Can The HYUNDAI PALISADE Tow A Camper?
One of the Hyundai Palisades’ main draws is the fact that it can tow up to 5,000 lbs, which is much more than the vast majority of SUVs. A lot of people wonder exactly what 5,000 lbs. of towing power actually looks like, especially when they’re in the market for something like a camper.
Most campers weigh over 5,000 lbs, meaning that the Hyundai Palisade cannot tow them. Towing trailers that are more than 5,000 lbs can easily damage the SUV. That being said, some smaller campers in the range of 3,000 to 4,000lbs are small enough to be towed by the Hyundai Palisade.
So if you want to tow a heavy trailer or a fifth-wheel, you’ll probably need to find a vehicle with a little more towing power. But let’s talk about what limits the Palisade’s towing capacity to 5,000 lbs, as well as some campers that it is capable of towing.
Do You Have The Right Hyundai Palisade?
Before we go anywhere else, we need to stop and talk about whether your Palisade is really equipped to tow large amounts. All Palisades are equipped with an engine that is capable of towing 5,000 lbs, but the differentiating factor is whether the Palisade has the correct hookup system installed.
If you’re buying a Palisade new, this system will usually cost a couple hundred dollars extra but will be strong enough and stable enough to pull larger trailers than the default system would. The particular system that you should look for called the seven-hole hitch.
The name is self-explanatory. It is a hitch that has seven holes compared to the standard three holes of the Hyundai Palisades default hitch. Make sure you check to see which model your vehicle has installed.
Pros to the Hyundai Palisade
Before we jump into all the specifics, it’s good to know the benefits of using a Hyundai Palisade. Towing isn’t its primary function, but that doesn’t mean it can’t tow. It does have a towing capacity of 5,000 pounds, which can carry more than you might think.
Customers who have actually used the Hyundai Palisade for towing (along with other options) have claimed that the Hyundai Palisade has much fewer issues if any when used to tow their campers. A problem that most modern vehicles have improved upon is engine overheating.
One driver used their old SUV (the 2018 Ford Explorer Platinum) to tow a trailer, and it had engine overheating issues, which is the last thing you want to happen when you’re towing on a road trip. Luckily for them, when they towed the same camper with the Hyundai Palisade 2020, the engine didn’t overheat once (visit this link to read their experience for yourself).
Why 5,000 Pounds?
Unlike most SUVs, the Hyundai Palisade is built to be a kind of hybrid between sports utility and general utility. A such, it has been designed so that its engine has more than enough power to move two Hyundai Palisades at a pretty reasonable speed.
The value of this is that there are many things that the Hyundai Palisade will have no trouble towing that would be out of reach for almost any other model of SUV.
So why can’t it pull more than 5,000 lbs? Well, it mostly just isn’t strong enough. Not only is the vehicle’s heavy-duty towing extension not quite strong enough to withstand that kind of weight over a long trip without breaking, but the engine itself is starting to reach its max capacity at that point as well
What would happen if you were to tow something that was too heavy for the SUV? Well, it probably wouldn’t explode immediately, but it would put a ton of wear and tear on its systems. The Hyundai Palisade is an expensive car, so that’s probably not something you want to risk.
However, for anything less than 5,000lbs, the Hyundai Palisade is going to be a fantastic choice. And in case you were wondering, the car can be absolutely packed and still be able to pull the full 5,000 lbs without a problem. Although it has to stay within the weight limits, this car is quite strong.
In fact, plenty of things are entirely within the Hyundai Palisade’s wheelhouse. They can tow small boats, most ATV models, or even a moving trailer. They’re pretty flexible and they offer you a wider range of towing options.
Even so, most campers are just out of reach for this particular SUV.
Campers That The Hyundai Palisade Can Tow
I mentioned earlier that some campers out there are much less than 5,000 lbs. Considering the amount of stuff that needs to fit in a camper in order for it to work, it makes sense that they’d be really heavy. However, there are some campers that certainly do fall with the appropriate weight range for the Hyundai Palisade.
The lightest kind of camper is probably a pop-up camper. By and large, these are almost always less than 5,000 lbs. Even once you’ve put all of the stuff in them that you need to make them livable, most models won’t weigh much more than 3,000lbs.
This makes pop-up campers the ideal size and weight for the Hyundai Palisade to deal with. Fantastic!
However, other lightweight trailers exist that could definitely be within the Palisades optimal weight.
Notable models include the KZ Sportsman Classic, which ranges from 15-21 feet in length and even at its largest weight is a little less than 3,000lbs. You also might consider the Forest River R-Pod Travel Trailer, which is 18-20 feet and maxes out at 2,826 lbs.
These choices and others are all great for Palisade owners. However, you need to be careful when choosing to make sure that the unloaded weight of the trailer isn’t too close to 5,000 lbs. If you push the limits, you might find that you’ve gone over the maximum weight once it’s fully loaded.
You’ll also need to keep an eye on the weight of the specific floor plan that you’ve chosen since different floorplans can be heavier or lighter. For instance, some models like the Keystone Passport can be either 4,000 lbs or 6,000 lbs, depending on the specific floor plan.
You’ll also want to keep in mind that if the trailer you’ve chosen is more than 2,500 lbs you’ll want to make sure that it comes with a trailer brake. If it’s heavier than 3,000 lbs and doesn’t have one, it might be breaking the law depending on where you are.
So even though a lot of campers are too heavy for the Hyundai Palisade, it’s entirely possible for you to work around the limitations and find a camper that will work for you without needing to buy a new car.
Tow Systems (Best Hitches)
Getting the right-sized camper is great, but it doesn’t mean much if you don’t have a functioning hitch to work with. While some hitches are dealer-installed, sometimes the hitch choice is up to you. And since hitches aren’t exactly cheap, you want to make sure you make the right choice. Here are some of the best hitches available on the market right now:
OUR CHOICE: The Curt 13333 Class III
The best thing about this hitch is its versatility. It’s made to make towing available to a variety of vehicles, including vans, trucks, full-size cars, and most importantly, SUVs (Hyundai Palisade, anyone?). It can connect to all of these vehicles, and it can tow 6,000 pounds in gross weight and 600 pounds in tongue weight (to learn more about tongue weight, click here).
The Curt 13333 Class III is practically a match made in heaven with the Hyundai Palisade; its weight capacity is more than enough to support any trailer the Hyundai Palisade can tow, but it’s not too much to make the hitch cost an arm and a leg (unlike some of the later options). The Curt 13333 Class III Trailer Hitch only costs $92 on Amazon–which is a steal when it comes to trailer hitches.
Blue OX BXQ1500 Sway Pro
The Amazon reviews speak for themselves. This product is highly praised as the best hitch out there, and it’s for good reason. There are little to no inconveniences or problems (except for the fact that it’s a long hitch, so it might stick out more than what you’re used to) and it does its job. The only problem with this one is how expensive it is; it costs $695, so we wouldn’t fully recommend this unless you’re in dire need of a thorough weight distribution hitch. While you might not want to shell out that much money for a trailer hitch (for good reason) it is a good idea to keep an eye out for good weight distribution hitches.
One of the biggest pros of the Blue OX BXQ1500 Sway Pro is the fact that it is a weight distribution hitch. Weight distribution hitches are highly recommended when someone is planning to tow a trailer (camper) behind the car. Campers are heavy, and weird things can happen to the towing system when the weight being pulled behind the car is just a little too much.
When you tow big trailers behind your car, the weight can cause the car’s front to be tipped up, and the trailer’s back to be tipped up, while the hitch between the two will be pulling both ends connected (the back end of the vehicle and the front end of the trailer) down. It can make a subtle V-shape. This drags the hitch and both the vehicles across the road, which is NOT good. The last thing you want is for anything to be dragging.
Weight-distribution hitches are great for preventing these kinds of problems. The designers of weight distribution hitches use spring bars to stop these problems and to keep the hitch holding straight across; so no V-shape, and no unintentional dragging.
The Blue Ox BXQ1500 Sway Pro is one such type of hitch. Not only does it stop the weight distribution problem, but as the name suggests, it does away with unintentional swaying, which can be a huge problem with trailer-towing systems as well. Almost all campers weigh from 1,000 to 9,000 pounds, but weight won’t be a problem with this hitch. It can support 15,000 pounds in gross weight and 1,500 in tongue weight.
Click here to see more trailer hitch options.