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Cargo rack attached to trailer hitch


mdrevs
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Has anyone installed a trailer hitch and used a cargo rack attached to the hitch on an FFE?

 

I've tried using a bag strapped down on the roof of the FFE, but experienced too much wind noise and the fuel economy went south.  

 

The cargo rack attached to a trailer hitch seems it would be the best option....any experience here?

 

Thanks in advance!

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I put a hitch on mine so I could add a bike rack.  When shopping for a hitch I noticed two different tongue weights available.  350 lbs & 150 lbs.  You should consider how much weight you need to carry and buy accordingly.  Remember that the total weight should incude your stuff plus the rack or box.  Otherwise this should work just fine for anyone wanting to carry more stuff.

 

Ben

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Always get the highest rated hitch available that you can afford.  Don't bother with a 150 lb hitch, you'll regret it in the future.

When I get mine I'm considering this setup:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVv9po--ycs

Keeping in mind that the Energi and hybrid ground clearance is slightly lower than the standard fusion that would give about 12" of ground clearance at the back of the trailer (about 24" out).  I have a similiar setup on my current vehicle (Sorento) that ocassionaly drags when entering parking lots and such but I haven't measured the height (pretty low) and it also sticks out much further because I'm using a 1 1/4" to 2" adapter.

Has anbody else done this yet?  Reviews or pics would be nice.

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I put a hitch on mine so I could add a bike rack.  When shopping for a hitch I noticed two different tongue weights available.  350 lbs & 150 lbs.  You should consider how much weight you need to carry and buy accordingly.  Remember that the total weight should incude your stuff plus the rack or box.  Otherwise this should work just fine for anyone wanting to carry more stuff.

 

Ben

 

Hey Ben,

 

Is this the one you got?  

 

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Curt/C12091.html

 

Andy

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LOL, that YouTube freeze is a bit misleading - I thought he was showing the hitch and carrier strength by standing on the corner of the carrier!  That's something I could do with my 2" hitch but I'm not sure how the 1.25 will do.  

Hmm, watching it on my PC it's large enough that it's pretty obvious he's not standing on it, and it cuts several times, obviously to remove unneeded clips.  I don't think they were attempting to be misleading.

 

That said, I've stood on mine (maybe 2/3rds off center) for my Sorento which is only a 1.25" hitch, with a 1.25->2" adapter which reduces the tounge weight by half.  So I know I was over it, but I also wasn't bouncing up and down as cargo would do.  The carrier is the same as the one I have but it has a 1.25" bar which also has a little height added to it and mine is really sturdy and well built.

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Also, if anybody does this and gets a cargo bag, I would recommend rigging up some form of heat shield to attach to the trailer.  Mine got destroyed on my last trip and the exhaust was significantly further from the bag than this carrier will put it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B003NBFMMY/ref=cm_cr_dp_cust_img_see_all_txt

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Hey Ben,

 

Is this the one you got?  

 

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Curt/C12091.html

 

Andy

Hi Andy,

 

That Is the one I put on may car.  

I chose that one for the 350 lb vertical weight rating. (tongue weight)

 

Took less than 30 mins to install myself in the driveway.  didn't even have to jack up the car.

 

Ben

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The hitch is pretty hidden Dan.  The rack is from 1 Up.  It is pretty light and solid at the same time.  It also folds up and fits in the trunk and it is modular.  Meaning I can add up to four trays.  Each additional tray is higher than the one before it so as the rack gets longer it also gets higher.  Highly recommend this rack.

http://www.1upusa.com/

 

Ben

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just bought a torklift trailer hitch and a haulmaster cargo rack for my fusion. The hitch has a 500lb tongue capacity so it provides more than enough strength.  The rack was on sale at harbour freight for $50 so for $300 total I now have plenty of "trunk space" when needed.  I had 2 concerns with doing this and that was rack scraping the ground when going up ramps etc. and removing the plastic wind guard from rear bumper.  The rack angles up nicely giving it plenty of clearance and I had no problems with that at all.  I did not get a chance to put guard back on before trip but with a couple of notches added to it I was able to reinstall it which gives me a lot of peace of mind.  The hitch is completely covered with only the tongue visible.  My trip to the beach was just over 500 miles total with about 90% of it on the highway going 73mph.  The car was fully loaded, 2 adults, 2 adult sized teenagers and 1 7 yr old.  Full trunk and beach chairs, umbrellas, boogie boards etc strapped to the rack.  I averaged just shy of 38mpg.  A typical trip like this minus the cargo rack I would avg 42mpg.  I would imagine that with wind guard back on and without the rack I should continue to see low to mid 40s on similar trips.  Hopefully with the wind guard back on and with rack attached I can do a little better than this last trip but don't consider that a big deal since it will be very rare that I use it.  I do have pictures I can post, I just have to figure out how to first.  Forgot to mention the trip was done in 100% hybrid mode as I forgot to charge battery in my scramble to get hitch and trailer installed before leaving.  

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Link to the gallery for the lazy:
http://www.fordfusionenergiforum.com/gallery/album/54-cargo-carrier/

 

Hawk, instructions on posting photos to a thread can be found here:

http://warnerrobert.com/forum_tutorial/topic/2-adding-photo-images-when-replying-to-a-topic/

Edited by Doug0716
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In looking at the curt trailer hitch that fat fusion posted a link to, there is only one additional slit I had to cut for this one. It has a side wing on each side that the 350lb tongue does not have. Otherwise you still have to cut slit on back side, hole to go over bolt securing hitch to frame and notch for tongue itself. It also has a second bracket that attaches to the frame closer to rear bumper but that one is completely out of the way. Yes it is a 2" hitch that the rack fits in very securely with no rattles.

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