How is Tongue Weight of Trailer Hitch Impacted With Cargo Carrier and Extension

Updated 11/03/2024 | Published 11/02/2024

Products Featured in This Question

Draw-Tite Max-Frame Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - 2"

(22)

$217.28

Trailer Hitch Extender for 2" Hitch Receivers - 8" Long

(269)

$48.94

Question:

Hi there, I assume the tongue weight limit is for a weight applied at the receiver. How does having a cargo carrier affect the weight limit? Does it reduce the limit due to the moment arm of being farther away from the bolts? I know the weight of the carrier will reduce the limit, but what if the carrier was at the end of a 5" extension for example? the torque applied to the hitch would be greatly increased. Im looking to figure out how the distance of the centre of gravity of the the cargo carrier plays into the rated limits

asked by: Rick

Expert Reply:

Hi Rick; the tongue weight capacity of the # DT52GR is 300 lbs. If you use a cargo carrier, bike rack, other accessories, or tow a trailer with a standard ball mount it will be the same 300 lb capacity. If the accessory or ball mount has an extended shank that won't reduce the capacity.

However, as soon as you use any kind of extension like # e88YR you can expect it to cut the capacity. This does vary depending on the hitch extender so you would need to check based on who makes it. If it isn't listed, I would expect a 50% capacity reduction which is standard for most lengths just like the etrailer one I linked.

expert reply by: Robin H

Rick

11/3/2024

Thank you for your response Robin. I think I wasn't clear with my question. the cargo carrier is already extending center of gravity of the load out beyond the hitch. what if, for example, there as a cargo that was extended 5 feet out the back from the trailer hitch? the added torque must play a role. so even a load that's 1.5 feet out the back like a normal carrier must reduce the load since only a trailer on a ball hitch would be vertical load. some carriers act like extensions with a spot to hook up a bike rack, but the load of the bikes must be amplified compared to if it was tight to the hitch

Robin H.

11/3/2024

@Rick I don't know why you would want to run a cargo carrier 5' back but yes, that would apply additional force. We don't have a way to calculate that unless a manufacturer says what the reduction would be. If you truly ran something that far back it would be swinging around all over the place at the rear and you would have a miserable driving experience. The 50% covers most things within reason and on shorter extensions it is probably overestimated for the sake of simplicity. The main reason for the reduced capacity on a hitch extension is the additional part added into the setup. A ball mount with an extra long shank does not reduce the capacity of the hitch. The longer shanks of bike racks and cargo carriers do not reduce the capacity of the hitch unless otherwise stated by the manufacturer. These things are all accounted for in the designs, they aren't just made up, and I think you're overthinking things. If they weren't you would see bike racks and cargo carriers all over on the side of the highway because people didn't run them through their physics formulas to make sure they weren't overloaded and they ripped the hitch off the vehicle.

Rick

11/3/2024

@RobinH I think you're right Robin. It seems that any weight added to a cargo carrier is intended to be considered a tongue weight even though the force is applied at a distance father out from the tongue than a trailer would. Thanks for your advice!