4 cyl can tow!

[jerem0621]

My little 2013 Sorento had its first towing test tonight right up to its max tow rating of 1650 lbs. it was probably loaded at about 2000 lbs total including the trailer. There were 44 boxes of 8mm laminate flooring on the trailer.

The trailer was loaded appropriately and was slightly nose down orientation before I loaded it tonight. I forgot to accommodate for the weight. I will correct that issue. The skid of flooring was slightly forward of the axle. It was extremely stable not one hint of sway.

The little 4cl pulled the load extremely well and exceeded my expectations. (ya gotta have a truck to tow anything right?) I had my wife and our two sons in the Sorento. 6 rolls of underpayment and two more boxes of flooring in the trunk.

I am confident that this little rig would handle a 1500-2500 ish lb pop up without even blinking. Especially with a transmission cooler. (Which I have not added)

I have a nice Curt 3500/350 lb WC only round tube hitch and a vehicle specific 4 way wiring harness.

I will probably add brakes to this utility trailer and to a future pup which means adding a brake controller. No biggie really.

The Crossover design seems to be a stable towing platform. Coming from a F350 with a 31 ft TT I had my doubts about the Unibody. Granted we are not talking about a 5-10k lb trailer.

When I was installing the hitch I was somewhat surprised at the beefy structure under this rig. The rear suspension is independent and handled the trailer extremely well.

Anyway. Here's a pic of our little rig all hitched up. I can't wait to get a PUP and get back out there camping.



Thanks,

Jeremiah

[blt2ski]

Sorry Mr Maroon,

need to close this just because someone does not know any better!:B:B:B:B

I have deleted the real maroons post, altho replys I have left.....LOLOLOL

Marty

[jerem0621]

surveyorjp wrote:
Name calling is the first sign that you've lost the debate. And when it's your only contribution to the debate, you must need to do more research. Lol

I agree. I hope the mods keep this thread open. I would love to use it as a platform for a long term tow report over the next several years.

Thanks, Jeremiah.

[surveyorjp]

Name calling is the first sign that you've lost the debate. And when it's your only contribution to the debate, you must need to do more research. Lol

[John___Angela]

For what its worth, I kinda like maroon. Just sayin....

[bmanning]

jerem0621 wrote:

bmanning wrote:

Passin Thru wrote:
Maroon! Hope you stay way out west and not near me.

:h

Who is Maroon?

I've never been called maroon before! I guess that the poor crimson color is hated pretty bad. I am actually wearing a maroon sweater.

Since we are creating new insults we will now call everyone who tows within their axle, hitch, and tow ratings 'maroons'.

Name calling never becomes intelligence and I think you could do better than calling me a moron which is what you meant.

Passing Thru, if you have a point please make it. Calling names only proves one thing. And I'll let that thing be unstated.

Cheers!

Jeremiah

LOL he meant "moron" huh?

Now if that isn't ironic, nothing is.

Doesn't apply exactly to this situation but I heard a great saying a few days ago: Wise men often second-guess themselves, fools are almost always certain they're right.

Just smile and know that while you & your family are enjoying your Kia & pop-up many, many haters will be sitting in their houses, angry and looking for negative things to spew on the internet.

[jerem0621]

bmanning wrote:

Passin Thru wrote:
Maroon! Hope you stay way out west and not near me.

:h

Who is Maroon?

I've never been called maroon before! I guess that the poor crimson color is hated pretty bad. I am actually wearing a maroon sweater.

Since we are creating new insults we will now call everyone who tows within their axle, hitch, and tow ratings 'maroons'.

Name calling never becomes intelligence and I think you could do better than calling me a moron which is what you meant.

Passing Thru, if you have a point please make it. Calling names only proves one thing. And I'll let that thing be unstated.

Cheers!

Jeremiah

[camping_man]

OhhWell wrote:

camping man wrote:
That's good. I tow my mower around town with my 05 Prius, and still get about 49-50mpg. It tows fine on my $150 HarborFreight trailer, and I don't have a towing capacity. If I blow out my transmission , I can get a used one all day long for $500 on ebay , and slap it in the car. LOL

It would be very hard to blow the transmission in that Prius. Now the MG1 in there can be a different story.

Or MG2 , and even the main water cooled controller.

[OhhWell]

camping man wrote:
That's good. I tow my mower around town with my 05 Prius, and still get about 49-50mpg. It tows fine on my $150 HarborFreight trailer, and I don't have a towing capacity. If I blow out my transmission , I can get a used one all day long for $500 on ebay , and slap it in the car. LOL

It would be very hard to blow the transmission in that Prius. Now the MG1 in there can be a different story.

[Heavy_Metal_Doc]

jerem0621 wrote:

I did call The Dealer today and they gave me the response you all suggested they would. They told me I don't need one because there is one built in. I know there is one in the radiator but that's all. I see no external Aux Tranny cooler.

Yep, I meant to add that in the earlier post -- 99% of auto trans equipped vehicles on the road these days DO already have a cooler.....if you count that one loop of cooling coil inside one tank of the radiator!....Here's the thing: that is inside the radiator so the hotter the engine runs (working hard) the LESS trans cooling you will get. Factory towing package equipped vehicles almost always put that trans cooler in front by itself for maximum cooling along with it being much larger volume than the in-radiator types.
On non-tow rated vehicles, I usually just cut the trans lines running to that radiator cooler and connect up the aftermarket kit in it's place.

[jerem0621]

Thank you all for the replies!

Pretty amazing thing about Kia. The same engine and transmission in the Hundai version of our sorento is rated at 2000 lbs. lol. Funny thing is all 4 Cyl Sorentos are rated at 1650 lbs regardless of options etc.

I did call The Dealer today and they gave me the response you all suggested they would. They told me I don't need one because there is one built in. I know there is one in the radiator but that's all. I see no external Aux Tranny cooler.

And yes, I think I am being reasonable. I do t expect this Sorento to pull an Airstream over the Rockies. Lol.

But a 1200-2000 lb PUP in Tennessee? You betcha!

The motor didn't strain or struggle at all it just performed like normal.

I put the transmission in manual mode and mostly left it in 4th gear. It's a 6 speed transmission.

I have learned that I don't like flat 4 pole connectors. My RV 7 way plug was sooo much nicer to use.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[surveyorjp]

I used to tow a 1,200 lb Jon boat with a 2004 dodge neon (5 speed manual). Combo was a breeze to drive. Find a pup within your ratings and have fun.

[camping_man]

That's good. I tow my mower around town with my 05 Prius, and still get about 49-50mpg. It tows fine on my $150 HarborFreight trailer, and I don't have a towing capacity. If I blow out my transmission , I can get a used one all day long for $500 on ebay , and slap it in the car. LOL

[ChooChooMan74]

I tow with my 4 cylinder. Diesel that is! I know it is comparing apples to oranges, but 4 cylinders can tow.

I saw someone at the campground, towing with a Dodge Journey. His trailer was bigger than mine. I just shook my head, but I bet others shake their head with me.

I moved from NY back to RI when I had my Dodge Caliber AWD. A few trips with a 5x8 and 4x8 uHaul got me moved. That little 2.4 gasser with the Variable Transmission handled it. Don't think I would want to do it again.

[ScottG]

I used to tow a flatbed trailer with two ATV's on it, probably 2300#, with our then new 83 4 cyl. Toyota PU and it did great.