Getting a bit nervous...

[webbeyes]

Okay, so ...

We're new to the whole hybrid idea. In fact, we sold our Starcraft pop-up almost a decade ago, and haven't camped since (except a bit of tenting).

In March we replaced our old minivan with a 2017 Kia Sedona. We never intended to camp, so I didn't think much of towing capacity, etc.

In May, we decided (for a number of reasons) to buy a camper. With a family of 5 - including 1 kid with a disability, we decided to go with hybrid and have picked up a 2015 16XRB. Love the unit overall, and love the layout.

Having read a billion threads on this board, I have started to get nervous...

We're about to go on a LONG drive (and I do mean LONG). 20 days of 400-550km per-day long. Some reasonably flat, some hills/curves, some flat-as-a-pancake prairie, and mix between 80km/h zones and 100km/h zones. This is Eastern Ontario to Banff/Jasper Alberta and back, going around Lake Superior (and yes, I have a good GPS).

Day 1 is actually the longest single-day drive (all-freeway) but 2 nights rest.
After Day 9 we have 2 nights rest.
After Day 13 we have 2 nights rest.

The car is rated for towing up to 3500. The trailer, empty, is 2850. I have a class III hitch, trailer brakes (of course), swaybar/weight distribution system. Kia mechanics say there's no need for an external transmission cooler - in fact, I can't even find one that officially fits.

I'm packing the trailer quite conservatively, and not loading much besides 2 adults, 12 year old twins, and a 2 year old in the car. I plan on chopping my 5.5hr driving days into about 90-110minute chunks - we do want to "sight see", have lunch, etc.

For the Canada Day long weekend we did an "inaugural" trip to make sure we could use everything properly. Drove to a campground about 1:20 from home, 20min of freeway driving, the rest 80km/h zones ... a good mix of what we'll face later this month.

I have found that my "ideal speed" is 92km/h. At this speed I seem to be in 4th gear, at about 2900rpm...with occasional shifts up into 5th gear on flat surfaces. Any faster and it's solely the RPM's (and gas consumption) that go up. I don't find it struggles at all pulling uphill.

Realistically, 92km/h will be excellent (and officially illegal) in 80km/h zones, and seriously only 8km/h less than "maximum" on freeways ... shouldn't be a big deal, really.

I have also been pleased that the unit sticks to the road like glue (thanks in no small part to the sway bars, I'm sure). I've had trucks pass: no movement. I've had some cross winds: no movement. I've had bumpy roads: no movement.

I'm now a Good Sam Club member, and invested in their Roadside Assistance Plan to have that little piece of mind.

So why am I getting nervous? It might be all of these threads I read saying that I've really got the wrong TV for this unit...especially for a long trip like this!

Should I be nervous? Am I just paranoid? Is there anything I need to keep an eye on?

[Sundancer330]

Looking at the specs for your van you will be fine. The big thing is most run out of payload, your van shows a range of 1400#-1700# guess it depends on the model but it really doesn't say. Payload is everything you place in the van plus the tongue weight from the trailer, your max tongue weight is listed at 350# so that will leave you about 1000# to put in the van. Just travel as light as possible and don't overload the trailer.

[webbeyes]

I probably should have said it's a Sedona SX ... of all things, I leave out that detail :-)

Might not be bad to add that although I intend to empty grey/black every morning, it is my goal to leave about a gallon of freshwater in the tank each morning: my oldest daughter is deathly afraid of public washrooms, and I'm quite happy to let her use the one in the trailer during our stops - so a bit of water for the flush is necessity (granted, I could keep a jug of water aside for a manual flush - either way, there's a couple of litres of water on-board).

[Sundancer330]

Now you have more payload, the SX says 1537#

[Ottawasteve]

Sounds like a great trip.




For piece of mind, you may want to hit the scales, loaded for camping before you set off on your long trip. There are CAT scales at the south end of the 416 or at the Antrim truck stop in the West end of the city. You can make sure your loaded tongue weight is between 12 to 15 % which should reduce the risk of any sway, even when you get into the western prairie winds.



I would not be concerned about having 5 or 10 gallons of water in the fresh water tank for bathroom breaks along the way. At 8 lbs per gallon, 80lbs would add 12 lbs to your tongue weight.

One thing to keep an eye on will be your transmission temps while towing through the mountains on hot days. You may want to look into a Scangauge and whether it will monitor the trans temp in a KIA. Last I looked they were about $170 and tt just plugs into your ODBII port and can give you an array of info that is useful for towing. It sounds counter intuitive but keeping RPMs high while climbing will circulate coolant faster which will help keep trans fluid temps lower.

[ALJO]

Do you have an onboard transmission monitor gauge? Around 80 to 82 C is still good above that transmission get ruin fast. Since you will be at max I still recommend to put in a extra transmission cooler. Your engine I'm sure can handle the load. The west wind is usual a killer on the prairie. I'm along Hwy 3 in Sparwood, BC if you're in trouble with your combo in that area you're welcome to call on me. Happy and Safe travels on your journey.

[webbeyes]

Do you have any experience with the Bluetooth ODBII readers paired to a phone using Torque? I have so much electronics connected right now that using my phone for double-duty makes great sense.

[DocBrown]

Originally Posted by webbeyes

Do you have any experience with the Bluetooth ODBII readers paired to a phone using Torque? I have so much electronics connected right now that using my phone for double-duty makes great sense.

Torque doesn't natively read the transmission temps. There are PIDs that you can program but not all vehicles are supported. I've been told that there are some other apps that can read trans temps without jumping through hoops but I'm also told that Torque is one of the easiest if not the easiest to use.

I have Torque and I use it for diagnostics. I have not tried others so I cannot give you a comparison. Great tool and under $20 for the blue tooth OBDII reader and app.

[bankr63]

I would check in at the CAT scales. Good ones nearby in Arnprior or Prescott. Do a quick search here on JOF for the correct procedure.

Looking at the picture above, I would think that you WDH needs some adjustment to dial it in. Your nose looks higher than normal (check the wheel arch measurement loaded and unloaded), and your tail looks dangerously low. This is likely overloading your rear axle. It is an easy fix to get WDH dialled in properly, and don't count on the dealer to do it. The local Ottawa Jayco dealer couldn't even install my hitch and swaybar correctly, let alone get it adjusted.

[GarlicDude]

I'm new to towing also and have read many articles saying to NOT use overdrive, stay in 4th gear to save your transmission. I have installed a scanguage to monitor my transmission temperature: https://www.scangauge.com/

Best,
Steve

[Sundancer330]

Originally Posted by GarlicDude

I'm new to towing also and have read many articles saying to NOT use overdrive, stay in 4th gear to save your transmission. I have installed a scanguage to monitor my transmission temperature: https://www.scangauge.com/

Best,
Steve

There is no reason not to tow using OD. If I am running up a long grade I will turn it off for more RPMs, also if it is hunting in and out of OD then shut it off your trans will be happy.

[octane]

Originally Posted by ALJO

Around 80 to 82 C is still good above that transmission get ruin fast.

my stock transmission goes higher than that when not even towing, 80 might be normal for a truck, but an Asian car/transmission will run a lot hotter than that.

with my extra transmission cooler, I will see 220F/105C and that is an okay temp for my transmission,

[webbeyes]

I've started to monitor ATF temperature ... on a day when it was 32 Celsius, the ATF got up to 103 with no real load, so I might just bite the bullet and head to Mr Transmission for a cooler to be on the safe side. $325 sure beats $3250, IMHO.

[Bluedogger]

You are well within the limits of your towing weights and with a WDH you’ll be more than fine if you’ve taken the time to tweak it properly.
More of a concern at highway speeds is wind drag as it increases exponentially with speed. Keep an eye on engine temperature when doing steep grades on the highway. Looks like it’s a model that is only 7 1/2 feet wide vs 8 ft so that will help a lot in terms of aerodynamic drag. Also most SUVs and minivans are underrated for towing vs what they are capable of (for warranty of automatic transmissions and marketing reasons etc).
Just go and enjoy it, don’t stress.

[Cannon]

Unless in mountains I've always towed using OD. from my first pop up' 27 ft TT' 32ft TT 2 38ft 5er's and now my 43ft 5er and have never lost a transmission. CRAP shouldn't said that. Now I got to find lots of wood to knock on.

[Sarah94]

I towed my 16XRB with a 2005 Honda Odyssey from Maryland to Michigan and back. It loved Ohio and Michigan - nice flat roads, 50 mph it was quite happy. Going over the Appalachian mountains was white-knuckle the whole time. The WDH made it solid as a rock, but the gigantic sail of a trailer made the transmission temp rise like crazy. To keep it from overheating and leaving us stranded, we made lots of stops, drove slower, rolled the windows down and ran the heat - and that was *with* a transmission cooler installed after-market.

I had myself and my then 8 yo, with two weeks worth of clothes and gear. We were overweight, which I didn’t find out until the way back, and I’m sure didn’t help. (The Odyssey tow capacity is based on only a 200 lb driver.)

Having lived through it, I can’t recommend it. But it is possible that your Sedona will have a greater capacity for handling the passenger/cargo weight, and if your terrain is flat and you remember that slow & steady wins the race, you might be fine.

Just keep one eye on the temperature gauge.

—Sarah

[Murff]

This thread is nearly a year old. I think the OP probably has the info he needs by now.

Murff

[WeRJuliian]

It would be interesting to hear how it went, in retrospect. Lessons learned etc.

[webbeyes]

I guess I had posted my "results" in a different thread: https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...s-28856-4.html

[John from Central Florida]

Originally Posted by webbeyes

I guess I had posted my "results" in a different thread: https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...s-28856-4.html

Sounds like you had an excellent adventure!
Nice write-up on that other thread.