[shreddagorge]

Some hitch install tips: https://www.santacruzforums.com/posts/280725/

 

[Cris]

Has anyone figured out a good way to raise up the 7 pin connector so it won't tear off if you off road? I have been just uninstalling it when not towing bc I spend more time on dirt trails than towing, but I do need to tow occasionally

 

[windy35]

I was looking under the Santa Cruz. In the compartment under the driver side rear wheel well is a pig tail. I am assuming it is the View attachment 1360 plug and play trailer wiring harness. Has anyone else noticed this?

yes, that is the connection for the tow package. At present there is no Curt wiring harness available (per Curt MFG possibly is a couple of months for the 2025 SA. Etrailer claim to have a CONFIRMEDFIT harness is wrong. What you get is the CU94FR kit which actually a Curt 56420 harness. Neither will work on the 2025 SA. Connects fine but the pins are in the wrong positions to work. Only work around besides waiting for a Curt harness is to re -pin the 56420 to work. now I just need to find the right tool to fit the Hyundai connector. Hope this helps

 

[hparsons]

I have posted this on here I think, it was a few thousand over vehicle rating. 48 ft goose to end 13ft high 10ft wide. But take your time don't be in a hurry it can be done. Or if your scared don't do it at all. View attachment 8381

I know that this is an old post, but I'm glad you put it up. I have an O'Day 25 that I (very) occasionally pull with our "regular" vehicle. For the last 4 vehicle (including the '24 SC Limited that I just bought), I've always made sure to get something that could pull 5,000 lbs. The O'Day (4,007 lbs) with the trailer (1000 lbs) goes just a little over that, but we towed the boat from Alaska to Texas in a Ford Ranger when we first bought it, and had no trouble. We took it easy and slow, (max 60 highway) and installed surge brakes before we started the trip. The trip was pretty easy, a little scary at first, but once we got used to it, we were fine. We even had one scare where a moose ran in front of the rig and we had an emergency full stop. No fishtail or pushing the little truck at all.

We just got the hitch in, and will report back when we've actually towed it.

 

[Costambar]

I towed my new Casita travel trailer (2,600 lbs.) with my 2023 SEL FWD (non turbo) yesterday for the first time. I towed it about 80 miles (Hwy & City), with an Andersen Weight Distribution Hitch set up. I hardly noticed the trailer was back there. I didn't track the MPG.

• Tow Hitch: Class III, Curt 13486, GTW = 5,000 Lbs., TW = 750 Lbs.
• 7-Pin Wiring Harness: Curt 56466
• Harness Mounting Bracket: Curt 58520
• Harness Mounting Bracket: Curt 57204
• Mobile Brake Controller: Curt 51180

 

[ProSA]

Newbie here. I just got the ‘24 Night edition. I own a 21’ travel trailer, dual axle that weighs in at 4200 dry and it’s pretty tall. I’m not sure how well (if at all) the Cruz will tow this. Keep in mind that I live in Michigan and most of the roads are flat or just slightly hilly. I did purchase the Curt hitch with a seven pin connector and brake controller.

 

[LittleBokey]

Newbie here. I just got the ‘24 Night edition. I own a 21’ travel trailer, dual axle that weighs in at 4200 dry and it’s pretty tall. I’m not sure how well (if at all) the Cruz will tow this. Keep in mind that I live in Michigan and most of the roads are flat or just slightly hilly. I did purchase the Curt hitch with a seven pin connector and brake controller.

If you are not trolling, then I hope you realize your travel trailer is near the max towing capability of the SC.. without loading it or counting passengers. You'll be near or over the max after loading it.

 

[ProSA]

Not trolling at all… just wondering what others may have experienced. I know quite a few vehicle manufacturers rate the max towing conservatively.

 

[JMII]

I know quite a few vehicle manufacturers rate the max towing conservatively.

All OEMs should be using the J2807 test: https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/1502-sae-j2807-tow-tests-the-standard/

The SC is rated to tow up 5,000lbs... so it can do it, but how "well" is subjective and depends on your expectations. Personally I've always stayed well UNDER the limit. I've towed the same 2,500lbs with 3 different vehicles and the SC did the best job. However since SC has the most power (both HP and TQ) of any vehicle I've used it makes sense that would handle the task so well.

 

[LittleBokey]

Not trolling at all… just wondering what others may have experienced. I know quite a few vehicle manufacturers rate the max towing conservatively.

Got it.. I'm sure there is some wiggle room on the max. I would do a trial run with it dry, just local around town to get a feel for how she pulls. With you close to the max, balancing the load will be key. With the trailer being duel axles, try keeping the tongue weight down as much as possible. That will shift as much weight on to the axles as possible.. that should allow you to tow without issues. As you noted, you'll need trailer breaking for sure. I find the SC brakes to be OK, but somewhat soft towing 2900 lbs. So at 5k, she'll need help stopping. I end up feathering the gas as the SC carries her momentum a long way. Best of luck and let everyone know how it goes.

 

[Clang664]

I have a 2025 Santa Cruz SEL, and my wife has a '21 Palisade. We're running into the same issue with both vehicles as we look for a small-mid sized boat. A 2200# boat falls above the non-trailer-brake limit of 1650#. However, these boats are too small to be typically found with trailer brakes, which prevents us from using the full capacity.

Any insights from more experienced owners?

 

[Tentoes]

I have a 2025 Santa Cruz SEL, and my wife has a '21 Palisade. We're running into the same issue with both vehicles as we look for a small-mid sized boat. A 2200# boat falls above the non-trailer-brake limit of 1650#. However, these boats are too small to be typically found with trailer brakes, which prevents us from using the full capacity.

Any insights from more experienced owners?

I would not worry about it. Those numbers are conservative.

 

[Norskie]

I would not worry about it. Those numbers are conservative.

Not that the SC can't handle it, but there are state laws which set the weight limits for not having trailer brakes. Some are as low as 2000# and considering that the SC doesn't have huge brakes it's not a bad idea to have trailer brakes.

 

[JMII]

If the trailer doesn't come with brakes I wouldn't be too worried about it. I've noticed its pretty common to NOT have brakes on single axle boat trailers that will experience saltwater.

Is it legal? Depends on the state.
Is it safe? Depends on where you drive, in the mountains I would want brakes, but in flat areas maybe not.
You can add brakes to the trailer without too much cost or effort if you are worried about either of the above.

 

[Nagrom]

I wouldn't tow anything through the mountains without trailer brakes. I've smoked out my pads in the Sierras without a trailer. These "trucks" have passenger car brakes. The dct doesn't supply much resistance until like +5k rpm so engine braking seems quite taxing on the system.

 

[Akfan]

I think they use a magic 8 ball or one of those piano playing gerbils to choose tow ratings. My 79 f350 is rated at 6500 lb. One of my 2000 f250 is rated at 9k tow. That's a Stirling 10 inch axle. Big frame. Manual transmission. Yet my new f150 is rated at 11k lb. That is an automatic trans truck with an 8.8 axle... same thing a ranger had. Truck weighs 1500 lbs less than the 250. No more power.... smaller brakes.

if a vehicle can safely and reliably tow 5k in west Virginia then I don't think a little more in flat ground would be an issue.

then a 10k lbs load that's loaded correctly behind a half ton will be fine when a 5k lb load way too far back will jerk a ton truck around and wag all over.

but then I wouldn't want to be in court arguing negligence when you crashed with a load heavier than your vehicle is rated for.

 

[JMII]

I think they use a magic 8 ball or one of those piano playing gerbils to choose tow ratings.

There is a standard but the braking part sounds like a joke: https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/towing/1502-sae-j2807-tow-tests-the-standard/

Now just for giggles my Dakota weighed 100lbs more then the SC, was rated to tow 1,600lbs more, yet had smaller brakes (front and rear) so go figure.

Both the NA and turbo SC have the same brakes yet are rated to tow different amounts so the limit is apparently NOT the braking system per Hyundai.

 

[dfitt]

Newbie here. I just got the ‘24 Night edition. I own a 21’ travel trailer, dual axle that weighs in at 4200 dry and it’s pretty tall. I’m not sure how well (if at all) the Cruz will tow this. Keep in mind that I live in Michigan and most of the roads are flat or just slightly hilly. I did purchase the Curt hitch with a seven pin connector and brake controller.

It's no problem. Here is a link to my review of doing that.

https://www.santacruzforums.com/threads/tows-well.16220/

 

[Fly Fisher]

I towed my NuCamp T@B 400 from Las Vegas to Seattle on my 24 SC Premium. The trailer weights about 3,000 plus load. I had a Curtis hitch installed with a warless brake assist. I stopped in Grants Pass OR and had a wired brake assist installed. The wireless was dangerous. It didn't always work because the connections would work loose. After the change everything is fine. My 30 mpg fuel consumption dropped from 28 mpg to 15 mpg. with the trailer.

I purchased my truck in the early days of the SC. The dealer and U Haul didn't or wouldn't install a break assist because 1) didn't want to cut wires and loose the warranty, 2) didn't know what break assist would work , etc. It took 1,000 miles and six trailer shops to finally find someone who knew what they were doing.

 

[CruzBluz]

The picture is for size reference only! I’m NOT planning to pull this with a Subaru Forester.

Looking for a gut check from you guys. I’ve read through almost all the posts here and there seems to be a consensus that in general the Santa Cruz tows decent, but not to expect the world from it. I recently picked up a 2024 XRT and have a hitch and 7 pin installed. I’m looking at getting a Jayco 170BH. The layout works great for us for the price, but I can’t help but feel it’s a little large. I don’t want to overdo it as I’m not an experienced tower, but I’m a very reasonable driver and would not need to exceed 60mph where I plan to camp. The dry weight is 3000lb, and the GVWR is 3750. We have car camped exclusively up to this point so all our gear is small and lightweight. We don’t want to turn this into bringing the whole house with. I’m nervous how much of a sail behind me this thing will be. It’s 17 feet long and 8 ft wide. The roof sits about 9 feet off the ground. The tongue sticks out another 4 ft for a total of 21 feet wide. I have a brake controller and the trailer has trailer brakes. Was planning not to use WD based on comments of unibody design and auto leveling shocks. What do you all think? Is this doable? Reasonable?