SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:
Sway is caused by an improperly loaded trailer, not height.
Only if there is no wind. Most RVs are in the 10-12' height category. They're all billboards, it's just that TTs have a leveraged pivot point that is 4' away from the tow vehicle's axle.
The point I was trying to make is that you have a given surface area on the side of an RV. More surface area = greater affect by winds and trucks.
I think we're just dancing around the difference between the sway that you get from a trailer without enough tongue weight vs sway that is induced by winds. Both exist and are not mutually exclusive.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Right. And neither one has anything to do with how aerodynamic his CX9 is.
And if he felt sway with his Soul, it's highly likely it was due to poor loading.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Right. And neither one has anything to do with how aerodynamic his CX9 is.
And if he felt sway with his Soul, it's highly likely it was due to poor loading.
Either that, or it was because he was towing with a Kia Soul. 
I used to haul a 4'x8'x2' trailer of fire wood behind a 81 Corolla wagon. I was heating with wood at the time and hauled a load 40 miles twice a month. That's probably 2000 pounds of wood plus another 700-800 pounds of trailer. It didn't sway at all as long as it was loaded properly.
The Kia should have 1000 pounds more weight and 40-50 more hp to control the trailer compared to the Corolla. Properly loaded it shouldn't sway either.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Right. And neither one has anything to do with how aerodynamic his CX9 is.
And if he felt sway with his Soul, it's highly likely it was due to poor loading.
Either that, or it was because he was towing with a Kia Soul.
Right. That was my point. It was a poor loading decision.
Actually, when loaded properly (and within their towing capacity), NO vehicle should sway.
But the Soul's towing capacity is only 2000 lbs.
Sit down with a pad and pen to calculate tow capacities soon. If you can tow 4500 max shoot for 80%. BUT also consider payload, trailer tongue weight(15% of weight) cargo and people in the car. Payload usually hits limit before the tow number. Also if the SUV is under warranty, make real sure of the numbers just in case there is a warranty claim.
Don't plan on this as a cost saver, it will fail. This is not a cheap activity it is about enjoying travel and bonding with the kids. Can't put a dollar number on that but also can't finance your life for 20 years so the kids know how to build a campfire and pee in the woods.
Personally I would keep trailer weight under 2500 and rent a few times to see if the family is happy camping. If it goes well plan on buying a truck in the future and a decent sized camper/toy hauler.
I will also add (and I usually get flamed for this) that factory tow ratings are 2 parts engineering and testing, and 3 parts marketing and legal butt-covering. The actual safe amount it can tow is also about 10 parts driver skill and experience, and 7 parts how the trailer itself is configured and weighted.
Engineers follow strict guidelines for carefully calculating brake torque, brake heat capacity, frame strength, suspension loading, transmission and engine cooling, and suspension geometry. Then bean counters make up their own number to fit the target market.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
ALL ratings include similar factors. Just because scaffolding is rated with a 4x safety margin does NOT give license to exceed safety ratings by 4X.
Careful. You sound like you are excusing towing excessive loads with a Kia Soul.
I am gonna refrain from putting our hosts at risk by recommending things that are in excess of established safety ratings.
Play by the rules.
Here's what I can guarantee..:.
A trailer loaded properly with a load that is within the rated capacities of the tow vehicle is significantly safer than one that is not.
Sometimes rated capacities are interesting. For example, there is a difference between the tow rating of a VW Mk IV depending if the car is in the US or in Europe. However, the problem lies if something goes wrong, owner's fault related to towing or not.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
ALL ratings include similar factors. Just because scaffolding is rated with a 4x safety margin does NOT give license to exceed safety ratings by 4X.
Careful. You sound like you are excusing towing excessive loads with a Kia Soul.
I am gonna refrain from putting our hosts at risk by recommending things that are in excess of established safety ratings.
Play by the rules.
I said absolutely NOTHING about exceeding tow ratings, nor did I endorse it. All I said was the actual safe amount of something that can be towed has very little to do with a number printed in a book. Just because an F250 might be rated to tow 13,500, that doesn't mean it will be safe with a 16 year old who just got their license last week.
Re-read my post.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
ALL ratings include similar factors. Just because scaffolding is rated with a 4x safety margin does NOT give license to exceed safety ratings by 4X.
Careful. You sound like you are excusing towing excessive loads with a Kia Soul.
I am gonna refrain from putting our hosts at risk by recommending things that are in excess of established safety ratings.
Play by the rules.
For liability reasons you are correct. Unfortunately, Curtis is correct for what he is saying. I would never recommend anyone violate the safety ratings of anything. And towing more than the factory recommends could cause liability problems. But scaffold has a 4 x safety factor from a calculated number. Autos are assigned a number the bean counters make up from a liability study!!!
there are models that have different tow ratings from year to year, with no actual changes... except the bean counters changed their mind!!!!
i agree that Curtis’s numbers hit the mark, but, for liability reasons, can not recommend anyone use any guide except the factory.
Pay no attention to the man behind the screen...
Poppycock. I towed 3300 with an nb Miata.
Unless the car weighed less than 2750 all in
Kia Soul towed a max of 100lbs, 2,000lbs has to be a joke.
