How much can my Fuse tow?

A question has come up and I find it interesting since I do not know anything about the subject.  How much can a Fuse or any Ford Transit based motorhome tow?   This is even more interesting since the 2017 1/2 model Winnebago is upgrading the hitch from a 2000 lbs one to a 5000 lbs capacity one.

This was posted by Bob Bedell on the Travato Facebook the other day and I think it explains how to determine what you can tow:

From a post by Michael Russell in Travato Owners and Wannabees FB Group. Dated 2015
“This has always been a confusing topic trying to understand all of the specs quoted by the manufacturers and it took me a long time asking questions and reviewing documents to understand all of the acronyms GCWR, GVWR, OCCC, dry weight, hitch rating, etc?

One of the important things to remember is that just because you can walk back to the hitch and read the hitch rating on the tag of the hitch doesn't mean that the RV can tow that much weight. That is just how much weight the hitch has been certified to carry without breaking off the back of the RV. You have to consider the chassis weight carrying capacity (and how much it is loaded) and see which one is lower .... chassis or hitch.

Lets go through the numbers for the Travato. Total weight the Travato can Tow AND Carry is 11500 lbs (GCWR). To find out how much you can safely tow you need to subtract from the GCWR the total weight of the Travato loaded with everything in it. This includes the Travato, occupants, gear, gas, water, and tongue weight of the trailer. All of these items can't be more than the Pro-Master chassis is rated to carry which 9350 (GVWR). So when the Travato is completely loaded to the max it can carry GCWR- GVWR which is 11500-9350=2150 lbs. So if you have loaded up your Travato to its max you can only pull a trailer of 2150 lbs even though the hitch can handle 3500. If you can cut down on the weight you have loaded into the Travato you can increase the amount of trailer you can tow. But it is very hard (if not impossible) to get to the max hitch capacity of 3500 lbs because that would mean that you would have to keep the Travato and all of the contents below 11500-3500=8000 lbs. The Travato empty of everything weighs 7440 lbs which only leaves you with 560 lbs you can load. A couple of people (250 lbs), gas (150 lbs.), propane (36 lbs), and water (200 lbs), and tongue weight (350 lbs) and you are already over the capacity to tow a 3500 lbs trailer. Doing the math 11500-986-7440 (total above) = 3074 lbs. and this doesn't include any of the camping gear you need. In summary I think you can only expect to tow a trailer in the range of 2150 to 2800 lbs max. Hope this helps. “ 

It sounds like a pretty good explanation to me.  Lets translate this to a Transit based motorhome.  So for the 2017 Fuse 23A lets get the important numbers on the table:
  GCWR = 13500 (from Ford - 350HD with 3.2 l diesel and 3.73 transmission)
         Ford 2016 Transit Towing Guide
  GVWR = 10360 (From door sticker)
  OCCC  = 1529  (from door sticker)
  Front GAWR = 4130 (from door sticker)
  Rear GAWR = 7275 (from door sticker)

If we insert these numbers into this discussion we get 13500-10360=3140 lbs

With a Fuse you are not probably not loading it to the maximum weight so you might be able to add back in 2-300 pounds.  You would need to weigh the vehicle for sure. 

You also have to add back in the tongue weight of the trailer to how much you are carrying on the chassis.  How much is that?  For a toad (car being towed) it depends on your tow bar.  Probably under 50 pounds from what I read.  For a trailer, it is different, maybe up to 10% of the weight of the trailer and it is very dependent on the trailer.

So the quick general answer is 3100-3500lbs with the proper hitch .   2000 lbs on the 2017 since that is the hitch capacity.

A couple of good resources:
       Motorhome Magazine Dinghy Guides

       Ford 2016 Transit Towing Guide