Cargo Weight Capacity for Hitch Carrier Used in Curt D210 Multipurpose Ball Mount

Question:

I have a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It has no life and, at the moment rides on stock tires [[17inch IIRC]]. It has the OEM tow package with a 2inch receiver. I believe it is Class II. Today I picked up a small trailer [[4x8]]. When attached to the ball the rear of the trailer is about 5inch from the ground and the trailer is at a pretty steep angle so I am looking at a hitch and eventually putting larger tires on it. I normally carry a heavy-gauge folding cargo rack on the Jeep but with the trailer I have to remove it. Bright idea and some research led me to find your Curt Multihitch. with the ball and the riser with the 2inch opening to fit bike racks in. My carrier weights [[Guestimate]] about 60# and my main use is for carrying 2 bags of cat litter [[about 40#]] a large bag Dog Chow [[another 40#]] and two bags of Cat Chow [[bout 25-30#]]. Otherwise I use it to carry 5gal gas cans, misc items such as boxes of veggies from the Farmers Market, etc so figure 100 or so #s. Will the Curt Multi-thingy hold up to the stress of this use for the carrier? Obviously I wont need to use the carrier when using the trailer but it is not really feasible to remove the carrier each time I need the trailer or-in the case I am out and need to rent a trailer, storing the carrier inside the Jeep is a PITA. Thoughts or suggestions? Thank you kindly.

asked by: Mark H

Expert Reply:

Your 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee can be fitted with any of three classes of aftermarket trailer hitch, either a 1-1/4-inch Class I or Class II, or a 2-inch Class III hitch. All available hitches for your car are shown on the linked page. You can refer to your hitch's safety sticker to confirm its Class rating. The linked article on hitches may be of interest too.

The Curt # D210 Multipurpose Ball Mount fits 2-inch hitches like # 75338 and provides a 750-lb total tongue weight (TW) rating. The 2-inch receiver is rated for 500-lbs. This means that you could potentially load your carrier with cargo up to a total combined weight of 500-lbs for the carrier and contents. This requires that your hitch and the vehicle itself also be rated for such a load. If the hitch or the GC is rated lower, say for only 350-lbs TW, then this means that the combined weight of the carrier and its contents cannot exceed this 350-lbs. The lowest-rated component (carrier, hitch or vehicle) determines the overall capacity of the combined system.

expert reply by: Adam R