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2019 Kia Sorento LX V6 Boat Towing

4K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  osbornk1947  
#1 ·
Hello!

I've looked around this forum and others for hours and haven't found the answer to my question, but I'm sorry if this is repetitive. I know it's technical max towing capacity is 5,000 pounds, but I know that isn't always realistic.

I have a 2019 Kia Sorento LX V6 AWD and a 2,200 pound, 18 foot ski boat (bowrider) with a single axle aluminum trailer. I have a couple questions about towing with it and was hoping someone here had some experience with it.

First, the boat stays at one lake 95% of the time. The boat ramps we use are between 1/2 mile to two miles away, so that's the majority of trips. My question here is, will I have any trouble putting the boat in or getting it out of the water with the Sorento? Should I remove as much weight as possible/rearrange, and if so, how?

Second, I would like to take it on occasional medium-length road trips. I'm in Kansas, but I'd like to haul the boat to lakes in Missouri/Oklahoma once or twice a summer. There are some large hills but nothing like mountains in Colorado or Appalachia. Will it be capable of this? Just one or two people in the Sorento. Most of the luggage and people will probably be in another vehicle to reduce weight.

Thanks for your help!
 
#2 ·
Whenever I introduced a new tow vehicle or a towed load, one of the first things I did was take the trailer, fully loaded, to the local truck scales and weighed it. Then I measured tongue weight to make sure it was within limits but also that the trailer was properly balanced.
Assuming with ski gear, lifevests, gas, coolers, etc. that the actual weight of the boat is 2,500lbs and the trailer is another 500 (which might be on the high side for an aluminum trailer) so you've got a max tow load of 3,000lbs. I assume your boat trailer does not have brakes and that would be limiting factor for me. Would I tow it from my house to the ramp at a leisurely pace for a mile or so, yes. Would I take it on a trip, not without brakes on the trailer I wouldn't.

You'll find a lot of discussion on this topic in the forum. Many people who disagree with my admittedly conservative approach to towing, others who are in the same ballpark. It's never a matter of how much will the tow vehicle move, but rather how much it will handle in a panic stop or an emergency avoidance maneuver. Slam on the brakes and snap the steering wheel to avoid a collision directly in front of you and watch how 5,000lbs in the back takes over the whole physics of the moment. Granted at 3,000lbs you are at least towing less than the weight of the tow vehicle itself but it's still a lot to control in a panic situation without some braking help from the towed load.

You won't have any trouble on the ramps with the AWD version. It's funny to watch people with FWD SUV's on a slick boat ramp - have had to hook a snatch strap up to more than one of them to get them up off the ramp.
 
#3 ·
I have been towing cars, trailers, campers and boats behind vehicles since I was in high school in the 60s. I don't think you will have any issues but many states have limits on the minimum weight that requires brakes on the trailer (it is 3,000 in Virginia). When the tongue weight is excessive, you move whatever is possible to the very rear of the boat or trailer to make the tongue weight lighter. Towing takes a very different skill set than just driving because of acceleration and stopping issues as well as care in turning and steep curves to keep it on your side of the road and out of the ditches. Accelerate slowly and use the transmission to match the engine speed to the load.