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Old 04-26-2013, 11:08 AM   #11
kn1ghtus
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Unfortunately the 2013 Santa Fe's have JUST come out and I'm having a hard time getting my hands on a manual so why the 2012's could only tow 3500 pounds and this can tow 5000 I'm not sure why.

I hope everyone knows I'm not taking anything personal and I apologize if I seem defensive. I'd hate to buy a 35,000 dollar TV and have it not do the job comfortably. Maybe we should get a smaller TM then?

Id' love to hear what other people's 2720 actually weighs.
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Old 04-26-2013, 11:11 AM   #12
kn1ghtus
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the santa fe now has a 3.3L engine instead of a 2.7-- So that is one big difference. it has 290 horses.

The other side of this is, this would be our primary car, so it does well in the snow, can haul people around well, and my wife can drive it easily. He HATED when we test drove most other SUVs (the durrango is the only other one that comes to mind which is not at right around 5000 tow capacity)
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Old 04-26-2013, 11:33 AM   #13
rvcycleguy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kn1ghtus View Post
Unfortunately the 2013 Santa Fe's have JUST come out and I'm having a hard time getting my hands on a manual so why the 2012's could only tow 3500 pounds and this can tow 5000 I'm not sure why.

I hope everyone knows I'm not taking anything personal and I apologize if I seem defensive. I'd hate to buy a 35,000 dollar TV and have it not do the job comfortably. Maybe we should get a smaller TM then?

Id' love to hear what other people's 2720 actually weighs.
No need to apologize. The opinions expressed here can be very strong, and IMHO, for the most part, informative and detailed. Towing specifications, ratings, comfort level with tow weight can get heated with opinions. Overall, take it all in, do your research as your doing now, get some advice from experts and pros, and have fun. Don't over do it and you'll be ok.

There have been a lot of prospective owners that have asked about towing a 2720 with a tow rating of only 3500 lbs. Those threads are numerous and can be a little scary regarding safety. With your 5000lb rating, Its a little different. The TM empty as in dry weight is misleading. if you took everything out of it, it may weigh less than 3k lbs. But with the extras that are standard items, add in 1000lbs from the factory weight. With a true 5k tow capacity you should be ok. The problems begin when you tow 3500 with a vehicle that max's at 3500. That weight will push you down the road... Yes, they have brakes, but the enertia will cause lots of problems if a panic stop is necessary.

I would be trying to locate the GCVW, that is the combined weight for tow vehicle and tow capactity. That is tow vehicle weight, passengers, cargo, true trailer weight with cargo, and any added weight for water, sewer, propane, etc. It would have to be close to 11k lbs.
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Old 04-26-2013, 12:02 PM   #14
Bill
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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!

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Old 04-26-2013, 01:21 PM   #15
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I think we are starting to beat the dead horse. As a trial member, you do not have access to some parts of this forum. I would suggest becoming a site sponsor and then review what members say about their trailers, and tow vehicles, and so on. As stated, review the information out there and choose the trailer and vehicle that best suit your needs.
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Old 04-26-2013, 06:35 PM   #16
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Lots of good advise here. My .02 is, wd hitch, good trailer brake system, add an extra trans cooler and trans gauge. Definitely practice towing and backing in an empty parking lot. Drive defensively and don't be in a hurry. And as for finding your TM, my wife and I searched for about a year to find that perfect one and found it on this forum. Although I did have to drive from San Diego to Fort Collins, Co. to pick it up, but well worth it.
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Old 04-26-2013, 07:33 PM   #17
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A place to start for boondocking sites is www.boondocking.org. You get to their "database" page, and put in coordinates for the area you are interested in. There is a map at the bottom of the page that shows some lat and long lines. Put in an estimate of what the whole lat and long lines are (38 for degrees north, and -106 for degrees west), then put in a search radius. I normally start with 150 miles, then narrow it down if I need to.

Unfortunately, there are not lots listed right now. I put in a few, as I have the time to enter them. All that I put in, you could get a TM there, unless I specify it is a very tight fit. I have a 2417 Sport, which is 6" narrower than most TMs.

As for being within an hour of Aurora, it will take at least half an hour to get to C-470 and Hwy 285. I go up 285, as it has less traffic. But, I normally go over Kenosha pass, into South Park. Many places (Lost Creek; west of Jefferson; west of 285 about 5 miles south of Fairplay) in that area. Part of the fun is exploring. But, in those areas, we shoot our pistols with no issues of neighbors. You can be pretty isolated up there.
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Old 04-26-2013, 08:36 PM   #18
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I think you will be ok with the sante fe rated to tow 5000. I tow a 2720 with less than that and have not had any problems.

$12 won't buy much even at Micky D's, but it certainly will help you make a better decision as you look at spending tens of thousands for a TV and possibly thousands on an RV.
Even if you decide a TM is not for you making an informed edition by aging access to all of ths info is well worth it in my opinion.
Good luck.
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Old 04-27-2013, 11:41 AM   #19
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I think you will be ok with the sante fe rated to tow 5000. I tow a 2720 with less than that and have not had any problems.
I don't necessarily disagree with you. I guess the point I was trying to make, in my roundabout way, is that from Camp Hill, PA, you start at an elevation of 450 feet, and work your way up to maybe 2500. Kn1ghtus is starting at 5500 feet, and working up to at least 7500 feet as soon as he gets off the plains - and I don't know of any fun camping areas down on the flats. And while not all grades in Colorado are steep, many of them are, especially in the areas where you would go camping.

Don't forget the 3% rule. Because of thinning air, a gasoline engine loses about 3% of its sea-level horsepower for every thousand feet of altitude. At 2000 feet, this isn't much of a hit. At 7-8000 feet, it can be pretty serious. So as I tried to point out to Kn1ghtus, thought and caution will be needed.

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Old 04-27-2013, 07:49 PM   #20
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I was basing my comment not on towing at lower elevations, but on my experience towing cross country. Doable. Always with thought and caution.
Yea, right.
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