The 2008 Hyundai Tucson still had a maximum towing capacity of around 2,000 lbs, if your vehicle was properly equipped with the right accessories and options, like other similar model years. The 2008 versions were still unchanged from earlier versions, and in fact shared a lot of the same specifications and ratings.
In this article, we go over all of the different variables that contributed to the maximum trailer weight ratings and show you exactly what you needed to have equipped in your vehicle in order to achieve the highest ratings possible.
Your Owner's manual is the most valuable resource you have for your vehicle and contains so much information about your vehicle. Be sure that you read through it and that you abide by all of Hyundai's recommendations and requirements.
Overall Capacity: The overall towing capacity for the 2008 Hyundai Tucson ranged from 1,000-2,000 pounds, similar to other earlier model years and the same two variables affected the capacity numbers, which were the engine option you had in your vehicle and whether your trailer had its own independent braking system install.
The Tow Chart:
The towing chart for the 2007 Hyundai Tucson, like many other model years, was rather simple in design, mainly due to the fact that the table only specified two engine options, as well as trailer weight ratings, tongue weight ratings, and stats for braked and unbraked trailers. That's about all that was in the chart.
Comparing The Data:
By Trim Level: I wanted to break down the data according to the different trim levels that were available for these SUVs and if you look below, you can see that I found three different trim levels for this specific model year.
All of this information was laid out according to what engine was available for what trim level and in this case, the GLS was the only trim level that used the smaller 2.0 liter engine and is why the trailer weight rating range is tighter.
- GLS: 1,000-1,500 lbs.
- SE: 1,000-2,000 lbs.
- Limited: 1,000-2,000 lbs.
By Engine Options: I also broke down the data according to the two different engines that were available and of course, the 2.7 liter engine was a little bit larger than the 2.0 liter engine and had a slightly higher capacity rating. Both engines had similar specs when it came to the low end of the range.
- 2.0L: 1,000-1,500 lbs.
- 2.7L: 1,000-2,000 lbs.
Other Important Information...
I also found a couple of other pieces of information that are also important and should be mentioned, especially when we are talking about towing with your vehicle.
The first item is a little note I found in the owner's manual regarding trailer brakes and this is all I was able to find regarding trailer brakes, but seeing as how the maximum trailer weight rating is 2,000 pounds, you really won't need to use trailer brakes in most cases, except maybe if your particular State requires trailer brakes for trailer loads weighing less than 2,000 lbs.
The second image I have posted talks a little bit about the trailer tongue load weight rating that is recommended by Hyundai and if you look at the image, you can see that it was set at 10% of the trailer's total weight so if you were pulling around a trailer that weighed 1,300 lbs., then you would want a name for a tongue load weight of a round 130 lbs., which would equate to 10% of the trailer's total weight.
A Few Helpful Links:
I went ahead and posted two links below, which happen to be the only two resources I use for the research of this particular article and to be honest, that's all I needed because it provided all of the information I was looking for. The owner's manual contain most of the data I needed, including most of the images I have posted and the brochure also came in handy when it came to the different options that were available for these vehicles, especially when comparing the different trim levels.
Feel free to check these out when you have some spare time as they are very good resources and I highly recommend giving them a read.