2020 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited Towing Capacity and Required Parts For Towing

Question:

I purchased a 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited not XL. What is the heaviest trailer weight that I can tow and what equipment do you recommend? Also, is a cooler required and if so can you supply?

asked by: William E

Expert Reply:

You'll first want to check your owner's manual for confirmation, but from what I was able to find out, the Hyundai Santa Fe Limited 2.0T has a towing capacity of 3500-lbs for a trailer with brakes and 1650-lbs for a trailer without brakes; the Santa Fe Limited that is NOT the 2.0T version has a towing capacity of 2000-lbs regardless of the trailer being equipped with brakes or not. As I mentioned first, you'll want to verify this information in your owner's manual to determine if it is different from what I was able to find via my research. You really shouldn't need a transmission cooler of any kind and I would only really recommend adding one if you find that you're towing long distances and the transmission is overheating-which is unlikely on a new vehicle towing lower weights.

In order to tow a trailer behind your new Santa Fe, you'll first need a trailer hitch. I recommend going with the Draw-Tite # 75908 since it will be a bit easier to install compared to the Curt # C13195 . This hitch will provide you with a 2" receiver opening for towing and hitch mounted receiver accessories. You will also need a wiring harness to power your trailer lights; for that you can use the Curt T-Connector # CU94FR, which plugs in behind the tail lights on your vehicle and will run to the back of your hitch receiver.

If you're going to be towing a trailer with brakes, you will need to install a 7 way connector onto the vehicle using the Curt T-Connector- for that you will use the # ETBC7 kit as well as a brake controller to control the electric brakes. I think the easiest brake controller to install and use is the Curt Echo Mobile # C51180 which plugs into your 7 way connector and is controlled by your smart phone.

You will also need a ball mount kit like the # 989900 , which will provide you with 2 ball mounts to handle various rise/drop situations you might encounter when towing a variety of trailers, as well as a 1-7/8" and 2" ball mount that will help you in those situations as well.

I've included the links to installation videos for the hitch, wiring harnesses and brake controller that might be helpful during the installation process and to find out a little bit more information about how the products work.