Hyundai Sante Fe as TV

I am planning on towing a TM 2619 with my 2004 Sante Fe. It has a 3.5 V6 and a 5 speed automatic. I will have a WDH and sway bar. The vehicle has a tow rating of 3300. Has anyone tried this combination?

[Bill]

Mel -

I don't want to be a downer, but by the numbers you have given us, it is too small for anything but the most benign flatland towing - and it will work itself pretty hard at that. I would suggest that you spend a couple hours reading the Towing Rigs forum, and get an idea of the what-fors and why-nots of towing with a light vehicle. Pay particular attention to the posts by RockyMtnRay.

I'm not a fan of rampaging horsepower and smoke on the road, but you need to be safe (as in enough wheelbase to make a turn without having the trailer try to push you off the road, and enough horsepower to get out of the way of other drivers), and your tow vehicle needs to be strong enough that it doesn't beat itself to death trying to do what you ask it to.

Does Hyundai offer a factory tow package on the Sante Fe? As in transmission cooler, high-numeric-ratio rear end, heavier suspension, 7-way electric connector, and Class III/IV hitch receiver? I don't see it on the Hyundai web site, but if it is offered, do you have it?

Bill

Yes there is a tow package which I have and it will have an electric brake system. Thanks for the advice, I will take it into consideration

[rickst29]

Mel,

The short wheelbase and narrow track (in comparison to larger vehicles, not Santa Fe's direct competitors) certainly compromise your control. But one issue the other guys didn't bring up, and the reason for my post, is the fact that your Santa Fe is based on the Sonata Chassis -- a unibody "car" structure, not a "truck" frame (as in, for example, my 4Runner).

This reduces your ability to put a lot of stress on the frame... so, I wouldn't be comfortable loading the 2619 real heavy and usinga WDH to keep the front tires properly loaded... that's putting a lot of stress on a "frame" which really isn't a "frame" at all.

If you take care to load your TV with as much of the heavy stuff as possible, and compromise towards SLIGHTLY less hitch weight (at the cost of slightly more Trailer bouncing), and drive slow on the big grades (be sure about your trailer braking power on the down hills!!!), then this is a theoretically usable vehicle.

But in the real world, people are forced to make fast maneuvers at times, and I personally wouldn't feel comfortable with a loaded 2619 behind a Sante Fe.

(I've got a 2619 on order. My TV is a 4Runner V8-- way bigger, much more powerful, and built on a truck chassis.)