[JMII]

The MPG numbers that we see here on this thread are each going to be determined by the frontal area of the trailer and towing speed. I bet that your small boat won't drag you down nearly as much as my travel trailer. (8' wide and 8" tall) If you tow at the same speed as I do (60) your pit stops will be far less frequent.

Agree. I think everyone keeps focusing on the weight limit but the frontal area is a MPG killer. Even with my small boat I've seen a 2 MPG change based on wind alone (same road different direction). I find it very telling that Hyundai has never released a frontal area limit like Ford does for the Ranger. Looking at these travel trailers they have such a massive front and side profiles I can't imagine trying to pull such a parachute behind me at highway speeds.

 

[pako]

OK, back from our christening trip with our InTech Sol Horizon Rover trailer behind our SC. Although you could definitely tell the SC had a heavy weight in tow because it took quite a bit of accelerator to get moving from a dead stop, once it was moving, the rig felt stable and I never thought things were risky.

I was quite impressed at how well the SC drove with 3500+ lbs behind it. The SC drives like a nimble car and even when towing a heavy load, it was smooth, quiet, and comfortable. We drove on I-68 in western MD where there are plenty of long, fairly steep grade (by East Coast standards...not Rocky Mtn standards) hills that go for many miles up. These are the kind of long climbs that have a third lane on the right for the trucks that are all driving with their flashers on at 40 mph. The SC made quick work of these, easily holding at 65-70 all the way up, with plenty of oomph to spare. It never felt difficult or strained.

My one overriding complaint? The gas tank!! OMG, it's the tiniest little gas tank. When pulling the Horizon, we got about 9-10 mpg. The virtual gas gauge needle dropped like a rock and we had to get gas about every hour and a half in order to be assured we wouldn't run out. It was pathetic. I'm half-seriously considering getting a permanent extra gas tank installed in the truck bed. It was that silly.

All in all, though, the SC did a truly great job. It's really zippy for a truck and tows surprisingly well.

Notes:
Weight distribution hitch: A must.
Also, I would hesitate to put a heavier load on the truck because I could tell there was a bit a weight-war going on, with the trailer being a nearly even match for the truck. If it were a wrestling competition, which I hope it never is.
View attachment 8629 View attachment 8629

Thanks for the indepth post and sharing your experiences.....much appreciated. Makes us feel reasonably comfortable with the Alto F2114 we have ordered. Dry weight 2700lbs, Maximum loaded weight of 3500lbs.

 

[pako]

We also chose the Alto F2114 as it is only 7ft. wide, sits quite low and is quite aerodynamic. Hoping we'll be OK with the Santa Cruz, but I guess we won't really know until we hook it up!

 

[Skitals]

If anyone is looking for the curt 7-pin harness I see it just went in stock at Napa for $75.

My order from RealTruck finally shipped today after 6 weeks. Looks like the backup for these for these finally cleared.

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

If anyone is looking for the curt 7-pin harness I see it just went in stock at Napa for $75.

My order from RealTruck finally shipped today after 6 weeks. Looks like the backup for these for these finally cleared.

That's about the same price as Autoaccessories.com had when I ordered mine a couple weeks ago. $297 for the hitch and 7 pin Harness was a solid deal, I thought.

I just got the shipping notification too.

 

[tinytunerz]

REMINDER: There are some cheap nearly brand-new items for sale in the Member Classified.

** AMAZED THAT THERE IS NO INTEREST ** - Santa Cruz OEM...

I'm truly astonished this OEM 7-PIN Tow Hitch Harness has not sold! It's an absolute steal at $100.!!! The harness was installed for less than a month before I sold my Cruz. It's 100% like new. ** FLASH SALE!!! ** - Reasonable Offers Only OEM Hitch Receiver - K5F61-AU000 (No hitch and ball...

www.santacruzforums.com

 

[motrcycl]

If anyone is looking for the curt 7-pin harness I see it just went in stock at Napa for $75.

My order from RealTruck finally shipped today after 6 weeks. Looks like the backup for these for these finally cleared.

I have the same harness, but haven't installed it yet.

 

[glgilbert]

We towed about 1800/2000 pounds this last weekend for 700 miles. At 70 mph we got about 16.5/17.5 mpg, when we slowed down to about 60 mph it went up to 19 mpg. Normally we get about 29 but this was the first we had driven it on the interstate. You can tell we're out in the country, 3 1/2 months and not on an interstate. When in Fl we're an hour south of I-4 and when in NC we're an hour north of I-40. We used to tow the same trailer with a 2017 Santa Fe Sport and the Santa Cruz seems better to me, could be the extra length of the wheelbase.

 

[Skitals]

Installed the Curt #56466 7-pin harness today. It mates up to the mount on the OEM hitch splendidly. Need to provide your own hardware, dug 4 nuts and bolts out of the random-nuts-and-bolts bin in the garage.

Not sure why both the hitch and oem harness instructions warn you need to install the wiring first. That is not the case, the hitch isn't in the way at all.

 

[ronyrod]

Did you ever tow without the wdh? It seems like eliminating it would eliminate a lot of your concerns.

a. Don't use a wdh
b. Don't use a wdh
c. Valid limitation of the SC
d. I would be surprised if the Ram does significantly better mpg. It's a reality of towing. The bigger downside for the SC is the relatively small gas tank.
e. Don't use a wdh

Hi @Skitals , I promised that I will update on the MPG after the first trip my new towing vehicle.
As a reminder
The SC Limited, pulling my travel trailer (10’7” height x 7‘ width x 19‘ length and 3500lbs total weight) was doing around 9 MPG , an autonomy of about 150 miles.
The RAM 1500 (5.7L V8 and 3.92 axle ratio) Pulled the same trailer at 14 MPG, with an autonomy of 462 miles.
Side notes, same speed 55 /60 mph, same WDH (took me hours to re adjust it), no jerking, not even the feeling that I was towing.
As I said before, I still love the SC and we decided to keep it. Just not for towing travel trailers, at least not on that size/weight.
Never had a truck in our lives (I’m 54), now we have two! And I love them both! Not going back to cars anymore!

 

[Trucklet4me]

Hi @Skitals , I promised that I will update on the MPG after the first trip my new towing vehicle.
As a reminder
The SC Limited, pulling my travel trailer (10’7” height x 7‘ width x 19‘ length and 3500lbs total weight) was doing around 9 MPG , an autonomy of about 150 miles.
The RAM 1500 (5.7L V8 and 3.92 axle ratio) Pulled the same trailer at 14 MPG, with an autonomy of 462 miles.
Side notes, same speed 55 /60 mph, same WDH (took me hours to re adjust it), no jerking, not even the feeling that I was towing.
As I said before, I still love the SC and we decided to keep it. Just not for towing travel trailers, at least not on that size/weight.
Never had a truck in our lives (I’m 54), now we have two! And I love them both! Not going back to cars anymore!
View attachment 9556
View attachment 9557

What's the max towing capacity of your RAM?

 

[ronyrod]

What's the max towing capacity of your RAM?

11,210 lbs

 

[Trucklet4me]

11,210 lbs

Ah.

Your RAM is pulling about 30% of its rated max while the SC is pulling about 70% of its max using the same trailer.

Makes sense that the RAM is breathing easier and getting better MPG with that load. If the RAM would pull 70% of its max, about 7,840 pounds, I would expect its MPG to drop significantly too.

My Premium gets about 20 MPG while pulling our 16 foot aluminum fishing boat which is only 20% of its max rating.

 

[ronyrod]

Ah.

Your RAM is pulling about 30% of its rated max while the SC is pulling about 70% of its max using the same trailer.

Makes sense that the RAM is breathing easier and getting better MPG with that load. If the RAM would pull 70% of its max, about 7,840 pounds, I would expect its MPG to drop significantly too.

My Premium gets about 20 MPG while pulling our 16 foot aluminum fishing boat which is only 20% of its max rating.

Which was exactly my point!
I may use the SC for pulling the Seadoos in Summer time and that will be perfectly fine! But towing a huge and heavy brick (travel trailer) down the road, is a whole different story!

 

[Trucklet4me]

Which was exactly my point!
I may use the SC for pulling the Seadoos in Summer time and that will be perfectly fine! But towing a huge and heavy brick (travel trailer) down the road, is a whole different story!

Yup. We just installed 2 pallets of sod recently, one at a time. Each pallet was 3,900 pounds and the trailer was 1,100 pounds. I didn't even consider using my SC and just did the job with my wife's F-150.

But, when we needed just a little sod, the SC hauled the 400 pound load in the bed just fine.

 

[GuyzieMan]

Did my first longer tow yesterday, about 160 miles round trip. Very hilly both ways but the Cruz handled it no problems. Total package weight is around 1600 pounds.

 

[JMII]

Your RAM is pulling about 30% of its rated max while the SC is pulling about 70% of its max using the same trailer.

I've towed the same boat with both a V6 Ranger and V8 Dakota. They both got the same mileage (around 11) because the smaller engine in the Ford was working harder to do the same work as the Dodge's V8. So based on my experience I would rather have the extra power regardless of how much weight is being dragged behind me. It seems that about 1/2 the tow rating is the sweet spot for most rigs in terms of pulling power, MPG and comfort. Sure you can tow near max but not for over extended distances.

Did my first longer tow yesterday, about 160 miles round trip. Very hilly both ways but the Cruz handled it no problems. Total package weight is around 1600 pounds.

What kind of MPG did you get?

 

[Photobears]

I would love to hear any input on this as well, as we are struggling with the exact same questions. We have a 21ft. trailer on order with a dry weight of 2700lbs (Alto F2114). Our dealer in Canada also says no problem with a weight distribution setup and highly recommends it. They also say if when they see the (factory) hitch in person they can easily strengthen it if they think it needs it. They are considered gurus of towing in Canada.

I did read this post re the self levelling shocks which is quite interesting. <title>Auto Leveling & Weight Distribution Hitches | Equal-i-zer® Hitch</title>

I’m in Ontario Canada. Can you share which guru you used? Want to make sure I can get the hitch I want to buy strengthen if required so I can use WD. Thanks

 

[GuyzieMan]

I've towed the same boat with both a V6 Ranger and V8 Dakota. They both got the same mileage (around 11) because the smaller engine in the Ford was working harder to do the same work as the Dodge's V8. So based on my experience I would rather have the extra power regardless of how much weight is being dragged behind me. It seems that about 1/2 the tow rating is the sweet spot for most rigs in terms of pulling power, MPG and comfort. Sure you can tow near max but not for over extended distances.



What kind of MPG did you get?

Around 18mpg, which isn't too bad considering how much uphill that trip has

 

[scobb1960]

What are you using for a hitch setup? do you have a better picture? I am curious on your rise from the hitch to the trailer and how you connected everything

I'm Not using a WD hitch. I did find that I needed a significant rise. I tried a 10in drop (8.75 in rise) but that was not enough. Because steel ball mounts are heavy I went to a Drop Forge Aluminum 12in Drop (10in rise) to avoid adding too much weight to the tongue. The aluminum hitch is rated for 12,000 lbs. I'm also probably going to use the Curt shock absorbing ball mount which will add another 1.75 inch rise.