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Fully welded vehicle trailer hitch is strong and durable. Draw-Tite's Tested Tough guarantee ensures that this hitch exceeds industry standards. The combination of an e-coat base and a powder coat finish provides excellent rust protection.
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Specs:
Draw-Tite's Tested Tough program provides testing standards far superior to those outlined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the go-to source for engineering professionals.
Each Draw-Tite trailer hitch receiver undergoes extensive fatigue testing and static testing with the ball mount that is either supplied or recommended for use with that particular hitch, thus ensuring results that are applicable to real life use. Fatigue testing is also conducted on hitches rated for use with weight-distribution systems.
In addition, Draw-Tite performs static testing on a simulated automobile, as opposed to the rigid fixture used for SAE testing, resulting in a more true-to-life scenario.
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Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today on our 2019 Subaru Outback Wagon, we're going to be installing Draw-Tite's Class Three Two Inch Trailer Hitch Receiver. And this is what our hitch looks like when it's installed. The cross tube is going to be hidden completely behind the bumper, so you're only going to be able to see the receiver tube at the back.It's a class three, two inch by two inch receiver. It uses a five eighths inch hitch pin. Now one doesn't come included with this hitch, but you can pick one up here at etrailer.com. Additionally, the smaller hole that's located to the rear of the larger one, will allow to use as a J-pin.
A J-pin acts as an anti rattle device by pressing into any object that's inserted into the receiver tube. It features hoop style safety chain loops, and they're a nice large opening, so it should accommodate just about every shape and size of safety chain.It features a 600 pound tongue weight and that's the force going down on top of the receiver and a 4000 pound gross towing capacity. That's how much it can pull behind it. You do want to verify in your vehicle's owner's manual and ensure you don't exceed any of its towing capacities.And now I've got some measurements for you, to help you when deciding on accessories. From the ground to the top inside edge of the receiver tube, it measures about 16 inches.
This is important when determining if you need a drop, rise or raise shank on any of your accessories. From the center of the hitch pin hole to the edge of the rear bumper, it measures about two inches. This is important when determining if any of your folding accessories can be placed in the upright storage positions without contacting the bumper.We'll begin our installation at the back of the vehicle, with our hatch open. We're going to need to remove both the left and right side tail lights. We'll start with our Phillips screwdriver to remove the small plastic pins located on the inside.
You'll unscrew the center of the tab. Once it pops out, you can then pull the whole pin out. We'll repeat that for the three remaining tabs, one on this side and two on the other side.We can now remove the taillight covers. Those just pry off. We're just going to use a trim panel tool here to help that.
Behind that you'll find two bolts that we're going to remove using a 10 millimeter socket. We can now pull our assembly rearward to remove it. Once you've got it pulled off, we're just going to remove the bulbs from the housing. Just twist those counter clockwise and they pull out. And unplug the electrical connector, here and now we can set the assembly aside. We'll repeat that on the other side.Underneath your taillight assembly, you'll see a small plastic cover, we're going to use a flat bladed screwdriver to pop that cover out, exposing the bolt behind it. We'll then remove that bolt using the same 10 millimeter socket. We'll do that on the other side as well.Next we're gonna move into our fender well area and remove the fasteners here, so we can get our fascia off. You'll find one here at top. Take a Phillips screwdriver and we're going to press in on the center of it, that will allow the pin to be released. You can then take a flat bladed screwdriver and get behind it and pry it out.Down towards the bottom here, if you have the splash guards like we do, there are a couple of fasteners you're going to need to remove. You're going to find one behind the wheel, here. We'll use our flat bladed screwdriver, we'll pop out the center of the pin, and then we can remove the entire pin. Then underneath, if you pull the mud flap down, you'll see there's a fastener located here. We'll need to remove that one as well. And now underneath, going around the perimeter, you're going to find pins that we need to remove on the bottom. There's a total of five. Those are all going to remove by popping up the center and then just pulling the pin out.Now we can remove our fascia. We're going to start on one side, pulling outward to release the tabs and now with the both sides are loose, we're going to grab an extra set of hands to help us pull the fascia rearward. Check for any electrical connectors that may be present. We found one here on our driver's side, so we're just going to disconnect that. There's a release pin, you press in there and then pull it out. And now we'll set our fascia aside where it won't get damaged.We can then take the foam off of our cross beam, we can set that aside. And now we need to remove our cross beam, here. There's four bolts on each side, we're going to take off using a 14 millimeter socket. We can now take our cross beam off and set it aside. We can now set our hitch into position, lining it up with these studs. Here I like to put a nut on it, just a couple turns, just to make sure the hitch doesn't fall off while we grab our cross brace.Now that we've got our bumper cross tube here, we're going to take the nut off that we temporarily installed and slide this over the studs as well. We'll now use the same nuts we removed and reinstall those back on the studs. We'll now tighten our hardware back down. We can then go back and torque all of our hardware to the specifications found in our instructions.Gone ahead and marked out our fascia, per our instructions, how we're going to need to trim it for it to fit back on with our hitch in place. And I'm just going to use some tin snips to cut that out. And you'll want to make sure that you place your foam support back on the bumper before you reinstall the fascia. And we're just going to follow reverse on how we removed it, to get it reattached.And that completes our installation of the Draw-Tite's Class Three Two Inch Trailer Hitch Receiver on our 2019 Subaru Outback Wagon.
Average Customer Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars (232 Customer Reviews)
Fully welded vehicle trailer hitch is strong and durable. Draw-Tite's Tested Tough guarantee ensures that this hitch exceeds industry standards. The combination of an e-coat base and a powder coat finish provides excellent rust protection.I have recently ordered, received and installed a trailer hitch and roof rack for my 2018 Subaru Outback. Shipping was in good time, order was correct and installation was easy. Great instructions and how-to videos online were very informative. Etrailer will be first on my list when I need something for my cars. 543163
Lance - 07/19/2019We received the trailer hitch we ordered even faster than promised and without any problems and with free shipping. Though it didn't come with any installation instructions these were readily available form the etrailer website. The trailer hitch fit our 2018 Subaru Outback just as the folks at etrailer said it would and went on without a problem. 517552
Robert - 06/05/2019The hitch seems well-built. Installation wasn't too bad. It would be helpful if the instruction video included more detail as to removing the rear fascia. Getting the rear fascia off without damaging it is much more difficult than the video implies. Also, there is no detail on the video as to removing the fascia portion over the bumper which I found to be the most difficult part. A 14mm deep socket is needed to remove the bumper bar. That information should be included in the directions and video (the directions only indicate a 14mm socket is needed. 524843
Everything arrived quickly and although the package was beat up the trailer hitch was fine. Took about 2 1/2 hours to install without jack / lift. Reattaching the fascia was the most difficult part. Note that the push pins on the mud flaps (outback) are a different size than the fascia push pins. Couldn't find the video instruction for the outback, so I used that from the Ecohitch. Everything was identical except the the required fascia cutout. This is an incredible company! I have used them before and will continue to use them in the future. 544443
Looks to be a quality product, it installed easy. I have not towed with it yet so only 4 stars. Worth the money for sure! 518596
Absolutely a plug and play installation. Literally the hardest part was bringing myself to cutting the fascia. The guidance on YouTube for the other hitches was thoroughly enough to give me enough confidence to take on the project myself, instead of paying someone else $150.00 to do it for me. I did try to save the attachment on the fascia near the hitch mount, I am hoping this will give a more secure mount using all of the push pins. I wasn’t even close to feeling confident, but now a close friend want to do his, and I am certain the two of us can get his done in 45 minutes or less. 554966
Paul - 08/19/2019So I received this hitch in just a few days after placing the order, I opened the box to look it over as heavier items like this commonly get dinged during shipping. I needed to repaint a couple small spots, 10 minute fix. I ordered this hitch for my daughters 2016 outback to keep the vehicle looking sharp as the only thing visible after installation is the receiver. I prepped my tools per the instructions, opened an installation video on my phone and took it step by step, it was surprisingly easy and every one was please with the results!! 553424
Paul - 08/13/2019kudos to Subaru and Draw-Tite for making this so simple. Looks and fits great. Like that the receiver is flush with the bumper - no shin damage while walking by the back of the car. One note the directions did not from my notice let you know to remove the back up sensors - not a big deal but as you pull off the cover/shroud you need to reach in and unplug the wire harness - towards the driver's side - very visible. If you were pulling too hard you might harm something but probably not such as to disable any functionality. 558392
Eric - 08/26/2019
After a year, I am still very happy with the hitch. It is not as visible as most hitches and I think the car looks better without all the metal showing. It has worked well for towing and used to support a bike rack. I am very satisfied with the product and would recommend it to anyone. 650874
Hitch is awesome and looks great. Paula the sales operator provided me with amazing customer service. I had originally wanted to order from etrailer but a local installer talked me into ordering from them. After a week passed and found that hitch would not be in for another week, I cancelled that order and called etrailer. Paula was amazing walked me through then whole process and helped me get exactly what I needed. Hitch arrived 2 days later and I had it installed the next day. Paula saved the day 528649
I purchased and installed the Draw-Tite Hitch on my 2018 Subaru Outback. The product was installed easily per the instructions. I had no issues with the installation. The product looks great on the car. The etrailer representatives I spoke with prior to purchasing were extremely helpful with making my decision on which hitch to purchase. I was surprised how knowledgeable they were in the products. They really made me feel confident in product. 523929
Jimmy F - 06/19/2019Great hitch and customer service is won derful. 644519
I received my Draw-Tite Hitch in a cardboard box with no damage which sometimes occurs with heavy parts. I was a little anxious about removing the bumper on my wife's new Subaru, but it went like clockwork. etrailer's instructions and ecohitch's video made it easy. It took me just under three hours from pulling my tools out to putting them away. I took it easy but I'm 72 so bouncing up and down to remove/install the lock pins slowed me down. Perfect Fit. I did use a powered jig saw to cut out clearance for the receiver. The bolt on hitch keeps the integrity of the crumple zone. 526147
Richard - 06/24/2019EASY install!!!! I mean WOW! It was truly a one person job and took a total of 2 hours... and that was with zero experience, just watching youtube videos for pointers. Hitch looks great and works VERY well with our 2016 Outback! Great buy! 520956
Daric - 06/13/2019I ordered my hitch and got it just 4 days later. I backed the car into the barn out of the sun at 9:45 and had the hitch installed and the car back on the road by 11:30 by myself. The hardest part was getting the clug clips out because of the dust and mud. Putting the bumper cover back on was time consuming, too, but I wanted to make sure everything fit correctly. I even located and replaced a missing plug to make sure all holes were filled. Installing the Tekonsha wiring harness went as per instructions, except I had to remove one cargo hook to allow the fender cover to lift enough to gain access to the vehicle harness. I ran the trailer plug under the interior padding and under the door gasket and will secure it to the hitch receiver with tie wraps. Looks good on my 2013 Outback 3.6R imited (don't mind the dust from the barn floor). 559454
Bob - 08/29/2019I purchased the Draw-Tite Max Frame Hitch Receiver for my 2017 Subaru Outback. The people at Etrailer were great to deal with and helped me to make my choice in purchasing the correct hitch receiver for my Outback. I wanted a hitch that was like a custom fit and the Draw-Tite Max is the one. The instructions were easy to understand and it took about an hour to install. The service from Etrailer was great and they were always there to help me with my questions. I also purchased the Hopkins Plug in simple wiring harness which was very easy to install. 547834
Larry S - 07/30/2019I have to admit I was a little concerned about the instastallation, but it went as planned. I took my time and it went smoothly. Delivery was fast and price was great. Hitch is a perfect fit and looks factory installed. Buy the wiring harness. It’s a snap. 567855
E-Trailer has been great! Fast delivery. So much information is available through videos and reviews. I purchased the Draw-Tite hitch 76227 for my 2018 Subaru Outback Touring. The video made installation very simple. I was able to cut around the center pin on the bumper cover to keep the fastener. Back up sensor plug just requires a squeeze on one end to release. It helped to have a helper to hold the bumper while removing and cutting the hole. I just used a mat knife and scored it numerous times. I cut my hole 3.75"w x 4.5"h fit looks great. By using the Draw-Tite hitch, I could reinstall the foam cover on the bumper rail with no issues. I probably would not have attempted this without the videos. 539221
Relatively simple install on my '15 Outback for a 2" mount 4-place bike rack I already had. Love that it mounts in OE position, but with a 2" receiver the OE doesn't offer, has no bar showing below or reducing ground clearance, requires no drilling/cutting as some others do, and was $100 less expensive than that other hitch. A little tough getting the fascia clipped back on because to the bumper bar and foam being moved back a bit because of the thickness of the mounting flanges, but manageable. As an afterthought, I could have used a Surform rasp to trim a bit off the face of the foam to gain a little extra clearance, but all is well. Very happy with product and quick delivery. Would have been a single day had the UPS truck not broken down. Also was boxed where some vendors ship these items bare, with resulting scrapes and bends. Great service and product from etrailer and Draw-Tite! 529898
Product arrived amazingly fast. Took it to a body shop to get it installed, they were at first skeptical that I ordered online but then very happy to see what great product it was. Very happy, thank you! 539679
Installation on a 2015 Outback took a couple more hours than the 45 min listed for pros in the manual, but that's on me since I wanted to work slowly and ensure I didn't damage any clips or fittings. I've installed a hitch on another Subaru prior and have also done considerable DIY mechanic work, and this was easily the cleanest install with zero hiccups that I've encountered - the only squirmy part for those averse to permanent alterations is the fascia cut, which done nicely and slowly (I used a Dremel) will look OEM. The hitch mounts directly to the chassis studs on which the bumper rests and is secured by 8 nuts, so it's a simple mount that doesn't require fishing anything through holes with a coil, or grinding, etc. It does, however, require a torque wrench to ensure that nuts are securely and evenly torqued to the chassis after completion. NOTE: 1. There are two installation manual versions - the b&w printout supplied with the kit, and the downloadable color PDF, which is much more highly detailed. I'd advise the installer to access it from a smartphone on the etrailer site while working, as it is more helpful than the printout. 2. There are TWO different sizes of bumper fascia clips you will remove in this process if you have mudflaps attached to the bumper fascia - I don't think the manual noted this. One is smaller and has a sorta leather grain texture on the clip head - one is smooth and larger. The smaller clips are for the mudflaps - the larger for the rear bumper mounts. Keep all clips, screws, and nuts with the respective components during disassembly to avoid future confusion. 529197
The hitch looks great on my 2018 Outback and was faily easy to install. I had to jack the car up on the back end to allow the tire to drop down enough to get one of three screws loose to remove the mud flap. My facia has backup sensors and the only difference from the video and instructions is a single wire disconnect similar to the taillights. Very easy to disconnect and reconnect. The only complaint I have is mine came minus the trim piece that is shown in the video were you cut the facia. Since the facia is now not supported in the middle I’m concerned it will flap when the wind catches it when driving. Irritating that it was missing. Install time was under two hours. Minus one star for missing part.. 519764
It took me awhile to find this hitch, but I'm glad I did as it's the perfect combination of an aftermarket hitch that installs like the OEM one! Safety and increased functionality all in one! First, I'd wanted one to install as the OEM one because I figured (and read) this was ideal for safety. Mounted this way it wouldn't change how the crumple zone in the back worked. Where other hitches that mount underneath the frame may be able to push up the crumple zone if ever in an accident. I also wasn't crazy on the idea of drilling into our Outback to install an aftermarket hitch, but I really wanted a 2" receiver with a higher tongue weight rating. In addition to requiring drilling new holes in our vehicle, the crossbar was visible on all other hitches I could find. I couldn't order this one any faster when I finally found it. It installs like the smaller OEM hitch would, it has a 2" receiver with great weight ratings, and the crossbar is hidden! We'll mostly be hauling bikes with this thing (Thule T2 XT Pro), but a small utility trailer and likely boat is in our future as well! The Outback will be ready now! 514184
The first hitch sent to me had a manufacturing defect that made it impossible to install (the bracket on one side was not welded straight). Etrailer customer support tried to help me work through some options to see if I could get it installed, but ultimately shipped me a new one. I want to be clear that this was not the fault of etrailer. This completely appeared to be a defective product from Draw-Tite. Unfortunately, I had to get my bumper off completely before the defect became apparent. The second hitch installed quite easily. It took me about an hour and would have taken less time if I hadn't dropped the 14mm socket INSIDE the bumper. Took a little ingenuity to get it out. I was also a bit to conservative trimming the fascia and had to trim a little more off several times after trying to reinstall the fascia (trim a little, try to install, trim a little more, try and install again). Including these two items, the most difficult part was getting the mud flaps (I think that is what Subaru calls them) reinstalled. Those things were a pain. One bit of advice I have for other DIY installers, though the instructions don't specify it, I highly recommend that the 14mm socket you use be a deep socket. A standard socket is not quite deep enough to gain purchase on the bumper bolts when taking the bumper off. First time around, I had to use a crescent wrench to get things started. Before the replacement hitch came in, I purchased a deep socket and it made things much easier the second time around. I greatly appreciate Brittany at etrailer helping me through the issue of the defective product and the speed at which the replacement got to me. The only thing I would recommend etrailer change is the difficulty rating. It is really quite simple to install this hitch. I have relatives that purchased one of the hitches that require drilling into the frame for their 2017 Outback. They purchased from a local retailer who also installed professionally. The installer remarked to them that it was one of the most difficult hitches he had had to install. By comparison, I expect this one is much much easier. 563143
E-Trailer has been great! Ashley was really helpful as well as John's answers to my questions. So much information is available through videos and reviews. I purchased the Draw-Tite hitch 76227 for my 2018 Subaru Outback Touring and the 118467 T-one Wiring Harness. The video made installation very simple. Some notes: I was able to cut around the center pin on the bumper cover to keep the fastener. The center of the cover is 2" from the center of the pin hole as the instructions say, not half way between the tailpipe cutouts. I should have paid more attention when reattaching the bumper cover as I slid it over the lower metal brackets the first time. Never force anything! Back up sensor plug just requires a squeeze on one end to release. It helped to back up on my ramps and have a helper to hold the bumper while removing and cutting the hole. I just used a mat knife and scored it numerous times. I cut my hole 3.75"w x 4.5"h. Could have given the height just about ?" more but fit was tight. Actually could be a little narrower but fit looks great. By using the Draw-Tite hitch, I could reinstall the foam cover on the bumper rail with no issues. Hardest part was seeing the markings on my torque wrench. I probably would not have attempted this without the videos. Mostly I want to hear warnings of what to watch out for as I'm doing the installation. The backup sensor plug was a trick since I had to use my magnifying glasses to see the clip or I might have broken it. I sprayed the bumper with Amsoil Metal Protector before installing as suggested. Fit and alignment was perfect, no adjusting needed. The Draw-Tite hitch weighs less than the Eco-Hitch which helps keep overall weight down when not towing and the foam piece fit since the mounting plates are a little thinner. The cut out is smaller too with the DT. As for the wiring harness, the 2018 Plug is right where the video says it is, just hard to reach and a pain to set free. Don't give up. I couldn't figure out how to remove the tie down loop or it would have helped. Finally got it. I just routed the harness into the spare wheel area. No tape included. End result looks great! 525858
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