Forester Trailer Hitch Recommendations

[Victor Roberts]

I'm taking delivery of a 2006 Forester X Premium on
Wednesday. I need to add a trailer hitch and decided not to
pay Subaru's very high price. I may go to the local U-haul
store and have one installed but I also see Draw-Tite
hitches on the web for the Forester that say they are "bolt
on" with "no drilling". Some types state that the exhaust
system must be temporarily lowered to install the hitch.
Others do not have this indication.

Does anyone have experience installing a trailer hitch on a
Forester?

 

[Grolch]

Get the Subaru hitch at the time of purchase and it becomes warrantied the
same etc. What high price anyway?

 

[Edward Hayes]

The OEM hitch is a very well made and convient design for the vehicle.
The list price for my 2000 Forester was $295 but, some discussion got
it down to invoice or ~$190. There are other good hitches but, I've
yet to see one that looks as good or is built any better than the OEM.
JMO and observations. Ed

 

[Body Roll]

I'm taking delivery of a 2006 Forester X Premium on
Wednesday. I need to add a trailer hitch and decided not to
pay Subaru's very high price. I may go to the local U-haul
store and have one installed but I also see Draw-Tite
hitches on the web for the Forester that say they are "bolt
on" with "no drilling". Some types state that the exhaust
system must be temporarily lowered to install the hitch.
Others do not have this indication.

Does anyone have experience installing a trailer hitch on a
Forester?

I have the draw tite on my Protege. It works fine, looks&feels good.
I think I paid around $130 installed.
The only drawback is there is no wiring harness (which is probably why
it's less than what subaru is asking for theirs).

So if you need it for a bike rack I'd say go with an aftermarket hitch,
if towing is your favorite pastime shell out extra for the subaru oem
hitch.

 

[sarahs choice]

I'm taking delivery of a 2006 Forester X Premium on
Wednesday. I need to add a trailer hitch and decided not to
pay Subaru's very high price. I may go to the local U-haul
store and have one installed but I also see Draw-Tite
hitches on the web for the Forester that say they are "bolt
on" with "no drilling". Some types state that the exhaust
system must be temporarily lowered to install the hitch.
Others do not have this indication.

Does anyone have experience installing a trailer hitch on a
Forester?

What I don't understand is that you have spent over $20,000 for a new
car and you're too tight to spend a lousy $200 on a unauthorised tow-bar.

please explain.

 

[nobody]

The OEM hitch is a very well made and convient design for the vehicle.
The list price for my 2000 Forester was $295 but, some discussion got
it down to invoice or ~$190. There are other good hitches but, I've
yet to see one that looks as good or is built any better than the OEM.
JMO and observations. Ed

Even buying an OEM "after the fact" (after purchase) isn't bad.

I'm planning adding one to my Soobie OB (2000) here for ~$220
http://www.subaruparts.com/catalog/?section=78

Mounting is fairly simple; the holes and/or existing bolts are already
there. IIRC, the exhaust has to be partially dropped to wiggle it into
place.

There's another Soob at work with this hitch installed, I'll have to ask
the owner to pull it to a convenient curb to look underneath for more
details.

 

[Body Roll]

What I don't understand is that you have spent over $20,000 for a new
car and you're too tight to spend a lousy $200 on a unauthorised tow-bar.

You are implying that the "unauthorized bar" would void the warranty?
Mind you, Subaru for example does NOT sell hitches for impreza sedans
for example, and the manual tells the owner to get an aftermaket one.
I don't think Subaru worries about those $200 one way or the other.

 

[CompUser]

@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com>,
(e-mail address removed) says...

You are implying that the "unauthorized bar" would void the warranty?

Mind you, Subaru for example DOES sell hitches for impreza sedans

for example, and the manual tells the owner to get an aftermaket one.
I don't think Subaru worries about those $200 one way or the other.

Corrected for you.

 

[Bonehenge]

The OEM hitch is a very well made and convient design for the vehicle.

The "OEM" Subaru hitch is a Draw Tite, Valley, Hidden Hitch, or some
other major brand, without decals.

My dealer wanted $450 for an Outback hitch. I installed a Hidden
Hitch in 30 minutes, obtained online for $160. If the dealer had a
more reasonable price, I wouldn't have had a problem paying the dealer
price. I think my high hitch price had more to do with my below
invoice purchase of the car than the actual value of the hitch.

The Outback installation process consisted of (4) bolts and an
electrical plug. <G> I can't see a Forester being much different.
The online hitch even included "bolt leaders" to pull the bolts
through the box frame. I needed two socket(s), an extension, a
ratchet, a phillips screwdriver, and a flat screwdriver to pop off
frame plugs. The most difficult part of my installation was moving
the fuel tank canister out of the way. I did a second one on a Legacy
wagon in even less time.

Many online hitch dealers will allow you to view a PDF of the
installation manual, which can further simplify the decision process.

As an aside, remember that new cars are clean and bolts are not yet
rusted in place, making accessory installation much easier than
repairing older cars.

 

[Victor Roberts]

Even buying an OEM "after the fact" (after purchase) isn't bad.

I'm planning adding one to my Soobie OB (2000) here for ~$220
http://www.subaruparts.com/catalog/?section=78

Mounting is fairly simple; the holes and/or existing bolts are already
there. IIRC, the exhaust has to be partially dropped to wiggle it into
place.

There's another Soob at work with this hitch installed, I'll have to ask
the owner to pull it to a convenient curb to look underneath for more
details.

There are installation instructions a number of places on
line, including techinfo.subaru.com. See:

http://techinfo.subaru.com/html/ixS...ord=&keyword=&publication_type=12&free_pub=13

scroll down to 2006 trailer hitch and choose publication
L101SSA000

 

[etienne]

I had a draw-tite hitch installed at u-haul. Works well, I towed a
3300# trailer with my '01 Forester.

 

[B A R R Y]

The only drawback is there is no wiring harness (which is probably why
it's less than what subaru is asking for theirs).

The wiring harness is a $20 item that plugs into an existing connector.

 

[Body Roll]

Corrected for you.

Oh, I was confused by the driving tips chapter ("SEDAN" on page 8-35)
of 2005 impreza owner's manual.

"SUBARU does not offer accessory trailer hitches.
Consult with a professional hitch supplier to assist you in choosing an
appropriate
hitch for your vehicle."

Sanq for correcting me. Sanq very much.