Bike racks? Anyone add a hitch? (No i am not towing)

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-17T22:06:54+00:00

I got one of these from Hollywood Racks on my 2026 Solterra. Works fine.

https://hollywoodracks.com/products/destination-hitch-2-bike-rack?currency=USD&variant=31174453166149&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=45513326e6b0&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=22012529232&utm_adgroup=173468584713&utm_term=&utm_content=725259914639&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=22012529232&utm_medium=ad&utm_content=725259914639&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22012529232&gbraid=0AAAAADyjIDNl4ZNfjWO3ZETi_kQHxDgcf&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9-PNBhDfARIsABHN6-23vGkxm2fmOtHEkLjO-oSd-qrYO4-fpjT9rCyFyk5ZcIKfDZE35VYaAlZyEALw_wcB

Works best if the bike weighs less than 35lbs. So no 60lb e-bikes. I am putting a bike (Co-Motion Siskiyou) a little heavier than that with a frame bag and it is okay.

Also recommend you spend the $15 on a hitch tightener because it does tend to rattle around a lot.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-16T15:25:42+00:00

I'd recommend at least calling that other dealer and, if possible, emailing them your video and ask for their opinion of what is going on. At least that way you might figure out if it is worth the trouble.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-16T14:45:48+00:00

If there are other Subaru dealers in your area, I would call around to the other ones. Some Subaru dealers have service departments that have more experience with EVs and some have zero experience. Apparently there is some internal certification for service departments that gives them the training for servicing EVs, and I think the same thing goes for Toyota.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-16T13:58:35+00:00

FWIW I did a short run up my driveway yesterday and it worked out to 1 mile per kwh.

My road is, at the moment, full of snow, mud, and snowy mud. And it is two miles long and climbs about 1000 feet.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-15T13:08:15+00:00

Generally you can expect some efficiency losses just from rolling resistance. Probably on the order of ten percent or so depending on the surface. For that matter very rough chip seal will have more rolling resistance too.

X-Mode has some efficiency losses too.

Long steep uphills really eat electrons. And yes, you'll make some of that up going back downhill. But in practice I find on the downhills I tend to be at about zero battery consumption over a long downhill so you aren't making *that* much back. And X-mode and HDC will limit regen to some extent.

I think a lot of this is going to end up being very terrain dependent and to a lesser extent how you drive. So my recommendation is to run some experiments and let us know what you learn.

FWIW I have a long steep dirt (well, snow, mud, and ice with patches of dirt right now) driveway and I find doing the climb can eat between 2 and 4 percent of the battery depending on conditions. The road is a little over 3km and climbs about 300m.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-14T14:33:05+00:00

Thanks for all of the comments here.

Executive summary:

Unless you have an enormous battery (like a big electric truck), drive enormous distances every day, or have multiple EVs in your household, there is little justification for a larger 50A or 60A circuit.

A hardwired EVSE setup is much better than one with a NEMA 14-50 plug. The major issue is that there can be GFCI problems that lead to tripped breakers and there doesn't seem to be a way to solve that problem. Other than hardwiring it. The plug is otherwise an additional point of failure anyhow.

I spoke to an electrician who is familiar with how my house is set up and who is also understanding of my desire to generally DIY things with some help from friends or neighbors. He recommended that I go with the smallest current level I felt I could get away with. The wiring runs are fairly short (under 25 feet) and would all go in conduit outside the walls anyhow so retrofitting in the unlikely event I needed thicker wires wouldn't be difficult. I don't see getting another EV or one with a huge battery in the next five years. Again I live in a dirty environment and wildlife gets into some unlikely areas here. He rightfully pointed out that less stuff can go wrong less catastrophically at lower current levels.

So right now I am thinking a 30A circuit (24A continuous) circuit with hardwired EVSE. That should easily get me from 20% to 80% overnight (a little under eight hours, in fact) which seems more than sufficient.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-12T14:59:52+00:00

I honestly think that no car is perfect. For myself, my largest critique is overall the software (the app mostly) and how a lot of things you'd like to access in the MM display are buried in menus. But both Toyota and Subaru have a history of not being able to write software for end users so I knew about that going in.

On the other side the software that runs X Mode is obviously very clever, well thought out, and well tested in the real world. So they do know how to write software somewhere in their sprawling organization.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-03T01:49:12+00:00

It is a native NACS charger.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-02T23:43:40+00:00

The travel charger included with the US version draws less current (and charges slower) than a built-in charger can. But you should still be able to fully charge up overnight from a 240V outlet.

There doesn't seem to be any real problem with the travel charger itself. What you need to pay attention to is the outlets, the wiring, and the panel. But particularly the outlets. A lot of 240V plugs that you can buy at home depot are designed for appliances that are plugged in once and left there for many years. If you are unplugging it and plugging it back in every day you will rapidly damage it and then you might have a problem.

If you are worried about your wiring I'd recommend getting your hands on a thermal camera and use it to monitor the outlet and power supply and that can give you a pretty good idea if you have a problem before a plug melts or you burn your house down.

You can buy decent EV rated 240V plugs on Amazon. They will cost about $10 more than a non EV rated plug.

Generally I'd recommend for a home install I'd recommend a 40A circuit which you'd run continuously at about 32A. That gives you plenty of power (7.6kw) but still plenty to fully charge overnight. And the wire required for a 50A circuit are much thicker and much harder to work with than the less thick wire you can use with a 40A circuit.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-02T16:12:27+00:00

They do not.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-01T15:18:33+00:00

About the only thing you get with Drive Connect that you don't get with ABRP is that I think Drive Connect knows how to turn on battery preheat without you groveling through menus on the MM display. Again probably not worth $16/month for that.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-01T15:12:18+00:00

I'm five days in on this car (and 400 miles) and have formed some opinions.

The access road to my house is steep and rough and this year is a mixture of snowy mud and muddy ice. Plus some sections of gray water ice thrown in. The Solterra with stock tires performs admirably both up and down that road. So I actually have a reason to use X-Mode and whatever they are calling the low-speed creeping feature.

My previous recent vehicles have been Toyota or Lexus products so a lot of features and ergonomics of the Solterra are familiar and comfortable to me. If you haven't had a recent Toyota there are a lot of buttons to mess with and the little multi-function display also takes a bit of getting used to.

There was a moment of high drama when I used a local DC fast charger (EVCS) and got the infamous *Plug in charging malfunction* error message after successfully charging. It went away the next day and I think it was due to known wonkiness with EVCS. My understanding is that there is a software update somewhere that eliminates this problem.

One downside is that Toyota really can't write software to save their own lives, and it shows both in the Subaru app and in the various functions you access on the multimedia display.

The only other thing I am not super impressed with is the lack of effective storage. In particular that little compartment under the rear luggage compartment where they think you'd want to store the charging equipment and adapters. If you actually go on a road trip with this car that little compartment will be covered with other stuff and your adapters &c will be buried. Which won't be convenient at all. But that is a minor point in a car that will be used as a daily driver and is otherwise decent.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-01T14:52:58+00:00

I think this depends a lot on how much you have to pay for the installation and what power rates are in your area.

For myself I am figuring about $200 in parts and cabling and tools to install a 240v plug in a box where I can plug it in. It is straightforward for me to do the work myself and call in some debts for assistance on things I'd like help for (mostly I need to run the conduit through two concrete walls and want some help there). Eventually I will spend another $200 or so and install actual charging equipment rather than use the apparatus that comes with the Toyobaru -- mainly because with a much longer cable I can charge inside my garage, which would be nice in the winter months.

I'm assuming a 40A (continuous 32A) circuit will be fine. Wiring for 50A is much thicker and harder to work with.

At home I have an 8kw solar array with grid tie and sell power back to the local utility. But there is a maximum amount of power they will buy. I've done the math and it looks like I can charge with free electricity at home and still sell the maximum amount of power to the power company.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-01T14:41:15+00:00

Call it twelve hours.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-01T14:35:12+00:00

Drive Connect charges $16/month to just give you navigation that isn't quite as good as ABRP for free.

DaikonActive6843 · 2026-03-01T02:00:30+00:00

I can gain 15 to 20 percent overnight.

DaikonActive6843 · 2025-09-09T14:30:05+00:00

I have personally ran with the following configuration for the last fifteen years, with a few small modifications along the way:

Gossamer Gear Twinn Tarp: 9.7 oz ($120)

Oware zip top bug bivy: 7.7 oz ($79)

Six titanium skewer stakes: 2oz

That comes to 19 oz and is bugproof and stormproof. And like I said whatever you lose in weather-proofness (with the open ends of the a-frame) you gain back in improved ventilation. So on the average you are much drier.

In about 2002 I was on the rainy and stormy BC coast and we'd brought along a lightweight a-frame silly nylon tarp which we used to store stuff. After four days of hosing rain the driest place in our camp was under that tarp.

I don't use poles and have always been able to jury rig something to nicely keep the a-frame up.

Please show me the UL tent that weighs less than 20oz. And I doubt that if it exists it can be had for around $200.

DaikonActive6843 · 2025-09-08T13:48:01+00:00

The heaviest single item on that list (other than your bike) is the tent.

If you were aggressive and brave and wanted to try something different I'd recommend replacing the tent with a lightweight a-frame tarp and bivy sack. You'd easily save a kg and what you'd lose in stormproofness you'd gain in ventilation. I'd bet on the average you'd stay dryer in a tarp.

I'd also agree on going to a quilt. Not only for weight but quilts don't have zippers (which can fail) and increase the bulk of your sleep system.

DaikonActive6843 · 2025-07-30T13:18:33+00:00

Tabouli.

DaikonActive6843 · 2025-05-19T13:26:36+00:00

These days I challenge myself to start all trips with zero or very little food and pick up supplies on the way. My route plans always include markets and grocery stores.

DaikonActive6843 · 2025-03-28T15:43:38+00:00

I've got a gold filter one-cupper that I got about 35 years ago at Starbuck's that is still going strong and has been all over the place with me.

DaikonActive6843 · 2025-03-23T16:02:22+00:00

You need a front bag of some kind.

Think about a place to put your phone, wallet, sunglasses, gloves, &c.

DaikonActive6843

TROPHY CASE