Ascent premium towing newbie
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No WDH, and anti-sway system is pretty darn good.
And yes, because the Ascent is not body on frame, as @Jim_in_PA said, it is very important that you do NOT use a weight distributing hitch, no matter what any trailer place says. A WDH is designed to distribute weight across a solid full frame. It is not supposed to be used on a unibody frame with multiple sub-frame pieces. The Ascent is designed to lever down in the rear.
I towed this beast just fine in 20mph sustained winds with gusts over 30mph.
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The Ascent has anti-sway technology built in that's pretty impressive. I will warn you, it's weird at first. The car will squat a corner or two against a sway - that's not what it's really doing, but that's what it feels like. In reality, it's using the ABS system to brake particular wheel(s) to pull the car the opposite direction of the sway.
And yes, because the Ascent is not body on frame, as @Jim_in_PA said, it is very important that you do NOT use a weight distributing hitch, no matter what any trailer place says. A WDH is designed to distribute weight across a solid full frame. It is not supposed to be used on a unibody frame with multiple sub-frame pieces. The Ascent is designed to lever down in the rear.
I towed this beast just fine in 20mph sustained winds with gusts over 30mph.
The ball mount no longer is included with the OEM hitch kit. You need to buy a rise/drop that properly levels your trailer. I use a 4" drop with my boat so the Subaru 6" wouldn't have been useful regardless. Use a ball mount that tucks the ball as close to the bumper as possible. The longer the mount the greater the multiplier for the tongue weight. Excessive tongue weight has to be considered when the car has a 500# maximum.
Lots and lots of folks have done that. The ball mount "size" you need depends upon your trailer. For example, a 6" drop ball mount (what the OEM ball mount was when it was included with the Ascent in MY19) puts the ball at about 18-19" above the ground. Some trailers are fine with that; some require a higher ball height and a few actually require a lower ball height. So you have to actually measure the trailer's expected ball height when the trailer is leveled properly. Some folks buy an adjustable height ball mount so they have the flexibility with just one to use multiple trailers with different requirements.
Thanks, the Ascent owners manual says only to use the Subaru brand, But I was wondering if others have purchased different manufacturers brand and what kind. Thank you for your feed back.
Also check your trailer's coupler for the correct diameter ball and don't over or under-rate the mount. You need a Class III.
Curt sells some of its ball mounts with the ball pre-mounted. I took this route because the torque requirement for attaching the ball was higher than my biggest torque wrench.
Curt sells some of its ball mounts with the ball pre-mounted. I took this route because the torque requirement for attaching the ball was higher than my biggest torque wrench.
So i have the Subaru oem hitch installed at a dealer after i purchased my 2020 ascent premium. The trailer i purchased has an equalizer hitch already. Would i be able to use it without the sway bars attached? Or wouls the weight distribution aspect still be a problem?
Don't use the equalizer ball mount and remove the rest of the wdh hardware from the trailer tongue. No need for all that extra weight.
The OEM ball mount is a 6" drop...appropriate for trailers that require an 18-19" ball height only. It's a good, well made product, but quite expensive, too. While the manual has that ever-popular note about using the Subaru ball mount..it's not necessary/required. One should always use a quality ball mount that puts the ball height at the correct level for the particular trailer.
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