hainesdawg Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 I have a 92 subaru loyale wagon. I've seen many pictures of other subarus with a hitch on them. I was wondering how to hook one up to the back. Also, how much weight can you tow without worrying about damaging something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fj401968 Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 U-haul sells one that bolts on where the factory tow hooks are and also required some frame drilling. I installed one on my '88 GL wagon in under an hour. Seems like the one for my Legacy didn't require any drilling and went a bit quicker. The cost was a bit over $100. My Legacy definately towed things better but my GL wagon with the 3 speed auto managed to tow my small tent trailer around reasonably well. I need to get a hitch on my current Soob ('87 GL wagon 5 speed, D-R). I'm thinking of building a tube-style bumper with a built in receiver hitch. I wouldn't tow anything over 1000 lbs with an ea82 for any appreciable distance. They are too light and don't have the torque or braking to safely tow much more. I have a 6x8 trailer with short sides. It tows nicely behind a smaller Subaru and works well for trips to Home Depot for lumber or to the local foothills to get landscape rocks. Tracy I have a 92 subaru loyale wagon. I've seen many pictures of other subarus with a hitch on them. I was wondering how to hook one up to the back. Also, how much weight can you tow without worrying about damaging something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmiller Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 I would recommend the Portland Hitch Company based in...Portland, OR. They have something for everything. If not then maybe Uhaul. Hitches all have some rating on them, just ask the tech at on of those places on the hitch you want. The main issue is how much the car can tow. But either way its nice to have when you need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 a lot of u-hauls hitxch selection is from valley hitches i checked into one for my sedan, it shows not available for the sedan but for the wagon. that is because the wagon is flat and the sedan curves up where the tow hooks are. the hitch bolts into place of the tow hooks when i had a fellow employee look up a subaru hitch they said it was the most expensive they had seen(here in wisconsin) suppose other uhaul marketing companies in different regions have different price or suppliers if going with u-haul get the part from them and install it yourself you will need a 3-wire converter for the pigtail because the turn bulb is separate than the brake bulb my sedan has a hitch. it came from an ea81 fwd wagon, i re-arranged the parts and bolted it between the bumper and the smuggler's box. i had to make holes behind the license plate to get a wrench on the nuts on the inside. the license plate has been re-located to between the taillights(its pimpin') Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobme Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 I towed my 3600# boat with my '85 wagon:eek: I don't recomend towing that much:drunk: But it haled my little 1300# utility trailer just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 Got a hitch on my '82 BRAT. Can't says as to how much I've towed with it, but have towed various trailers. Even moved the twin-axle camper trailer we had around the yard without to much problem. I can, (or my shins can actually), attest to how well it is mounted to the BRAT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KStretch55 Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 Owners manual strictly forbids putting a hitch on EA82 models. Probably for the reasons already mentioned (not enough power or brakes, as well as fairly light drive train). So, be careful! I don't think I'd pull anything much over a few hundred pounds. 1000 at the very most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xoomer Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 My shins to. Not on my subi, but I had a hitch on my 80 corolla, a couple of cars ago... that thing was a beast. I pushed a chevy 1 ton 50 feet with it... Pushed the hood back and the fender ripped off.the frame rippled... and then I still drove it (put about 7k on it after that... before I discovered subies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hainesdawg Posted November 19, 2005 Author Share Posted November 19, 2005 Thanks for all the information. I have another question on this subject. Do the older generation subarus have a frame or are they unibody? If they are unibody, what exactly would the hitch attach to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newsance Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Owners manual strictly forbids putting a hitch on EA82 models. Probably for the reasons already mentioned (not enough power or brakes, as well as fairly light drive train). So, be careful! I don't think I'd pull anything much over a few hundred pounds. 1000 at the very most. This is why you will be hard pressed to find anything more than a class 1 hitch kit for an EA-82, with a maximum toungue weight of 100 lbs, and trailer weight of around ~1000. It isn't so much the drive train that is the limiting factor as the fact that an EA-82 simply does not have any real meat in back to connect a hitch to. There is no real box frame back there. On a typical truck, you have a 3/8" or thicker steel box frame to bolt or weld a hitch to. On a subaru, you have maybe a 1/4" piece of stamped sheet metal, and then typical kits will have you drill mount holes in the bumper, which is about the same thickness. The bumper on pre 1986 EA 82's won't even take a hitch, as it is very, very flimsy- something like 1/16" thick (almost as bad as a disposable turkey tray). All of that said, I typically tow a single jet ski that comes in around 700 lbs all told with the trailer with my 1986 EA 82 wagon. WIth that, it does fine- it is really like it isn't there. But, because there is simply not enough meat back there to take the stress of larger loads, I would not go much over 1000. Losing a trailer on the highway is a bad, bad deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobmater Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Thanks for all the information. I have another question on this subject. Do the older generation subarus have a frame or are they unibody? If they are unibody, what exactly would the hitch attach to? its a unibody..what i am doing, is, im getting a new rear bumper, that will have a tow hitch welded into it while towing, i would worry mostly about brakes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robm Posted November 21, 2005 Share Posted November 21, 2005 Hidden Hitch make one for the Loyale. It bolts to the tiedown hook mounts and also to the sockets that the bumper plugs into. The bumper socket is pretty close to a frame, it is 1/4" thick square steel tube. You are supposed to remove the tiedown hooks, but the bolts are long enough to bolt down both them and the hitch. Goes on pretty fast, it took me about 2-1/2 hours, with a hangover! The bumper has to come off, but that is an easy job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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