Which hitch kit for Kia Soul?

[oldjeep]

Re: Which hitch kit for Kia Soul?

And that is good reason why this dealer would never get repeat business from me.

And you would be the type that they would be happy not to see again. "I know it says not to tow with it, but I did and blew up the trans - you're a bad dealer for not honoring the warranty I violated". We currently own 1 Kia and have owned 3 others, and my Mom owns 2 of them. Great cars and some of them are built to tow, but the Soul is not.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Which hitch kit for Kia Soul?

And you would be the type that they would be happy not to see again. "I know it says not to tow with it, but I did and blew up the trans - you're a bad dealer for not honoring the warranty I violated". We currently own 1 Kia and have owned 3 others, and my Mom owns 2 of them. Great cars and some of them are built to tow, but the Soul is not.

oldjeep, I agree to a point but you have to put things in perspective. The OP just wants to pull a tinny. I guess I'm fortunate to live in a small southern town where most everybody knows one another and most have a little common sense and a lot of courtesy. If a dealer around here made statements like that he would not remain in business for too long. To the OP.....you do not have to tell the dealer that you are towing anything. That receiver can be used for a bicycle rack or luggage platform!

 

[leslielbk]

Re: Which hitch kit for Kia Soul?

Woohoo! Lotsa good feedback - thank you all! Here's where I'm at: having gotten quite alot of encouragement and reassurance my car can tow the boat from boaters here, I've decided to still err on the side of skepticism and launch it with a friend's truck. We'll see how much of a load it is to pull up the ramp, and even if it is an easy pull, I'll keep borrowing the truck and see how much I actually use the boat. I'd hate to go through all of this, make the big leap and put the hitch on and not use the boat as much as I thought I would.
Math helps too, and so far I've found out from AlumaCraft the boat weighs 276 pounds. Now I have to find out about the weight of the motor, trailer, and whatever else. I weigh 135#. Where did 750#'s come from? Maybe I do need to diet...

 

[bigdee]

Re: Which hitch kit for Kia Soul?

Woohoo! Lotsa good feedback - thank you all! Here's where I'm at: having gotten quite alot of encouragement and reassurance my car can tow the boat from boaters here, I've decided to still err on the side of skepticism and launch it with a friend's truck. We'll see how much of a load it is to pull up the ramp, and even if it is an easy pull, I'll keep borrowing the truck and see how much I actually use the boat. I'd hate to go through all of this, make the big leap and put the hitch on and not use the boat as much as I thought I would.
Math helps too, and so far I've found out from AlumaCraft the boat weighs 276 pounds. Now I have to find out about the weight of the motor, trailer, and whatever else. I weigh 135#. Where did 750#'s come from? Maybe I do need to diet...

You sound like a very cautious kinda guy so that is a major plus when towing ANYTHING. Rest assured your vehicle will easily pull and launch that boat. I have seen people in my lake community launch and retrieve small jon boats with golf carts and ATVs.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Which hitch kit for Kia Soul?

And you would be the type that they would be happy not to see again. "I know it says not to tow with it, but I did and blew up the trans - you're a bad dealer for not honoring the warranty I violated". We currently own 1 Kia and have owned 3 others, and my Mom owns 2 of them. Great cars and some of them are built to tow, but the Soul is not.

My kia is rated to tow 7500 pounds... Kind of surprises pretty much everyone that kia made a big v8 with about 350hp, and something with a decent tow rating.

 

[TheOriginalOldGuy]

Re: Which hitch kit for Kia Soul?

Woohoo! Lotsa good feedback - thank you all! Here's where I'm at: having gotten quite alot of encouragement and reassurance my car can tow the boat from boaters here, I've decided to still err on the side of skepticism and launch it with a friend's truck. We'll see how much of a load it is to pull up the ramp, and even if it is an easy pull, I'll keep borrowing the truck and see how much I actually use the boat. I'd hate to go through all of this, make the big leap and put the hitch on and not use the boat as much as I thought I would.
Math helps too, and so far I've found out from AlumaCraft the boat weighs 276 pounds. Now I have to find out about the weight of the motor, trailer, and whatever else. I weigh 135#. Where did 750#'s come from? Maybe I do need to diet...

I was in a situation similar to this a couple months ago.

The key spec to pay attention on your car is the TORQUE. I don't know the year of your vehicle, but I did a quick search on a 2010, and the torque is 115 ft lbs. The 2012 Soul has 123 ft lbs of torque. The smaller imports (honda, kia, hyundai) are NOTORIOUS for their lack of torque. The 2012 Soul has 123 ft lbs of torque. The horsepower numbers for that vehicle are actually very good, but I wouldn't get lulled into that seeing as though you will be towing.

By the way, the weight of your boat motor should be on the manufacturer's label on the motor, unless that label has been removed. There is a boat trailer website where you can get the weight of the trailer as well. Pretty easy stuff to find.

Personally, since I had the same dilemna, I wouldn't haul a 15' boat/motor/trailer with a 1.6L engine with 115 pounds of torque. But, I wish you luck if you can pull it off.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Which hitch kit for Kia Soul?

115 ft/lbs of torque?
I have 50ft/lbs more in one lug nut on my truck.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Which hitch kit for Kia Soul?

My kia is rated to tow 7500 pounds... Kind of surprises pretty much everyone that kia made a big v8 with about 350hp, and something with a decent tow rating.

Doesn't suprise me - we towed with a Sorrento for years. Great little suv that pulled 5K. However, a soul has more in common with a Spectra than a Sorrento or borreggo

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Which hitch kit for Kia Soul?

I was in a situation similar to this a couple months ago.

The key spec to pay attention on your car is the TORQUE. I don't know the year of your vehicle, but I did a quick search on a 2010, and the torque is 115 ft lbs. The 2012 Soul has 123 ft lbs of torque. ...

That 123 ft-lbs occurs at a pedal to the metal 4800 rpm!
That is NOT the way you pull up a ramp.
A gentle pull up the ramp is possible with a 10 hp lawn tractor.
Drive slow enough and you can pull just about anything.

Edit:
FWIW... In Europe the Kia Soul has a 550Kg (1200lb) tow capacity for Brake-less Trailers.

 

[MrBigStuff]

Re: Which hitch kit for Kia Soul?

Couple points to ponder based on my recent experience putting a class II hitch on my Camry. My Trailblazer was recently totaled and not having 1) a tow vehicle and 2) no way to launch any boat had me more nervous than Mitt Romney at a NAACP event.

The quickest way to get my smallest boat on the water was to add a hitch to my Camry. Bought a Curt from TheHitchStore and the install was a PITA since it's a 2003 and the mounting holes/exhaust bolts were all rusted. Good luck finding a single 10Mx1.25 tap to chase those threads. Had to buy a kit to get the one I needed. But that's another story.

The Camry pulls a small 14' just fine. Don't even know the boat's there except you can't see anything but a tailgating boat out the back window! Not used to this perspective while towing.

Launching is OK as the boat is easy to see. You better survey the launch tho because you won't be able to see any of that while you're actually launching. Retrieving is super tough, I'll need to add a whip with a bright tip to know where the trailer is going.

I'll beg to differ on the analogy of passengers versus boat launching. Front wheel drive makes wheel slippage on ramps more of a problem. Then, when the wheels are slipping on the wet areas, it suddenly hits a dry spot and WHAM! big shock to the drivetrain. If I run into an algae covered, wet ramp at the parking garage, it might be similar

The hitch was about 40 lbs and the trailer adds another say 50. That's ~100 lbs at the rear bumper. The Camry has a fairly soft suspension so the limited added weight at the rear bumper does make it squat down.

Fortunately, the ramps I'm using allow me to get close but push the boat off and winch it back up without dipping the rear of the car. Some of the ramps I used with the truck would be a real challenge to the car. I had no issue with the higher body and suspension on the truck.

Just some things to consider for the tow challenged looking for a solution...

 

[delirious]

Re: Which hitch kit for Kia Soul?

i launch a 1973 glastron v173 bayflight with a 6cyl 115 merc on the back, with a 2006 ford focus wagon. it tows it well....doesnt brake as well though, but my driving habits have been compensated for this. i am nervous lanching and retrieving...but so far.....sooooo goooood.

my 2cents

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Which hitch kit for Kia Soul?

Something I found with a quick google search.

http://autos.winnipegfreepress.com/news-article/id-3488/

Looks like it could well void your warranty. If the dealer says it's fine and won't void your warranty get something in writing. It's odd a hitch is a dealer installed option when towing is not recommended in North America but the same vehicle is fine to tow with in Europe.

its not realy that odd that in europe they can use the soul to tow. in europe 95% of people drive stick shifts as they are cheaper and you have to learn stick to pass the driving test (you can pass in a auto but then you are not allowed to drive a stick unless you retake the test). cooking the auto transmission on a long drive is possible especially up and down hills thats not a dig at kia either. if my transmission failed would i tell them i was towing a load when it happened or would i tell them i installed the hitch to carry a mountain bike