Is Hitch Tongue Weight Capacity the Capacity for Hitch Mount Cargo Carrier for 2016 Honda Odyssey

Question:

Ive installed a class III Curt hitch onto my 2016 Honda Odyssey. The install was simple and quick, and everything looks great. Im in the market for a hitch mount cargo carrier, but Im worried about the 350lb tongue weight rating of the hitch I bought. What is a good option for my situation? Is 100 of the weight applied to a cargo carrier considered tongue weight since the force is so close and generally straight down? If so, with a 350lb tongue weight capacity, and normally a 70lb carrier, wed be looking at 280lb max load. But Ive also seen videos from Curt that show that distance from the receiver reduces effective load, so a carrier that is 2 feet from receiver to rear cuts capacity by 50. Then were looking at 175lb max with a 70lb carrier or only 100lb of capacity. Am I overthinking this?

asked by: Ryan D

Expert Reply:

Your thinking is spot-on so I would not say you are overthinking at all. Except you do not have to worry about the 50% reduction unless you use an extender.

The tongue weight capacity of a hitch is the vertical load capacity that is associated with a trailer's tongue or a cargo carrier like the # C18100 that you referenced.

So with a hitch that has a 350 lb tongue weight capacity you'd be able to carry a total of 350 lbs at the hitch between the weight of the carrier and cargo. So this carrier weighs 29 lbs which means you'd have 321 lbs of cargo weight you could still carry.

Now if you use a hitch extender that capacity does cut in half like you mentioned so I don't like to recommend that route unless it is absolutely necessary.

expert reply by: Jameson C