Trailer Hitch: Autozone/Reese hitch advice

http://www.autozone.com/R,APP614314/vehicleId,3059101/initialAction,partProductDetail/store,2911/partType,00489/shopping/partProductDetail.htm

 

Looks like Reese has been in business a while.

I found this on the autozone site. Any experience with this by anyone?

 

The reason i deviated from the UHAUL or etrailer hitches is because of the clearance between bumper. And the high cost of the dealer's hitch.

I went with Draw-Tite and have had no complaints or clearance issues. I pull a 4x8 cargo trailer with it:

 

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/475777210_c9ed99a7d1.jpg

HiddenHitch was what I was looking at. There are a few on this page to compare.

http://www.etrailer.com/products.asp?model=Legacy+Sedan&category=hitch&year=2006&make=Subaru&t1=&h=

ZenHooloovoo, I just order this hitch for my wagon. I am wondering how much space is between the top most point on the hitch and the lowest point on the bumper cover. As i will only be carrying a bike rack on the back with at most 2 bikes i am considering cutting the braces down a little bit to snug the hitch closer to the bumper. Make it look a bit cleaner and so it does not drag with the swift springs and 2 bikes on the back.

I was not specific on the hitch type. I have just ordered the Draw-Tite hitch.

I got the draw tite installed as well. It is TOO LOW - so beware if you are planning to merge into street from a parking lot where the level is messed up or u plan to go over bumps etc etc. I have scraped my hitch underside already. And scratched the Thule bike rack pretty nicely too. Thankfully on both occasions - not too bad. Burnt early so very very cautious.

Here is a link to what I ended up doing due to dragging my rack in a few places. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47639 Helped a lot, can't remember which one I got but it was from etrailer and it is currently pretty close to the bumper cover.

It sounds like my fear will be confirmed when the hitch gets here that it will not work with the swift springs. Although i fully intend on making it work. I looked at roof racks and my biggest complaint is they are very bulky. On that note, I am friends with the owner of Walker Mounts, http://www.walkermounts.com, I have convinced him to make a roof rack that integrates into the roof rails specifically for our cars that is less obvious then thule or Yakima. All his stuff is CNC'd and he just recently bought a anodizer. Should be able to get up to 6 bikes on the roof if the need ever arose. Hopefully by the end of june. Thanks for the help with the hitch. I'll post updates regarding the new roof rack option.

I have cross bars and a Thule rack for the roof but find the roof rack to be noisy, kills mpg and is much more difficult to load.

I got a PM from lejjasie asking for pictures and more detail on what I did...figured it might help others so I'll post it here.

I have the Draw Tite hitch that I bolted/shimmed so that the bike rack was horizontal but I was constantly hitting my rack where there were steep elevation changes. So I removed it and shimmed the two forward most bolts which raised the rear about an inch as you can see int he pictures here: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47639 This fixed the dragging problem except for a few places and since I was considering lowering the car a little I knew I needed to find more clearance. So in the above mentioned thread i decided to modify the hitch where it mounts to the tow hook. Originally this hitch was under the tow hook and I tried to mount it above the hook. But because there was limited space to get the bolt in place I opted to slot the hitch. As you can see in the pictures the rack is actually tipped up and the hitch is very close to the bumper cover. I could get the hitch closer to the bumper cover but then I wouldn't be able to open and close the hatch with the rack folded. Please keep in mind this will not help much if at all if you are actually hitting your hitch, I did this because I was hitting my rack. If your rack is dragging this mod might be worth a shot since it is simple and quick.

Wow...I'm glad I got the OEM hitch. I've never dragged it, when towing or with the bike rack.

 

http://www.thel7.com/Wills/2.5i/Hitch.jpg

Fantastic fb. Thanks for reposting details with the pics. I have to really unhook the hitch off the car to see how it really goes but that's for the weekend.

 

I do understand most of the what you except for this bit from your hidden hitch mod thread "...So I went back under there and removed some of my shims up front. With around 5/8" of shims I found a happy medium..."

Are you saying you removed the shims that came with the hitch and installed newer thinner shims?

Opie - Do you have any other pictures where the hitch isn't hidden by the shadow? It looks like the wagon has stock springs?

Has anyone in the states tried the australian hitch? I found MattyC's 'Fitting a tow bar to an Aus Liberty GT'. http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40784&highlight=tow+bar

but it does not mention whether or not it will work. I don't know enough about the differences between the 2 cars.

Opie...as I mentioned it is more of an issue with the bike rack than hitch itself. Most bike racks like the Thule do not stick straight out like mine does, rather they go up a couple of inches then out so it greatly changes your departure angle.

 

lejjasie...I had made a few custom shims from some aluminum bar stock scrap. This weekend whenI install the sway bars I will try to get pics of the shims or approx measurements.

OK....I updated my other thread with a pic of the shims....hope it clears up some of the confusion: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47639

I drive a 2005 Subaru Legacy wagon limited 5 spd. my question is: can i install a trailer hitch that is strong enough to support a dirt bike (around 250 lbs) with a rack similar to this one?

 

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/AMC400-Lightweight-Aluminum-Motorcycle-Carrier/dp/B000B8LIKM]Amazon.com: AMC400 Lightweight Aluminum Motorcycle & Dirt Bike Carrier: Automotive[/ame]

 

any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated with the dirtbike season on its way

 

thanks

-chance

^ I beleive the max tongue weight is 200lbs, so with the weight of the carrier and bike you'd be pushing 300 easy.

 

I'd suggest getting a hitch and buying a cheap 4x8 trailer to tow the bike with. Then you would also have plenty of room to be able to two gas and other necessary equipment.

 

I bought a 4x8 folding trailer from redtrailers.com and have had great success with it. I've probably towed up to 3/4 ton with it at times (NOT with my LGT, but nonetheless it can handle a dirtbike)