trailer hitch

hi group.
my son has an 2005 santa fe.
it has a factory hitch and trailer wiring.

i'm disabled so we use a hitch mounted platform to haul my powered
chair around.
the problem is at 125 lbs total weight the back of the santa fe sags
down and raises the front enough to shine the head lights way to high.
the dealer has no recommendations or a way to boost the rear
suspension when under a load.
has anyone here had/resolved this suspension problem?
barry

 

You can either re-adjust your headlights. (which would have an obvious
side effect when there is no wheelchair on the back) Or you might be
able to find stiffer suspension to put on the rear as an aftermarket
option.

I've heard of people putting weights in front of the front bumper if
the car has a hitch on front for ease of being towed. They did it with
success too.

 

Another avenue to look into is "AirRide Suspension". An airbag as the
large tractor trailer companies use would definitely solve the issue
at hand. The problem is finding the right lowrider shop to install
them for you. Check the www. for similar applications, I see the
systems all of the time on tv and in magazines.

...Ron

 

Barry, ANY Muffler shop that installs muffler and shocks SHOULD be able to
install a set of air shocks on your Santa Fe.... You can even have an air
control put on the dash to adjust the shocks to what you want then let them
back down to normal.. Allthough RSCamaro is correct I really think an
air-ride suspension is a litle over kill for what you want to do.....

Tunez

 

thanks to all who responded.
however an SUV is supposed to be able to carry a weight on its rear
w/o sagging or at least the factory should offer some aftermarket remedy
for beafing up the rear.
this vehicle was purchased instead of a basic car just for this
purpose.
what we got was a large puddle jumper instead.
barry

 

i agree however any modification would almost certainly void the
vehicles factory warranty.
the fix needs to be simple such as replacing the stock spring as an
example.
this way the fix need not be obvious the next time the veh is brought
in for any service.
barry

 

Barry - please include the text of the post you're responding to. There's
no way to tell what suggestion you're referring to in this post.

I'm not sure what you mean by "any modification would almost certainly void
the vehicle's factory warranty". There are many modifications that an owner
can perform that will not void a factory warranty, or at the worst, will
only void a small area of coverage.

 

It will. Look at all of the SUV's you see on the road pulling boats,
snowmobiles, etc., or that are loaded to the gills inside. These vehicles
don't sag.

Alas, this is somewhat true of the SUV market today. They have become more
of a soccer mom vehicle than a truck, because that's what consumers wanted
in them. Not to say they won't carry anything, as they obviously do have a
carrying capacity, but they certainly are not a truck.

How about a refresh - what type of SUV did you buy, and what is it that
you're trying to pull or haul with it?

 

the Santa Fe is not a SUV, it's a sport cute...
says right on the web site that the max tongue weight is 200 lbs. and
trailer weight is 2000 lbs if the trailer has brakes.
if not its 150 / 1500 lbs...

 

You agree with what?


Matt

 

Most that are towing anything heavy use an equalizer hitch.

Yes, very true. Some are still based on truck chassis, but most,
including virtually all of the imports, are based on a lighter chassis,
possibly a mini-truck if they also make a small pickup. I believe that
the Chevy, Dodge and Ford full-size SUVs are still made on the same
chassis as their full-size trucks.

Matt