I got mine installed at uhaul for like $250, the tongue weight is what kills me, but the type of hitch is not the real limiting factor. I would NOT get a Subaru hitch simply because it is not a 2 inch. If you put a converter on the Subaru hitch then you lose a lot of total capacity that you would have from a regular 2 inch one.

Oh, also the Subaru hitch is more expensive.

 

You buy hitches. You rent or buy trailers.

Make sure your load is practical for your tow weight limits.

Sometimes it makes more sense to rent a uhaul truck and a car transporter trailer and move it all that way.

 

Already mentioned: the hitch is permanently installed, you buy it. The trailer is rented.

Unless you are only moving very small or lightweight items, a UHaul trailer that meets the towing limitations of an OB isn't going to carry much. Think about moving a shared dorm room worth of stuff.

It sucks to have to think about all the expenses of a truck and dolly to flat tow your OB, but that is an alternative.

 

I installed a 2" Eco-Hitch here's a link Torklift Central | 2015 Subaru Outback EcoHitch - Outback - Subaru - Find Your EcoHitch® - Trailer Hitch and Towing just because the hitch has a 350# tongue weight...you are limited to the paltry 200#'s Subaru puts on this vehicle.

The install is NOT difficult in the least...a little scary to "rip" (LOL) the rear bumper cover off...but it goes on easily...I got mine done start to finish in about an hour and a half...and I had to remove the rear wheels to get my rear splash guard screws off too...but it is a VERY clean install (see pics on that site I linked to).

They have raised the price slightly since I ordered mine in February...but they do run "specials" occasionally from what i hear...free shipping all the time.

I was impressed with this product.

Agreed that the size of your trailer that fits the tongue and max rating of the OB will not hold a lot...sadly...but this is still mostly just a car on steroids for looks...not function mostly...

 

I installed a 2" Eco-Hitch just because the hitch has a 350# tongue weight...you are limited to the paltry 200#'s Subaru puts on this vehicle.

Unless I'm misunderstanding, I was under the impression the 200# tongue weight limit was in effect regardless of whether you're using the factory hitch or the EcoHitch.

 

If you have the time before needing to move, pay attention to hitches on the back of other Outbacks before buying yours. Which appeal to the eye and which are unsightly? Which hang down too low, and are more likely to hit when clearance is needed, and which are tucked up real close to the bumper, and look unlikely to ever hit?

You will probably notice that many of them look like the same hitch. That's because U-Haul, Draw Tite and Hidden Hitch are all made by the same company. They just stick different stickers on them. They do tend to be the most inexpensive. But you get what you pay for. I find the brand names Draw Tite and Hidden Hitch to be deceptive, because at least for the Outback, this hitch neither draws tite to the car, nor is it anything like hidden. It hangs down quite low and looks like an afterthought.

The Subaru hitch is up very tight to the bumper and looks very nice. It looks like it is designed for the car, which it obviously is. The down side is price. It is by far the most expensive. That's why I selected to go with the Torklift Ecohitch.

The Torklift Ecohitch also tucks up very tight to the bumper, giving it a very nice finished look. In fact, they have improved the design for the Gen5, and I like it even better than the design on their Gen4 hitch. It is more expensive than the U-Haul/Hidden Hitch/DrawTite hitch. But in my opinion, it is worth every bit of it. It can be bought in either 1.25" or 2". Personally, I prefer 1.25". I think it looks more correct on the Outback, plus it yields almost another inch of clearance in the back. Torklift has installers all over the country.

The 1.25" hitch gives the same towing capacity as a 2" hitch on the Outback. Towing capacity is not determined by the hitch, but rather, by the design of the Outback. As long as you don't have any accessories that require a 2" receiver, it will never matter to you.

Torklift Central | Search results for: 'outback'


Keep in mind though, that the Outback doesn't have a huge amount of towing capacity, either 2700# for the 2.5, or 3000# for the 3.6, and that includes the weight of the trailer.

 

What I said and what he said...LOL...

 

Funny. You must have replied about the same time I started mine.

As a quality engineer, the design of the less expensive hitches really bothers me. They don't look like they were really designed for the car, or if they were, eye appeal and clearance were not part of the design criteria. I would also guess the design budget was very limited, spending the least amount of time necessary to get a salable product to market.

In comparison, the Subaru and EcoHitch both show signs of being well thought out, and designed with more in mind than just being a means to tow.

 

No worries B...


I agree...the Eco/Subie hitch are MUCH more visually appealing...hence why I paid the premium to buy mine...install really was quite simple...I did it myself in conjunction with the Curt trailer wiring that is pretty easy...the Eco 2" (I went with the 2" because of the adaptability of my owned bike rack/etc.)...looks like a factory installed hitch...fits perfectly on the vehicle and only the receiver box is visible...all my other cars/vehicles have had the hidden hitch (not so hidden) and being in salt country they all RUST eventually and look like crap...the Eco is mostly hidden...easy to keep painted nice!

 

U Hual hitch.

U-Hual hitch; the only way to go; inexpensive, quick install, works fine, lasts a long time!

 

Not really on-topic, but does anyone know why the US limits for the 3.6 are 200/3000 while the AU limits are approximately 400/4000? Marketing, safety, ?

 

Back in the old days, when cars had actual bumpers, U-Haul did rent a hitch that chained onto the bumper. That was then, this is now. U-Haul, or whoever. You need to have the hitch permanently installed. If you just have a few little things to carry, U-Haul rents cargo containers for the roof rack, at least they used to, not sure now days.
If you have allot to haul, I'd do what rasterman suggested. Rent a big truck and car transport trailer. There are a few reasons I suggest this option as well. Between you and California, there are allot of steep mountain passes that will tax a 2.5 Outback with just a couple of passengers and suit cases. You add the weight of a trailer and you're asking for all kinds of trouble you don't need. If you break down in a U-Haul truck, it's U-Hauls problem and they'll send someone to help. If you break your car, the tow alone could cost upwards of $800 out in the middle of nowhere. How's that possible? Because they can...
Moving cross country SUCKS! I've done it 4 times too many...
One hint. If the stuff is just stuff, have a yard sale and forget hauling it! You can replace what you need when you get to where you're going. It would be a shame to blow up your car because you where hauling non-important "stuff"...
Speaking of the rental hitches, I remember in my travels seeing a few bumpers ripped off cars that had been over loaded...
If you haven't pulled a trailer, be very careful.

 

Another idea hit me while sitting here. Have you thought of using a pod type moving company?
http://www.upack.com/lp/moving-containers.asp?r=r01100&refnum=googlepd&c=G%2FTM%2FUS&g=E%2Fpods&m=exact&k=pods&ad=25515136156&ap=1t1&gclid=CO6EjeuE7sYCFUeRHwodvD0AiA
http://www.pods.com/

Not sure how much you need to move, but they have all different size containers. They deliver it, you load it, they take it to where you're going, you unpack it...
A few years back I used Pods.com to move from Utah to Kentucky. It really made moving easy.

 

I purchased a used U-Haul hitch for $40 off Craigslist. Why so cheap? If you aren't using a bumper attaching style, Torklift/Subaru, then a Gen 4 hitch can be used. Well, for a U-Haul hitch anyway…same part number.

The U-Haul hitch doesn't look too awfully bad, tucks in and sets back nicely, whereas a Curt hitch looks absolutely terrible. Plus, I already had a 2" drawbar assembly.

 

The pod idea is a good one. UHaul also offers that service.

And the towing and toungue weight limits are set by the OB, not the hitch. You can get the highest rated hitch you can find, but the limit is still 200lb.

 

If you're moving pretty much a whole household across country ... rent a big Penske truck and a car trailer to haul your car. U-Haul rates were considerably higher than Penske when I moved here three years ago. I did it all myself - Indiana to Oklahoma. Three trips my pickup with a tailgater on it, and twice with the big Penske one way and plane trip back. (We had several months to move, due to selling the house in Indiana, and the wife was already moved down here and working.) Otherwise, the biggest thing you're going to run into with any non-OEM trailer hitch is the loss of ground clearance - that, and they're not class 3 hitches, they're class 2. So those people that want to carry their Rascals or motorized scooters HAVE to go after market due to the tongue weight restriction.

 

Pods are costly but have advantages a good friend just used pods to move from Texas back to their hous in CA both homes were difficult to access the pods were moved by special wheeled cradles from the truck to the house on both ends. $$$$$$$$$$$ yes very costly.

Nothing is being said about how much stuff he needs to move. We talking single guy, chair, bed, desk, dresser, and toys or we talking family house?

Single guy basics buy a used 5x6 or 5x8 open trailer pair your stuff down to a few rubbermaid bins, put a big tarp on the trailer floor load it then flip the rest of the tarp over the top, lash it down and go. For that trip you dont want more than 1800lbs max loaded total trailer weight. Meaning single guy only basics. You have a house full of stuff rent a truck or hire movers.

 

Thanks everyone for all the info about the hitch, and recommendations for the move. I lost my wife of 19 years cancer in May, and I decided to sell our house and move to Northern California to be closer to family. I obviously didn't think it through clearly, since I don't have a house or apartment lined up yet,,,,, there would be storage on the other end until I found somewhere, making using a relo cube or pod the better option. Where I'll end up in my new retirement who knows, but the 2015 Wilderbeast OB will get me there!

It's a tough call: just enough fine reproduction furniture and sentimental pieces that it would cost over 8-9K to replace, most likely at lower quality. One pod will run 4K with some storage, and help loading, etc. I'll get a full-service mover quote, but my guess would be in 8-9K range. One bedroom, living room, dining room, plus some chests and such. I'll do all the packing, they would mostly be moving and loading the truck.

As you can imagine, it's a scary move.....and I'm not referring to the mountain passes.
thanks again
John

 

John we moved my fatherinlaw from Annarbor MI to Walnutcreek CA in 2012. I filled a 6ft x20ft x 6ft high bin three times getting his 4000sqft house empty. We sold off most stuff. After I left he called the first moving company he found and said (no joke) I have $10,000 can you move me to CA. I just about died when he told me this. He handled the move. The truck arrived with 50,000lbs of stuff!!!!! Keep in mind he moved into a 1300sqft 2bd 2ba condo. Ha!! I made three more trips to the dump!!! We sold stuff I thought he had sold off in MI before the move. I even found a 65lb bin full of salt for sidewalk ice that he hauled to CA.

I think you can do far far better on moving prices than 8-9k when my fatherinlaw hauled 50,000lbs of junk across the US for 10k. ;-) By the way it would have cost me 12k to truck a 28ft sailboat from Michigan to CA. I think you can get your stuff moved for 6-7k but you might need to bust some nuts negotiating with the mover yahoos.

 

Should I have U-Haul install a hitch for their trailer (do I rent it AND the trailer?), or buy the aftermarket Subaru hitch, have it installed, and can it be used for the U-Haul trailer?

This is the U-Haul hitch:

I paid $288.52 for the hitch and wiring harness at U-Haul including sales tax. My local U-Haul charges $55.00/hour for labor. Other higher labor cost places in the country would be more than I paid. I also bought a Curt Class III ball mount with a 1 7/8 ball on Amazon for $24.43.

I think the EcoHitch is a much more attractive solution since it's tucked away completely out of sight but for what I paid, the U Haul hitch does the job. I'm only going to tow a rigid inflatable dinghy with a 15 hp outboard 1/2 mile with it a couple of times per year. If I thought I'd be towing 3000 pounds for distance, I would have spent the extra on an EcoHitch. I see no point in the Subaru hitch. Any other toys I might want to attach there like a bike rack require 2" receivers.

 

subiesailor:

Good to know, thanks.....though Michigan to CA is much less distance than PA to CA. Lots of good all that salt did your father-in-law in CA...what was he thinking?

 

subiesailor:.. all that salt did your father-in-law in CA...what was he thinking?

Movers will do that.. adds to their profit, the extra weight.

 

We hired a moving company when we moved in-town. We had a schedule that would have killed me if we did the UHaul route.

I got three quotes - they were all pretty close. I went with the first guys. A big name long distance company for a 6 mile move. The guy gave me some tips on how to save money.

- Pack it yourself, they provided used boxes, packing paper and tape at no charge.
- Use standard sized boxes, they stack better.
- Use "book boxes" for books. They are sized just right so you can fill them with books, but they won't hold so many the box is too heavy to lift.
- Stack all the boxes you can fit into your garage. Fill it front to back, side to side and floor to ceiling. When the crew arrives they take no time at all to move the stacks to the truck using dollies. Then the only time they spend going up and down stairs will be for furniture.
- They brought the biggest trailer they had so they didn't have to spend any time trying to fit everything.

The crew of three had just moved a load cross country into my town, picked up this one day job, and were headed to load up for another cross country job the next day.

They charge a couple of ways. They estimate the weight of your stuff. They use a formula that figures how many pounds of stuff per hour one guy can move - so if you do all you can to make that go faster, they don't take as long and your final bill is lower. I don't know how they figure mileage charges.

Hint: be very careful about insurance. Call your homeowners insurance company and see if your stuff is covered while it's on the truck. The moving company has some insurance, but it's not always what you think it is. They might offer some kind of insurance upgrade for an extra charge. If they drop a table and break off a leg, that's one thing. But if a tire blows on the interstate and for some reason they jacknife and roll, you might end up with a lot of splinters and a $100 check from the moving company.