CURT 18153 60 x 24-Inch Basket Hitch Cargo Carrier, 500 lbs Capacity, Black Steel, 2-In Folding Shank

The is the Cargo Carrier that you want! Buy this one. Do not even look at any others.I looked and looked at all the various carriers Amazon offered. I realized quickly how important having one that folds up is. You must get a folding carrier, especially if you are buying this to use on a vacation and plan on driving around after unpacking your things from the carrier. We just took ours to the beach. Parking is so tight at the hotels and restaurants at the beach we go too, there is no way that I would have felt comfortable having this carrier in the down position in any parking lot. But once it is folded up, it doesn't stick out that far beyond the parking spots.Second, I came across a few carriers that had "bent shanks." I didn't really think about this being an important factor before, but now after using mine, I see what difference it makes. The bent shank gives you more ground clearance underneath the basket. There were a few times of pulling in and out of places, that I guarantee if my carrier didn't have a bent shank, it would have bottomed out. Spend the little extra to get a carrier with a bent shank.I also recommend you go for a larger carrier like this. I almost bought a different one that was had smaller dimensions because I was worried about buying one that was too big, and I'm so glad I did not. This carrier fits great on my SUV. It is a few inches shy of the width of my truck. It did not obstruct my view on either side of the vehicle.We did purchase also purchase a cargo net... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CAVUL0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 .... and I'm pleased that we did. My husband initially was just going to ratchet strap everything down, but we got this net and decided to do a combination of ratchet strap and then we put a tarp over everything and used this cargo net to secure it all. It was a great set up. Nothing budged at all, even after hitting several big bumps.The overall construction of this Curt Carrier is wonderful. It is super sturdy feeling. While it is not lightweight aluminum, it does weight 70lbs, my husband and I easily picked it up and put it on my Acura MDX. Honestly my husband probably could have put it on himself, but I was trying to be a nice and helpful wife ;) We saw so many other vehicles with obviously cheaper carriers on them. The ones without the bend shanks all seemed to look like they were sagging...even ones that had nothing on them! Ours fully loaded( probably only about 150lbs but still) did not sag at all.We did not add any lights or addition reflectors, bc we knew we were not going to be traveling during the night. I think if we take any long trips with this carrier overnight, that I probably would add lights, just for added safety.We did use a locking tow hitch to secure the carrier.I also purchased a hitch tightener https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001CMUV4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1I do recommend getting one of these. The carrier did feel a little wobbly without it. Some people probably wouldn't be bothered by the small amount of play it had, but I felt much better after installing the hitch tightener. It really did help to minimize the amount of play.Overall, fabulous carrier. I highly recommend!!!!!

Solid cargo carrier. Used for a road trip to provide added space with the use of ROLA 59102 Wallaroo Cargo Bag, Rainproof, Expandable Hitch Tray Carrier, Black. I also added an LED light bar for an extra brake light. It wasn't necessary as my taillights were still exposed. Tilt feature was easy to use and provided a smaller footprint when not needed to haul.

I wanted something that folded up when not in use. I considered roof bags but they seem like a fuel consumption problem and then I cannot use it when hauling the kayaks. There is also a hanging bag which sits on the tailgate, but that seemed like one hit wonder and of low utility. The fold up hitch carrier however can be used on all my vehicles for all kinds of gear and it doesn't tie up roof space.Also. When installed and loaded with bags, you can still access the rear tailgate which is a huge plus. I'm thinking that I can put coolers and bikes on this during summer camping trips.We just took a 900mile trip with this and the Curt luggage bag. This is paired with an '07 Hyundai Santa Fe with a U-Haul hitch. Install and assembly was super easy. I spent about 1/2hr on assembly and also added more reflective tape. I got a locking hitch pin for it from Autozone.Due to the location of the vehicle tail lights there was no need to add separate brake lights. I added some aluminum tape just where the exhaust pipes are located but I'm pretty sure it was not required - the pipes are a tad lower that the carrier and a nice distance away. The fold up capability is an absolute must if you want to arrive at your destination and then drive around. I also think that having it folded up stops people from driving into it when unloaded.The unit seems extremely sturdy - much stronger that out Hitch. With the vehicle loaded with 5-passengers and a small dog we had plenty of space inside for a comfortable long ride done in 7hr 450mile Segments. There was no noticeable vehicle sway or instabilty.The rear end of the car hung lower due to it being a lightweight vehicle, so the raised section of the hitch support bar helped to keep the load off the ground. On some occasions like existing a steep driveway, the aft end of the hitch support dragged on the ground a bit but no damage was made to the car or carrier.I added reflective tape to the bottom so that it's more visible at night when folded.Great, sturdy, versatile and well designed unit.