Max towing safely is only 3500 lbs - prove me wrong

[critrider]

Maybe a little off topic but thought this was a great idea

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=428876131075002

 

[Rocky5000100]

Thanks for the reminder! Sorry for long post. I have now done a couple trips. One was 90 min and the other about an hour. Both trips have been good, no issues. I would say it definitely tows better than the 2016 Sorento EX we used to tow same trailer. I like to switch to manual on hills to gear down as the cruise control isn't great on hills.

No issues with swaying or bouncing up and down after going over bumps. The lane assist (keeping vehicle in the lane) helps a lot and makes it easy to tow, especially if there is cross wind. Makes it easier on the arms.

I even towed with about half a tank of water for one trip so that increased the weight. Btw, it's a 17 foot trailer with slide out.

The dealer installed the hitch, 7 way plug and brake controller before we took delivery of the vehicle (and included as part of the purchase) so I assume it's factory hitch.

I took some photos when I stopped for gas, had to take them quickly. Not sure if it has self leveling shocks or not, but there isn't much back end sag. I also have a weight distribution hitch. I will post a pic of the installed hitch when I get home. Hope this helps, let me know if anyone has any questions.

TL;DR the Telly tows great!

Very nice, would you be willing to get weighed at a cat scale sometime? I'm curious on the true tongue weight.

Also, how was shifting? Did you use the manual gear mode? Did it hold the gear or try to upshift on you at bad times? Does it hold 70-75mph easily?

 

[Rocky5000100]

What is the rated tongue weight of that travel trailer you are pulling? I am looking at similar trailers that I intended to pull with the Telly and they range between 350-400 lbs.

Tongue weight of that trailer is 425. Which gives me hope since my 4runner tows my 7x12 enclosed right nowk, and my tongue (Cat scale verified) is about 440. So this could be a replacement vehicle.

Viking Ultra-Lite 17BHS Travel Trailers by Coachmen RV

Viking Ultra-Lite Travel Trailers Created with the budget conscious family in mind, the Viking travel trailers provide an affordable family camping alternative without compromising the quality and comforts of the full size units. Weighing in at around 2500 lbs., the Viking is a breeze to tow and...

coachmenrv.com

 

[Isthisidused]

Very nice, would you be willing to get weighed at a cat scale sometime? I'm curious on the true tongue weight.

Also, how was shifting? Did you use the manual gear mode? Did it hold the gear or try to upshift on you at bad times? Does it hold 70-75mph easily?I

I probably won't be able to get an actual tongue weight this year. Doesn't a weight distribution hitch alleviate some of the tongue weight? I only use manual gear mode on hills and the fastest I cruise is 68 Mph. I have passed people going 75 mph easily, but haven't maintained that speed. I don't see that it would be an issue holding that speed, but the gas mileage would likely be even worse. The shifting when using cruise control depends on the speed you are trying to maintain and it seems to be slow to catch up if it loses speed. I always tow in sport mode which changes gears at a higher rpm. When towing at 68mph, the rpm seems to stay at around 2700 (if I remember correctly). It can shift up to higher gear and lower the rpm, but it usually doesn't last long until it needs to gear down again. Hope this helps

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[Isthisidused]

Tongue weight of that trailer is 425. Which gives me hope since my 4runner tows my 7x12 enclosed right nowk, and my tongue (Cat scale verified) is about 440. So this could be a replacement vehicle.

Viking Ultra-Lite 17BHS Travel Trailers by Coachmen RV

Viking Ultra-Lite Travel Trailers Created with the budget conscious family in mind, the Viking travel trailers provide an affordable family camping alternative without compromising the quality and comforts of the full size units. Weighing in at around 2500 lbs., the Viking is a breeze to tow and...

coachmenrv.com

Yes, that's the trailer we have. For where we go, mostly within 2 hours and flat roads, it's great. However I likely wouldn't risk towing it through the mountains (lots of steep hills).

 

[Rocky5000100]

I probably won't be able to get an actual tongue weight this year. Doesn't a weight distribution hitch alleviate some of the tongue weight? I only use manual gear mode on hills and the fastest I cruise is 68 Mph. I have passed people going 75 mph easily, but haven't maintained that speed. I don't see that it would be an issue holding that speed, but the gas mileage would likely be even worse. The shifting when using cruise control depends on the speed you are trying to maintain and it seems to be slow to catch up if it loses speed. I always tow in sport mode which changes gears at a higher rpm. When towing at 68mph, the rpm seems to stay at around 2700 (if I remember correctly). It can shift up to higher gear and lower the rpm, but it usually doesn't last long until it needs to gear down again. Hope this helps

That's fine, thank you. Sounds like a better experience than my 2002 4runner which i'm looking to replace

 

[Bjakub82]

Yes, that's the trailer we have. For where we go, mostly within 2 hours and flat roads, it's great. However I likely wouldn't risk towing it through the mountains (lots of steep hills).

This gives me a lot more confidence in the factory hitch, which I also have installed. Even thought its rated in the manual for 351 lbs, you're 75 over dry and probably close to 100 lbs over when loaded. Keep us updated, and if you do have any issues, please share.

 

[Isthisidused]

This gives me a lot more confidence in the factory hitch, which I also have installed. Even thought its rated in the manual for 351 lbs, you're 75 over dry and probably close to 100 lbs over when loaded. Keep us updated, and if you do have any issues, please share.

Will do.

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[KIAconvert]

CR Towing Article

Just found a somewhat useful article about towing limits/capacities and what all the different terms mean. Start reading about half way through the article under “Know Your Towing Terms”. Hope this helps.

 

[TelluCam]

Do you have the self leveling suspension?

 

[Isthisidused]

Do you have the self leveling suspension?

Hi, not sure if you were asking me but I can try to answer, although it may not help. The answer is I don't know . I have a Canadian SX with Premium package, the brochure says that it comes with self leveling suspension, but there seems to be confusion about whether it comes standard with SX or only with towing package. I had the hitch and wiring done at the dealership. For me it seems like another one of these KIA mysteries. There were some photos on here showing the special self leveling shocks, when I put the winter tires on maybe I can tell just by looking at the shocks?

 

[G-169206]

I just sent the following message to their headquarters...

Hi James, I'm hoping you can help me.

My family and I have been considering a few different vehicles to tow a trailer.

I currently own a Kia stinger, which I absolutely love, and we own a 2013 Honda Odyssey which we're looking to upgrade.

We are looking at the Kia Telluride (Preferred) and the Honda Pilot.

The pilot is rated for 5000 lb towing capacity and a 500 lb tongue limit.

The Kia Telluride is rated at a 5000 lb towing capacity and a 351 lb tongue limit.

According to the KIA Telluride manual, it's saying that you can never exceed a tongue weight of 10% of whatever it is you're carrying.

So if I work the numbers backwards on that, that means I should only be able to safely carry 3500 lbs. Because 10% of 3500 lb is a 350 lb tongue weight.

I'm trying to understand why exactly you guys would rate a vehicle for a 5,000lb tow with a 7% tongue limit (351 lbs)?

If I was to tow a vehicle loaded like that, it would be completely unbalanced and might cause a crash.

Your tongue limit is always supposed to be 10% of your towing capacity. So 10% of 5000 is exactly 500 pounds. That's all within normal specs within the towing community.

If you're not quite as familiar with the towing world, here's the reasoning....

Manufacturers have a tongue weight limit because if you put too much weight on the tongue...

- Your suspension may not support the extra weight and cause the vehicle to sag to the floor

- It could also tweak the frame then the doors don't close quite right

- The tires can also pop if they're too heavily loaded

- The Trailer hitch may break

Proper trailer balancing is also extremely important. If there's not enough weight on the trailer tongue it can cause major trailer sway.

That's why you guys require (per the manual) the 10% balancing limit. So theoretically, if you've got a 5000 pound load behind you, to properly balance you need 500 lb in front of you on the trailer tongue.

If I was to load up a 5,000 pound load behind me and only put 350 lb on the trailer tongue - that means I would be unbalanced and the trailer could sway and move very unsafely.

I have been all over the internet, I have been on forums, I have talked to the service advisors, I have also talked with dealerships, I've called your corporate office, and no one can seem to help answer this question.

I'm just trying to understand the mechanics or the science behind your combination of specs?

Is the current trailer tongue weight based on the factory-installed hitch or is it based on the frame weight capacity of the vehicle?

I'm just trying to figure out how I can safely tow 5000 lbs. Can you please advise? it'll really help me make a decision as to whether or not the Telluride is right for our family.

Thank you.

Did they get back to you?

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[eyetelle]

Did they get back to you?

Nope! But I think I figured out how they get to their specs. If you tow a boat, you don't need the same 10% weight ratio. You can actually tow a boat with only 5% on the tongue. So I think that's their market, and anyone that wants to go over it is at their own risk.

 

[texasbubba]

Nope! But I think I figured out how they get to their specs. If you tow a boat, you don't need the same 10% weight ratio. You can actually tow a boat with only 5% on the tongue. So I think that's their market, and anyone that wants to go over it is at their own risk.

Not according to this boat towing guide!
Weigh Safe – as well as most experts agree – that an acceptable tongue weight for any trailer is somewhere between 9 to 15 percent of the gross trailer weight (GTW). Therefore, if you are towing a 5000 lbs trailer, the tongue weight should be measured at approximately 500 lbs.D

 

[eonblue]

Did they get back to you?

I guess its going to take someone having a catastrophic failure and suing Kia to get resolution to this. Really disappointing.

 

[Bjakub82]

So today I had my Telly in for the first service appointment. I spoke with the service technician about the 351lbs tongue weight and I was informed by the service manager that is in fact correct and it is limited by the hitch it self. Now I’ve been an automotive engineer for over 15 years. I’ve seen a lot of stupid things. My guess after looking at the hitch and the welds is that the hitch was only tested to 351lbs. This doesn’t mean it can’t support more, it’s just not certified beyond that. The curt hitch on the other hand is certified to 750lbs tongue weight. I plan on buying a travel trailer next year and will most likely be swapping my factory for the curt hitch. This is very disappointing IMO on Kia part, they could have easily certified their hitch to at least 500lbs.

Also, the factory 7 pin connector should be coming out next year, no official date however. My guess will be for the 2021 model year. Hope this gives some clarity.

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[eonblue]

So today I had my Telly in for the first service appointment. I spoke with the service technician about the 351lbs tongue weight and I was informed by the service manager that is in fact correct and it is limited by the hitch it self. Now I’ve been an automotive engineer for over 15 years. I’ve seen a lot of stupid things. My guess after looking at the hitch and the welds is that the hitch was only tested to 351lbs. This doesn’t mean it can’t support more, it’s just not certified beyond that. The curt hitch on the other hand is certified to 750lbs tongue weight. I plan on buying a travel trailer next year and will most likely be swapping my factory for the curt hitch. This is very disappointing IMO on Kia part, they could have easily certified their hitch to at least 500lbs.

Also, the factory 7 pin connector should be coming out next year, no official date however. My guess will be for the 2021 model year. Hope this gives some clarity.

While I agree thats super dumb, if legit Id say that’s pretty good news for the possibility towing 5k lbs.

 

[mikeg112]

So today I had my Telly in for the first service appointment. I spoke with the service technician about the 351lbs tongue weight and I was informed by the service manager that is in fact correct and it is limited by the hitch it self. Now I’ve been an automotive engineer for over 15 years. I’ve seen a lot of stupid things. My guess after looking at the hitch and the welds is that the hitch was only tested to 351lbs. This doesn’t mean it can’t support more, it’s just not certified beyond that. The curt hitch on the other hand is certified to 750lbs tongue weight. I plan on buying a travel trailer next year and will most likely be swapping my factory for the curt hitch. This is very disappointing IMO on Kia part, they could have easily certified their hitch to at least 500lbs.

Also, the factory 7 pin connector should be coming out next year, no official date however. My guess will be for the 2021 model year. Hope this gives some clarity.

I don’t think it would be possible for a consumer to get it, but would be cool if the service manager could forward the tech doc from Kia corporate that stated that info officially. If that’s the case then the Curt would be the way to go. I purchased the OEM hitch and noticed the actual ball hitch that was included was a curt receiver, which leads me to believe that Curt made the OEM hitch for Kia and Hyundai

 

[eyetelle]

I don’t think it would be possible for a consumer to get it, but would be cool if the service manager could forward the tech doc from Kia corporate that stated that info officially. If that’s the case then the Curt would be the way to go. I purchased the OEM hitch and noticed the actual ball hitch that was included was a curt receiver, which leads me to believe that Curt made the OEM hitch for Kia and Hyundai

Yeah, I agree. It doesn't really matter if a service manager said what the tow hitch is rated to. Unless he has official documents from Kia stating that - it's just some random employee giving his opinion which is worth a hill of beans.

 

[mikeg112]

Yeah, I agree. It doesn't really matter if a service manager said what the tow hitch is rated to. Unless he has official documents from Kia stating that - it's just some random employee giving his opinion which is worth a hill of beans.

You’re correct, on another thread someone mentioned the dealer said it was suspension related, another was due to unibody construction. Honestly the OEM hitch being rated for 351 sounds like the most logical sense, but would really like closure from Kia/Hyundai since the Palisade falls under the same hitch weight