Tongue Weight Rating of Aftermarket Hitches for 2015 Subaru Forester

Question:

I am contemplating buying a 2015 Forester and hauling bicycles. Most racks are 2inch receiver. Your 2inch receiver hitch has a 350 lb tongue weight. Subaru vin has 150 lb rating. I dont understand the discrepancy.

asked by: Richard Y

Expert Reply:

The low tongue weight (TW) rating of the Subaru OEM hitches comes from the position of the hitch pin hole. The OEM hitches have very little material between the end of the hitch tube and the hitch pin hole, meaning that not as much of the bike rack's square shank will be inside the receiver tube. Less material results in a lower capacity. By the way, the online owner's manual that I reviewed indicates the maximum TW as 175-lbs (page 8-20). Certainly for use with a larger bike rack one of the aftermarket hitches is a better way to go.

The aftermarket hitches made for the 2015 Subaru Forester include both 1-1/4-inch Class II and also 2-inch Class III types, such as the Draw-Tite Class III hitch # 75876. Generally the larger hitches will have a higher weight capacity and usually this comes at very little additional cost over the Class II hitches so we typically recommend folks go for the 2-inch Class III option whenever it is available. This one is rated for 525-lbs of TW. This hitch comes complete with hardware for a no-drill installation and the process is shown in the linked video.

I also linked our page for hitch bike racks that fit 2-inch hitches, such as the Yakima FullSwing # Y02465, a 4-bike rack that has a hinge mechanism that allows the entire loaded rack to swing over to the passenger side for easier access to the cargo area.

expert reply by: Adam R