I bought the Forester new in 2015 without a hitch. Two months later, I brought the car to an auto service center in CT. that installs trailer hitches and brake controllers. I had them install a class III hitch with wiring for the trailer brake
lights. At that time I was towing a trailer and motorcycle
weighing about 1,000 lbs. When I decided to buy the
Scamp and was told by
Scamp the unit would weigh 1,250 lbs. and they recommended trailer
brakes, I ordered the brakes for the Scamp. I brought the car back to the service center and had them install the electronic brake controller and Bargman 7 pin plug. Then I drove to Backus, MN. picked up the Scamp, plugged in the Bargman plug and have driven the vehicle 3,000 miles towing the trailer. I have had no issues at all and don't expect to. The Subaru manual says to install trailer brakes if you are towing more than 1,000 lbs. but then refuses to do the work if you have a trailer
weighing more than 1,000 lbs? That makes no sense! The Forester has the six speed manual transmission.