Marty Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 I have a 2005 Legacy 2.5 GT wagon. I am looking to mount a motorcycle carrier (Moto-Tote Motorcycle Carriers Home) to a trailer hitch receiver. The problem is - the carrier requires a Class III Hitch Receiver to mount to. I have been unable to locate a Class III Hitch Receiver that is compatible with my car. I haven't had a chance to check my owner's manual (I'm at work right now) to see if Subaru has anything to say on the subject, but when I called my dealership, they said the only one Subaru offers is a class II, which will not work. They also mentioned an adapter may be available, but my understanding of Class III hitches is that they must be mounted to the chassis to be effective, as they have to be able to carry significantly more weight than a Class II. Is anybody aware of a Class III Hitch Receiver that is compatible with my car? Any help would be appreciated. I contacted Hidden Hitch as well and they don't offer anything but a Class II... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coxx Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I looked for a while too & saw nothing but class II hitches. There is a Class II to III adaptor but it reduces the tongue weight by 50% "Barack Obama, mothaf#%@a! Barack Obama! I'm the president...of hittin' the ass!" -this is not a political view it's merely a quote from a hilarious tv show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arya Ebrahimi Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I think the reason that you can't find a class III hitch is because the LGT is not rated for that much weight. I think you would be putting an excessively large burden on the chassis/suspension trying to carry a motorcycle like that. You would be better off getting a small trailer for it which the available class II hitches could handle. Ary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coxx Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 ^^I just wanted to use it for a class III bike rack I had in the garage. You're right. The typical stuff you'd need a class III to tow has gotta be too heavy for the lgt to handle "Barack Obama, mothaf#%@a! Barack Obama! I'm the president...of hittin' the ass!" -this is not a political view it's merely a quote from a hilarious tv show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted July 25, 2006 Author Share Posted July 25, 2006 I suspected there was a reason I couldn't find one. I didn't want to go with a trailer as a carrier would allow me to still use regular parking spots (mostly). Looks like I'll have to reconsider. The towing capacity of my car is rated at 2700 lbs. But that isn't a vertical load - that's a pulling load. The combined weight of the rack and my cycle wouldn't be more than roughly 500 lbs. Ah, well - it was just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arya Ebrahimi Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 You are correct, the 2700 lbs is rolling load and is based on the adequecy of the brakes/engine/transmission/suspension to control the load. The tongue weight is dependent more simply on the suspension. Class III's are rated at 500lbs tongue loads, but must vehicles with a Class III hitch and a 500lbs tongue load will be noticeably sagging in the rear. My Land Cruiser has a Class III hitch and I don't even think I'd put one of those motorcycle haulers on it. Just too much undue stress. Good luck, trailers can be very useful, I don't know what I'd do without mine! Ary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirk83 Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 http://www.cargogear.com/OneItemInfo.aspx?partnum=RE44581 http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_insta-hitches-class-iii-iv-2-in-box-opening-reese_22012416-p?searchTerm=hitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT_Peter Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Advance lists a Class III/IV to fit my 2005 Legacy wagon: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_insta-hitches-class-iii-iv-2-in-box-opening-reese_22012416-p?searchTerm=hitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhltfour Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Advance lists a Class III/IV to fit my 2005 Legacy wagon: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_insta-hitches-class-iii-iv-2-in-box-opening-reese_22012416-p?searchTerm=hitch yeah this seems like it would work for my 08. It notes that you drop the exhaust before installation so im wondering if it would fit with my spt exhaust on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stang70Fastback Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I would encourage you to look into the European towing specifications for your vehicle before assuming you can only tow XXXX lbs. European vehicles are (unless someone wants to correct me here) mechanically identical to ours, however they routinely advertise maximum towing weights that we do not see here. A good example would be the Outback 2.5i (there is no 3.6 available in the UK). Let's compare the listed maximum towing capacities. US: 1,000 lbs (no trailer brakes) or 2,700 lbs (with trailer brakes) UK: 1,650 lbs (no trailer brakes) or 4,000 lbs (with trailer brakes) That is a SIGNIFICANT difference. Even the 3.6 Outback in the US has lower tow ratings than the 2.5 in the UK. I am unsure as to why this discrepancy exists, but I presume it is a combination of factors including the fact that Americans seem to believe that they need a full-size pickup truck if they want to tow anything bigger than a wheelbarrow... and the fact that lawyers scare everyone in this country... and that people suck at driving here. Does anyone want to explain this difference to me? The same discrepancy exists for MY 1998 Outback too if I compare the USDM vs the EURO ratings. It's like they just don't trust us to not make idiots of ourselves in one way or another. Of course, this does nothing to solve the original poster's question. I don't know what Class III tow loads are, and I was thinking perhaps if 4,000 lb is high enough, they might be available in Europe, but I seem to recall that their towing connections are different from ours (or at least metric.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabidWombat Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 yeah this seems like it would work for my 08. It notes that you drop the exhaust before installation so im wondering if it would fit with my spt exhaust on... You should be fine. The reason you drop the exhaust is that the hitch bolts into 4 holes (2 each side) located above the mufflers. So unless the SPT cans are dramatically different size, it should fit fine. If you're planning on towing anything real, I'd recommend removing the exhaust at the Y-pipe so you can actually get the bolts properly torqued. If you just want a bike rack, you'll need a long extension with a swivel socket on the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT_Peter Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 What about wiring for towing? Are they pre-wired for a connector, or do I have to get a kit for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdubs Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Wagons a pre-wired, sedans are not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhltfour Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 You should be fine. The reason you drop the exhaust is that the hitch bolts into 4 holes (2 each side) located above the mufflers. So unless the SPT cans are dramatically different size, it should fit fine. If you're planning on towing anything real, I'd recommend removing the exhaust at the Y-pipe so you can actually get the bolts properly torqued. If you just want a bike rack, you'll need a long extension with a swivel socket on the end. Yeah I just plan on putting a 4-bike hitch rack on there. potentially only two depending on tongue weight since 4 dh bikes would be about 160+ lbs. can always put two up top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC5.2 Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 I have a Class3 2" hitch on my 09 OBXT. I got it from etrailers.com [URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/proper-flip-key-interesti-159894.html"]Flip Key Development Thread[/URL] "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." - E. Hubbard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaanan Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Not trying to hijack this thread, but didn't want to start a new one for roughly the same issue. I want to put a class 3 hitch with a 35 LB motorcycle rack on it for my Suzuki DRZ400S. It's right around 300 LBS, plus the rack about 335. I've read the tongue weight is 400 LBS, so the bike/rack is safely in the safe area. I'm just wondering if anyone has hauled a bike this way with a Legacy? I've never seen anyone do this with a Legacy and am a little nervous about having something break and watching the bike slide down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipi135 Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 my brother has done it with a dirtbike. so like 100 lbs less than what you wanna do. i'd wouldnt recommend doing it. he was scraping all the time before he bought an adapter to raise it up. you can see in the pic how much the rear sags http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr151/thePipinator/random/148653_1723258004873_1018257_n_zps5bf2f81b.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaanan Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Thanks for the reply. I figured it was a long shot, especially since I've never seen anybody do it. Guess ill have to find a place to store a trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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