How Much Weight Can be Carried with a Cargo Carrier on a 2015 Ford Mustang

Question:

Hello, I have a 2015 Ford Mustang and I was looking at putting a hitch on my car. My intentions are to use a cargo carrier to carry some camping equipment but im worried about the load weight and what my car is capable of. I have a few questions... 1. The capacity limits ive seen on the 2015 mustang are 2,000 lb pull / 200 lb tongue limit. Since I want to use a cargo carrier, is tongue weight the only thing I should be worrying about? Does tongue weight matter for a cargo carrier? The representative at Uhual said I didnt need to worry about the tongue weight since Im not towing anything but that doesnt feel right. 2. Does it make more sense to get a trailer to pull if there are a lot of weight limitations for a cargo carrier? 3. If a cargo carrier is 40 lbs itself with a 350 lb capacity limit but the tongue weight limit for my vehicle is 200 lbs, am i only able to stack 160 lbs on the cargo carrier? Or am I able to stack up to 350 lbs worth of gear since that carriers limit is 350 lbs and the car tow limit is 2,000 lbs? The representative at Uhual said I can put the max capacity for whatever cargo carrier I am going to use since the tow limit is 2,000 lbs, is this true? Thanks!

asked by: Steve

Expert Reply:

Let me start by saying you're definitely asking all the right questions to make sure you can safely carry your gear on a cargo carrier and you're definitely right to question what you were told. Most of what you're asking are things that we often tell people and they're completely taken off guard and surprised.

1. Yes, tongue weight matters and it is the only capacity requirement you need to worry about. Tongue weight is the force pushing down on a hitch from the weight that's suspended from it. All of a cargo carrier's weight is pushing directly down on the hitch so it's all tongue weight.

2. Whether it makes more sense to use a trailer or not just depends on the amount of gear you have. If it'll all fit on the cargo carrier and be within the weight limitations then it's a lot easier. But if you have too much then a trailer is the best way to go.

3. More great questions. You're always limited by your lowest rated component. You said you found your capacities to be 2,000 pounds towing and 200 pounds tongue weight. Did you get this from the hitch we carry's rating? Trailer hitches are often rated higher than the vehicles they're designed for. From my research in your car's owner's manual I find the towing capacity to be 1,000 pounds and it doesn't list a tongue weight. When tongue weight isn't listed it's considered to be 10 percent of the max trailer weight putting yours at 100 pounds. In addition to that, you are correct that the carrier itself does count as weight on the hitch so you need to subtract its weight from your tongue weight to determine how much you can put on the carrier. Keeping with your example of a 40 pound carrier you are able to carry 60 pounds of gear. Once again, what you were told is absolutely not true.

We only carry a few cargo carriers that fit the Class I hitches that fit your Mustang. I recommend either the Curt 17 x 46 carrier, part # C18145, or the Curt 19 x 47 carrier, part # C18110. Both weigh right around 30 pounds leaving you with 70 pounds of gear to carry if what I found about car's capacity is correct. You should verify with your owner's manual or with Ford.

With all of this being said it might be better to tow a trailer. The catch here is that it has to stay under 1,000 pounds when fully loaded so you're still pretty limited.

Whichever way you end up going the hitch I recommend for your Mustang is the Draw-Tite, part # 24928. The Curt model that's also confirmed to fit requires a support strap to be completely compliant with the warranty. The Draw-Tite doesn't have the requirement which is one less thing to worry about.

If you decide to pull a trailer you'll also need wiring and a ball mount. The Hopkins, part # HM11140525, is the harness I recommend. I like Hopkins wiring harnesses because the converter box is mounted with two screws instead of just one so it stays in place better. The recommended ball mount for your Mustang with the Draw-Tite hitch is part # 3594 with either # 19256 for a 1-7/8 inch ball or # 19258 for a 2 inch ball.