Community Forums

Indytraveler · 08-28-2019, 05:41 AM

Hello,
I have a 2019 Kia Sorento SUV with a 2000lb max tow rating and a 280lb max tongue weight. Wanting to get back into RVing after selling our 38’ class a we drove for years.
Would you even bother towing with this SUV.? We are looking at a Prolite Escapade that comes in at 1940lb dry.. Tongue weight is 190lbs.. Is there any reason not to tow this little trailer as long as I tow it unloaded?

tuffr2 · 08-28-2019, 06:37 AM

You will be maxing out the little SUV. Dry weight I believe is without propane and battery. The SUV will have a short wheelbase which does not make a very good tow vehicle.

If you want to get back into RV'ing buy a truck that can tow a comfortable trailer.

NewBlackDak · 08-28-2019, 07:13 AM

Wouldn’t be a fun drive with that car. You would basically have to tow an empty trailer too as it’s already at the top end of your capacity dry.

Indytraveler · 08-28-2019, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuffr2

You will be maxing out the little SUV. Dry weight I believe is without propane and battery. The SUV will have a short wheelbase which does not make a very good tow vehicle.

If you want to get back into RV'ing buy a truck that can tow a comfortable trailer.

Appreciate the feedback.. I’m concerned about it being an easy tow as well. But the wheelbase on my “little” SUV is only 6” shorter than a “big” Chevy Tahoe, 116”vs 110”

kcirick · 08-28-2019, 07:29 AM

Hi,

I recently made a mistake of buying a trailer at the limit in terms of gross weight (don't go by dry weight) and at tongue weight for my SUV. I learned a lesson: If you're towing at the vehicle limit, you will not be comfortable driving it (if you go high speed your engine won't like you, if you go slower, drivers around you won't like you, if you go on a long haul, your transmission wont like you).

The long and short of it is, if you want to get (back) into RVing, get a towing vehicle designed for the purpose (ie a truck, or a big SUV that is based on the truck chassis). My SUV and your Sorento might be advertised as "towing capacity up to X lbs), but I came to the conclusion that is a false advertisement (at least when it comes to towing RV - Maybe it's fine for towing boats, or a moving trailer that you use once a year). You don't want that extra stress.

NewBlackDak · 08-28-2019, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indytraveler

Appreciate the feedback.. I’m concerned about it being an easy tow as well. But the wheelbase on my “little” SUV is only 6” shorter than a “big” Chevy Tahoe, 116”vs 110”

I would call the Tahoe wheelbase short for towing as well. It would still be leaps and bounds better than the Sorento, just because it’s a body on frame design instead of unibody.

shane_the_ee · 08-28-2019, 08:09 AM

Quote:

.. Is there any reason not to tow this little trailer as long as I tow it unloaded?

The reason not to tow it is because even though it's little, it's still too heavy for your Kia. You'd have to remove the battery and the propane, and the air conditioner and... Even if you did, where would you put all that stuff? In the back of the Kia? But the Kia's 2000lb tow rating is a 2000lbs if it's empty tow rating, not a stuff-it-the-gills and then add a 2000lb trailer tow rating.

The only way you might be able to get away with it would be to strip everything out of the trailer and put all that stuff and all your camping gear, clothes, toothpaste, etc in a 2nd vehicle...

Persistent · 08-28-2019, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indytraveler

Hello,
I have a 2019 Kia Sorento SUV with a 2000lb max tow rating and a 280lb max tongue weight. Wanting to get back into RVing after selling our 38’ class a we drove for years.
Would you even bother towing with this SUV.? We are looking at a Prolite Escapade that comes in at 1940lb dry.. Tongue weight is 190lbs.. Is there any reason not to tow this little trailer as long as I tow it unloaded?

Sure, you can do this. First do not put food, clothes, cooking utensils in either the TT or the TV. Actually a battery in the TT is included if the TT has electric brakes. No one can ride in the TV with the driver and of course you do not weight more than the standard 150# driver use to calculate max tow rating. Don't forget to include your hitch weight when calculating tongue weight and emergency kit you keep in the back.

Finally, the published weight of the TT is not the actual weight. You must get it weighed. The same is true for the tow vehicle. Be sure you are using the TV driver door stickers to calculate max tow capacity and tongue weight. Each individual vehicle has variations. Actually weighing the TV is required. The published weight of the tongue is fiction. The actual tongue weight can be double the published weight. Both of mine were.

A 2000# gross weight TT usually has a 300# tongue weight. Your hitch will be over loaded. Remember published tongue weight is fiction.

Maximum highway speed in this overloaded condition should be less than 50 mph. It will still drive your tow vehicle to an early grave. You and your passengers will also be at high risk.

Don't do it! You will be sorry. You will have to buy a new tow vehicle either before or after you buy the travel trailer.

Indytraveler · 08-28-2019, 09:06 AM

Yeah, I don’t doubt any of the feedback I’ve received..Thanks.. This is why I opened the thread. I come from a larger MH and tow car. Towed car was well under weight limits. Now, I have this medium SUV, I wanted to learn more about towing a small TT.. Tongue weight stated as 190lbs on the trailer giving me 100 or so lbs cushion.. But given the suspension and frame this Kia is on, you guys are warning me off this.. I’ll consider another option

Indytraveler · 08-28-2019, 09:48 AM

I might consider upgrading to the Kia Telluride with tow package.. Bigger V6, longer wheelbase similar to a Ford Explorer, AWD. This unit is still on a modified unibody frame but tow capacity is 5000 lbs. Surely towing a stocked 2500-3000lb TT would be a breeze?

kcirick · 08-28-2019, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indytraveler

I might consider upgrading to the Kia Telluride with tow package.. Bigger V6, longer wheelbase similar to a Ford Explorer, AWD. This unit is still on a modified unibody frame but tow capacity is 5000 lbs. Surely towing a stocked 2500-3000lb TT would be a breeze?

I have a Subaru Ascent which is a unibody frame with 5000lb towing capacity. I had a Starcraft TT that was 2500lb dry weight - 3500-ish Gross weight, and it towed fine. But I don't recommend anything bigger. If you plan on someday upgrading to a bigger trailer, I would consider a vehicle with truck chassis.

I hope this helps.

NewBlackDak · 08-28-2019, 03:38 PM

That “max tow capacity” number is great for an aerodynamic boat, or a flat trailer with no resistance. A box trailer acting like a big parachute is a very different tow.

tuffr2 · 08-28-2019, 05:49 PM

I had a Honda Ridgeline that was advertised to have a 5,000 lb. towing capacity. This was bogus as far at towing a travel trailer. I tried towing my 4,800 lb. trailer on the highway and it was a white knuckle intense experience.

If I wanted to tow with a Honda Ridgeline I would try to keep it to 3,500lbs.

Persistent · 08-29-2019, 07:31 AM

Towing a popup or folding camper trailer with a car or minivan.

I advised against your plan above as did others. That said, if you are willing to learn a lot about towing, you can pull a tent trailer or a folding trailer that does not have a large cross section of wind resistance.

I towed a 1500# actual weight, 2000# gross weight folding trailer all around the US and Canada using a Toyota Solara. The Solara was rated to tow 1500#. It worked great. We had a great time.

We did have all the usual towing issues such as trailer tire blow outs and lots of required modifications. We needed to limit highway speeds to less than 65 mile per hour and even less in a cross wind to prevent sway and excessive trailer tire wear. The soft high velocity front drive tires on the Solara required more frequent replacement. The transmission oil turned dark faster than normal and had to be replaced after a few thousand miles of towing. The trailer had electric trailer breaks.

You must be willing and able to weigh your tow vehicle, trailer, and tongue weight. You must be willing to balance the trailer. I had to lighten the tongue from 360# to 180#. The published tongue weight was 150#. I moved the battery off the tongue to the rear of the trailer and replaced the small flooded cell with two larger sealed AGM batteries under rear dinette seat. That required venting sealed battery boxes to outside. I also added a rear cargo box and filled it with various heavy things.

Your rig may require the same or other modifications for safe comfortable camping. It is possible. It requires caution and a lot of learning to drive different. It requires learning a lot about setting up a towed rig.