Availability of 2 Inch Trailer Hitch for 2007 Subaru Forester

Question:

I have a 2007 Subaru Forester and Im looking for a 2inch hitch but I cant find one. Can you help me?

asked by: Luke

Expert Reply:

We do have a couple trailer hitches available that are confirmed to fit your 2007 Subaru Forester, however they are all Class II models that feature a 1-1/4 inch receiver opening. There is not a 2 inch hitch receiver available for your vehicle.

Trailer hitch manufacturers tend to design their hitches to closely match the capacity of the vehicles they are designed to fit on. Trailer hitches with larger 2 inch receiver openings will have higher weight capacities, which is likely why there isn't one available for your Forester.

For your vehicle, I recommend going with the Draw-Tite Class II # 36311. This hitch will use existing holes in the Forester's frame for a no-drill installation and it features a tongue weight capacity of 300 pounds. I have attached the complete installation instructions that you can use for reference.

If you happen to already have a hitch-mounted accessory like a bike rack that is only compatible with 2 inch receivers, you do have an option for using it with this hitch. You can use a hitch adapter like the Brophy # HTAD, which will slide into the 1-1/4 inch receiver and provide a 2 inch receiver on the other end. The only issue with using this or any hitch adapter, is that it reduces the tongue weight capacity of your hitch by 50 percent. This means the 300 pound tongue weight capacity on the mentioned Draw-Tite hitch will be reduced to 150 pounds when using the adapter. As long as the combined weight of your carrier and loaded items do not exceed this reduced number, an adapter will work well.

Otherwise, you can simply choose a hitch-mounted accessory that is compatible with the 1-1/4 inch receiver out of the box. If you are looking at bike racks, I highly recommend the Kuat Transfer 2 Bike Rack # KU74FR. This is an excellent, platform-style rack that uses ratcheting hooks to hold the bikes by their wheels for no frame contact. It is compatible with both 1-1/4 inch and 2 inch receivers and can be tilted away from the vehicle for easy rear cargo access.

I have attached a short video demonstration on this bike rack, along with a link that will take you to our available selection of racks that are compatible with 1-1/4 inch receivers that you can look through.