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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.
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (367 Customer Reviews)
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.Great deal for a quality product! Subaru wants $[XX] plus labor for a hitch and I can't imagine it's that much better than this for under $[XX]. I unbolted the muffler and disconnected the rear hanger rather than dropping the exhaust, plenty of room even without jacking up the vehicle. Step drill made quick work of enlarging the hole, hook tool made fishing the wire a breeze and floor jack with a zip tie made it a one man job. Took me a little over an hour with no unexpected surprises.
I was sent additional mounting materials that don't correspond with my hitch or my bike rack. See the photo below. Are these materials for my trailer Trailer Hitch Receiver Item #e83ZR?
Katrina D.
8/7/2024
Huh, that is weird. It doesn't look like any hardware you should have received. Is that white piece a plain piece of plastic? Can you take a couple more pictures from some different angles? Was there a number on the packaging for this kit?
Top quality receiver, installed by a friend who is a car body specialist. This will enable attachment of a bike rack on the back end of my vehicle vs. roof rack; Much easier for me at this stage of my life.
Mgs
10/9/2023
I am sad to say the trailer hitch has not gotten much use. The bike carrier was a hand-me-down and would not seat securely, making transport very unstable. It will take a newer bike carrier and I will then be able to report back. There have been family issues preventing me from prioritizing a new bike carrier this past year.
Excellent product. Heavy duty. The pull wires included in the kit worked perfectly. My only recommendation is that they might want to add some more cardboard padding to the sides of the box. When the shipment arrived, some of the tow bar had popped out the side of the box. Not that the product was damaged (it is nearly indestructible) but it might damage some other person's packaging. I also don't know if the shipper mishandled the box, which might have led to the pop-out. A bit overkill for a bike mount (why I purchased it), but I have the option to use it for towing a trailer and/or tow bar accessories (step, eye bolt for recovery, etc.).
Frank
7/1/2024
After a year no issues. The only problem I anticipated was rust, but none so far, the finish is fine. Great bike rack mount and step support for rooftop access.
I’ve lost track at how many tow hitches, etc. I’ve gotten from etrailer.com over the years all of which have been excellent. This was no exception. The video was far better than the written instructions. Even though they included 6 fishwires, I was able to complete the job with just 1. Fairly simple to install and looks great!
Please package this better for the next person. The parts where the paint has been removed from the shipping process will now rust. Take a little more pride in your work.
Jenny N.
5/29/2024
I will let our shipping department know how the hitch was delivered. We will be in contact with you as we can send out a can of paint to touch up the hitch to protect against rust.
this is the 3rd or 4th etrailer hitch I've installed and they fit and install great every time. This is one job that doesn't turn into a nightmare, and many do so it's always nice to start something that goes as planned and no surprises. Fit and finish is always top notch, love etrailer hitches.
This is the second etrailer unit (different car) that I got, and both were well designed and straightforward to install. The 22 Forrester had a little more complicated install because the muffler unit had to be moved during install. Honestly, that part wasn’t too bad. Watch the excellent video to see how to support it. It didn’t require moving rusted bolts, but just slipping three rubber grommets an inch off a metal rod, then the entire muffler assembly lowered and shifted a few inches that were needed to access above it. I used a crowbar to provide the little leverage and angle needed to move the soaped grommets. I was able to do the install on my back with my car up metal ramps.it was slow but worked. Don’t mess around with any makeshift attempt to raise your car over you. If you don’t have legitimate ramps, get it to a garage with a lift. Removing the plastic shield behind the wheel was a little more challenging than it looked in the video but it was a missed clip that was holding it, and the contoured catch spot that was hard to separate. Remembering the orientation during removal helped in reinserting it. The only real problem I had was when I removed the heat shield from above the muffler, two of the four bolts had rusted in place and they sheared off. I ended up using two pieces of electric conduit copper wire (without coating) to tie it up to the small brackets so it wouldn’t rattle. The hitch solidly held the shield in place on the other side along with the one bolt that had space. The entire install on my back took an entire afternoon, but it behaved like a champ trailering the trailer that weekend!
Gwendolyn Y.
10/21/2024
Hey Rich! I Love the ramp tip. I don't think I would have thought of using some till I was getting on the ground to shuffle under the vehicle.
Exactly what we needed for hauling bikes, cargo trays, and other toys behind our Subaru Forester. Installation was easy and straightforward, and I know it was installed to my expectations. The installation videos really helped. Saved quite a bit by installng it myself instead of the very expensive dealer install.
Install took about 2 hours (I don't have a lift). The video was very helpful to show the steps. All of the parts were exactly as I expected. NOTE: the plates that the bolt heads stick through up in the frame rails are directional - the square holes punched through the plates deform the material in a way that the bolt head rests flat on the plate better in one direction. Overall happy with the kit.
Took 1/2 hour to install. Fit like a glove. Packaging sucks though and UPS had to tape up the box during transit. etrailer is a great company. Let's step up the packaging quality.
The hitch was shipped in a heavy cardboard box. All hardware was included and complete. Install was a breeze thanks to YouTube videos. It fit perfectly, it looks great and will be very useful for my needs.
Thanks
I just finished installing this hitch on to my 2022 Forester, and I couldn't be more pleased with it. The installation was just like the video that is posted to your site, and the wire feeding tools made it a breeze!
I did not have to modify the plastic underbody panel on my 2022. It fit back under the car, and I added a self tapping screw to hold it in place. Thanks for making it so easy!
Glenn D.
4/26/2023
My hitch receiver is great! We mostly carry bikes on the back of our car with it, but I have occasionally used it to pull a small flatbed trailer, hauling mulch, dirt, etc.
Was just thrown in a box. No packing or dunnage to keep it from tearing through the cardboard. It was about half way out of the box. Fortunately the other item in the box didn’t fall out or get crushed. Hitch was 3/4” to wide. Couldn’t get the bolt through the slots. Had to use a come-a-long to pull the sides in. This was the 3rd hitch I’ve gotten from etrailer. This was the absolute worst between the oversized hitch and the other part of the order never shipping when they claimed, and now arriving a week to late. Very disappointed
If there was ever a website that should be used as a reference it's etrailer. They have everything you need to succeed in tackling an install. Their videos and other people's comments made this install for me easy. I did the install myself and the tools I used besides the ones shown in the video was a step bit to widen the whole to pass through the hardware, I would advise wearing safety glasses and long sleeve shirt due to the metal bits falling on you, and a jack to hoist the trailer hitch into position.
I have ordered 2 hitch receivers over the past two years and both times the packaging was terrible. Parts of the receiver were sticking out of the box with chipped paint when it arrived. I’ll do the hard thinking for you guys… PUT WOOD LINER IN THE BOX!!! Problem solved. Also, I’m not drilling into a 40,000 car that has less than 500 miles on it. The guys over at U-Haul have the same hitch receiver with the same weight rating and the bolts fit right through the access hole. Take some notes and do better
When the box arrived I had doubts about the hitch because the box was damaged in several places and had been taped numerous places by UPS. Upon opening the box, the hitch survived the UPS journey. There were some scratches on the hitch but they won't show once the hitch is installed. It looked like the hitch was put in a box that was too small for the hitch. I followed the directions in the video and installation went well. One caveat, make sure the nuts will thread onto the bolts before you fish the bolts into place. I had two bolts that had bunged up threads on the end. It took a little extra work to get the nuts started without pushing the bolts up into the frame and seeing them lost forever. I used a floor jack to lift the hitch into position, much easier than trying to hold the hitch up and starting a nut to support the weight. Installation took longer than I thought it would, mainly because my dog was supervising and had to constantly perform quality control inspections on every step of the installation. I am very satisfied with the installation and think the hitch looks great installed on the car.
I can't give this rating more than 2 stars. Simply because of the fact that when this item was delivered the entire Hitch was hanging outside of the shipping box and parts(bolts and nuts) literally taped to the hitch. I don't know if the shipping box was not adequate enough or what but it's completely un acceptable! Very disappointed.
This is the second hitch I have ordered this month. I really love the install videos. I am a pro now. I purchased a nice bit to make the access holes slightly larger and I use two 4 ton jack stands to help lift in place solo.
Trailer hitch arrived unsecured in a cardboard box. The hardware was just taped to the receiver. The hitch had punctured the box in two places and lost some powder coating in the process. The install wasn’t bad. But I would highly recommend saving yourself some frustration and spending $[XX] on some exhaust hanger pliers.
Just installed on our 2024 Subaru Forester. Took several hours but I am 64 and do not have a lift like they do in the video. Also the etrailer instal 2023 Video is much better than the 2024.
The trailer Hitch was well built and very strong. The delivery was extremely quick. I am very pleased with the product and the service. This is the second Hitch I have purchased from E Trailer.
The trailer hitch was perfect and all the parts arrived together. But big thumbs up to the time and effort your team buts into production of the video clips for installation.
Thank you
Prompt delivery and the installation video was very helpful. Matte finish looks great and makes it less prominent than the gloss finish of my last hitch. Time saving tip - on my 2025 Forester I did not have to fully remove the plastic shield, after removing the bolts and some clips the plastic bends enough to just move it out of the way to get the hitch in place.
The video was very helpful. Bypass the tin snips. I did find two 'dimples' in the heat shield that matched the bolt pattern. Maybe Subaru did that for their hitch installs? I just used the step drill and made the holes and installed the shield. The bolted up the hitch, sandwiching the shield between the hitch and frame.
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Joel
6/3/2024
After one year, the hitch has hit no unexpected surprises, works great though it usually just gets used for a bicycle rack