How much weight on my Legacy hitch is too much?

I put a hitch on my 3.6 Legacy. Not to ever pull a trailer, but to just carry bicycles. Now I bought 2 eBikes. 2 heavy eBikes! They are probably 50 lbs each. So, now, mounted to the rear frame of my Legacy is a 30 lb hitch, a 30 lb bike rack and 100 lbs of bikes. When the hitch is unfolded, and carrying bikes, they are a ways behind the bumper, so the weight leverage factor is pretty big. I realize that car is rated at about a thousand pounds of cargo, but the rating is based on weight being evenly distributed between the axles, NOT sitting behind the rear bumper trying to lift the front wheels off the ground. So the question is do you think that 160 lbs back there behind the bumper will make my steering dicey in any way at freeway speeds??

This may give you some idea. The maximum tow ball download for the Australian spec gen6 Liberty 3.6R using the Subaru optional towbar is 180kg.

 

So 160lbs is below this (I’ll leave it to you to work out the kg to lb conversion), but as to “... will make my steering dicey in any way at freeway speeds”, on your car I don’t know. I’m fairly certain the Australian spec cars have different struts to the US spec cars.

The official Subaru position for North American Gen 6 Legacys is "no hitch/no towing." FWIW, the max rated tongue weight for the structurally-similar Outback is 200 pounds. Refer to the Legacy/Outback Owners Manual.

The official Subaru position for North American Gen 6 Legacys is "no hitch/no towing." FWIW, the max rated tongue weight for the structurally-similar Outback is 200 pounds. Refer to the Legacy/Outback Owners Manual.

Hmmm...I have read the "no towing" part, but I couldn't find the "no hitch" part. I might have overlooked it or something.

OK, well I made a 320 mile freeway trip with those bikes on the back today. Roads were dry, no winds. Handling was fine, but I could feel the load when I hit any bumps. No problems at all in handling or steering. In the 80 mph parts of the freeway(which is almost all of it through central Utah), I hit 85 at times. My gas mileage suffered tremendously though with the aerodynamic drag back there. I usually get 30-31 mpg on this trip. This trip averaged less than 23. I'm glad I'm not returning with the bikes on!

I have a Thule trunk mount bike rack which I use on my BMW and, you're right, the drag is significant and reduces fuel efficiency very noticeably. The bikes and the rack just completely disrupt the otherwise laminar flow of air over the car body and the effect gets worse the faster you go. Haven't tried the rack on the Legacy yet but I'm sure it will be the same.

I have a Saris Bones Hitch 4-Bike rack on a eco hitch. I mostly lug around a road bike that should weigh less than 10lbs to and fro from the local meet up points for rides (usually less than 10 miles). So, I'm not too concerned about weight.

The 8 bolts that fix the hitch to the frame/chassis are pretty solid and should take a couple of hundred pounds. Regarding steering feel, you shouldn't see that much of an impact. Both the 2.5 and the 3.6 are pretty heavy engines. So you should have enough up front to counter the weight on the hitch.

 

You could try to look for lighter components, but if you already have them on your car it may be too late. If I remember correctly the eco hitch came up to 24lbs or somewhere around there. And the Bones-4 is 20lbs and the Bones 2 is just 15lbs.