Anyone tow a pop up camper with your Soul? I know they are pretty light and should be within the ability of a Soul to tow, but just want to know if anyone has done this and their views of how well the Soul handles it.
I towed a home made 4'x8' trailer 9' tall made with 3/8" plywood, 2x4's, 2x2's, and put a nose on it. The tounge weight is a guesstimate (150-200 pounds), trailer loaded was approximately 2,000-2300 pounds. I did my very best to keep measurements of every material I used and I weighed each box and kept track of the weight. I don't know how much the trailer weighed originally, it is old. So that is why I estimated it as I did. I had to put a nose on the front of that flat wall to safely and efficiently go over 55mph. I drove 1,400 miles in 2 days, did 65-75mph the whole way and used my AC. I got 23 mpg in my 2011 Kia soul basic 1.6 Liter 5-speed. I used 1 quart of thick Lucas oil in the oil change. I did the oil change before the long drive and a month after. I have put 10,000 miles on my soul since @ 45,000 miles. No problems. With the manual tranny I can keep the tranny in lower gears longer so I had no trouble with that tow. Drove great, drives great. I don't doubt it caused a bit more wear and tear on clutch, brakes, and tires, but so far so good. I've towed it twice since then but only short 30 mile distances. hope that helped.
Here are a few photos to go with my last post. I loaded far more into it before I headed out. 4 heavy Army 'Tuff Boxes'. First box is how I started out... That is 1/2" treated plywood. Second is how it looked as a box before adding a nose. One pic at night shows how it looked with the plexiglass window in it. And the pic from a distance is in Louisiana, 700 miles into my trip. I did use Lucas gas treatment all the way there. Roughly 3-6 ounces per full up.
This is the 2x4's at the base, used 3/8" plywood for sides. Used bahr paint 3 gallons. I carriage bolted four bolts per side into the frame of the trailer. Bottom piece was also new with 1/2" treated plywood.
I used 2x2's for the extra support on the sides.
It is very sturdy. Here is pics of the nose.
Inside view, of 2 file cabinets, portable potty, tools, laundry supplies, closet, a/c unit 5,000 BTU, food, drinks, Coleman stove, 26" flat screen, electronics, 4" full size memory foam when folded in half gives you 8" of mattress, 4 Army Tuff Boxes too. I put rubber pads on the floor for extra comfort.
Too much misinformation floating around regarding towing with the Soul. I strongly suggest that you all read your owners manuals. In the 2012 manual, page 5-54 specifically, where it states in plain english that Kia does NOT recommend towing of any kind with the Soul. There are no towing capacities listed. Doesn't matter one tiny bit what the dealer tells you. If you break something and they find that you were towing, they can, and likely will, deny any warranty claim. It takes a whole lot more than just a transmission cooler to make a vehicle a tow vehicle. There's suspension, brakes, transmission, tires, wheels, and the vehicle structure itself to name a few. Just because the Euro versions can tow doesn't mean that the U.S. version is automatically equipped to do the same. If you insist upon towing with your Soul, that's your option. If the car starts disintegrating because of it, that's on you.
I called KIA on the phone about adding a hitch on my 2010 SOUL. And as you stated the manual says it does not recommend towing anything and they would void whats left on my warranty. SOULMANN,
I completely understand everyone's concerns about towing, but......
Absolutely Nowhere does Kia say, "if you tow anything, we'll void your warranty".
You'd think, just to cover their arse, that they would say something similar if it was really an issue.
Oh, by the way, they pre-drilled and tapped the holes for the trailer hitches to bolt to the frame. Go figure!
I thought that was actually pretty nice of them. It sure made installing the Curt Hitch a real piece of cake.
Once you've put on a hitch, you'll find all sorts of use for it. There are many attachments that you can use with a trailer hitch.
I use the heck out of mine and I don't even own a trailer......yet.
It also makes one heck of a great place to put a jack to raise the back of the car.
I'm even building an electric winch that will attach to the hitch, to pull me out of a bad situation.
Or I can connect it to assist someone else who is stuck.
This early pic shows the little 2000# winch, without the electrical wires.
Experience tells me, I may just find a lot of use for the winch.
Even in Ill. you should realize that they are lying through their teeth, , , right?
If putting on a hitch would VOID your warranty, it would have to say so in the Owners Manual, and it DOES NOT say so.
To date, there are literally thousands of us with trailer hitches on our Souls.
If it were really that bad, then why did Kia pre-drill and tap the holes for the hitch to mount to. Eh?
If you're that afraid of voiding your warranty, maybe you should just put your car up on blocks and don't even drive it.
I don't think anyone said that installing a hitch would void your warranty.
After all a hitch can be used for many things other than towing a trailer.
I just traded in my Fiat 500 which has no tow rating at all however Fiat sells a hitch for it, although the hitch they sell is strictly for use with a hitch-mounted bicycle rack and not for towing.
I just installed the Curt hitch on my Soul the other night, you're right in that it was very simple to do although it took me a bit more than 30 minutes on my own.
I plan on only using this with a bike rack just in case anyone is keeping track
Yes! I don't own a trailer either, but I use my hitch every week!
A hitch can be used for a plethora of attachments.
Cargo carrier
Bike rack
Wheelchair rack
Small motorcycle rack
And/or, an Electric Winch (to get you out of a sticky spot, like a Sugar Sand Pit)
Or a custom fixture for just plain PULLING..... trees, stumps, cars, logs, or a road grader.
This ain't my first Rodeo. I've lived out here in the country, in the FL sand dunes for 25 years now.
I've had 4WD cars, 2WD cars, one AWD car, one 2WD Turbo car, and now a Kia Soul.
My little Soul is every bit as tough as any car I've had so far.
If there were anything I could do to my Soul to make her more useful to me, it would be to convert her to a 4WD.
Then I could go back to being the area Wrecker Service. lol
My little baby just doesn't quite have the traction for pulling a Police car out of a sand pit, like my Grand Vitara 4x4 did. (sniff)
But she handles my big 800# road drag like I was pulling a feather pillow.
Hello! Newbie to both my soul and towing (wanting to tow a camping trailer). Where do you suggest I get started? I've read the 2014 is hard to get a hitch for, but it sounds like you may know otherwise. Could you please give me any/all advice you have? Thanks!
I got my own Curt hitch off the internet.
It was available, installed at a local Rental Store, for more money, so I decided to just order one off the net and install it myself.
That worked like a charm.
Curt does make a great hitch and very easy to install, just following their instructions.
Good Luck
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