Product Specs:
Trailer Hitch
Custom Fit Hitch
Class II
Concealed Cross Tube
1-1/4 Inch Hitch
350 lbs TW
3500 lbs GTW
CURT
Perfect for light-duty towing, this custom, vehicle trailer hitch receiver features fully welded, gloss powder coated steel construction. Drawbar sold separately.
Video of Curt Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - Class II - 1-1/4"
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (180 Customer Reviews)
Perfect for light-duty towing, this custom, vehicle trailer hitch receiver features fully welded, gloss powder coated steel construction. Drawbar sold separately.Fast shipping, high quality construction, and very easy installation. I didn't even need to jack up my Subaru. I only needed a 1/2" drive ratchet with long extensions, torque wrench, and help from a buddy to hold up the hitch while I bolted it in place. Could not be happier. The electrical was breeze. And the Euro ball hitch helps keep trailers level. The e-trailer videos took all the guess work out, and were much simpler than a black-and-white instruction manual.
Been using for a year and it's holding up great. The install video helped make it a smooth and easy process. Nice for little things like bike rack or even something bigger like a trailer with two motorcycles on it. Great product
The hitch got here on time and the installer installed it in less that an hour. Thanks, I love when things go as planned!
The order process was easy, the receiver was well packed and arrived quickly. I installed this in my driveway on a 2003 Subaru Forester with no rust. The directions were clear. The fit was perfect. On a 1-10 scale of mechanical experience I'd give myself a 5. I had no issues and completed the instal in 30 minutes. I pretreated fasteners with penetrating oil and used silicone spray on rubber. I used a channel-lock pliers to remove the rubber exhaust hangers.
The hitch went on with no problems. A perfect fit. The wiring harness was even easier. Found the plug near the compartment where the spare tire is and just plugged it in and ran it through a hole in the bottom of the compartment. Took less than a week to receive at a very good price. Saved over 300 from having it installed at uhaul.
It works fine, no issues
This hitch is legit, made out of nice thick steel. The fitment is is perfect and it hides nicely under the bumper without showing to much metal.
I have an invidia catback exhaust and I had shorten the mid section by 1/2 inch so it would clear the hitch. Original hangers still work. The exhaust tip was a little close to the hitch so I put some adhesive foam just in case it would hit.
Love our trailer hitch!! Was an easy installation, we had it on for 15 minutes and was alright using it to haul our bikes to the trails! Thank you etrailer! Very happy with our purchase!
My favorite part about placing this order were the confirmation emails. George emailed; not a robot. George kept me informed throughout the whole process. Jeff installed the hitch in 30 minutes. I like the low profile. We are looking forward to using the hitch to tote our bike around.
So far, so good. Got it mounted on my 04 subaru forester without having an extra hand/nor dropping exhaust. Took roughly 40 mins for this B-rate home mechanic. Looking forward to pulling something!
Straight out of the box and on the vehicle. The hitch fit perfectly and the only thing that slowed me down was putting the bolts back on. It took me time as I did it myself, but was a surprisingly easy piece to put in. Excellent product! The picture is not great, but the part fit wonderfully.
Thanks for making buying this fast and easy! This comes with light instructions, so I highly recommend using online tutorials for the step by step process and knowing how much torque you need for the bolts.
I will update this according to etrailer's response and efforts to reconcile.
I will do my best to be constructive, yet the fit of this hitch is anything but. Let me explain.
First, the detail on the paperwork is barren at best. Second, it has the bolt measurements completely wrong aside from the provided bolt (for the exhaust mount?) which doesn't match up with the vehicle when the hitch is seated . The bolts that are on the vehicle are 14m and 17m. Not 12m as indicated on the install sheet. So that was a hassle when preparing to find out that I needed different tools/so much for prepping.
Also, the tear down to allow hitch access to frame is more extensive than indicated which leads me to believe your company leaves these details out in order to sell the "easy fitment" solution.
The breaking point for me though came when I removed the passenger side bolts which also secured the vehicle's EVAP system and can not be reinstalled with this hitch/will not allow the reseating of the EVAP system's mounting bracket. So, in essence, this hitch DOES NOT fit this vehicle.
After all this and full day of futile compromise I now have come to the conclusion that my plan to install the hitch, rent a trailer (already reserved) and move my 4BR household this weekend has now become a nightmare of uncertainty and an embarrassment to those counting on my decision to go this route. What do I do now? I guess it's a last minute scramble to find (hopefully) a truck rental or a moving company who specializes in exorbitant fees towards folks in my predicament, one which the hitch was a resolution away from...for naught.
While I found you professional and enjoyable to work with and the product presenting a generally acceptable quality, not fitting the vehicle renders these benefits useless and most importantly costs me dearly in both time and further expense.
I could never recommend this path to anyone, friend or foe. I wish I had a better report...more for me though than anything else, painful to say the least, rendered by etrailer.
I am an OTR driver who spends 3 months out on the road so the small window for me this week to move has been turned upside down, sideways and when I say nightmarish, I mean a complete disruption of life and a madness that no one should have to experience by the negligence of a company who seems to have put sales above reality and truth. It feels criminal. This has wrecked everything. I've been robed of so much and scrambling now to figure out what to do. I have 4 days with desperate stares in my direction as to what what we do now.
Thank you? For a huge lesson, seemingly where not to patronage, unless you or the techs have some sort of resolution for me. I expect a call from you to discuss the options in front of us. This is bad.
Mike L.
3/28/2019
Were sorry to hear about the difficulty youre having installing your hitch. After looking over your description of the problem, it seems the major difficulty you had was the installation of the bracket that holds the charcoal canister. I did look over the installation instructions, which I must say arent very clear. The bracket for the canister should be sandwiched between the hitch and the fame member, which will allow the hitch to be installed and the canister to be reattached. If you use the link above showing the hitch being installed on a 2003 Forester, you can see an install video that should make this a little more clear. As far as the hardware goes, when Curt refers to the bolts as being M12, theyre speaking of the diameter of the threaded portion of the bolt, not the actual size wrench needed. This hitch has been around for several years, and it appears that the instructions have not been updated in awhile.
Helpful Links
First of all I’m getting annoyed on how this is not fitting properly. I’m battling installing my this and hitch is off. Seems like the welding job done on this hitch for my 2005 Subaru Forester XT is trash, garbage. I have a Turbo XS exhaust and that alone won’t fit. Took it off and install my stock muffler barely fits. Stripping my bolts and exhaust hangers are not on. I had to grind off the bolt on the exhaust hanger because it wouldn’t fit. Probably have to zip tie it to the hitch. Etrailer, keep in mind most people have aftermarket exhausts and not everyone has stock exhausts. Very poor job on this hitch.
Mike L.
7/26/2019
When the hitches are designed by Curt, the fit is mocked up using a stock vehicle with a factory exhaust. Due to the unknown nature of aftermarket modifications, fit cannot be guaranteed on vehicles that have had modifications made.
Everything was as advertised EXCEPT installation issues (possibly pertaining only to a 1999 Suburu Forester). While production qualities of the video demonstration were questionable, nevertheless after reading its transcript in conjunction with viewing it multiple times I became clear about the essence of the install. The predicted install time (ie actual wrench work after having watched the video multiple times, etc) would have been accurate EXCEPT for a detail pertaining to re-threading of the bolts back into the car frame to secure the trailer hitch. The problem was that the nut-plates inside the frame were not held securely in place via a weld, rather Suburu chose some method that was not reliable. As a result, the very act of removing the chassis bolts tended to slightly miss-align the nut-plate lying behind the chassis-holes. This caused no end to heartache, adding something like two hours to the install! So excessive finesse and tedious adjustment of nut plate with hole using a screw driver was needed to overcome the problem. While we did succeed, nevertheless I was nearing the end of my rope, and anticipating failure in the current trend, I conceived of a solution just in case further finesse failed. Here it is if anyone finds it useful.
Obtain the appropriate length/thread/diameter metric SET SCREWS (probably Allen-head), and finesse them into the nut-plate WITHOUT the Hitch in place (a far easier proposition). Then using these protruding set-screws (with long enough length) to serve as “place holder studs” remove ONE a a time (with an Allen wrench), and replace it with its bolt counterpart; do this until all set screws are replaced with bolts.
Apart from this unfortunate occurrence (which I consider Suburu’s poor design choice, not Curt’s), service was great from eTrailer, and I am a satisfied eTrailer customer!
Dave L.
Patrick B.
6/3/2013
Dave, we totally agree. Some of our older videos leave a little bit to be desired. We have upgraded our methods, equipment and systems to improve the quality of the videos. We choose to leave the old ones up because an older, less polished video is better than no video at all.
Nice looking hitch, hides well. Install was fairly straight forward. Took me about 1 hr to install with air tools (I'm an ASE Master Technician-this is on my own vehicle). Did not come with new bolts, wasn't advertised as such, I just missed it; other advertised hitches on etrailer.com came with hardware. Existing bolts were too short to make me comfortable towing anything near capacity-I will replace the factory bolts with longer ones soon. Hitch mounting flanges were a little bent inwards that required some persuading with a pry bar and held with a vise grip to get the bolts started. Tip to installers-once the hitch is in place, start ALL of the fasteners with a few threads; then once they are all started, then torque to specification. This will prevent fighting the hitch on subsequent bolts.
I would DEFINITELY buy from etrailer.com again, great experience.
Patrick B.
10/22/2013
Curt, the hitch manufacturer, specifies re-using existing hardware. One new bolt and one new nut are included for re-mounting one of the exhaust hangers to the hitch.
Great product and service. When I need trailer hitches etc. I will be sure to go the E trailer. It will be used to support bicycle racks.
Bill P.
5/12/2016
Its been working great. I use it to transport bikes.
I received the hitch in a few days. The box was in rough shape, but the hitch survived with no damage. The installation was no problem ('06 Subaru Forester) , except the rear left muffler hanger did not align perfectly with the hole. As a result, the muffler hanger is touching the hitch and causes a very annoying vibration.
Donot
6/14/2015
I have the same vibration noise where the left muffler hanger is hitting the top of the gap it is supposed to slide into on the new hitch. Seems like a crappy design, the hole should be higher. Looks like I am going to be bending some muffler hangers in a few minutes...
Very good fit. Didn't notice an exhaust bracket bolt was included as it was wrapped in the plastic around the hitch frame. It would of made the job easier if I had seen it or knew it was coming but none of the tutorials or packing slips mentioned it. Definitely recommend. This was for a 2008 Subaru Forester.
Rob G.
5/26/2016
Great! Towed a 2k trailer 950 miles uneventful
Everything fit perfectly. The only problem I had was getting the charcoal cannister to line up with the bolts. I put the pin in but could find no way to get the clip on it because of the safety chain loops.
Stephen G.
1/15/2018
Trailer hitch working fine but have not had to use wiring yet.
Installed on a 98 Forester. I was impressed with how well it lined up with the holes, including allowing the charcoal canister bracket to remount in its location, etc. Would have been nice if it came with new fasteners, but there was adequate length on the stock ones. The captive nuts in the car's frame are not actually welded to the frame, but are threaded into a large steel plate that is somewhat loose inside the frame member. This means you need to use a screwdriver or similar to poke them around to get it to line up, but this has nothing to do with the trailer hitch.
I did have to remove the three rubber exhaust mounts near the muffler (two behind and one in front) in order to let the exhaust sag enough to slip the hitch receiver into place, but I did *not* need to actually undo any fasteners, which was good. The flat bar on the left of the receiver fits perfectly above the muffler, which is a place I've seen other brands foul.
The only gripe I have is that the safety chain loops are welded in such a place that they interfere with the "L" shaped part of the pin you use to secure a tow ball. Even using all Curt brand stuff, you can't rotate the pin enough to get the clip on. Cutting the L part of the pin shorter was easy work with power tools, but would suck if you were trying to use a hacksaw. Perhaps other pin designs wouldn't have the issue.
Overall very satisfied, build quality looks good and it really tucks up under the car with no reduction in clearance.
Overall the hitch install went well. Had to drop both rubber hangers of the exhaust to fit the hitch above it. If it weren't for my neighbors impact wrench, I might still be working to loosen the bolts so beware. I sprayed with WD40 two days in a row before attempting and I don't know how much it helped. Liquid Wrench might have worked better. The only other thing is my exhaust shakes a bunch (manual transmission) and the square hole on the left side of the hitch isn't quite in the right spot so now I get metal from the exhaust hanger hitting the hitch. I'm working on a solution for that (thinking some foam/electric tape).
Jc
12/9/2012
I had this same issue 2007 Forester, with the exhaust hanger hitting the hitch because the left driver side square hole seems to be too low, not high enough to keep the exhaust hanger from hitting the receiver at times. May have to grind a little arch above that area.Anyone else have a solution for this?
Easy to install, great fit, safe and reliable.
Installed the towbar on a 2005 Subaru Forester using the auto hobby shop on base (the vehicle lift and hefty tools-to-borrow made all the difference). Took me about 1.5 hrs to complete the install. The only "downside" is that the hitch is really low so I ended up using a tow-ball with a 2" rise and it still seemed low. But it is what it is, and that was the fix.
A little tough to get installed, but, once on, the etrailer hitch receiver worked great On my Subaru Forester. I have a heavy-duty bike rack that is often tasked with carrying bikes loaded down with gear, and my hitch has never shown a sign of not working properly. It works as well as it would if the car always had a hitch. Great product. My only complaint or regret is that the hitch receiver placed the bike rack in such a way to obscure my license plate.
Very quick delivery of an obviously durable hitch. The care in packaging and especially the detailed, easy-to-follow, car-specific (Subaru Forester 2005) directions made this an easy to install item. I only wish that it had been clearer when ordering that my vehicle would need a hitch extender to mount a bike rack or carrying cage because the hitch didn't have enough clearance of my Subaru's bumper to work with my bike rack. Ordering a Curt 6.5" extender after the install was easy enough, but I've now paid an additional 5$ for shipping and have wait for a couple of extra days more before I can use the hitch.
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VS
Product Specs:
Custom Fit Vehicle Wiring
Trailer Hitch Wiring
Powered Converter
Custom Fit
4 Flat
Tekonsha
Quickly and easily install a 4-way trailer connector on your vehicle with this custom wiring harness. T-One connector plugs directly into existing wiring - no cutting, splicing or tapping required. Powered ModuLite reduces strain on wiring system.
Video of T-One Vehicle Wiring Harness with 4-Pole Flat Trailer Connector
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (361 Customer Reviews)
Quickly and easily install a 4-way trailer connector on your vehicle with this custom wiring harness. T-One connector plugs directly into existing wiring - no cutting, splicing or tapping required. Powered ModuLite reduces strain on wiring system.Installed on 1999 Subaru Outback.
The wiring harness was a simple plug in, by the left tailight, but a little tricky to get it to run out of the car. There actually was an oval rubber body plug up under the fender that you can just barely see from inside, and you can feel from outside, that I popped out and put a hole in for the wiring harness to go through. It was also a little tricky to get back in place with the wires in it, but it ended up working out nicely.
It really was an easy install, plugged in, wires run outside, fastened them to car underneath, and checked lights. It all worked,
Mike D.
5/20/2013
The location of the connector plug is the same for the 1998 model Subaru Legacy Outback Wagon. I mounted the module under the panel to the left of the spare tire hatch. To remove that panel you remove the plastic trim around the tie down loops and pull the panel up. I removed some of the styrofoam under this panel to mount the module. The connector can then be fished easily up to the tail light connector. The 4 flat connector can then easily be routed out through the rubber plug at the bottom right of the spare tire well.
Very simple install on a Subaru Outback. Much better than the splice method of install.
Customer Service really helped me out on this one. I had trouble locating the wiring harness in my 06 Forester. One quick call to customer service had me squared away. BTW-the plug on an 06 Forester is located by the passenger side rear light. It is bundled up next to several other connectors. See pictures.
This went on my 2006 Subaru Outback. It only took me 15 minutes to install. That included pulling out the side panels, connecting the wire and putting it all back together. Watch the video first and it is easy.
Hi Patrick, I received the harness today and had it installed within 5 minutes. I loved that I didn't have to cut, crimp, or trace any wires to get my Forester hooked up. Haven't had a chance to hook up with a trailer yet, but looking at the build quality, I don't have any reason to doubt it'll work awesome. Thanks,
Shipping - The hitch, ball mount-kit, wiring harness, and brush all arrived quickly in a single, heavy-duty cardboard box. The packaging was excellent! There had to have been a hundred heavy-duty staples used to secure everything.
Installation - The video and paper instructions were spot-on and made the install much more straight forward. For two non-mechanics, it took us about 2 hours from the time we pulled the car into the garage until all the tools were put away to install the hitch, wiring harness, and mount the balls on the sleeves. We did not lift the car might have made it a little easier but totally doable. The only actual difficulty we had was pulling the rubber muffler mounts off. A little lubrication helps. Reinstalling them is easier.
Dan S.
11/8/2018
All items continue to work well with no issues.
Highly recommend - easy to install and no noticeable impact on the turn signal flash frequency.
Product delivered within a few days. Extremely easy to Install. Took about 15 minutes total. Instead of sandwhiching the connector harness inbetween the rear cargo hatch/door and bumper area, I instead routed the harness through the rubber grommet located underneath the spare tire. This makes for a cleaner install in my opinion. A+++ for perfect fit, fast shipping, and easy install.
Tpk
3/23/2015
Great product, unfortunately I sold the car. I now have a 2000 BMW 528i touring wagon. Wish you made a product for this car that didnt require drilling into the spare tire well. I dont like the idea of mounting a trailer hitch to the body. Need a solution that mounts to a more robust part of the vehicle. Travis
Outstanding quality and so easy to install. The online videos are worth a thousand words...My install looks as neet as the one in the video.
The item fit and worked exactly as described and the video help from this site made it very quick and easy to install. Thank-you
Well constructed product, seems well made, but haven't had a chance to use it yet. The OEM installation instructions that came with the product were garbage. English, french and spanish were all stuffed on one side of an 8.5 x 11 page, and the one TINY photo provided for my car model didn't even come close to depicting reality... at least the reality that is my car. Throw the instructions out and watch the videos on the etrailer website and it will help immensely. I was disappointed though that the videos showed their installed product came with double sided tape to secure it, but the one i purchased has a bolt hole at the top and a zip tie, but no bolt or screw. The video and the instructions said nothing about where the product was supposed to zip tied to, or whether it should be zip tied or bolted down. The video and instructions should be updated to regard the actual product being sold. Had to knock off one of the stars. Everything else about the experience was fantastic.
Tom
7/2/2019
Used my hitch and harness for several fishing and boat camping trips in the last year. No issues whatsoever. Thoroughly pleased with both.
My friend Ann ordered this kit for me, everything is top notch, thank you. However, the problem I have has to do with my Subaru Legacy sedan, I have tried everything to find the vehicle's plug in to install the wiring harness, there isn't one that I can find. I have been in my past a VW mechanic for many years, so unless old age is confusing me, I wonder if you might have a plan. I was originally going to wire the harness in, then I saw how nice it is and thought what a great idea, just plug it in. So, for now I am still trying to find the plug in, they have it for the wagons but not for my 2006 sedan..so far.Thank you
Mike L.
6/14/2019
The wiring harness you purchased is a fit for the Legacy wagon model only, not the sedan. The sedan does not have the connector. For your vehicle, youd need part C59236 which would need to be hardwired into place.
Great product, great company, easy website, and fantastic customer support.
One of the easiest to install automotive electrical accessories I've ever seen. It took more time to empty the Subaru Forester's trunk area of shopping bags, snow shovel, etc. than it did to make the actual installation.
The Subaru wiring connector was not too difficult to find. It was a matter of running my hand along the wiring harness found in the spare tire well until I felt a pronounced lump under the tape. On this particular car, the connector was in the right rear corner of the tire well.
Mark S.
6/13/2014
I was a little dubious about closing the hatchback on the cable every time. However, after two seasons of using a trailer for camping trips and hauling things, Ive stopped worrying about it. I still have to make sure that the cable is in the right position before I close the lid not in the latch area and positioned so that there is just enough slack in the line to the trailer. Most of the time I have something in the trunk area that I can set on the cable to keep it in position while I close the lid.
The dealership quoted me $200.00 to install wiring harness for my hitch. I watched your video, ordered the part and installed myself. I just needed to know where the connection was!!! Thank you. It was a great experience
Lynda D.
7/5/2015
Great
Easy once connector is locatedI just installed a hidden hitch and the T-one wiring harness on my 2008 Subaru Outback wagon. The vehicle's trailer harness connector is not where the instructions for the product say it is nor is it where previous users have noted it to be on previous models. For instance, there is no longer a side access panel to the taillight assembly. What you do is open the hatch at the back and pop up the carpeted floor panel to the left of the spare tire compartment, on the driver's side. Just pull straight up - it is attached by three plastic connectors. Then pop up, in the same way, the panel made of cardboard and rigid foam that lies beneath that carpeted floor panel. This exposes a narrow slot at the bottom outer edge of the rear compartment, in the hollow metal part of the car between the outside metal skin and and inside trim. The slot is several inches forward of the tail light. A wire bundle was barely visible at the very rear of the slot, looking like it was running to the taillight. INitially I ignored it and kept searching. But when I ultimately got around to reaching my fingers in and pulling on this wire bundle (after searching everywhere else), it turned out to not be connected to anything, but was the trailer wiring connector that had been bent into a loop at the factory and tucked into the slot. The T-One connector plugs right in. I cut out a square in the cardboard and foam base panel to run the wiring through so that the transformer box, or whatever it is, on the connector cable can fit in one of the spaces between the foam dividers that are glued to the panel and support the carpeted top panel. This way, the carpeted upper panel lays flat when snapped back into place. The cable was then routed down into the spare tire well. I cut a slice into the rubber plug at the rear of the spare tire well, as suggested by a previous user, and then a hole at the center of the rubber plug just large enough to fit the cable without distorting the rubber. I then pushed the plug back in place, with several feet of cable and the connector for the trailer now outside the vehicle. A little silicone glue around the cable where it passes through the rubber plug sealed up the spare tire well to finish the job.
Chris D.
10/15/2013
Thank you for a very easy hitch to install. The wiring harness took a little time until I read the information from Craig P. and then it was a snap. Hauled 15 square bails this weekend. Thanks CD
Nice, well built harness. Nothing cheap about it. Plug and play. Perfect
Sorry, no pictures. I like the hitch and harness so far, no problems with towing my utility trailer. The only thing I might mention is that the harness outside of the car is rather long (2 feet longer then what I need), but that's not a problem as I just wrap the excess around the hitch frame, and save it for if I ever need it longer for some reason. There wasn't room inside the car under the mat for the excess length.
I still remember how easy it was to install the hitch, just bolted up the the existing bolt holes in the cars frame. (Subaru Outback)
Arrived as described and plugged in easily; but that's the end of the good news. Didn't work at all the first time I tried to use it. Voltmeter indicates that power comes out of the car, fuse was fine, but no power reached the flat 4 connector.
I didn't test until over 30 days past arrival, so etrailer won't replace the plug. I had to pay to send it for a warranty return, it's been there for 5 days now, and is currently somewhere in the warehouse waiting to be dealt with. After long waits on hold no specific estimate on timing for return.
I'm out return shipping, original cost, and either can't use my trailer or have to buy another harness.
Summary:
Bad product out of box, OK maybe just a fluke. etrailer customer service not great. Annoyed customer.
Product arrived in good time and looks well constructed for the $. In my particular application, I had great difficulty getting the fuse block and black electrical module to sit neatly where it made the most sense as to the logical routing of the wire loom and cables. After attempting to route 4 different ways, I settled on stuffing the fuse block and electrical module into the inner body panel well beneath the drivers side tail light. I believe this part is applicable to several Subaru models and therefore, the length and spacing of the cable where the fuse block and electrical module are along the length of the wiring was not the greatest for my particular vehicle, a 2009 Outback wagon. Not bad, just could not route where I had hoped to for the neatest result.
The wiring harness worked fine with the trailer, 1and the installation was quick and professional. The wires and connector are cleanly tucked out of sight until we need them again.
I was really pleased with how this mounted. The video instructions at etrailer.com were very helpful. As expected, it plugged into the Subaru connection perfectly, and it worked. My challenges were to find and choose the most weather-resistant place for a hole to run the wiring through (I chose an incision in a rubber plug, then put silicone on it) and non-interfering location to lay the wiring. I accomplished those things and had a good outcome. ( I have since sold the car, so can't comment on longer-term usage).
Installed on a 98 Forester. My car did not require the "T" wiring; It had a factory supplied multipin plug just waiting for me to plug into. That fact would have made it much easier to wire up my own lead and save a pile of money. On the other hand, this was a super simple plug-n-play option, and I do appreciate that it separates the trailer wiring from your vehicle lights with its own fuse... especially if you are using a boat trailer where things get wet and can short, or if you're renting a trailer where who knows what's been butchered, it's nice to know your vehicle electronics are separate, both for safety and peace of mind that you don't fry something hard to access or expensive to fix.
The trailer wiring kit for my 2005 Forrester arrived promptly. I reviewed the installation video so had an idea about how to proceed. Being used to things NEVER going as smoothly as expected, I prepared myself for some glitches. Much to my delight, removing interior panels went just as outlined in video. The car plug-in was just where the video said it would be. The harness fits perfectly and looks professionally installed with no tools of any kind needed. Total installation time start to finish was less than 10 minutes and most of that was removing the spare tire to affix the harness portion that came with 2-sided tape. I had originally prepared to tackle the project using a universal wiring kit requiring wire location and splicing of wires. I discovered Etrailer while researching how to manually wire the lights. I'm so glad I found this product - it made a difficult job a snap, and the product performs EXACTLY as advertised. My highest recommendation.
Arrived promptly after ordering. Was the right product for my 2003 Forester. Installation was simple; just a plug-in. I liked that the ground is integrated. Immediately fixed the burnt out converter on my original Subaru part (I have not yet completed testing my trailer for a short; not sure if that was the cause of the failure of my original part). It would have been nice for there to be a way to disconnect the wire from the converter to the flat 4-pole connector so it could be fed easily through the rubber nipple in the bottom of the spare tire well without cutting it (I had to cut it and re-seal it to pass the connector through). The wiring harness with wrapping is thicker than the unwrapped wires on the original, so I cut a groove in the bottom of the foam trim to allow space from the connector in the right rear area where it lives to the spare tire well. Even with these extra needs, installation took only 25 minutes or so.
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Ask the Experts about this Tekonsha Custom Fit Vehicle Wiring
Do you have a question about this Custom Fit Vehicle Wiring?
William
12/12/2022
The hitch receiver is in use quite often. After a 2,600 mile cross country move carrying a double bike swing-away rack in high cross winds it was as solid as the day I installed it. Altogether I have installed three Curt hitch receivers on Subaru vehicles and all the installs were quick and uncomplicated.