trailer hitch on an ea81 hatch, how strong??

[75subie]

i am looking to put a trailer hitch on my ea81 hatch. i do accasional tows usually a car dolley with a car no heavier than a 4wd sube, but i always have to barrow a truck from someone to do this.

 

would it be possible to get a hitch fabbed onto a hatch by u-haul or one of those places, that would be able to withstand that amount of weight pulling back on it (dollys have almost no tongue weight, its all back pressure weight.) are the unibody rails in the back strong enough? anybody have any mounting place suggestions, or even better, pics:brow: . any help is appreciated

[Roundeye]

I wouldn't do it. Not only would you be flogging the drivetrain to pull stuff, but think about braking. a heavy load would push you right through an intersection. Bad juju.

 

The only person I know to completely tear the guts out of an older Subie transmission did it pulling trailers. And that was only one used for hauling lawn equipment (granted it was on a regular basis). I wouldn't sweat pulling a small trailer occasionaly hauling a washing machine, lawn mower, etc., but by no means a car.

 

Someone may chime in saying go for it. Remember this post down the road if you do.

[4x4_Welder]

Bumpers are mounted on springs/shock absorbers, there is no frame to speak of, so no. Especially not towing more than the car's own weight.

I hauled a 69 F-250 on a dolly behind an 84 F-250 4x4 that outweighed the combo by a good amount, and noticed a major increase in stopping distance. That's with 12" dual piston caliper front brakes, and 12x2.5" drums out back. What are Subarus, 8" single pistons up front and 6"x1" drums in the back?

[subiemech85]

let me start off by saying I work at schuling hitch

 

I have personally seen class 2 hitches installed on heep stranglers attached to nothing more than the "bumper" mounts with 4 bolts

 

if you find a GOOD hitch shop that makes hitches, you are lucky!

 

the '80 wagon has a class 1 rated for 100# tounge 1000# trailer

[bratsrus1]

Hey 75 This is Jerry, if you build the hitch like i do and install the rear disc then i would do it. Ask Shawn how strong the hitch is on the brat that he got from me. When i build a hitch it is build out of heavy iron and i bolt it in 4 to 6 places. The hitch i have on my hatchbrat has on it and the hitch i have on my 86 hatch not a problem to pull a dolley. My hatchbrat that i am building now will have a heavy hitch on it also. Thanks Jerry

[LPGsuperchargedBrumby]

i've got a tow bar on my brumby thats factory option......don't try tow 2 ton up a long steep hill unless you like the smell of clutch:clap: (first low,motor roaring:headbang: ...YEAH)

[75subie]

i actually have to change the tranny/clutch/pressure plate/throwout bearing, before i can even start driving the car.i own a tow dolly already, but i am looking at one with electric brakes, which will take the strain off the sube's braking system.

 

while doing the swap, i am going to separate the lo range rod in the front of the trans, from the 4wd rod in the rear of the trans. then i will add an extra lever or button on the interior to run low fwd while towing a car, that should work pretty well. it might eat axles though.:-\

 

Jerry, is it possible to make a heavy duty hitch that will still look half way decent? are your hitches bolted or welded to the body?

[msteel]

Another braking scheme I've heard of on trailers uses a hydraulic master cylinder in the tongue in such a way that if the trailer wants to go faster than the car, it will compress the master cylinder and activate the trailer brakes. No electrical connection needed, except for lights, of course.

[Sweet82]

I made some industrial bumper reinforcing mounts. I bolted to my bumper and also bolted to the underside of the rear deck. I used a bolt plate inside the Hatch to mount the bolts on.

 

I also ran the hitch through the rear valance to keep it close to the bumper.

 

Never had a problem,

Good Luck,

Glenn

82 SubaruHummer

84 GL Mad Max

01 Forester

[eponodyne]

Here ya go: http://users.adelphia.net/~davidtief/hitch.html courtesy of Dave T.

 

 

It's in this thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=56390&highlight=trailer

 

 

I just bought the channel iron and angle/bar stock from Harbor Freight. I think 5/16" is overkill so I went with 3/16" thick, but otherwise I'm gonna follow Dave's example pretty closely. I do plan on installing a 3/16"X6X10 backer plate in the bottom of the cargo-area tray, just because I'm a belt-and-suspenders kind of guy.

[bgd73]

Like that hitch in the wagon! A friend did something similar, worked very well. Would not attempt on 2wd any model!

[bratsrus1]

Hey 75 This is Jerry, on my hatch if i remove the stinger part of the hitch all you see is the square hole. The hitch is bolted with 8 bolts that are 1/2 in size, i use heavy wall square tubing 1x2 inch and 2 inch angle 3/8 thick and the end plates are 3/8 inch thick. I over build it so i don't have to worry about braking anything. On my hatcnbrat i have a hitch in front and in the back that way i can put my winch in front or in the back. Thanks Jerry

[SOOBOUTLAW]

I have this rear bumper that came with my '80 wagon, I think it's AM or homemade, but baby is SOLID! Backed into a tree stump with a bang, no damage except to the stump where the protruding hitch plate is. Never towed serious with it yet, but it's a cool bumper.

[Zefy]

my 79 has a hitch on it... it looks factory-ish (don't think they actually made a factory hitch of the gen1's)...

 

i've never towed anything with it besides myself... out of a mudhole...

 

it says on the hitch that its rated for 400lbs tongue weight and 3000lbs pulling...

 

however the car is only rated for 800lbs...:-p

 

however depending on how far you're going plus hills, a suby can tow another suby using a dolly... i wouldn't do it to much though... having trailor brakes would be a good idea... (however i don't think dollies have brakes on them?)