towing

[Brian B-P]

The hitch weight rating of the Sorento is very clear in the table in the owner's manual, but in 2016 had a bizarrely low value of 350 pounds, even for the most capable configuration (Lambda II 3.3 V6 and towing package) which has a trailer weight rating of 5000 pounds. 7% tongue weight would be low, even in Europe; this may have just been a typo. Fortunately, for 2017 and 2018 it the expected (for a 5000 pound trailer) limit of 500 pounds.

Despite common advice in forums to run well over 10% of the trailer weight on the tongue, vehicle manufacturers routinely advice just 10%, and set the hitch weight rating at 10% of the trailer weight rating. The Sorento manual actually says

The trailer tongue should weigh a maximum of 10% of the total loaded trailer weight, within the limits of the maximum permissible trailer tongue load.

It seems unlikely to me that there is actually any physical difference in the ability of the various Sorento configurations to handle hitch weight.

The table from the 2018 manual is attached:

[Reddog21]

This is Reddog23, I am wondering why you are going to the Hyundai Santa Fe? I looked at that vehicle and was considering it.

[Reddog21]

Brian B- P, Reddog21, If I understand you correctly a 2018 Sorento would have a tongue weight that would handle the Escape 21?

[Steve Clark]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Yes, I noticed that too. With the 3.3L V6 and AWD, the payload capacity can reach about 1275 lbs. Not too bad for a mid sized SUV. While it's higher than most in it's class, it's needed it if you intend to tow a 21 with it.

Yes, Stan and Robert! Payload was one of the prime considerations when we selected our 2 WD V-6 Explorer. Payload of 1513 lbs.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Reddog21

Brian B- P, Reddog21, If I understand you correctly a 2018 Sorento would have a tongue weight that would handle the Escape 21?

Yes, as long as you stay with the distribution of 10% of the total trailer weight on the tongue, or at least (if the trailer is loaded more moderately, to less than 5000 pounds), it isn't so front-heavy that the tongue weight is no more than 500 pounds.

The next issue is that the tongue weight is part of the payload carried by the tow vehicle. That means that if you have 500 pounds of tongue weight, that's 500 pounds of the 930 pounds (5-passenger version) or 1120 pounds (7-passenger version) which the Sorento is allowed to carry. That could mean two people and zero of anything else, in the case of high tongue weight and typical adult people.

[matt]

Originally Posted by Reddog21

This is Reddog23, I am wondering why you are going to the Hyundai Santa Fe? I looked at that vehicle and was considering it.

Hi Reddog21,
As I mentioned earlier we loved our Kia Sorento. It was a great family car as well as a tow vehicle for our needs. I really do think the V6 AWD's tongue weight is 500 lbs, not 350. My documentation was 500 lbs on ours, so I think that it was a typo or laziness by someone putting together the owners manuals. They use one owners manual for all their Sorentos and the V6 with front wheel drive is 3500 lbs with a 350 tongue weight so my guess is the 350 number is meant for the V6 FWD not the AWD. (Some of their documentation does still show 500 lbs.) The 350 tongue weight with a 5000 lbs tow capacity doesn't seem to make sense. However, that is my guess and I don't know for sure so if you are considering the Sorento I would check with Kia to confirm. Someone mentioned in this thread that they have one vehicle for towing and another for their every day car because they could not find one that worked well for both. For us the Sorento really did work well for both. We were aware of all the capacities while towing and we stayed within those limits. We were also okay with taking it a little slower when climbing steep inclines.
How we ended up with a Santa Fe: My wife was stopped and got rear ended by some traveling 70 MPH. The Sorento kept my wife safe but it was totaled. We looked at most of the mid sized SUV's with 5000 lbs tow ratings and narrowed it down to the Sorento, Highlander, and Santa Fe. We liked all 3 but money was also a consideration for us. Hyundai was offering great rebates and deals at the time. We really like some of the features on the Santa Fe V6 FWD as well so we went with the Hyundai. So far we are very happy with the Santa Fe. Our towing experience with the Santa Fe has been limited so far with mostly flat road towing so I can't speak with the same experience that I can with the Sorento, but I expect to be just as happy with the Santa Fe as we were with the Sorento. The Santa Fe will be our tow vehicle for our Escape 21 when we pick it up in May. We will get the Pro Series WDH offered by ETI and again we will make sure we stay within all Hyundai's listed capacities as well as that of our Escape 21. I'm not discounting anyone else's opinion's on this topic, I am just trying to answer your question by sharing our experience. I hope it helps.

[AnnHay]

New to the forum here, and a retired diesel/gas truck mechanic. Will be picking up my new E21 in June. Can't hardly wait!

A couple of folks in this thread mentioned brakes, as well as towing and tongue weight specs, etc. Does the Kia Sorento tow package include larger brakes than the brakes they put on a non-towing Kia Sorento? Remember you'll be trying to stop not just the weight of your vehicle, but all of your stuff and the people loaded inside the vehicle, as well as two-and-a-half tons of trailer behind you that may be sliding off to one side in an emergency stopping situation .. better have vehicle brakes that will do that job going down a steep hill figuring that the electric brakes on the trailer can fail. Towing is one thing, stopping is another thing completely.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by TacomaAnn

New to the forum here, and a retired diesel/gas truck mechanic. Will be picking up my new E21 in June. Can't hardly wait!

A couple of folks in this thread mentioned brakes, as well as towing and tongue weight specs, etc. Does the Kia Sorento tow package include larger brakes than the brakes they put on a non-towing Kia Sorento? Remember you'll be trying to stop not just the weight of your vehicle, but all of your stuff and the people loaded inside the vehicle, as well as two-and-a-half tons of trailer behind you that may be sliding off to one side in an emergency stopping situation .. better have vehicle brakes that will do that job going down a steep hill figuring that the electric brakes on the trailer can fail. Towing is one thing, stopping is another thing completely.

I've never seen any towing option that included a brake upgrade. for vehicles like my gen2 2008 Tacoma, the towing option is only available on the V6 4x4 (and Prerunner, which was a 2x4 built like the 4x4), which have bigger wheels and lifted suspension over the regular Tacomas. I'm pretty sure these 4x4's *come* with bigger brakes than the other versions.

but, any trailer 1500 lbs and up should have its own trailer brakes, and you adjust your trailer brake controller so the braking forces of the trailer vs the tug are matched.

I've read I can upgrade my Tacoma's brakes to those off a Tundra, that its a simple bolt-on option, but if you buy all new, its an expensive upgrade. The only time I felt like I was having to really force the tacoma's brakes was when I'd forgotten to reset the brake controller gain after driving on dirt where i lowered it, then found myself having to stop sooner than I expected, on a long steep downhill into a blind turn into said stop. and we were overloaded with too much gear, learned my lesson.

[AllanEdie]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I've never seen any towing option that included a brake upgrade. for vehicles like my gen2 2008 Tacoma, the towing option is only available on the V6 4x4 (and Prerunner, which was a 2x4 built like the 4x4), which have bigger wheels and lifted suspension over the regular Tacomas. I'm pretty sure these 4x4's *come* with bigger brakes than the other versions.

but, any trailer 1500 lbs and up should have its own trailer brakes, and you adjust your trailer brake controller so the braking forces of the trailer vs the tug are matched.

I've read I can upgrade my Tacoma's brakes to those off a Tundra, that its a simple bolt-on option, but if you buy all new, its an expensive upgrade. The only time I felt like I was having to really force the tacoma's brakes was when I'd forgotten to reset the brake controller gain after driving on dirt where i lowered it, then found myself having to stop sooner than I expected, on a long steep downhill into a blind turn into said stop. and we were overloaded with too much gear, learned my lesson.

Good on ya John, a man that understands trailer brake controls. Your post is a good reminder that the trailer brakes need to be matched to the traction of the road surface. If they are too aggressive and lock the trailer wheels, a jackknife could be the result. Also a good reminder to reset the controller again when back on pavement. I hope that you managed to get the rig under control without damage.

And for those that must chime in to say that such fussing is not necessary, let me assure you that you are dead right - until you find that you need to stop as quickly as possible. One of these days, Tekonsha or some other maker will include the ability to store separate settings for different road conditions, say, one for dry pavement, one for wet, and one for gravel, and one for snow and ice.

Back to your post John, it is nice to hear that you are managing the 21 fine with the Tacoma. We will be seeing how that goes, but I expect we will be ok, if a tad slow on the uphills. We will have no difficulty staying within all the vehicle/towing weight limits - just two of us, and lightweights at that. The closer we get to delivery, the more I am looking forward to the adventure.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by AllanEdie

.... Back to your post John, it is nice to hear that you are managing the 21 fine with the Tacoma. We will be seeing how that goes, but I expect we will be ok, if a tad slow on the uphills. We will have no difficulty staying within all the vehicle/towing weight limits - just two of us, and lightweights at that. The closer we get to delivery, the more I am looking forward to the adventure.

FWIW, my Tacoma has the RideRite airbag kit, with seperate air valves for left and right sides, and when I'm loaded for a trip and towing I'm putting 35-45 PSI in them... it also has load range E LT rated tires (BF Goodrich All/Terrain KO2 in the stock 265/70R16 that fits the TRD Off Road rims used on gen2, and I put around 45-50PSI in those when heavily loaded (35 PSI running mostly empty). AND its a stick shift. I never use 6th when towing, and generally try and keep the engine in the 2500-3000 RPM range where it seems happier. I've been in 3rd and 4000 RPM up long steep hills to maintain highway speeds of 55.

[AllanEdie]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

FWIW, my Tacoma has the RideRite airbag kit, with seperate air valves for left and right sides, and when I'm loaded for a trip and towing I'm putting 35-45 PSI in them... it also has load range E LT rated tires (BF Goodrich All/Terrain KO2 in the stock 265/70R16 that fits the TRD Off Road rims used on gen2, and I put around 45-50PSI in those when heavily loaded (35 PSI running mostly empty). AND its a stick shift. I never use 6th when towing, and generally try and keep the engine in the 2500-3000 RPM range where it seems happier. I've been in 3rd and 4000 RPM up long steep hills to maintain highway speeds of 55.

We have air bags as well - we installed them for our small fiberglass camper. They will help set the trailer up for level towing, but the tongue weight will not really require them. We have a 2014 with an automatic, so I will have to learn how to keep the transmission happy. I will be installing a gauge which monitors transmission temperature among other things. For now, the stock tires will do until they get replaced in the next year or two, at which time we will also go for the heavier tires. I put Goodyear Endurances on the trailer - they are load range D, and speed rated N, which I will never be travelling at.

How long have you been towing your 21 with the Tacoma?

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by AllanEdie

How long have you been towing your 21 with the Tacoma?

We bought the Escape a couple days after christmas, and towed it from the Dallas TX area to Reno then back to Santa Cruz, so about 2000 miles total, haven't gone anywhere since (probably memorial day weekend will be our first run). The same Tacoma has towed our Casita 16 all over California, Oregon, Washington for a couple years before the Escape.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by TacomaAnn

Does the Kia Sorento tow package include larger brakes than the brakes they put on a non-towing Kia Sorento? Remember you'll be trying to stop not just the weight of your vehicle, but all of your stuff and the people loaded inside the vehicle, as well as two-and-a-half tons of trailer behind you that may be sliding off to one side in an emergency stopping situation .. better have vehicle brakes that will do that job going down a steep hill figuring that the electric brakes on the trailer can fail.

Modern motor vehicle brakes are more than up to this challenge without being made larger; they will get very hot, so you can only do this stop once before cooling down, but since stopping without trailer brakes is an emergency situation (you wouldn't then repeat it immediately), that's okay.

The real braking performance limit for a single stop will be the tires. Bigger brakes wouldn't give the tires any more traction, so there's no point in bigger brakes for towing, as long as the load on each of the tow vehicle's axles is within that axle's limit. The traction issue is why the trailer needs to have brakes, and why the trailer brakes need to be controlled properly; you need the weight of the trailer on its tires to be used for braking traction for best stopping performance.

Like John, I haven't seen brake upgrades as part of a towing package. As part of a payload package or any other package which increases an axle rating (GAWR), yes, but not just for towing.

[Mike Lewis]

When I bought my Tacoma I saw that Toyota had a dealer-installed option for big, ventilated four-wheel disc brakes. The option was expensive, about $1500 if I remember right. I asked the salesman about this. He told me that the brake option was for off-road racing, and that bigger brakes weren't needed for towing. He added that the brake kit could be installed by any speed shop cheaper than what the Toyota dealer would charge. I didn't bother.

[AllanEdie]

There's braking ability to stop, and then there is the damage to components from doing it. I have had frustrations with discs that warp even when not towing, much less when trying to stop a trailer. Not with OEM discs, but with so called premium after market ones.
We have had this result in at least three vehicles, both Toyota and Subaru. And no, this is not about braking habits, the original discs on all vehicles lasted more than 10 years, the replacements I am talking about less that a fifth of that.

I assume that the problem is that the replacements were lighter built, less ventilated, or poorer material than the originals, or maybe all three. I hope I can get OEM replacements the next time...

[Raney]

Hi I'm Raney, Still learning my way around this site. I read all the replies on this page. Didn't see anywhere for a new post. I would appreciate some directions if any one has any time? Has anyone had any personal experience with towing the 19 with a Ford Explorer. 6 cylinder?
Raney

[Steve Clark]

Originally Posted by Raney

Hi I'm Raney, Still learning my way around this site. I read all the replies on this page. Didn't see anywhere for a new post. I would appreciate some directions if any one has any time? Has anyone had any personal experience with towing the 19 with a Ford Explorer. 6 cylinder?
Raney

Hi Raney, I don’t tow a 19, but a Classic 21. With a full tank of fresh water and fully equipped we go 4150-4200 lbs. Tongue weight, depending on holding tanks is 400-450 lbs. This should be very similar to your new 19.

We have the 3.5, non-eco boost front wheel drive. All the weight numbers fit with room to spare, and we have a very comfortable towing experience.

[Raney]

I didn’t know this one posted. Lol. That fixes my problem. I’ll get the Ford Explorer. Thank you ��

[Raney]

Do you use anything other than a sway bar? Do you have a special tow package on your Explorer.? Year?

[Steve Clark]

Originally Posted by Raney

Do you use anything other than a sway bar? Do you have a special tow package on your Explorer.? Year?

Yes, We have the Tow Package on our 2015 V-6, giving us 5000 towing and 500 tongue. We use the Pro Series WDH. Have the sway bar, but don’t need or use it. Check the numbers on the Explorer you are looking at. AWD and various options add weight.

Our numbers are as follows:

GCWR: 9980
Curb Weight: 4432
Payload Capacity: 1513

Fully loaded trailer and Explorer we travel at <9300 lbs. which leaves extra weight for refreshments