Anyone have a KIA Sedona they tow with?

[trumpet87]

Am planning on putting a hitch on the Kia because it has a higher tow rating than the ford ranger. If anyone owns this van or knows someone who does, please let me know what you tow with it, weight, etc. Thanks!!!

[Rich_D]

Am planning on putting a hitch on the Kia because it has a higher tow rating than the ford ranger. If anyone owns this van or knows someone who does, please let me know what you tow with it, weight, etc. Thanks!!!

Yes!!  2004 Sedona. I haul a Viking Legend - about 2300lb dry, and everything works very well!
Last year we went from Toronto to Vacouver Island  :canada: , via Banff And Jasper, and returned through the US  :usflag: , and it performed flawlessly. I was worried about the Banff-Jasper leg in the mountains, but had no problems. There was only one grade where it had to work to get up - but had no doubts it was going to make it.
The downhill sections worked well - and with judicious use of cancelling overdrive and downshifting, did not have to overtax the brakes.

best thing about the Sedona is the copious electrical outlets - enough to plug in the DVD for the kids, the satellite radio, the Coolatron (absolute lifesaver), the cellphone charger etc etc AND charge the trailer battery. (For a long haul like this, XM radio ROCKS!!)

BTW we had 2 adults and 2 10 year olds in the van.

[trumpet87]

Yes!!  2004 Sedona. I haul a Viking Legend - about 2300lb dry, and everything works very well!
Last year we went from Toronto to Vacouver Island  :canada: , via Banff And Jasper, and returned through the US  :usflag: , and it performed flawlessly. I was worried about the Banff-Jasper leg in the mountains, but had no problems. There was only one grade where it had to work to get up - but had no doubts it was going to make it.
The downhill sections worked well - and with judicious use of cancelling overdrive and downshifting, did not have to overtax the brakes.

best thing about the Sedona is the copious electrical outlets - enough to plug in the DVD for the kids, the satellite radio, the Coolatron (absolute lifesaver), the cellphone charger etc etc AND charge the trailer battery. (For a long haul like this, XM radio ROCKS!!)

BTW we had 2 adults and 2 10 year olds in the van.

I am SO glad I finally found someone who tows with theirs! Did you have to put anything additional on it, like a transmission cooler, etc?  Kia dealer told us that these have a transmission cooler already on them, do you think this is true? How many miles does yours have on it? We bought ours new in Nov. of 03 and it has 62,000 on it. Let me know any other details/tips you might have. And what kind of hitch did you put on it? Do you use an anti-sway bar? Thanks a bunch, I am so happy now  

[trumpet87]

I am SO glad I finally found someone who tows with theirs! Did you have to put anything additional on it, like a transmission cooler, etc?  Kia dealer told us that these have a transmission cooler already on them, do you think this is true? How many miles does yours have on it? We bought ours new in Nov. of 03 and it has 62,000 on it. Let me know any other details/tips you might have. And what kind of hitch did you put on it? Do you use an anti-sway bar? Thanks a bunch, I am so happy now  

What's a coolatron???

[brainpause]

What's a coolatron???

Probably this:

http://www.skingco.com/p-294-p25-koolatron-fun-kool-12-volt-cooler.aspx

Larry

[Rich_D]

I am SO glad I finally found someone who tows with theirs! Did you have to put anything additional on it, like a transmission cooler, etc?  Kia dealer told us that these have a transmission cooler already on them, do you think this is true? How many miles does yours have on it? We bought ours new in Nov. of 03 and it has 62,000 on it. Let me know any other details/tips you might have. And what kind of hitch did you put on it? Do you use an anti-sway bar? Thanks a bunch, I am so happy now  

When we did the trip, the Kia had 42000km on it - 2 weeks later had 54000!!!

Currently has about 72000km.

As for hitch - It is a hidden hitch, installed by the dealer when new. I had to add a brake controller and a 7-pin hookup, and that was all. No anti-sway (which was fine until I tried to keep up with the 75mph traffic in the US!!)

Mounting the brake controller was a little problem - but found a spot near the drivers right knee that is not in the way.

The Coolatron is one of those electronic coolers that plug into the 12V in the car. The only issue I had with this was that I had the 12V feed to the trailer hooked up to the rear 12V outlet in the Kia (so that it did not remain energised when the car was off) - but in effect this kept the rear 2 12V outlets on all the time - as the trailer battery powered these when the car was off!

As I had the coolatron plugged in one of the rear outlets, this additional load had a tendancy to blow the trailer fuse. I moved it to the front one (on a different circuit) and all was well.

Good luck!