QUESTION: I’ve looked through your vehicle capacity chart and mine is not there. I want to mount the VH-55 in a Class IV receiver (rated at 1000 lbs tongue weight) on a Roadtrek camper-van built on the Chevy Express 3500 long wheelbase frame. I would like to load a 350 lb motorcycle on the VH-55 and add 150 lbs worth of cargo carrier and cargo on the VH-55′s own receiver. That’s 575 lbs, with some of it at two feet and some at three feet. With the leverage involved does that seem reasonable?

ANSWER: Leverage is expressed in foot-lbs which is a unit of torque. To calculate this you would use a sum of the moments equation. So, sum the moments of the Versahaul vh-55, motorcycle, and 150 lbs of cargo

Torque = Force x Distance

The moment of the VH-55 is 94 lbs X 2 feet = 188 ft-lbs

The moment of the motorcycle is 350 lbs x 2 feet = 700 ft-lbs

The moment of the cargo carrier is 150 lbs x 3 feet = 450 ft-lbs

The sum of the moments is 1338 ft-lbs.

Compare this number to the torque rating on your hitch.

Note: This is not the same as the 1000 lbs tongue weight. 1000 ft-lbs and 1000 lbs are as different as 55 MPH and 55 hours. Sometimes this number is hard to find.  Might be in your owners manual. Sometimes manufacturers don’t list torque ratings. With 1000 lbs Class IV hitch on a 3/4 ton frame, I’d expect the torque rating to be high.