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.
How can you tow without a hitch? My dealer says there is no hitch made for the kia soul.The owners manual says you can't tow with the soul. I hope this is wrong, i would like to tow my bike.
Can we or cannot tow with a kia soul 2.0 16"wheel suppost to have the bigger,more hp motor.If so where to find hitch,how much can be towed in lbs.
We love the car but was lied to many time by the dealer.
Where are you located? In the U.S. it is not recommended to tow anything. BUT, we all do it anyway. They are rated to tow 300 lbs. tongue weight, 2000 lbs. gross weight.
You can find trailer hitches in a myriad of places. I bought mine on eBay for $75.
I don't think it's the way our lot tows.... It's probably that ONE idiot tried to tow 10,000 pounds with some little car, so the government had to step in and make a law and ruin it for everybody.
You can find Class 1 hitches online that can be installed in a no time without a mechanic needed.
Max is 2000 lbs total and 200-300 lbs tongue weight depending on the hitch if I remember right.
The US is retarded in its towing recommendations. All over Europe they tow some big travel trailers with VW's, Renault's, FIAT's, etc. In the US people are led to think you need a 1-ton, dual-axle, turbo-diesel truck to tow a riding lawnmower.
Thanks to all . I have a goldwing and custom built trailer, total wieght is 1126# w/bike tongue # @ about 100# pulls great with p.u..NOW will be able to pull with wifes soul. Trailer hitch i check out at etrailer.com any other suggestions?
Mine I got the hitch with it from the dealer. I am in Northern Va. The book states that you can tow just under I think 1800 pounds. The reason I wanted the hitch was to tow the jet ski.
I love these conversations. You can, you cant, you can, you can't... I think, I think, I think... book says this, book says that.
Who has actually done it? WHAT were you towing and how much is the gross weight? Tongue weight? Did it strain your vehicle's motor? How was the stopping ability of the Soul with the attached trailer/boat/jetski etc? At highway speeds, how is the handling?
Edward, in your case, how easily did the Soul pull the ski's out of the water?
Your exactly right. The Soul is based on the Kia Rio platform. I don't think anyone would go into the showroom and say to themselves "Yep, I'm going to pull a 2000 pound trailer with it.
With the short wheel base and basic drive train, you would be very limited on what you can do.
I had no problems not even tire spin. The jet ski and trailer together is 1100 pounds. I had to slam on the brakes hard the other day and it noise dived hard but stopped. No issue but the boat ramp that I use is not very steep.
But by far the biggest factor is vehicle weight. For example, My wife has a 2006 Jeep Liberty that we use for tow vehicle for our sleds. According to Jeep's spec's, it has the potential of towing 5000 pounds.
The Liberty Weighs 4000 pounds ( I can't believe it either - but it does). The problem is if you take a trailer that outweighs your tow vehicle and your presented in a emergency situation where you need to avoid something or make a sudden lane change. The heavier trailer is going to overrule the adjustments made by the tow vehicle because it will be pushing on the hitch. And going back to simple physics, the object with the greater mass is going to win every time.
The pic of the Soul pulling the travel trailer is a perfect example of what not to do. Not only is the trailer to long, it weigh's the same or if not more than the Soul. This is very dangerous.
Maybe its because us European drivers are so much more careful and considerate and well trained individuals?.....that they trust us to tow stuff safely?......just a thought!..lol
(hell!...if this thread is gonna drag on forever - lets have some fun with it!).
Nah... its because y'all have those little two lane roads that are often crossed by sheep herds, so they know you can't go very fast to begin with.... LOL!
^^ Ok. I'm confused. Are we debating whether the Soul can actually tow things... or are we debating the driving skill of novice owners? Because I'm lost.....
Towed small utility trailer with the Soul, about 800lb and a short trailer, absolutely no issues. You can feel the weight when braking, but simply applying more brake worked fine - again, experienced trailer driver here, and I've towed this particular trailer thousands of miles with the Mini, and thousands more with a minivan.
By the way, the "lever" concept for a longer trailer is actually BETTER for the tow vehicle, as the tow vehicle is at the end lf a longer lever to turn the weight. A boat trailer (wheels far from the hitch) is easier to tow than a shorter utility trailer (wheels closer to the hitch), all else equal (axles/weight/tongue weight) because the tow vehicle has better leverage. It's also easier to back up as it doesn't jack so far on turning - you can keep up with it while turning - something the Soul's really tight turning radius helps with. The only time alonger trailer is a disadvantage is in a Really Extreme situation when the trailer has completely lost it - a situation that non-idiots can avoid rather easily.
Well then, if we are starting a movement to kick out idiots here, I'm afraid I have some bad news... alterboy and dixon, I'm going to have to ask you to leave.