Purchased a new Telluride S V6 AWD with 20" wheels three weeks ago. With the intent to tow a small travel trailer with the following specs: Base weight 3634# Maximum capacity 4500# It is a single axle Airstream Sport 22FB with a tongue weight of 422#. We plan to use a Hensley Cub Weight Distribution hitch which should transfer some tongue weight to the Telluride Frame. Checking with the Kia parts department, there are no Kia 7-wire harnesses made, only the four wire that comes with their hitch. A bit of false advertising to say the least. My question to those who might be knowledgeable in this area. Would it be possible to have an after-market hitch with 500# capacity and 7-wire harness installed? What would that do to the warranty?
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Towing:
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Vietvet
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Welcome to the world of... " I don't know" "Instructions not clear" and "DOH" !!!! I have looked at, read, and even questioned Dealer/Parts Dept.. and oh...yes...even KIA Corp. From what I gleaned from all of it...the "Tow Package" is more "LOAD LEVELING" than tow. From what I have seen... according to how many passengers you have... it will barely tow a boat trailer..... with not much more than a small boat.
My thoughts are...KIA should be more specific when they call something a "Tow Package". There are a lot of confused and PO'd Telluride owners who ordered it and now find it soooo very limited. My son said, it seems I will barely be able to put my Scooter Chair on the tongue ( Jokingly....hmmm for now
) I do hope that anyone converting the 4 pin to a 5,6, or 7 doesn't kill a warranty.
It seems we, the consumers, are being used as a basic R&D... even with a lot of b*tching that the "remote start/lock/unlock" can only be accessed by UVO. I wonder if someone at home needed to access the vehicle to remove something and I am miles away and my phone doesn't have the bars. Would have been nice to have remote start/access on the fob at least. Oh well.
My point... maybe there should have been MORE public input from those who would potentially purchase one... Oh, that's right...I did "order" one...a month ago and won't know when it will be built..LOL almost forgot. I am sure, over all, I will enjoy the T-Ride... Maybe down the road the company will come up with changes or clear instructions to some of it's use. I wonder what happens to people without the SMART PHONES and service? Hmmm maybe KIA should include one as Standard "equipment"? Just saying.....
My thoughts are...KIA should be more specific when they call something a "Tow Package". There are a lot of confused and PO'd Telluride owners who ordered it and now find it soooo very limited. My son said, it seems I will barely be able to put my Scooter Chair on the tongue ( Jokingly....hmmm for now
) I do hope that anyone converting the 4 pin to a 5,6, or 7 doesn't kill a warranty.It seems we, the consumers, are being used as a basic R&D... even with a lot of b*tching that the "remote start/lock/unlock" can only be accessed by UVO. I wonder if someone at home needed to access the vehicle to remove something and I am miles away and my phone doesn't have the bars. Would have been nice to have remote start/access on the fob at least. Oh well.
My point... maybe there should have been MORE public input from those who would potentially purchase one... Oh, that's right...I did "order" one...a month ago and won't know when it will be built..LOL almost forgot. I am sure, over all, I will enjoy the T-Ride... Maybe down the road the company will come up with changes or clear instructions to some of it's use. I wonder what happens to people without the SMART PHONES and service? Hmmm maybe KIA should include one as Standard "equipment"? Just saying.....
I have seen at least two other threads on this topic, so it is actively being discussed. Search "brake controller" for one thread that might be useful.
Also: Telluride 5,000lbs Has Additional Towing Requirments
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This may be of help:
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mikeg112
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Your setup is pretty much exactly what I would be towing, I have an Apex Nano 193bhs that is approx 3900 pounds loaded, single axle, with about 430 pounds on the tongue weight. The 351 pound limit as described in the manual is a real downer for a lot of forum members who want to be able to tow a small boat or trailer up to 10% of the tow vehicle’s tow capacity, which is pretty much the norm with other manufacturers.
Only downside I wished Kia and Hyundai thought about was adding in a 7-pin connector like the Ascent and Audi Q7 does for their factory tow packages.
Thanks for your reply. In checking with some after-market sources, they have 7-wire harnesses, but no specific hitches for the Telluride. I would think we need at least a class IV rated at 500#. Good Luck, and if you find a source post it back here. Thanks again. Don
My dealer (in Québec) installed me this while waiting for the OEM hitch to become available. That was part of the deal to install an aftermarket one and replace it with one from KIA when possible. I told him I didn't want something badly integrated in the bumber that would get all rusty. This one is not too bad, but still, I'm expecting the final one to be perfectly integrated in the bumper. In the meantime, I have both 4 pins ans 7 pins, so I'm ready to tow the camping trailer that is expected to arrive next week.
Seems they took it from there:
Attache-remorque 50025 de Classe 3 - SRG Attache Remorque
http://www.srgattacheremorque.com/down/produits/documents/50025.pdf
Seems they took it from there:
Attache-remorque 50025 de Classe 3 - SRG Attache Remorque
http://www.srgattacheremorque.com/down/produits/documents/50025.pdf
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Michelw
FOUNDING MEMBER
Be carefull with the Kia OEM hitch that you will get installed. It's tongue weight is rated at only 351 lbs according to the owner manual. The hitch that you currently got installed can support 500 lbs tongue weight according to your information.
What is your camping trailer tongue weight ?
I guess that you will need to decide if you keep this hitch that is not integrated into the bumper but that supports 500 lbs tongue weight or go with the Kia OEM hitch that integrates into the bumper but only support 351 lbs tongue weight.
PS: I am also from Quebec (Laval) and I have not bought yet the Telluride because of this hitch problem misinformation. I am still waiting for an official answer from Kia Canada before I purchase because I also want to tow a 4,000 lbs camping trailer with a tongue weight of 400 lbs.
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mikeg112
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Ditto on my end, I will purchase either a Telluride or Palisade based off finding out the towing capacity of the tongue hitch. We may have to go with a 3rd party hitch manufacturer to get the 500 tow rating. All I need is a confirmation from Kia or Hyundai that it’s ok to do before I pull the trigger, that way I’m covered under insurance in case something happens.
Yeah, I learned about this 351 TW a few days after picking up my Telluride, but as I had seen the 500 TW sticker on my hitch, I didn't bother to get back to the dealer.
My dealer was aware that I want to tow 5000 lbs (more than 3500 lbs in fact as towing close to 5000 lbs is irresponsible in my opinion, you have to keep a margin), so I will have them to install an integrated hitch that can tow up to 5000 lbs and has a TW of 500 lbs if this ever comes out, else I will have to keep that one that has already started rusting after only one month.
I'm pretty sure someone will come out with an aftermarket hitch having 500 TW that integrates in the bumper correctly. It will only be a matter of harassing my dealer to switch mine for this one, but the deal was a temporary hitch until the integrated OEM comes available. The aftermarket one shouldn't be more expensive than the OEM one, so I'd expect the dealer to do it without to much discussion.
So question. I havent ordered the Telluride yet but am thinking about doing so shortly. I plan on towing a trailer about the size as others here but it will be a while before i need to. Should i just pass on the factory tow package wnd wait for a legit 5k / 500# tongue hitch? Will i miss the self leveling suspension?
I bought a Telluride and specifically told the dealer I needed to tow. I was told it could tow 5,000 pounds. Then they told me 2,000 because it was not the all wheel drive vehicle, but front wheel. When I got home I checked the owner's manual which states 2,500 with trailer brakes, 1,600 without trailer brakes. I went back to the dealer and they said I could tow 2,500 pounds. I then called Kia and asked what was factual in regard to towing. They have not answered me. I have called Kia multiple times concerning the tow rating to no avail. This is BS!
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Steve in Denver
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I have never seen different tow ratings for AWD vs FWD for the Telluride, but I haven't been specifically looking. As far as different numbers for braked vs non-braked trailers, this makes sense and is pretty common (universal?) for vehicles in this class. In some states I think there are laws regarding braked vs unbraked trailer weights. I tow a 2500 lb pop-up camper (not with the Telluride yet) and it has electric brakes. I wouldn't feel safe towing it without the brakes.
I do feel you though....the information regarding towing, hitch weight, and cargo carrying capacity has been pretty poor. Kia got a lot of things right with the Telluride, but there are some details that were overlooked.
I do feel you though....the information regarding towing, hitch weight, and cargo carrying capacity has been pretty poor. Kia got a lot of things right with the Telluride, but there are some details that were overlooked.
G
G-457547
I bought a telluride in 10/19. In January I received a correction to the manual that max tongue weigh is 500 lbs, max trailer weight w brake system is 5000 lbs.
Tellyrideforwife
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I would choose smart mode, assuming the telly transmission is smarter than I am. I installed a brake controller and 7 pin connector to our telluride. I have hooked up our trailer and it didn't look right. I have no idea the exact weight of the trailer or tongue weight. Taking the rig to a scale to get some weights. See photos. We unhooked this and put it on the tundra. I did not feel safe. We are beginners to the camper trailer and towing business.
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Steve in Denver
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I tow my trailer (about 2300-2400 is probably typical loaded weight for me, tongue weight in the 325 range) and I get a decent amount of rear end sag. I am considering putting some air springs in the rear coils, but haven't yet. Mine tows fine and steering doesn't seem too light, but I am careful to limit the weight I have in the rear of the vehicle.
As far as transmission mode, I have wondered abut this, too. I tend to shift manually when going up or down significant grades. Smart mode makes sense, I guess. I have wondered if sport mode is the most appropriate fixed mode since it tends to hold lower gears for longer and more readily downshift.
As far as transmission mode, I have wondered abut this, too. I tend to shift manually when going up or down significant grades. Smart mode makes sense, I guess. I have wondered if sport mode is the most appropriate fixed mode since it tends to hold lower gears for longer and more readily downshift.
Tellyrideforwife
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How do you measure the tongue weight? I took my telluride with camper trailer to a truck weigh station. Trailer is 2960 lbs and tongue weight was about 240 lbs. This was after i switched the ball hitch from a 2" drop to a 3/4" rise. Trailer is riding a little high but I didn't have any vehicle cargo or people in it. I have the tow package and I can't really tell how/if the load leveling is doing anything.
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Steve in Denver
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I determine my tongue weight by weighing on the truck scales, with and without camper attached.
I weighed earlier this year with a fairly typical load, and I got these numbers:
F 2440
R 2520
T 1920
total: 6880
F 2560
R 2100
Total: 4660
So trailer weighs 2220, which means 300 lbs of the trailer weight is on the hitch, but with the weight transfer, the rear axle ends up carrying 420 lbs of additional load.
If you have the factory tow package, you should drive around for a few miles first, then check your rear end for sag. The self leveling suspension needs some tome to adjust itself, and you should see a much more level rear end.
Once you do this you might determine that you need to switch back to 2” drop.
I wish I had the self leveling suspension.
I weighed earlier this year with a fairly typical load, and I got these numbers:
F 2440
R 2520
T 1920
total: 6880
F 2560
R 2100
Total: 4660
So trailer weighs 2220, which means 300 lbs of the trailer weight is on the hitch, but with the weight transfer, the rear axle ends up carrying 420 lbs of additional load.
If you have the factory tow package, you should drive around for a few miles first, then check your rear end for sag. The self leveling suspension needs some tome to adjust itself, and you should see a much more level rear end.
Once you do this you might determine that you need to switch back to 2” drop.
I wish I had the self leveling suspension.
So what's the consensus - I plan to use my Telly to hold a bike rack on the back and at other times, a pop-up camper trailer weighing about 2500 lbs or so. Am I fine with just a tow hitch installed, or should I opt for the the self leveling option that the $795 tow package gives me?
