TrailManor Owner's Forum - View Single Post - Kia Sedona, anyone have info or experience?

08-30-2005, 08:45 PM

Hi, I have been towing an 87 2619 with a 2002 Kia Sedona for two years and have found it to be excellent. I was surprised at a regional rally to find other minivan owners noting problems with hills and cruise control.
We have been to Missouri and back (from Niantic Connecticut) and throughout New England and New York. I do not have an equalizer hitch, but keep the hitch weight to a little over 300 lbs which drops the rear end a little over 1" at the rear tires and raises the front end about the same. I checked the weight using a bathroom scale on a cinder block at about the same height as when towing, and now load the trailer so that it eyeballs about the same. I also take out the rear seats (150 lbs) for the extra stuff for the Trailmanor.
When we bought the Sedona, they did not yet have the trailer hitch available. I had a local RV place put one on as I had not installed electric brakes before. He put on a 1 1/4 inch hitch instead of a 2" and by the time I found out the 2" had been available was out of business. Because of the torque the Sedona has, I would use the 2" hitch to get more weight on the front wheels and make tounge weight have a larger possibility.
When we went to Missouri, we went through the mountains of lower Pennsylvania and West Virginia with no problem. If I left it in cruise in the mountains it would down shift and get the rpms up over 4000, so I usually took it out of cruise on the steeper hills and let it drop below 60. On mild grades it will stay in 5th and cruise along smoothy.
We hope to go to the rally in Colorado this next year, so we can see how it does at high altitude.
One change I made was to get rid of the original tires after the first couple of years as they have lousey traction in the snow and put on top of the line Toyos which have been fine. I make sure the rear tires are up to 44 lbs for towing. I also keep the front tires at 40 lbs as they wear and handle better.
Any questions, let me know and I will try to answer as best I can. I will also keep more up to date on entries in the owner's forum.
Jonathan

08-30-2005, 08:45 PM	#2
Hejeharger Guest Posts: n/a	Kia Sedona Hi, I have been towing an 87 2619 with a 2002 Kia Sedona for two years and have found it to be excellent. I was surprised at a regional rally to find other minivan owners noting problems with hills and cruise control. We have been to Missouri and back (from Niantic Connecticut) and throughout New England and New York. I do not have an equalizer hitch, but keep the hitch weight to a little over 300 lbs which drops the rear end a little over 1" at the rear tires and raises the front end about the same. I checked the weight using a bathroom scale on a cinder block at about the same height as when towing, and now load the trailer so that it eyeballs about the same. I also take out the rear seats (150 lbs) for the extra stuff for the Trailmanor. When we bought the Sedona, they did not yet have the trailer hitch available. I had a local RV place put one on as I had not installed electric brakes before. He put on a 1 1/4 inch hitch instead of a 2" and by the time I found out the 2" had been available was out of business. Because of the torque the Sedona has, I would use the 2" hitch to get more weight on the front wheels and make tounge weight have a larger possibility. When we went to Missouri, we went through the mountains of lower Pennsylvania and West Virginia with no problem. If I left it in cruise in the mountains it would down shift and get the rpms up over 4000, so I usually took it out of cruise on the steeper hills and let it drop below 60. On mild grades it will stay in 5th and cruise along smoothy. We hope to go to the rally in Colorado this next year, so we can see how it does at high altitude. One change I made was to get rid of the original tires after the first couple of years as they have lousey traction in the snow and put on top of the line Toyos which have been fine. I make sure the rear tires are up to 44 lbs for towing. I also keep the front tires at 40 lbs as they wear and handle better. Any questions, let me know and I will try to answer as best I can. I will also keep more up to date on entries in the owner's forum. Jonathan