1998 Legacy Outback trailer hitch install questions

[pginter96]

Hey all,

Recently I've been considering getting a hitch for my car, a 98 legacy outback.

It may sound stupid, but I want one for the sole purpose of having a spare tire carrier on the back of the car (cause off-road, brah) so it doesn't need to be wired or haul anything more than a forester steelie.

My only worry is, and I'm hoping someone has experience with this, are there hitches out there that don't require drilling, but does anyone know if those claims are true? I've only seen one or two of these cars with a hitch.

Also, mine is a late build 98, so the charcoal canister is right on the rear frame like a 99. Would this interfere?

Thanks!

 

EDIT: and how trustworthy is UHAUL? I work in a shop and have seen more than one horrific, scary, poor quality, and downright dangerous trailer wiring job done by them, but can they just put a hitch on for me if it requires drilling or something?

Edited February 21, 2016 by pginter96

[gbhrps]

pginter96,

 

I've had 3 OBW's prior to my present 2012, and put a hitch on every one. The first 3 had the factory hitch , I put them on myself, and there was no drilling required. All were direct bolt on. In your case, finding a factory unit for a 98 will be next to impossible.

 

That brings us to my 2012. It was purchased slightly used, and I installed a CURT hitch, which again was a direct bolt on. The nice thing about the CURT was that an online installation manual gave a pictorial step by step install for that year OBW, which I studied before I purchased the hitch, to ensure there were no surprises.

 

If CURT, or any other hitch manufacturer can supply a direct bolt on for your 18 year old car, I'd go that route, particularly if they can give you an install manual for your particular car before  for you to check out.

 

Unless the UHAUL store has a a large inventory of trailers and rental trucks on hand, I'd avoid having them install anything on a car of mine. The gas station franchises with 3 or 4 trailers will end up being a hack job in most instances. A really large franchise will most likely have 2 or 3 certified mechanics on hand, a much better choice. Good Luck!

[Bushwick]

I bought a class 2 from U-Haul and installed on my old Mark VIII, which was unibody. It used the factory holes and came with bolts. If they offer one for your year, and say no drilling, then no drilling. If only a tire or very small trailer will ever get lugged around, you don't need a bigger class 3 or up. Class 2 would do it.

 

 

For what it's worth, the entire hitch assembly is NOT light. They weigh 75-95 pounds, plus what the ball and receiver weigh. My car had 290 hp and I could tell the added weight was there. It was also a PITFA to get up as it required dropping the mufflers as it connected to a shared point. I needed a jack to get it up there after the 37th try to fit it. Think I even busted out my jack stands for extra help. Legacy should be similar.

 

Why not mount a roof rack tire holder instead? I've put around 450 pounds on my rack and probably had it closer to 1k pounds with the force the ratchet straps were pulling down to keep everything in place. Should be able to carry a 45 pound tire with ease. Plus they look nice on top of our cars for some reason.

Edited February 22, 2016 by Bushwick

[pginter96]

I bought a class 2 from U-Haul and installed on my old Mark VIII, which was unibody. It used the factory holes and came with bolts. If they offer one for your year, and say no drilling, then no drilling. If only a tire or very small trailer will ever get lugged around, you don't need a bigger class 3 or up. Class 2 would do it.

 

 

For what it's worth, the entire hitch assembly is NOT light. They weigh 75-95 pounds, plus what the ball and receiver weigh. My car had 290 hp and I could tell the added weight was there. It was also a PITFA to get up as it required dropping the mufflers as it connected to a shared point. I needed a jack to get it up there after the 37th try to fit it. Think I even busted out my jack stands for extra help. Legacy should be similar.

 

Why not mount a roof rack tire holder instead? I've put around 450 pounds on my rack and probably had it closer to 1k pounds with the force the ratchet straps were pulling down to keep everything in place. Should be able to carry a 45 pound tire with ease. Plus they look nice on top of our cars for some reason.

That's probably what I'll end up doing. Especially since I already have a roof rack...

This is the side effects of working at a Jeep dealer and being horrible with impulse decisions!

After going through the parts and time needed to figure out that (and how) I have to custom make something to swing the tire out of the way to open the hatch... Sounds like $350 of inconvenience. Maybe I'll recall this sometime in the future if/when money isn't such a deciding factor, or if I just need a hitch.

Thanks for the advice, guys. If it can't help me, hopefully someone else!

[Bushwick]

 

Didn't mean to dissuade you. Hitches are nice for towing, and you'll FIND reasons to tow stuff around, but the dead weight was a real surprise when I ran one. Hadn't even thought about it being in the way of the hatch, but that's good point.

 

I gotta admit though, anytime I see a tire on a roof rack mount it conjures up off-roading images. If mine ever got lifted, I'd plop one up there too. GL.