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This fully welded trailer hitch receiver bolts onto your vehicle's frame with no welding required. Matte black, powder coated steel is durable and corrosion resistant and creates a rugged look.
Features:
Specs:
The sturdy steel construction is protected with a matte black finish for added durability. This unique powder coating gives etrailer hitches a carbide-like appearance and a rugged look that sets them apart from traditional glossy hitches. In addition to being rust and corrosion resistant, the tough matte coating hides dirt, scuffs, and dings better than a glossy finish.
At etrailer we're committed to the products we sell, and to our customers. Our experienced and knowledgeable staff are available via both phone and email to address your questions and concerns for the lifetime of your hitch. The technicians at etrailer perform hitch installations on a daily basis, making them a valuable resource for do-it-yourselfers. The one-on-one, personal service you'll receive comes straight from an expert in the towing and automotive field. We've installed it, we've wired it and we've towed with it, so whatever your question, we can answer it.
etrailer for the win. From the time I ordered, received and installed the receiver is was less than a week. The video is short and the perfect instruction. I am very happy with this purchase. And I’m very pleased with the ease of install. I used two 3 ton jack stands and only lifted about three inches and had plenty of room for my 2018 Subaru Outback. It also feels super solid after being attached. My only beef is with Subaru for using cheap aluminum screws for the heat shield, one snapped and delayed me a bit. I would easily buy from etrailer again.
etrailer filled my order promptly and efficiently. Excellent customer service, letting me know when it was shipped and when it would arrive so I could make an appointment to have it installed. The hitch looked heavy duty, which I wanted. The garage took three hours to install it instead of the one which was listed on the website, but that could easily have been lack of experience on their part. Overall, I'm really pleased.
Installation was pretty easy with the instructions included. It took about 45 minutes to install the hitch and the wiring which I also ordered. Still works great and is in great condition a year later.
Quality product. Used 2 times a week during bike riding season.
The installation video made this an easy 40 minute installation. Fits perfect and looks great.
I decided to go with the etrailer branded class 3 hitch for my wife's 2019 Outback after getting etrailer's recommendation on which one would be best paired with my Thule T2 Pro XTB bike rack, which is a great rack, btw. Main reasoning was that the hitch sits back on the vehicle a little more and gives better clearance for the rack when folded up. This would apply to other kinds of hitch mounted accessories too. The hitch is not quite as hidden under the vehicle as some of the others but I was more concerned about using the bike rack as intended.
Installation was not too bad, with the biggest challenge for me being the tight spaces around the muffler to drill the necessary holes even with the exhaust lowered as described in the video. I even considered removing the muffler for better access but was able to get it done without that. Main concern was damaging the exhaust system in the front if it was lowered too much. Using lubricant on the rubber exhaust hangers worked great for removing and putting them back on at the end. The tip for using a step drill bit worked great to enlarge the access holes the appropriate amount, as well. I was able to do the installation by myself with the help of a small rolling dolly on which to sit the hitch on while I bolted up the first set of bolts. It held the hitch up enough to work on one side at a time without having to support the entire weight of the hitch by myself. Having a helper would be better for sure. The 6 out of 10 installation difficulty scale seems about right to me.
The hitch itself seems to be good quality, nice welds, matte finish looks great on the vehicle too. It also fits like a glove around spare tire well. No adjusting really necessary, just install the first set of bolts in the existing frame holes and you are lined up. You do have to drill the 2 more forward set of holes but using the hitch frame as the template (it's already mounted on the vehicle at this point) of where the holes go, it was a snap from there.
I'll attach a couple of pics with the bike rack installed to show how much clearance there is. I also tested with a bike on the rack and was able to open the rear hatch all the way with the bike rack in the lowered position (a feature of the Thule T2). Hopefully, this will help others that want to use accessories that require clearance for bumper and hatch. Great communication and follow up from the etrailer team too!
Phil
5/15/2020
A year later and the etrailer class3 hitch still looks and works great. Very satisfied with eTrailer again!
The hitch out of the box did not lineup with the holes in the frame of my 2019 Subaru outback Limited. The mechanic said that it was either dropped or sprung from the heat of welding it together. They used a porta power to spread the brackets apart one to 2 inches so that the holes in the hitch lined up with the holes in the frame. Two day shipping took three days. The hitch that fits my Subaru could have been made a little lower. It is making contact with the bottom inside of my bumper. Otherwise it looks like a good solid hitch.
So I recently purchased mountain bikes and knew I needed a bike rack and hitch. When making more expensive purchases, I research the product, competitors, pricing, customer services and reviews. I finally decided on the etrailer Trailer Hitch Receiver. I had it professionally installed and it looks great! I appreciate the help and assistance Teresa J. provided in helping me make my decision. Thank you eTrailer!
Dennis
6/24/2021
After one year, my hitch still looks and functions great! I love it so much, I ordered another etrailer Hitch for my other vehicle, a 2012 GMC Terrain and it works great on this and by 2015 Subaru Outback!
I love my trailer hitch, works great for my e-bikes on my subaru outback
Everything went fantastic and it worked great. Instructions and video were fantastic.
Installed easier than I expected. Everything fit great. Took me about 1.5 hours start to finish.
Absolutely fantastic hitch. Couldn’t be happier with its performance! Use it mainly for my bike rack, and it always feels solid. Can do 80 on the highway with peace of mind. And it was easy to install! ??
This was a super easy install. I don't have access to a lift, so I just used ramps I picked up from Home Depot for oil changes. I am a pretty good sized guy but this gave me plenty of room to work. No issues at all on the install. Instructional video was great and easy to follow. The only comments I have would be that if you are using ramps, be sure to have a long sleeve shirt on and safety glasses. The metal chips from drilling are hot and sharp. The pull wires worked excellent, I only used one of them. You do need to put a couple bends in the wire which they don't mention in the video. All in all I am really happy and would highly recommend this as a DIY install.
Josh H.
8/4/2020
A year later and no complaints at all. I have been happy to recommend this product and company to friends.
The video helped us a lot with parts we were confused about but it was easy with the right tools. If you don’t completely lift the car it may be easier for you to take the muffler completely off instead of just dropping it. We only had ramps that gave us about a foot of lift, but it was still easy once you for the muffler down. We love it!
Product looks great. Have not installed yet. The online installation video was super informative and a deciding factor in purchasing the hitch from etrailer. Thanks!
Victoria H.
3/13/2025
Hi Larry, I'm glad our videos are valuable to you! Let us know how install goes.
I installed this myself. Excellent packaging on hitch as it arrived undamaged. All hardware and bolt fish wires were firmly attached to the hitch. Instructions and video were very helpful in making this an easy project. I used car ramps and backed m wife’s Outback on them to provide a comfortable work area. Only thing different that I did from the video instructions was to mount the hitch with the 1st two bolts, mark the location, and drop the hitch to drill the forward bolts with a step drill. All newly drilled surfaces were painted for protection. Also found a couple of elongated frame hole plugs from our ’67 Mustang project to seal the hardware installation hole.
I had my hitch professionally installed and have not given it a thought since. It fit perfectly and does what it’s supposed to do.
David
4/20/2025
Looking forward to using the hitch for an Alaska to Maine and back trip this summer.
Jerred H.
5/5/2025
Custmer service is great. They keep you well informed from the time you place the order to the time its delivered.
The quality of the etrailer brand hitch is very apparent to the point that I would rate it above the others and making for a trouble free installation
The hitch will be used for a platform bike rack.
When reinstalling the muffler heat shield, there is one hitch bolt that interferes with remounting the heat shield. All you need to do is mark and drill out the location of the one hitch bolt that's under the heat shield. Once hitch is installed and muffler is still hanging down, place the heat shield in its original location with the 2 small bolts under the muffler. Then in order to mark the hitch bolt location under the heat shield, take a hammer and tap on the heat shield to indent the hitch bolt location. Take the heat shield off and drill the hitch bolt location on the heat shield. Take the nut off that hitch bolt, reinstall the heat shield with the two small bolts behind the muffler and the nut on the hitch.
I cut out the location of the bolt on the heat shield but I should have drilled it.
Hitch was an easy install. I recommend having a step drill that's at least 1". Impressed with the hitch but was slightly disappointed that hitch was scratched up when opening the box.
All went together as in video.. I'm 65 yrs. plus and I jacked it up and went to work. The hardest part was the hole resizing, ( step bits and rotary files ). The little wires were fun and how they pulled the bolts through was genius. All in all I had fun. After cutting the heat shield make sure the upper forward goes under the rubber mount hanger. Or you will be pulling it off, like I did.
One other thing the big nuts take 110 ft ponds..... get a bigger cheater bar your going to need it....... Dan
I really nice custom fit for my Outback. The hitch seems like it's high quality and looks good on the car. Be aware however that you have to drill/make and absolutely enormous access holes in your frame rail to install this hitch. I would suggest that etrailer modify the instructions to require the use of the appropriate size step drill bit to make the hole. They should also include rubber grommets and perhaps touch up paint to seal up the hole you made. Otherwise things are pretty straight forward.
Works good But I believe if the hitch was about 1/4" or 1/2" inch wider it would help in the mounting process. The bracket with was very tight on the sides of the spare tire between the frame due to the spray insulation.
David
9/14/2024
Still working great only used about 6 or 7 times but is very nice when I dont have to use my full size truck helps save money on gas. And I am sure to use many more times in the future.
Just put on etrailers hitch. This is my third one that I have installed from etrailer on my past Subaru. I went with the etrailer hitch because I liked the matte black finish over the gloss black Curt. This one is easier than the Draw- Tite because it weighs less and I was able to handle it myself. I would suggest using a good step drill bit when enlarging the holes and make sure they are big enough. It took me 2 hours to complete mainly because of cutting the new holes and enlarging the other holes. Hitch was delivery very timely from etrailer just like the previous ones that I installed.
The etrailer tow hitch is a great and slightly cheaper alternative. The directions were easy to follow. Just need the proper tools and a plus of you have a helper. That wire bolt feeder is genius!
Install went completely as expected. Very good instructions and product. Happy with the end result.
This was installed on a 2016 Subaru Outback.
Since i installed the hitch without help, i rigged up a strap to hold the hitch in place to align it with the bolts and to secure the nuts to hold it in place.
The strap went around the hitch and thru the latch for the rear hatch of the subaru. i also used a 2x2 inserted in the receiver to correctly orient the hitch to the car. Its hard to explain, but i added photos to help explain what i did. This system worked better than i had expected to get those bolt holes lined up and the nuts tightened.
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Lazer S.
9/30/2025
That's awesome William! Glad to hear you are getting good use out of it! I couldn't tell from the picture, what kind of bikes are you carrying?