We are looking at small campers, 19 or perhaps 21 feet. Our vehicle is a 2007 Hyundai Veracruz. The book lists a towing capacity of 3500 lbs. (but also lists 4500 for towing a boat?).
The RV dealer expressed surprise that this vehicle with a fairly decent-sized 6 cylinder engine would only be rated at 3500 pounds. Is he correct that this is an unusually low capacity for a vehicle in its category? Do we really need to buy a different vehicle to tow something modest like these trailers?
Thanks in advance for any assistance or advice for this newbie.
The boat load rating is higher because a trailer is a "high profile" vehicle when towed than a boat does...and thus the drag is higher on a TT which lowers the load you can tow with your SUV.
A couple of TT's have very aerodynamic front noses...which does help a bit...but not enough.
A tent trailer or a Hi-Lo trailer would have a lot less drag and you could actually tow a 3000lb pop-up.
My posts shouldn't be taken for factual data. They are purely fictional, for entertainment purposes and should not be constituted as actually related to scientific, technical, engineering, legal, spiritual or practical advice. Amen.
miborn wrote: We are looking at small campers, 19 or perhaps 21 feet. Our vehicle is a 2007 Hyundai Veracruz. The book lists a towing capacity of 3500 lbs. (but also lists 4500 for towing a boat?).
The RV dealer expressed surprise that this vehicle with a fairly decent-sized 6 cylinder engine would only be rated at 3500 pounds.
I agree with the dealer. If you research the info on this vehicle one quickly comes to the conclusion that everything about this SUV points to success as it relates to towing at the modest 3,500lb rating.
Strong V6, 6 speed auto, 10 year warranty etc, etc. Think you got a winner in the Veracruz.
Airstreams.... the best towing trailers on the planet!
the dealer wants to sell you a trailer and will say anything to close the deal. don't trust him.
nor should you listen to Road Ruler, whose opinion is in the vast minority of members here. the Airstream pulls a lot differently than normal travel trailers.
the reality is that the manufacturer has set 3500lbs. as the max.
this is a standard amount for nearly all v-6 minivans and smaller SUVs.
and for most, this amount is with only a 150lbs. driver in the vehicle.
check your owner's manual instead of asking a dealer. you probably find that there is a frontal area limit and that's why you get a higher tow capacity with a boat. minimum frontal area, as opposed to a 3000lbs. sail to pull behind you.
only 17' or smaller TTs will fit the specs of your vehicle. and they have very poor cargo capacities.
bottom line is that your vehicle has all the wrong features that are good for towing, unibody, v-6, front wheel drive and high gear ratios.
Dan- Firefighter, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
bikendan wrote: the dealer wants to sell you a trailer and will say anything to close the deal. don't trust him.
nor should you listen to Road Ruler, whose opinion is in the vast minority of members here. the Airstream pulls a lot differently than normal travel trailers. snip
bottom line is that your vehicle has all the wrong features that are good for towing, unibody, v-6, front wheel drive and high gear ratios.
other than these reasons, it would make a great combination, NOT.
bumpy
Miborn, Bikendan has made one good point. Towing forums are notorious for supplying information. Some info is accurate and good while other info is really bad advice. The problem is you don't know what to believe. Take all info from forums with a grain of salt including mine.
The best resource for towing information is from towing professionals.
To name a few of the more popular ones:
Sean Woodruff from ProPride Hitches
Jim Hensley from Hensley Manufacturing
Andrew Thomson/Kirk Thomson from Can AM RV
Side note:
Bikendan, we have much in common. We both tow a 23'r and both are avid bike fans. With 2,000 other bikers I did the classic "Paris to Ancaster" race yesterday. Used my Kona Major Jake this year but my Trek Fuel 98 has performed well in the past. I came 5th in my age group. If you ever get up to Ontario in mid April give this race a go, but be prepared to get dirty, 60klm's of mud fest.
miborn wrote: We are looking at small campers, 19 or perhaps 21 feet. Our vehicle is a 2007 Hyundai Veracruz. The book lists a towing capacity of 3500 lbs. (but also lists 4500 for towing a boat?).
...
Thanks in advance for any assistance or advice for this newbie.
Miborn,
While the Veracruz is an excellent vehicle, it would not make a good tow vehicle for the RV you are considering, and I am speaking from personal experience.
I had a 2008 Santa Fe with a 3.3.L V6 (marginally less hp and torque than the Veracruz) and I pulled my RV across Houston on undulating freways and was not convinced that it would do the trick over anything other than flat or gently undulating terrain, and with little wind. Before going on any real camping trip I got the vehicle in my signature.
The problem with these vehicles is that they are FWD and while they may be rated at 3500#, not all 3500# loads are equal. A low 3500# popup (is there such a thing) would be a much better propsect than the big tall box that is a travel trailer. AAMOF, the Veracruz and Santa Fe are better suited for popups, which is what I pulled before upgrading the RV.
The problem with these vehicles is that they are FWD and while they may be rated at 3500#, not all 3500# loads are equal.
Always interested in hearing about problems/issues. Can I ask what issues you had with the FWD? I have towed much more weight than 3,500lbs with FWD and it worked very well. No issues at all.
There are so many factors at work that it would make your head spin.
The 3500lb limit may not be a POWER or HANDLING or BRAKING limit. It may be structural.
Structural, as in the capacity of the receiver hitch and the attachment points. On a unibody vehicle the strength comes from cages and tubs made from thin stamped steel.
These are fine when the load is spread out over a wide area, but a receiver hitch bolts to the unibody at 4-6 small points. Reinforcing the structure to deal with these point loads adds weight and cost.
Hyundai certainly studied their customers and determined that the number of customers who needed to tow more than 3500lbs was not worth the additional effort. It was more profitable to lose a few "heavy" towers to other brands than it was to produce ALL their vehicles with higher tow capacity.
2002 Chevy 3500 DRW 8.1L/Allison
2000 Palomino B1500
...and the reason why I need a DRW to haul a Palomino:
2004 United 7x14 tandem axle enclosed toy trailer
2011 PJ 8x20 7-ton deckover equipment trailer
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, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur
, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
