Carrying 190lb Scooter in Hitch Mounted Carrier on 2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek

Question:

I have a 2015 Subaru cross-trek XV. I installed the curt 2inch hitch, my question is can I add a hitch mounted cargo carrier and transport my 49cc scooter which has a weight of 190 lbs At which point will this affect the cars center of gravity. Can a hitch mounted cargo carrier rated at 300 lbs do the trick ? What would the tongue weight be for this vehicle and is tongue weight the same as dead weight which is this case would be the weight of the scooter and the carrier plus the added stress put on the hitch that extends two feet beyond the rear of the vehicle. this I think is different than pulling a trailer Thanks for your help.

asked by: Bob

Expert Reply:

I've located on online copy of the owner's manual for your XV Crosstrek. On page 8-21, Subaru states that the maximum trailer tongue weight (maximum allowable amount of downward force applied to trailer hitch) cannot exceed 200 lbs. Unfortunately, any carrier plus the 190 lb weight of the scooter would exceed that 200 lb capacity so therefore I couldn't recommend using a hitch mounted carrier to transport your scooter.

A 300 lb rated carrier is what I'd normally recommend, but in this case you will need to abide by the capacity of the lowest rated component, which is the car itself in this case.

Using a small utility trailer would be your best bet. In order to tow a small trailer, you might need a few extra parts to complete your towing system:

Trailer wiring harness, part # 118467
Ball mount, part # C45230
1-7/8 inch trailer ball, part # C40051 or
2 inch trailer ball, part # 40038
Hitch pin and clip, part # PC3