Invisible Trailer Hitch Install on 2015 WRX

[fredzy]

Originally Posted by WRX-78

Can the foglight cut-out be removed without taking off the bumper? I can reach my hand behind there but unsure of how the clips are positioned. Thanks.

Well, the way I trimmed the frame out of the window (see 4th picture down in OP) combined with the location of the hitch receiver acting as a support, the knock-out sits securely in the window but will pop out of the top tabs with a firm push. It can then be removed easily from the outside. It worked out really great for me, but results may vary considering how everything is molded wobbly plastic.

I actually planned on removing the bottom lock tabs and then tapping a small hole through the bottom middle of the knock-out to secure it with a small black hex screw since it wasn't possible to access the inside of the bumper. If the lock tabs ever start to wear out and it gets too easy to pop out, I will probably do that.

Originally Posted by nicsye

Have you guys thought about asking a local Subaru dealer to let you develop a hitch on one of their WRXs, then become the supplier of hitches for all future WRX sales where the customer wants a hitch installed?

I hesitated a bit to do a hitch at all after seeing some people mention in threads on these forums that Subaru may deny warranty for certain problems due to the presence of a hitch. The logic being that the car is not intended for towing, and since you have a hitch, you could have towed.

Anyhow, I think for that reason it is unlikely that dealers will promote hitch use on WRX. Also, I emailed SoA to ask whether the presence of a hitch will cause warranty problems. They stated that no, the presence of a hitch does not cause a problem. If the unfortunate ever does occur, I'll just place the onus on them to prove whether I did any towing (impossible, even if I did tow, which I won't.)

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[Torklift Central]

[quote=nicsye;41897490]

Originally Posted by Torklift Central

Can someone in WA please do us all a favour and go get a free hitch??

I'm the guy up in Vancouver, BC who emailed about the hitch a month ago. I think I'll wait it out for someone else to provide an R&D loaner, it's not the best time for me to do a double-trip down there... unless it doesn't happen after another month or so... fingers crossed though!

Can't wait!

Have you guys thought about asking a local Subaru dealer to let you develop a hitch on one of their WRXs, then become the supplier of hitches for all future WRX sales where the customer wants a hitch installed? Not sure if that would work, just a thought though. My dealer told me they get all their hitches from RackAttack, so maybe you can do something similar by beating them to it?

The challenge for us right now is that the 2015 WRX is just starting to be sold in the Northwest where we're located. We do work closely with local Subaru dealerships to install EcoHitches for Impreza, Forrester, XV Crosstrek, etc. They'll be happy to loan us a '15 WRX for R&D soon once they can keep a spare car on their lot long enough to get it to our shop.

[nicsye]

[quote=Torklift Central;41900740]

Originally Posted by nicsye

The challenge for us right now is that the 2015 WRX is just starting to be sold in the Northwest where we're located. We do work closely with local Subaru dealerships to install EcoHitches for Impreza, Forrester, XV Crosstrek, etc. They'll be happy to loan us a '15 WRX for R&D soon once they can keep a spare car on their lot long enough to get it to our shop.

Awesome. Thanks for the update. I will check back with you guys in a month and see what the status is. If you still haven't got one and I'm in a position to make the trips down there and exchange vehicles, I will do that.

Maybe you should start a thread on this sub-forum specifically requesting someone to bring their 2015 in for a free hitch I'm sure it wouldn't take too long.

[fredzy]

Originally Posted by nicsye

Awesome. Thanks for the update. I will check back with you guys in a month and see what the status is. If you still haven't got one and I'm in a position to make the trips down there and exchange vehicles, I will do that.

Maybe you should start a thread on this sub-forum specifically requesting someone to bring their 2015 in for a free hitch I'm sure it wouldn't take too long.

Actually, it would make a lot of sense for Torklift to post up on the North West regional forum.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=14

[Torklift Central]

[quote=nicsye;41904542]

Originally Posted by Torklift Central

Awesome. Thanks for the update. I will check back with you guys in a month and see what the status is. If you still haven't got one and I'm in a position to make the trips down there and exchange vehicles, I will do that.

Maybe you should start a thread on this sub-forum specifically requesting someone to bring their 2015 in for a free hitch I'm sure it wouldn't take too long.

Thanks for staying in touch. Please do let us know when you might be able to make the trip. We'd be happy to engineer a free EcoHitch for you and set you up with a loaner vehicle. Also just posted a request for the '15 WRX in the Northwest Regional Forum. We'll keep you posted on what we come up with.

[jonfaiella]

Any updates on the status of the hitch design? This is high on my list of mods.

[The_Magistrate]

Same. Definitely would like to get my bike loaded onto my new car soon!

[slowxturtle]

Ecohitch announced they will be ready to order early next week on their social blog.

[willimprez]

Ordered my Ecohitch Tuesday should have it sometime next week.

Thank you Torklift Central !

[jay25RS]

I have my hitch on the way for my 2014 Legacy! Thanks to the OP for posting this thread!

[RobDMB]

I too am interested in adding an Ecohitch for the WRX primarily for a bike rack. Do people generally recommend the 2 inch or 1 and 1/4 inch? Also, does having this installed in any way affect subaru's warranty? I have no interest in tow items beyond a bike rack but also dont want my warranty affected. Thanks.

[The_Magistrate]

Warranty probably isn't affected if the hitch is installed correctly. It doesn't require drilling and isn't permanent.

I got the 2" hitch.

[nicsye]

Getting my 1 1/4" ecohitch installed on Wednesday. Will be using it for the Yakima Holdup 2-bike tray rack I just bought today I'll post the results later in the week. I decided to go with 1 1/4" for a few reasons:
1. It may be slightly easier to get the locking hitch pin in and out since there's more space for your hands behind the bumper
2. I'm only using the hitch for a 2-bike rack and possibly a cargo box later down the line, so 2" would provide little if any performance benefit
3. If I got a 2" hitch, it would tempt me to use my car for towing something like a snowmobile, and I know it wouldn't be wise to do on this car because it would void the warranty if anything happened, and these cars aren't made to tow. And if I was towing, steep hills and rough terrain would certainly be involved which could cause problems. Don't think I'll be getting a sled anytime soon though, that could only happen if I buy a house near the backcountry, which probably won't happen for a very long time.

[krazime]

anybody have a better pictures of the hatchback with hitch? looking to get one so ppl in the city could stop tapping me!

[nicsye]

So yesterday I went down to Torklift Central to get my invisible hitch installed. It looks and works great - the only issue so far is the difficulty of getting my 4" long threaded pin in and out of there for my new bike rack. It's doable but takes about 3-5 minutes, plus I have a lock for the end of the pin which is a challenge to get in there behind the diffuser. It can easily be remedied by cutting some more off the bottom of the diffuser to make a bigger hand hole - I'll do that as soon as I get access to an air cutter. Here it is in action with the new Yakima Holdup rack - tried it out today, loving the design. And it's nice to know that when the bike rack is off, aerodynamics and aesthetics are 100% unaffected. No issue with ground clearance here either

[The_Magistrate]

I ordered my Ecohitch on June 4th and haven't received notification that it's shipped yet. Has anyone else waiting on their hitch to be shipped? Emailed support this morning and haven't gotten a response yet.

[pbawesome]

I like the look, hides pretty well in the new rear bumper.
Thanks for the detail.

[jonfaiella]

I also ordered my hitch the day it was announced. I have heard nothing - but haven't inquired like you. I figured it should be here any day......

[The_Magistrate]

Originally Posted by jonfaiella

I also ordered my hitch the day it was announced. I have heard nothing - but haven't inquired like you. I figured it should be here any day......

Got my shipment email today. Shipped via FedEx to Pittsburgh. Estimated delivery Wed, June 18th. Seems like they're a little behind in getting things shipped out.

Edit: I noticed on the FedEx site that the hitch was actually shipped yesterday afternoon at 4:00. That means it shipped out after I sent my email (about noon) asking about it. Jonfaiella, you may want to email them asking, 'cause I ordered mine the day after they announced they were for sale and if you haven't received a shipment email yet, they may still be sitting on it.

[jonfaiella]

No worries, I got my shipping notification this morning also. I'm sure they're a small operation slammed with initial orders.

[fredzy]

Originally Posted by RobDMB

I too am interested in adding an Ecohitch for the WRX primarily for a bike rack. Do people generally recommend the 2 inch or 1 and 1/4 inch? Also, does having this installed in any way affect subaru's warranty? I have no interest in tow items beyond a bike rack but also dont want my warranty affected. Thanks.

I would go 1-1/4 for sure due to the difficulty of getting the pin in. Otherwise you'll have to cut material out of the bottom of the diffuser thing as others have mentioned, which would be a visible modification from behind.

Subaru says the warranty is fine as long as you don't tow anything. How would they know either way? No idea, but I'll just hope nothing ever happens anyway. With the hitch being so well hidden, they'll never know about it if you don't mention anyway

Originally Posted by nicsye

So yesterday I went down to Torklift Central to get my invisible hitch installed. It looks and works great - the only issue so far is the difficulty of getting my 4" long threaded pin in and out of there for my new bike rack. It's doable but takes about 3-5 minutes, plus I have a lock for the end of the pin which is a challenge to get in there behind the diffuser. It can easily be remedied by cutting some more off the bottom of the diffuser to make a bigger hand hole - I'll do that as soon as I get access to an air cutter.

Very nice! And it's great to hear these are shipping out, too. Yea the access can be a pain - if I'm going to put my bike rack on it'll be staying on for a few days minimum

I looked at cutting a nice opening on the bottom of the diffuser (something that would look like it was intended by OEM) but I found that the little seam of steel along the spare tire well was also an obstacle to accessing the pin from the bottom. I think the easy way - as mentioned earlier in the thread by eurospek - is to get a rack like the 1UP Quick Rack. Not cheap. There is no pin involved, you insert the stinger and then tighten a bolt that pulls a wedge inside the stinger that jams some kind of stop inside the hitch tube - like a bar-end.

http://www.1upusa.com/product-addonadapterblack.html

It would be awesome if they made an adapter, 1-1/4" pinned hitch to 1-1/4" wedge jammer thing.

[trucknomore]

If only the WRX could tow my Jeep... I guess thats what Uhaul pickups are for.

[jlogic]

Has anyone installed the 2" hitch yet? I ordered the 2" so I could use the same rack on my wife's Outback as well. But now am having second thoughts after reading how tight it is to get the pin in.

[fredzy]

Originally Posted by jlogic

Has anyone installed the 2" hitch yet? I ordered the 2" so I could use the same rack on my wife's Outback as well. But now am having second thoughts after reading how tight it is to get the pin in.

I'm not sure what it'll be like getting the pin in through the window, but I took another look at mine and I think accessing from the bottom via a nicely done cut-out in the diffuser part of the bumper could work for sure.

[jonfaiella]

I plan on installing my 2" when I get back home this week. Can upload pics if nobody else has yet.