[BrianC302]

Thanks for sharing.

Curious, which engine do you have? How high was it reving to maintain 55 mph up the hills? I assume you were in 4th gear a lot of the time up hills and 3rd on the bigger ones?

 

[BrianV]

I have the 3.3L? V6 that's standard on the SX AWD model.

I let the car automatically choose the gear and just left it in D for the entire time. From my understanding Sport mode will prefer a slightly lower gear, which helps during acceleration. When I take a longer trip I'll try manually selecting the gears.

As for RPMs, most of the time we'd be in the 2200 - 2500 range. On the hills I'd give it a bit more gas to keep up with traffic and I'd hit 3000. When I tried accelerating hard to test the car I might have hit 5000, but am not 100% sure. Next month I'll have additional data to report back on.

 

[BrianC302]

I have the 3.3L? V6 that's standard on the SX AWD model.

I let the car automatically choose the gear and just left it in D for the entire time. From my understanding Sport mode will prefer a slightly lower gear, which helps during acceleration. When I take a longer trip I'll try manually selecting the gears.

As for RPMs, most of the time we'd be in the 2200 - 2500 range. On the hills I'd give it a bit more gas to keep up with traffic and I'd hit 3000. When I tried accelerating hard to test the car I might have hit 5000, but am not 100% sure. Next month I'll have additional data to report back on.

You can always slide the gear selector over to see what gear you are in and you can choose a shorter gear to help with engine breaking on the downhills (like 3rd gear at 55 mph would probably work well) or lock in a certain gear going up a hill if the trans is hunting around too much.

 

[jason330i]

Here is what I tow.

 

[skibum44]

As promised, here's a quick review of my towing experience. I just received a 2018 193BHS trailer and took it out for a single night. We drove mostly on I-95 and nearby highways with our 2016 Sorento SX AWD. The trailer was hooked up to the vehicle with a Husky Center Line TS. The dry weight of the trailer is right around 3500 pounds, and was probably around 3600 - 3700 pounds when we pulled it. We also had two adults and two young children in the Sorento.

Please consider that I don't have a lot of experience towing and my only previous experience was towing a slightly smaller trailer that weighed around 3000 pounds. I have only ever towed with the Sorento, so I can't compare it to other vehicles such as trucks or vehicles with diesel engines.

Overall, our towing experience was good, but not great. On flat terrain, and slower roads we had no problems at all. On hills, I had to give it some extra gas to keep up freeway speeds and it revved a bit higher. We left the Sorento in Sport mode, which seemed to work well enough, but I haven't noticed a huge difference between the modes. A few times with the 193BHS I tried accelerating quickly and was pleased that the vehicle could get up to speeds quickly enough even if it momentarily had to rev the engine higher. On an average highway with relatively flat terrain I'd say the Sorento "wanted" to drive at around 55 MPH, which is what the manual suggests as a target speed.

We're going to be towing this trailer over 3500 miles this summer and I think it will be fine, but I'm not going to be zooming up any hills. I certainly wouldn't suggest anything bigger or heavier unless you're only going short distances on relatively flat terrain.

Since the Sorento is a relatively small tow-vehicle, I don't know whether the weight or size of the trailer makes a larger difference to towing performance. A trailer that weighed the same but had a smaller cross-section might pull considerably better. Or it might not.

We liked the 193BHS because it was only 90" across and quite spacious for the weight and length. But you could also look at models like the R-Pods (176, for example) which would probably pull quite easily. We opted for the larger trailer since we're going to be living in it for two months though.

In conclusion, do we like our 193BHS? Yes. Can the Sorento pull it? Yes. Does it drive like I'm not towing anything at all? No. I will certainly post a more detailed log after we've towed for a couple of weeks this summer. Let me know if anyone has some specific questions I can answer.

Hey there, new to the Forum. Considering the exact same trailer Apex nano 193BHS with a 17' Sorento EX+ AWD V6. Currently tow a pop up so not a newbie but do have some concerns moving to a bigger trailer. What rise do you have on your ball mount? DO you use a WD Hitch? Read on this forum that it is not recommended for the Kia? There is some sag in the rear of vehicle from cargo so considering airbags for coils to stiffen suspension. How is the vehicle holding up to the trailer size? Sorry for all the questions but really want this trailer so hoping for any feedback possible. Thanks

 

[alphajim]

Here is what I tow.

How do you like your T@B? Which one did you get?

thanks
jim

 

[jason330i]

How do you like your T@B? Which one did you get?

thanks
jim

Hello. We have a 2017 T@b S. We like it, but have only gone on a quick shakedown trip so far. More trips planned this summer.

 

[BrianV]

Hey there, new to the Forum. Considering the exact same trailer Apex nano 193BHS with a 17' Sorento EX+ AWD V6. Currently tow a pop up so not a newbie but do have some concerns moving to a bigger trailer. What rise do you have on your ball mount? DO you use a WD Hitch? Read on this forum that it is not recommended for the Kia? There is some sag in the rear of vehicle from cargo so considering airbags for coils to stiffen suspension. How is the vehicle holding up to the trailer size? Sorry for all the questions but really want this trailer so hoping for any feedback possible. Thanks

We are towing with a Husky CenterLine weight distribution/stabilizer. I'm not sure how much rise is on the ball mount as I don't have it with me now, but I can post a photo in a couple of weeks. It was at least 6 inches though, due to the low hitch location.

This trailer has a higher hitch weight than I was expecting and the back does sag a bit. This was less noticeable on the previous trailer I rented which had about a 100-pound lower hitch weight. Based on the suggestions of some people in this forum, I just purchased some SumoSprings (CSS-1094) but haven't installed them yet. I'm hoping this, along with loading the trailer evenly will help.

As I mentioned, I've only done a one-night trip with the trailer, but will be doing eight weeks starting in mid-June. I'll post photos and report back when I do.

 

[mart2575]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153200886022040&set=pb.677047039.-2207520000.1496362610.&type=3&size=2048%2C1536

 

[skibum44]

We are towing with a Husky CenterLine weight distribution/stabilizer. I'm not sure how much rise is on the ball mount as I don't have it with me now, but I can post a photo in a couple of weeks. It was at least 6 inches though, due to the low hitch location.

This trailer has a higher hitch weight than I was expecting and the back does sag a bit. This was less noticeable on the previous trailer I rented which had about a 100-pound lower hitch weight. Based on the suggestions of some people in this forum, I just purchased some SumoSprings (CSS-1094) but haven't installed them yet. I'm hoping this, along with loading the trailer evenly will help.

As I mentioned, I've only done a one-night trip with the trailer, but will be doing eight weeks starting in mid-June. I'll post photos and report back when I do.

Took the Apex Nano 193BHS out for a test drive today to check it out! No issues towing the unit, great acceleration and quite responsive. Power is not an issue with the Sorento. geared down/up on hills and used sport mode, There was some significant sag in the back (2"), no handling issues to speak of as a result, so looking at a Fastway E2 trunnion WD/sway hitch to balance out. Recommended for it's low torque ratio to the unibody frame. Was quite worried prior but the Sorento impressed.

 

[jason330i]

Took the Apex Nano 193BHS out for a test drive today to check it out! No issues towing the unit, great acceleration and quite responsive. Power is not an issue with the Sorento. geared down/up on hills and used sport mode, There was some significant sag in the back (2"), no handling issues to speak of as a result, so looking at a Fastway E2 trunnion WD/sway hitch to balance out. Recommended for it's low torque ratio to the unibody frame. Was quite worried prior but the Sorento impressed.

I have the fastway e2 450 and one thing to be aware of is your ball height. Hopefully your trailer has a coupler height of more than 16 inches when level.

My trailer coupler height is about 16 inches. This required me to use the weight distribution shank in the downward position. And because the hitch on the Sorento is low, this caused me to drag the shank when driving over dips. I contacted fastway and they recommended taking the shank to a metal shop and having them cut the excess portion off. So for an extra $20 this solved my problem.

If you can use the shank in the upward position then you should have less problems with ground clearance.

 

[skibum44]

I have the fastway e2 450 and one thing to be aware of is your ball height. Hopefully your trailer has a coupler height of more than 16 inches when level.

My trailer coupler height is about 16 inches. This required me to use the weight distribution shank in the downward position. And because the hitch on the Sorento is low, this caused me to drag the shank when driving over dips. I contacted fastway and they recommended taking the shank to a metal shop and having them cut the excess portion off. So for an extra $20 this solved my problem.

If you can use the shank in the upward position then you should have less problems with ground clearance.

Thanks for the insight. The shank would be going upward and I believe it will be the Fastway E2 600

 

[north47]

Towed my popup over 1,000 miles

My Coleman Sedona Popup (around 2,000 lbs loaded) was towed, mostly freeway at 65 mph, on a recent 1,000 mile trip.

The trailer is low profile, and fairly light, but the Sorento pulled it like nothing was there. I never even worried about what gear I was in and ran in normal mode.

According to the on-board computer, I averaged 22 mpg. My Jeep Liberty V-6 was lucky to do 15 mpg (again, according to the on-board computer).

The only problem I had was my ball mount didn't have enough rise (it was 0" rise). I changed it to 1.5 " rise and that is about right for the trailer.

 

[dsatwork]

I have a 2016 Sorento with the 3.3 V6 AWD LX and pull a NuCamp 2017 Tab 320 S with dual 100AH AGM batteries and a 20lbs standard propane tank and the Spare Tire mounted on the tongue which gave me 300lbs tongue weight with empty storage tanks. I'm guessing the total weight was 2500 to 2700 lbs the way I had it packed. I'm estimating that because on shorter trip, with less stuff we stopped at a scale and the over the axle the weight was 2180 and the tongue weight was 300 lbs. On this trip where we were out for 15 days traveling over 3500 miles through some of the most mountainous areas of the southwest including Yellowstone park, across Wyoming on the 14 in Big Horn National Forest, Mt Rushmore, Eisenhower Tunnel and Wolf Creek Pass. The Sorento did great on this trip and I do have the 1094 Coil Sumo Springs which takes some of the sag out, but still leaves you with a hitch clearance of about 8", which ain't much. I had to be real careful pulling out of driveways and the one time I wasn't I hit bottom. My emergency trailer cable got caught under the hitch and pulled the pin locking up the breaks. I was just happy that it wasn't the hitch coming off like it sounded. I drove in eco mode at freeway speeds most of the time, anywhere between 65 and 75 mph whenever I could. I used cruise control whenever I was on flat terrain and only turned it off when climbing because it would tend to want to run in a lower gear than needed. Climbing I primarily left it in Drive and only used it in manual a couple of times. That was to keep in the gear I wanted, because again the tranny tends to downshift and I want to keep the rpm lower. Going down steep mountain grades, I kept it in manual exclusively so I would rarely need to use the breaks. Usually that meant 3rd gear but sometimes I had to leave it in 2nd and let the engine rev at 4K to 5K to keep the speed at a safe 35mpg on steep winding roads. Overall this is a great vehicle to tow with and the only gripe I have is the hitch height which I'll be looking into an air lift system and hoping that @Pushy will give some feedback soon because I believe he set his up with this https://www.airliftcompany.com/workshop/air-lift-1000-universal-air-spring-kit/

 

[Blhvet]

I have a 2016 EX and tow my new moulded fibreglass 17' Escape trailer with it. Loaded weight is around 3000 lbs. Overall, I'm thrilled with how the Sorento tows. Absolutely love the Sport mode. As others have said, my concern is also with how low the hitch is and the rear end sag. I was told that there were no air bags that fit the Sorento, but some have installed the Sumo springs? Or is the WDH the better way to go? To those that are using one, how much lift do you get? Also curious as to which tow mirrors fit these vehicles the best?
Thanks!
Brenda

 

[skibum44]

I just towed my new Apex Nano 193BHS 250K through one of the worst drives I've ever encountered. Rain, wind, poor visibility, semi trucks buzzing me, crazy city traffic and so on. A significant mountain climb from Abbotsford to Whistler. Kia handled it with ease. The Kia felt the trailer but it did a marvellous job of keeping up to reasonable highway speeds 80-90km. Have an 8" rise Fastway e2 WD hitch with sway control. There was some sag but balanced out quite nicely. Overall very happy with Sorento. Will look at Sumo Springs as an add-on as well!

 

[jason330i]

I have a 2016 EX and tow my new moulded fibreglass 17' Escape trailer with it. Loaded weight is around 3000 lbs. Overall, I'm thrilled with how the Sorento tows. Absolutely love the Sport mode. As others have said, my concern is also with how low the hitch is and the rear end sag. I was told that there were no air bags that fit the Sorento, but some have installed the Sumo springs? Or is the WDH the better way to go? To those that are using one, how much lift do you get? Also curious as to which tow mirrors fit these vehicles the best?
Thanks!
Brenda

It depends on your tongue weight while fully loaded. If its high, you'll probably want to go with a WDH. Otherwise, those sumo springs should be good.

 

[BrianV]

It depends on your tongue weight while fully loaded. If its high, you'll probably want to go with a WDH. Otherwise, those sumo springs should be good.

I agree with this. We towed a 3000 pound trailer for a week with a WDH and it probably wasn't necessary. There was very little sag on the back end of the car. This completely depends on the tongue weight however.

 

[fastcompany7]

I don't see anyone towing with the 2.4L motor? Rated at 2000 lbs. I plan on getting a hitch and pulling my camper @1600 lbs dry. Definately under 2000 lbs loaded.

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

 

[thevol]

I don't see anyone towing with the 2.4L motor? Rated at 2000 lbs. I plan on getting a hitch and pulling my camper @1600 lbs dry. Definately under 2000 lbs loaded.

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

Doubt you will see many people towing with the 2.4L, most just get a 3.3 for that. I put a hitch on our 2.4 but its mostly for a hitch cargo carrier and bike rack, didnt even install wiring. I think it would pull ok though as the the little 4 cyl is kinda torquey and geared low, but I wouldnt do much more than 1500lbs with it. Should be fine if you take it easy... let us know how it works with your setup. I learned the hard way years back to be very conservative with tow ratings, and I like big heavy tow vehicles that arent "thrown around" by the weight of the trailer.