromising the safety integrity of the vehicle."

Anyone on the board have experience with this? Or perhaps verify that aftermarket hitches require drilling of crash bar?


Looking for a non subjective opinion here. What better place.


Thanks
 
Wow! I just watch the video. Junior at Lester Glenn either didn't know this existed or just flat out lied
 
The Outback OEM hitch is weird. It requires removing the bumper cover and the bumper "beam" underneath. The hitch slides over the bumper beam mounting studs then you replace the beam and re-install the cover. For the Outback the torklift hitch mounts the same way as the OEM hitch (just installed my 2" Saturday, took me about 3 hours taking my time). There are also other aftermarket hitches that mount from underneath (like a more typical hitch install) that require drilling into the rails.

Looking at that video it seems the Crosstrek is a much simpler install. Maybe your dealer didn't know WTF they were talking about, or they assumed the Crosstrek was the same as the Outback?
 
Seems like the OEM requires removal of the bumper. This is for 2013, for some reason the instructions aren't listed for later years:
http://stis.subaru.com/proxy/68225/pdf/068225-L1010FJ610.pdf

In the case of the Outback, with the torklift and OEM hitches are hidden so you only see the receiver tube. Looks to be the same case with the Crosstrek after looking at the Curt hitch.

Some other info on the torklift here and here
 
We're probably getting an Outback in November after VW buys back the Sportwagen. What do you think of the Torklift hitch so far, @alex_k or @rlb?
 
I like how it looks. Haven't really done much with it yet other than toss the bike rack on for 3 days (without transporting any bikes). I'll be pulling a utility trailer for the first time Saturday, but that's a 5 mile round trip to the leaf dump. I do wonder if there's going to be long term issues with the tongue weight + leverage of a bike rack on this weird design, but the OEM design is the same and Subaru also sells a Thule hitch rack. I guess I shouldn't be concerned if Subaru isn't.
 
I wouldn't tow anything with a Subaru, so 1 1/4 is just fine. I've had a hitch on every one of my cars, except a Genesis, just for bike racks and they were all 1 1/4.
 
alex_k said:
I'm going to install it the next week... probably :oops:
Click to expand...

It's not bad at all. I've never removed a bumper before so I was a little hesitant, but it sounds way more intimidating than it is. Like Dustin said, warmth makes a difference in re-installing the bumper cover. Do it in the sun, start mid morning and keep the bumper cover in a sunny spot while it's off. This will leave the cover nice and pliable for re-installation.

Here's some good info on installing it:
http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/138-gen-5-2015-present/233057-torklift-2-ecohitch-installed.html

Some people (myself included) trimmed the bumper in a way to preserve the center clip (this wont make sense unless you've read the install directions already). It doesn't really take any extra work and I figure it can't hurt. I snapped a few pics of this and the way I ran my wiring, see the last post in that thread.
 
Even pickup trucks don't come standard with a hitch. Subaru specs a 1-1/4" factory option hitch to match with the 2700 lb. towing capacity. Lots of us that prefer to put a hitch rack on for our 30+lb. plus bike prefer the stability that a 2" hitch provides. That means going aftermarket.
 
Which hitch would you recommend for an Outback ,and which rack ?I was looking at a 2"Curt, a and either the 1up or a kuat.....any advice wouldbe appreciated. thanks
 
1Up, hands down for a bike rack, hands down (I've run them all, Thule T2, Yakima, etc.). I run a Curt Hitch and have no complaints other than they are all made out of metal that rusts over time, no matter how you try to prevent it.
 
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