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A 2" receiver gives you room to use the most common towing and accessory options. It’s rated for a maximum 4,000 lbs gross trailer weight and 600 lbs tongue weight, so it can handle small trailers, cargo carriers, or bike racks with ease. You don’t have to worry about using adapters or limiting your gear—the Class III rating means it’s built for everyday hauling, not occasional use.
This hitch uses precision, robotic welding to maximize strength and ensure a perfect fit. The steel construction is protected by a matte black powder coat over a base layer for superior rust resistance. That rugged, carbide-like finish hides dirt and scuffs better than glossy coatings and keeps the hitch looking good after years of use.
The hitch mounts directly to the vehicle’s frame with included hardware—no welding required. The bolt-on installation design means you can install it in your driveway with basic tools and follow straightforward instructions. Once it’s on, you can start towing or hauling right away without extra fabrication or drilling.
The round-tube style gives it a clean appearance under the bumper while keeping the receiver easily accessible. Whether you’re loading up bikes for the weekend or attaching a cargo basket for extra space, this hitch provides reliable strength and a simple, rugged look that fits right in with practical daily use.
Customer Satisfaction Score:
96% were satisfied with this product
4% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
Great instructions, video and easy to i nstall.
Installed easier than I expected. Everything fit great. Took me about 1.5 hours start to finish.
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!
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 hitch is built like a tank and fit perfectly. I watched the instructions online before beginning and the process was very simple. I was grateful they provided the wire fishes for the bolts. I managed to do the whole thing myself by simply laying the hitch on my belly as I was under the car, and set the first two bolts. I regret not following advice I saw in another review about making a hole for the heat shield, and capturing it under one of the hitch bolts, since with only 3 screws remaining, the heat shield might end up rattling in time. If I were to do it over again, I would do it that way. Do make sure to drill out the first holes big enough for not only the washer, but also the bolt head, which is a touch wider.
The whole job took me about 3 hours, working slowly with gimpy knees. I was happy to spend a sunny morning doing that, rather than paying hundreds of dollars for such a simple task.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Anyone with the tools and a phone for watching video tutorials can install products from this company. Almost every single year is available too. Can’t say enough about how easy it was given the resources provided
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.
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.
Quality product. Used 2 times a week during bike riding season.
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?
The trailer hitch is perfect for my nee ds.
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!
hitch was good quality, slow shipping and not packaged very well box was all tore up but 75% of blame to ups
The price was great and it appears to be very well made. The thing that really made me happy was the excellent installation video. There was a video that had the specific car I was installing it on. That was a key factor for me in purchasing this.
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 girth of the device leads me to believe I could tow a 747 with it. Straightforward installation with no hiccups. Fits the profile of my Outback perfectly. All his at a very reasonable price and less that a U-Haul hitch.
Lazer S.
3/31/2026
Glad you like it, Charles! Other than towing passenger jets, what are you going to be using the hitch for?
Exceptional quality and design. Videos were spot on and made this fairly easy to do. I’m so happy about buying from eTrailer!!
Install is fairly easy as long you have the proper tools I am a technician and I had a stepper bit and the proper drill bits and torque wrench. The fit is good if you don’t have the proper tool order the install to save some time. A tech will have this job done in hour. I have a 2019 QT outback that has dual exhaust which still fits. It is some extra step. The fit is good and from any car tech easy to install.
The hitch itself is heavy duty. It's well built, sturdy, and has a nice powder coated finish. I would recommend this hitch to anyone.
The installation was tough. Now that I've done it, I'll know exactly what to do if I ever have to do it again. I've been a plumber for most of my life, so I'm a little handy. And I have mechanics living on either side so I have access to any tool you'd need, and it was still a hard job for me to do. This is not for the casual DYI guy. But in the end it came out beautifully. Two very sore thumbs up!
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.
The how-to video was excellent. The installation went pretty smoothly and took about 3 hours (which seems pretty good to me).
Outback owners with heat shield rattle: it might by be worth getting a replacement heat shield to install while you’re doing the hitch. Wish I had thought of it before hand.
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.
Janey
10/11/2026
It’s been a year of nearly constant use, and it’s still holding strong. Still very pleased.
Jerred H.
10/11/2026
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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.