Kia Sedona and rpod 177

[spiderman]

Hello all,
Newbie Pete here. The family and I are right in the middle of a purchase deal on an new rpod 177 but have some concerns.

We have an 06 Kia Sedona van for a TV. It has the 3.8L engine and has 3500/350 capacities. With a family of four (two young children) and gear we would be close to or at the tow capacity.

I don't have any idea how the van will perform. We have some pretty good hills up here in Alaska but to be fair, most of the roads are pretty level.

Comments and suggestions are most welcome!

Thank you,
Peter

[MtnGuy]

I am not familiar with the Sedona. What does the manual have to say ?? That may be what you have to go by. You need to find out if passengers and cargo in the Kia take away from the tow capacity......that happens on many smaller vehicles. See if you can find the gross combination weight rating, or the gross weight rating of the Sedona.

[spiderman]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

I am not familiar with the Sedona. What does the manual have to say ?? That may be what you have to go by. You need to find out if passengers and cargo in the Kia take away from the tow capacity......that happens on many smaller vehicles. See if you can find the gross combination weight rating, or the gross weight rating of the Sedona.

As mentioned above, the tow capacity is 3,500lbs and a tongue weight of 350lbs. Yes, in this case (according to Kia) cargo/passenger weight subtract from the tow capacity.

So if the 177 is 2285 dry, add 700lbs of cargo we are at 2985. Four of us up front, no cargo a couple of sodas that is 600 say, that would be 3585 (at capacity). So what can I expect out of my van?

Thanks for the response by the way!

[F and E Damp]

In Europe, the Sedona, with either a 2.2 liter turbo diesel or the 3.5L V6 is rated to tow 3000KG (6600 lb). Why the North American rating in less than half, I have no idea.

A UK "Caravan" magazine (travel trailers are called caravans there) does an annual "best tow vehicle" issue. This year's best vehicle for towing a 3000 lb TT was the Ford Focus, for a 3800 lb TT it was the VW Passat and the Land Rover Discovery was the best for "anything over 4500 pounds".

My 03 Sedona owners' handbook says it can tow 3500 pounds. There's no mention of what can be inside the van. Ther only other weight quoted is "Curb weight", at 4710 pounds. It doesn't spceify what's on board and I've never weighed ours.

My gut feel is that the US/Canada ratings are deliberatley cut down from the rest of the world because of liability concerns (or maybe they think we're all such rotten drivers). According to a recent statistical report, 98% of US drivers think they're above average.

[spiderman]

Originally Posted by F and E Damp

<snip>
My 03 Sedona owners' handbook says it can tow 3500 pounds. There's no mention of what can be inside the van. Ther only other weight quoted is "Curb weight", at 4710 pounds. It doesn't spceify what's on board and I've never weighed ours.
...

I had a hard time figuring what the manual meant too so I called and talked with someone in Kia Roadside Assistance. He said the cargo/passengers in the van effects the tow capacity inversely. So more in the van, less tow capacity. I forgot to ask him if the 3500lbs max is valid only when the van is empty or with at least the driver. Some say that would be the case with a driver and fuel tank full.

[bikendan]

you're using fictional "dry" weights. my HTT weighed 400lbs. over the "dry" weight, when it arrived from the factory.
the Rpod won't have as much as mine but i'd expect it to have at least 200lbs. over the "dry" weight number.
are you using a WDH? the manual should state a certain amount of tongue or trailer weight, requires one.
i wouldn't tow without one.

as far as towing, the only way to find out is actually do it.
i don't think you'll be happy. a lot of people say towing a full-height TT with a minivan, is fine.
sure, in perfect conditions.

but i live out West and have numerous mountain ranges to go thru and i need an extra cushion of towing capacity.
i could never make it towing at maximum.

[spiderman]

Well we decided not to buy a trailer. One reason being we were just too close to capacity. Like others mentioned, we probably wouldn't be happy with the van's performance.

Thanks for the comments!

[capucine]

SPIDERMAN: I tow a 1809s with my 2009 uplander equipped with extra trans cooler and engine cooler. We have no problems at all towing our minilite. You have to understand that the speed you want to tow is an issue and the kind of terrain you will go is also an issue. If you plan to use your trailer in hilly countries and speed over 55 miles per hours I would suggest getting a good stronger vehicle. Otherwise your Sedona should be perfect. Stay away from the overdrive while towing and just if you can stay away from the ac because ac takes a lot of your system. I enjoy pulling my nini lite with my van and my millage per gallons is very resonable. Our engine is a 3.9 liters and the ratio on the axle is 3.29. If you go ahead with your project make sure that your oil in the transmission must be changed more often. Your trailer that you have in mind is quite lighter in weight than my minilite I have. At the weight of your it is a piece of cake for your Sedona as long as you understand the conditions on the restrictions. On my way to a camping last weekend I saw 2 r-pod in tow with toyota rav4 and they were keepimg a good 60 mph without slowing down to much in hills. I followed them for a while just to see how they were doing. The r-pod has a very good profile in the wind which is quite a difference than the minilite owners with a very small slope on the front causing a lots of wind drags,

[spiderman]

capucine, sounds like a nice combo you have there. Again, we decided against purchasing the 177 for now anyway. Though much or our roads up here level, there are some serious climbs. If we get serious about a TT, we will likely upgrade our TV.

Thanks again.

[Terier]

Originally Posted by capucine

SPIDERMAN: I tow a 1809s with my 2009 uplander equipped with extra trans cooler and engine cooler. We have no problems at all towing our minilite. You have to understand that the speed you want to tow is an issue and the kind of terrain you will go is also an issue. If you plan to use your trailer in hilly countries and speed over 55 miles per hours I would suggest getting a good stronger vehicle. Otherwise your Sedona should be perfect. Stay away from the overdrive while towing and just if you can stay away from the ac because ac takes a lot of your system. I enjoy pulling my nini lite with my van and my millage per gallons is very resonable. Our engine is a 3.9 liters and the ratio on the axle is 3.29. If you go ahead with your project make sure that your oil in the transmission must be changed more often. Your trailer that you have in mind is quite lighter in weight than my minilite I have. At the weight of your it is a piece of cake for your Sedona as long as you understand the conditions on the restrictions. On my way to a camping last weekend I saw 2 r-pod in tow with toyota rav4 and they were keepimg a good 60 mph without slowing down to much in hills. I followed them for a while just to see how they were doing. The r-pod has a very good profile in the wind which is quite a difference than the minilite owners with a very small slope on the front causing a lots of wind drags,

With a tow pkg the Rav4 can tow 3500 lbs. I have a 2010 Rav4 (3 year lease) that I love! I have a trailer with a dry wt of ~3200 lbs. There is no way I would consider using a Rav4 to tow it. Just because it can move it does not mean it should. But then I don't feel comfortable about pushing the limits either. When it comes to safety I will err on the side of caution.

BTW- I do understand how dry wts are useless. The only time I used dry wt is to rule out a tt from the get-go.

In the end I think the op made a wise decision in holding off and considering his options.

[bikendan]

there's a little difference between the "hills" in Ontario and the "hills" in Alaska.

[F and E Damp]

In the late 1950s and 60s, my aunt and uncle toured all over Europe with a 16' TT (certaily not a lightweight) pulling it with an Austin Cambridge sedan. With 1500ccs, about 45 horsepower on a good day, drum brakes alr round on the car and only a surge brake on the trailer, it must have been interesting, particularly in the Swiss Alps and the Black Forest area of Germany.

The eventually upgraded their TV to a 2.0L Ford Cortina and finally gave up RVing because of health issues in their late 70s.