[Bill]

Let me summarize some of the reservations you have read about.

As I go through the 2013 specs (Google "2013 Santa Fe specs towing", or check Edmunds.com, for example), it appears that MOST 2013 Santa Fe models have a 2000-pound or 3500-pound tow rating. Only one or two specific models have a 5000 pound capacity, and it appears that the GLS with the 3.3L engine, equipped with "Option Group 01", is one of them. Good choice.

As always, the Tow Capacity spec has an asterisk beside it. The asterisk states "When adequately equipped, which may require engine and/or other drivetrain upgrades." And as usual, these upgrades are not listed in any easy-to-find place. All car manufacturers do this, and I find it highly annoying.

In the absence of Hyundai's definition, experience suggests that upgrades include a specific engine (the 3.3L V-6), plus some kind of factory-installed optional towing package. The towing package will include an auxiliary transmission cooler, a 7-pin trailer electrical connector (not 4 or 5 pin), a Class III or III/IV hitch (not a class II), and quite possibly a specific gearing ratio in the differential, and some suspension changes. You can get some of these installed as aftermarket items, but not all. Just so you know, a Class-II hitch has a 1-1/4 inch square opening, while a Class III or IV has a 2-inch square opening.

Beyond this, the hidden content of the asterisk usually tells you that the tow rating is decreased pound-for-pound by the weight of anything and everything you put in the Santa Fe itself, the sole exception being the driver. If your wife plus two or three kids weigh 400 pounds, and you put another 400 pounds of cargo in the wayback, it reduces the tow capacity by 800 pounds.

Unless I am missing something, the dry unoptioned weight of a 2720 is a couple hundred pounds higher than your number. But as mentioned by several others, dry weight is pretty much meaningless, because it is not the TM you will be towing. The ready-to-camp TM will be equipped with options such as the air conditioner and awning, and loaded with all the "stuff" you put inside, and all of this weight is weight in addition to the dry weight. Every pound must be added, whether it is the weight of the air conditioner, or the weight of the cans of soda you put in the refrig. Food, clothes, bedding, cooking utensils, tools, an electric heater, propane in the tanks, water in the tanks - all increase the ready-to-camp weight of the trailer.

So having said all that, even though it doesn't have a lot of margin, a 5000-pound-rated is still a good choice in many situations. This tends to mean "modest altitude, and modest grades". So my remaining concern is that you live in a beautiful town at the base of the Rockies, and you are going to want to go up into the mountains. I know I do - and I know my Explorer (rated 6800 pounds) struggles, and the transmission gets quite hot, as it crosses the 7800 foot line going into Big Elk Meadows, between Lyons and Estes Park. So you will need to exercise extra care, and extra awareness, when you are in these situations. Some of our members do it, with good success, so it is not impossible. You will hear from them I'm sure, and their stories are also posted here in the Towing Rigs forum.

Enjoy your rig, and especially enjoy Colorado!

Bill