[NWwhaler]

So I have an important question....and might sound sketchy to most people

I have a 2013 Sorento, 4 cylinder, front wheel drive.

I want to pull a 73 chevy with a tow chain/strap aprox. 30mi.

Is this possible? I do not want to mess up my trans or axles. Any info is greatly appreciated!

Jes

 

[NWwhaler]

Nvrmnd, should have just done the research myself lol

max tow cap - 1650
73 chevy - 3500+

 

[MikDee]

I would say Do it! But, everything in slow motion, no sudden moves, keep it out of high gear (6th), use the lower gears so that you don't "lug" the engine, & drive train, and leave plenty of room for stopping.

I towed a 3,000lb boat, motor, & trailer, 600miles from Milford Pa, to Charlotte NC with my old 2005 Tucson LX V6 4WD without any issues afterward. I took it easy, 55-65 only, and had the predicted long stopping distances, that was the only issue.

 

[scoutyjones2]

Why risk it? I wouldn't do it...you posted the reason you shouldn't do it...

 

[Sauron]

I would say Do it! But, everything in slow motion, no sudden moves, keep it out of high gear (6th), use the lower gears so that you don't "lug" the engine, & drive train, and leave plenty of room for stopping.

I towed a 3,000lb boat, motor, & trailer, 600miles from Milford Pa, to Charlotte NC with my old 2005 Tucson LX V6 4WD without any issues afterward. I took it easy, 55-65 only, and had the predicted long stopping distances, that was the only issue.

That is just plain foolish advice. There's a risk of damage to his vehicle's drivetrain and it's downright dangerous.

 

[scoutyjones2]

Here's an idea...go rent a uhaul that can tow for the day...should be safer, cheaper and far less damaging to your car...

 

[KLS]

73 chevy

Too heavy.

tow chain/strap

Too dangerous.

You need a REAL tow rig, preferably a car trailer with trailer brakes and a REAL tow vehicle, preferably a 3/4 ton truck.

Even if you install a hitch receiver, and if the receiver mounting points on your Sorento are adequate for the pull, your drivetrain is not adequate. Towing with a chain or strap farther than the few feet to get out of a ditch is not safe.

 

[SkidRoe]

My favourite method to accomplish these feats now a days: Call CAA (AAA).

 

[phillyguy]

You will be fine towing the load, provided that you keep it slow. I am not sure what you mean by using a tow strap/chain, but if you mean to tow it down the street with one of those then there is absolutely no way to do that safely. Rent a car dolly from uhaul for about $20 and use that to pull the chevy. Over 30 miles you really won't have any problems, I think that people on this message board are beyond paranoid when it comes to towing. I pulled a a variety of things with a utility trailer today, final load of mulch+trailer was in excess of 3000 lbs. No trailer brakes. You could certainly feel the bumps but the car was fine. I have the V6 and AWD, and the motor was never stressed with fairly slow saturday driving. You could also rent a truck and car dolly to pull it from uhaul, but it really isn't necessary. You certainly will not be risking any damage to the drivetrain pulling 3K+ pounds with easy driving if you have a tranny cooler. If you do not have an additional tranny cooler you will most likely be fine provided you keep it fairly slow, otherwise you could pull over every 10 miles or so and let it idle a few minutes for the trans temp to begin to drop back down.

 

[TheStig]

But why risk my life, or yours by towing something clearly outside the manufacturer's limits to save $50 front renting a uhaul setup for a few hours?

30 miles may not be very far, and heck, it could be all flat and level ground, but if anything bad happened, imagine trying to defend yourself in liability court.

It sounds like the OP quickly realized this, but I'm shocked at the "Ehh what does KIA know, git -r- done" responses.

 

[gee6]

but I'm shocked at the "Ehh what does KIA know, git -r- done" responses.

OK, but (just for the record) you may be equally shocked to know that the Sorento is more than capable of towing well over the legal limits stated for the USA - So the "drivetrain" issue is mute. Add to that, I understood the intention of the OP would be to use a tow 'rope' with the second vehicle being occupied and steered and at least some secondary braking on the towed vehicle. Not necessarily for the faint-hearted in the towed vehicle, but perfectly do-able. (Many years ago I did 200 miles plus in the towed vehicle!)

My only concern would be the attachment to the Sorento as I don't know the new models that well.

 

[shsch]

Don't take a chance with your new vehicle and stick with the 1650 lb. limit.

 

[phillyguy]

But why risk my life, or yours by towing something clearly outside the manufacturer's limits to save $50 front renting a uhaul setup for a few hours?

30 miles may not be very far, and heck, it could be all flat and level ground, but if anything bad happened, imagine trying to defend yourself in liability court.

It sounds like the OP quickly realized this, but I'm shocked at the "Ehh what does KIA know, git -r- done" responses.

That is hyperbole. The vehicle can handle the load just fine. We could claim that you are "risking your life" every time you get into a car, since traffic accidents are a significant cause of death in the United States. If the OP wants to rent something else to tow that is fine, the decision is ultimately his. But the towing limits listed are *extremely* conservative, and certainly can be pushed without risking damage to the vehicle or without risk of losing control. Driving slower, leaving larger distances between cars, for short distances is not going to be an end of the world event. I think that a uhaul car hauler weighs about 750 lbs. So he would be looking at ~ a 4K lb load in total behind the car. Car hauling is better than an enclosed trailer, worse than a utility trailer from an aerodynamic perspective, but its also easier on the rear suspension. Brakes don't stop working, they will just take longer to stop the load and will overheat faster, and so long as the driver is conscious of this he should be fine. I really should calculate out the energy produced by a Sorento+4K lb trailer at 40mph, vs a sorento at 60 mph. I'm willing to bet that the brakes are doing similar work. The calculation becomes difficult due to different cooling rates at different speeds, but either way the OP could pull this off without too much trouble.

 

[phillyguy]

OK, but (just for the record) you may be equally shocked to know that the Sorento is more than capable of towing well over the legal limits stated for the USA - So the "drivetrain" issue is mute. Add to that, I understood the intention of the OP would be to use a tow 'rope' with the second vehicle being occupied and steered and at least some secondary braking on the towed vehicle. Not necessarily for the faint-hearted in the towed vehicle, but perfectly do-able. (Many years ago I did 200 miles plus in the towed vehicle!)

My only concern would be the attachment to the Sorento as I don't know the new models that well.

So, I agree that the Sorento can pull the thing without much if any trouble, but pulling another vehicle with a rope seems *extremely* difficult to me. Maybe I could consider it as a last ditch effort at 3 in the morning on rural roads with no traffic, but that would leave very little ability to control the whole setup. How long was your tow rope would you did this? I always keep 20 ft tow straps in mine, but 20 ft seems way too short for something like this. I would think 30-40 ft would be called for.

 

[Shaggy]

The only "danger" with pulling something with a rope is the pickup being pulled might run into the back of the Sorento . If the brakes work on the pickup being pulled then this should be an easy thing to do as long as its not during rush hour.
The driver of the pulling vehical keeps to the right so the vehical being pulled can keep left alittle and see whats ahead and antisipate a sudden stop.

 

[phillyguy]

The only "danger" with pulling something with a rope is the pickup being pulled might run into the back of the Sorento . If the brakes work on the pickup being pulled then this should be an easy thing to do as long as its not during rush hour.
The driver of the pulling vehical keeps to the right so the vehical being pulled can keep left alittle and see whats ahead and antisipate a sudden stop.

Yes that, and the possibility that the following driver turns his wheels too much and starts to scrub his tires, or wander back and forth pulling the tow vehicle from side to side a little bit, or swinging out too far during a turn if the towed vehicle driver wasn't paying attention.

I assume this would be like pulling someone out of a ditch, they would have their engine running in neutral to have engine vacuum for brake booster and engine power for power steering?

Have you done this? I am really curious how long the tow straps or tow rope you used were.

 

[Shaggy]

I've done it more times than I can remember. The first time I was very scared but after a couple times its easy. I'm not sure of the length of rope, '20 sounds about right... it seems like I'm almost touching the pulling vehical before we even start to move. The key is to keep the rope tight at all times and when comming to a stop the pulling vehical should use very little if any brakes and the pulled vehical does all the brakeing.
I used to work for a const. company and have done this with dump trucks alot when something breaks down cuz wreckers are expensive and working in the shop is better then out in the open outside dusty or rain ect.
We've pulled a truck a few times with no brakes at all, sounds scary but suprisingly safe... simply put a chain though a pipe thats stong enough to handle the load and wrap and tie the chain around both the pulling vehical and the pulled vehical and the pipe will stop the vehical being pulled as long as the chain is wrapped tight with no slack. You still need someone steering the pulled vehical.

 

[Sauron]

I've done it more times than I can remember.

Just because it works for Ejaculator doesn't mean it's safe. You wouldn't want to end your trip "prematurely" by having the towed vehicle run into your bumper.

I'll be here all week....don't forget to tip your waitress.

 

[phillyguy]

I've done it more times than I can remember. The first time I was very scared but after a couple times its easy. I'm not sure of the length of rope, '20 sounds about right... it seems like I'm almost touching the pulling vehical before we even start to move. The key is to keep the rope tight at all times and when comming to a stop the pulling vehical should use very little if any brakes and the pulled vehical does all the brakeing.
I used to work for a const. company and have done this with dump trucks alot when something breaks down cuz wreckers are expensive and working in the shop is better then out in the open outside dusty or rain ect.
We've pulled a truck a few times with no brakes at all, sounds scary but suprisingly safe... simply put a chain though a pipe thats stong enough to handle the load and wrap and tie the chain around both the pulling vehical and the pulled vehical and the pipe will stop the vehical being pulled as long as the chain is wrapped tight with no slack. You still need someone steering the pulled vehical.

Good to know! I've never used a tow strap for more than pulling out someone who was stuck, I never would've considered using them for more than a few yards. This would never be my first solution to a problem, but glad it would appear to work better than i'd thought if I were ever in a pinch.

 

[TheStig]

That is hyperbole. The vehicle can handle the load just fine.

With no disrespect, but it's not. Unless you have designed the vehicle, conducted finite element analysis of it, placed load sensors on the frame, and all the other engineering required to truly asses the vehicle's tow rating, you're frankly not qualified to make that decision.

Your counter example, is however all-or-nothing thinking. There is certainly a difference between hopping in my sorento and load it with 200 pounds of people and drive 30 miles, versus loading my sorento with a trailer heavier than the vehicle was rated for and driving the same 30 mile trip. There are, inherently more dangers associated with it. Also, doing so subjects your fellow motorists to potentially greater danger with the loaded trailer example.

Just because others have done it, and even if you put an admirable amount of calculations into it doesn't mean that if anything happened, your explanation and calculations would absolve you from any liability. If you feel confident that it's safe, that's great, and as long as you never touch public roads, that's fine. When your tire touches public roads, and you've loaded your vehicle more than the manufacturer's tow rating allows, you've potentially broken a law (Varies by state). Even if you haven't, should anything happen and you cause a major accident, you can bet your Afflac beak that you're going to find yourself trying to explain how you (With what credentials) are smarter than an entire corporation, and therefore are not liable because of such.

I dug up the laws in California, for example:
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d18/vc42030_1.htm


FWIW, I do subscribe to the theory that manufacturers purposely lower tow ratings, because many people are grossly incompetent when it comes to properly towing. I even subscribe to the theory that manufacturers may lower the tow ratings for fear of warranty work due to the added strain on the drivetrain, suspension, cooling and braking system. I even subscribe to the theory that if you setup your tow rig properly, you can safely tow much more than the sticker allows...But, those are theories, and don't hold up in court, and my non-professionally-accredited theories don't make it safe for me, nor you, to rely on them (Which is why you'll never see me overtow my vehicle)