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The Official Santa Cruz Towing Thread

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#142 ·
JMII said:
Well after the 1,500 mile break in it will be ;)

Good work and enjoy. What are towing?

And just to confirm this is the Kia 7 pin and the official Hyundai hitch correct?
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Manual said 1200 miles, and I’m sitting at 1288 so.. we leave Sunday 😂 Towing a 15ft Taxa Cricket camper.

And yes this is the Kia 7 pin with Hyundai OEM hitch. Wish I could’ve waited for the Curt, but with a festival next week I had already planned to attend, I just couldn’t wait!
 
#144 ·
gonecamping said:
Manual said 1200 miles, and I’m sitting at 1288 so.. we leave Sunday 😂 Towing a 15ft Taxa Cricket camper.

And yes this is the Kia 7 pin with Hyundai OEM hitch. Wish I could’ve waited for the Curt, but with a festival next week I had already planned to attend, I just couldn’t wait!
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Sorry your right 1,200 miles.

Love to hear the MPG figures for your trip.
 
#145 ·
Gonecamping, thanks for posting the pictures and the info. This is exactly what I was hoping to do when I get my SC. If it isn't too much trouble could you tell me the weight of your trailer? Also let us know how it towed your trailer and also your MPG. And thanks again!
 
#147 ·
Nstaskey said:
I plan on towing around a 4,500 pd trailer; has anyone looked into how to deal with trailer sway? Thoughts?
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That is starting to get into tail wagging the dog territory. Sure the SC is rated to 5,000lb but it only weighs 4,000lb itself.

For what its worth the manual claims the vehicle has Trailer Stability Assist...
Image

How does this work? Magic? My guess would be it can tell a trailer is connected (via the 7 pin) and uses the onboard VSC to determine excess movement and trigger the nannies to kick in before all **** breaks lose.
 
#148 ·
Nstaskey said:
I plan on towing around a 4,500 pd trailer; has anyone looked into how to deal with trailer sway? Thoughts?
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When I bought my 17.5" trailer I also bought a trailer ball mount that came with anti sway bars. The ball mount has special round mounts welded to the side that the sway bars drop into then I attach the bars them selves to mounts on my trailer tounge. This keeps the trailer from swaying and I really think you will need those since the weight you are talking about is close to the limit of the SC. You will definitely need a brake controller too.
 
Discussion starter · #150 ·
Mark, in all likelihood the Cruz will say DO NOT use sway bars. It is a unibody vehicle and the bars can torque the piss out of the frame of the vehicle.

EG, my former Subaru Ascent with the same 5000lb capacity said to NOT use external sway control hitches/load/weight distribution hitches.

Re: tail wagging the dog. That is exactly what towing properly will avoid from happening.
 
#152 ·
Cruz'n said:
Mark, in all likelihood the Cruz will say DO NOT use sway bars. It is a unibody vehicle and the bars can torque the piss out of the frame of the vehicle.

EG, my former Subaru Ascent with the same 5000lb capacity said to NOT use external sway control hitches/load/weight distribution hitches.

Re: tail wagging the dog. That is exactly what towing properly will avoid from happening.
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I don't really understand the physics of it. The unibody would act as the frame so the load from the weight distributing hitch should be spread over the whole body. When I finallly get one I'll have to make sure I read the manual. Asking dealer folks seems futile as they often know less than the buyer. Maybe someone like Alex on Autos, who seems to get information directly form Hyundai will have an answer.
 
#153 ·
Mark said:
Gonecamping, thanks for posting the pictures and the info. This is exactly what I was hoping to do when I get my SC. If it isn't too much trouble could you tell me the weight of your trailer? Also let us know how it towed your trailer and also your MPG. And thanks again!
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Oh I definitely plan on documenting all pertinent info on the 9 hour road trip, knowing I may well be the first to tow a camper with this thing. The camper weighs 2,000 lbs dry, so maybe 2500 all loaded up, if I’m being generous? Very curious what mpgs I’ll get as well. I was averaging 15 mpg with my Outback.

I’m also curious how long it’ll take once it gets rolling to get the self-leveling suspension to kick in. Driving it around my neighborhood to test everything out wasn’t enough, apparently, but I’ve read it could take a mile or two.
 
#154 ·
Nstaskey said:
I plan on towing around a 4,500 pd trailer; has anyone looked into how to deal with trailer sway? Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Without buying anything other than the required trailer brake controller, just ensure your tongue weight is correct and slow down. Europeans have such high tow ratings with small vehicles because they don't try to go 85mph on the freeway with a trailer. I would have no problem just sticking to 45mph with cruise control in the right lane if pushing the limit and its slightly breezy. Probably saves a bunch in fuel and still gets you there.
 
#155 ·
Cruz'n said:
Re: tail wagging the dog. That is exactly what towing properly will avoid from happening.
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You can’t rewrite the laws of physics. If that much weight starts going a direction you don’t want regaining control will be a challenge.

JASmith said:
Europeans have such high tow ratings with small vehicles because they don't try to go 85mph on the freeway with a trailer.
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Spot on. Towing campers is very popular over there and they manage it with vehicles Americans would considerable way too small to even use on a Costco run. Keeping the speed down affords a margin of safety.

Hopefully one of YT channels like TFL will load up a SC and report how it does towing at the limits. I’ve never come near the limits on my two pickup over the years and living in flat FL has also saved me from dealing with struggling up and down mountain passes. The only problem I’ve encountered is overheating and engine pining in a ‘96 Ranger with the 4.0l V6 but it only had 160hp and 220tq.
 
#156 ·
First road trip complete! Here’s some info/thoughts after a 9 hour drive towing a 2500 lb camper:

-Ended up averaging 16 mpg at an average speed of 75 mph. This is a good 1-2 mpg better than I was getting towing with the supposedly more economical, CVT driven Outback. Very happy about that.
-Pulls much better than the Outback, power is definitely there for easy and confident passing at highway speeds. But it’s not quite “can’t even feel it back there” levels. You can definitely feel the weight of it on uneven roads, but again it’s not as bad of a tail wagging dog situation as the Outback was.
-Before hitching the trailer, I measured 5” between the top of the wheel well and the top of the tire. After hitching, it sagged down to 3”. Once we got on the highway you could tell it had leveled itself out (nose didn’t seem as high), and checking the sag again at the first pit stop I measured 4”.
Overall a definite improvement to my tow situation.
 
#157 ·
gonecamping said:
First road trip complete! Here’s some info/thoughts after a 9 hour drive towing a 2500 lb camper:
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Sounds great. Thanks for the report! Always nice to get outside and enjoy nature.

If I can get 15-17 MPG towing my 2,500lb rig (boat plus trailer) that would be fantastic... I current get about 11 MPG while my 5 speed automatic keeps trying to figure out the best gear and the torque converter gets confused. This is one of the major reasons I'm looking for a replacement vehicle. I've seen reports of new Rangers getting about 15 too, so that is my benchmark since I know its 10 speed doesn't struggle (my buddy has a F150 Ecoboost and tows a similar rig). The SC has basically the same HP and TQ as a Ranger but should have a bit of an aero advantage but 2 less gears.

Glad to hear the self leveling shocks are doing something. I plan on measuring and adjusting my hitch for whatever "level" is after settling. I never did that before I notice due to sag my trailer sits every so slightly nose down (maybe just an inch).
 
#158 ·
That sounds like dream mileage to me compared to my current truck, a 5.7L Tundra. That truck is the entry price of "can't tell it is back there". With a 10k pound tow limit and that strong V8 you really can't feel most trailers behind you, but you are also pushing 10 mpg at that point. A big rig is a luxury unless you regularly tow large trailers or heavy loads and I am in rehab on that. lol

@gonecamping has provided us a great owner's impression of towing his camper. That is extremely cool and thanks for the insights! That is exactly how many people will use their SCs, so it is particularly relevant.

I think the SC has adequate truck utility for what most people need most of the time. I have been driving a 1/2 ton to be ready for that 1% of the time I tow or haul massive loads. I am ready to evolve to an SC once they become more readily available and the price crazy dies down.

Keep up the cool towing impressions - it helps while I wait my turn.
 
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