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Full transcript: https://www.etrailer.com/tv-install-trailer-hitch-2023-subaru-outback-c67jr.aspx
Hi, everyone. Aidan here with etrailer. Today, we’re gonna be taking a look at and showing you how to install the Curt Class III Trailer Hitch Receiver on our 2023 Subaru Outback. Now, a hitch is gonna be a great way to do a variety of things with a vehicle, especially a Class III receiver like this one here today. It’s a two inch by two inch receiver tube which is gonna be compatible with a wide range of accessories, probably the most out there. So anything from a ball mount to a bike rack or a cargo carrier, you’re gonna be able to fit that in this receiver tube.

You do need to keep in mind the weight capacity limitations of that, but it’s going to allow for use of wide range of accessories. Those specific weight capacities are gonna be a 350-pound tongue weight. That’s the maximum downward force on the end of the receiver tube. So for things like bike racks or cargo carriers, that’s how much weight you can load up in them. Be sure to not overload them and abide by that weight capacity.

With the gross towing weight, that’s going to be 3,500 pounds and that’s the amount of weight it can pull. So be sure to also check your vehicle’s limitations and go by the lowest rated component because just because the hitch can handle that doesn’t mean your Subaru necessarily can. Some measurements to keep in mind when you’re checking out those accessories, you wanna see your ground clearance. So from the ground to the top inside edge of the receiver tube opening, that’s going to be 15 and three quarters of an inch. That’s gonna let us know whether or not we need a rise or a drop before checking out something like a ball mount, or it’ll tell us where our bike rack is going to sit about height-wise.

For clearances with a bumper, we do wanna check out from the center of the hitch pin hole to the outer edge of the bumper. And that’s going to be two and three quarters of an inch. So any sort of accessories you’re checking out, you can go from the center of the hitch pin hole of that accessory to the closest point, whether it’s a bike rack in the folded position or the closest point on the cargo carrier to see if it’ll have clearance with the bumper on your vehicle. Functionally, I’ve mentioned that this is a two inch by two inch receiver tube, and that means it’ll use a standard 5/8 inch hitch pin and clip. And then for the safety chain loops on the side, they are very accessible and will accommodate regular smaller S-hooks or maybe even somewhat larger clevis hooks like this.

And as far as aesthetics go, I think it’s gonna look really nice on the Outback. It’s got a black powder coat finish which gives it a nice clean look and helps it resist rust and corrosion over time, and it’s pretty well-recessed underneath the bumper. Not too far where it’s hard to reach and hard to access, but it also doesn’t stick out super far where we really notice it walking around the vehicle. It’s very minimally visible and the cross tube section is completely hidden so we don’t see anything hanging underneath the bumper besides the receiver tube. As far as the installation here goes, it’s going to be for the most part pretty straightforward. It is a little bit more involved because you have to remove this back piece of fascia to get to the bumper beam and install some things there, but aside from that, it mostly requires basic hand tools that you might already have at home. You just need something to do some cutting to do some minor trimming for the receiver tube. All of that’s tucked up under the bumper so you don’t really see any of those trim marks. And it’s going to be a pretty straightforward process if you’ve got a little bit of patience and some basic tools, which we’ll walk through the process with you together now. Starting off the installation, we’re gonna be working underneath the vehicle. And for this installation process, we’re gonna be underneath the vehicle very little. This is one of the few parts where we need to be on the ground working on some things. And all we have to get is some push pin fasteners. Something like a flathead screwdriver will work, but I strongly recommend having a trim panel tool on hand. You can get plastic or metal ones. As long as they’re this kind of forked shape, I find that for the type of push pin fastener we have, this is going to work the best. And then the flathead screwdriver will work pretty well for some of the ones we’ll see in the future. But grab those and make your way underneath the vehicle. Closest to the back of the vehicle on this silver plastic panel, we’re going to have five pushpin fasteners, but we only need three of them. It’