Driving your vehicle
34 4
Weight of the trailer
How heavy can a trailer safely be? It
should never weigh more than the maxi-
mum trailer weight with trailer brakes. But
even that can be too heavy.
It depends on how you plan to use your
trailer. For example, speed, altitude, road
grades, outside temperature and how
much your vehicle is used to pull a trailer
are all important. The ideal trailer weight
can also depend on any special equip-
ment that you have on your vehicle.
Weight of the trailer tongue
The tongue load of any trailer is an
important weight to measure because it
affects the total gross vehicle weight
(GVW) of your vehicle. This weight
includes the curb weight of the vehicle,
any cargo you may carry in it, and the
people who will be riding in the vehicle.
And if you will tow a trailer, you must add
the tongue load to the GVW because
your vehicle will also be carrying that
weight.The trailer tongue should weigh a maxi-
mum of 10% of the total loaded trailer
weight. After you've loaded your trailer,
weigh the trailer and then the tongue,
separately, to see if the weights are prop-
er. If they aren’t, you may be able to cor-
rect them simply by moving some items
around in the trailer.
WARNING - Trailer
• Never load a trailer with more
weight in the rear than in the
front. The front should be loaded
with approximately 60% of the
total trailer load; the rear should
be loaded with approximately
40% of the total trailer load.
• Never exceed the maximum
weight limits of the trailer or trail-
er towing equipment. Improper
loading can result in damage to
your vehicle and/or personal
injury. Check weights and loading
at a commercial scale or highway
patrol office equipped with
scales.
• An improperly loaded trailer can
cause loss of vehicle control.
WARNING -Vehicle weight
The gross axle weight rating
(GAWR) and the gross vehicle
weight rating (GVWR) for your vehi-
cle are on the manufacturer's label
attached to the driver's door.
Exceeding these ratings can cause
an accident or vehicle damage. You
can calculate the weight of your
load by weighing the items (and
people) before putting them in the
vehicle. Be careful not to overload
your vehicle.
OVERLOADING
515
What to do in an emergency
TOWING
If emergency towing is necessary, we
recommend having it done by an author-
ized Kia dealer or a commercial tow-truck
service. Proper lifting and towing proce-
dures are necessary to prevent damage
to the vehicle. The use of wheel dollies or
flatbed is recommended.
For trailer towing guidelines information,
refer to section 4 “Driving your vehicle”.
It is acceptable to tow the vehicle with the
rear wheels on the ground (without dol-
lies) and the front wheels off the ground.
When being towed by a commercial tow
truck and wheel dollies are not used, the
front of the vehicle should always be lift-
ed, not the rear.
1VQA40291VQA4028
1VQA4030
1GHA4105A
CAUTION
• Do not tow the vehicle backwards
with the front wheels on the
ground as this may cause dam-
age to the vehicle.
• Do not tow with sling-type equip-
ment. Use wheel lift or flatbed
equipment.
Index
4 8
Tires ·················································································7-3
Tires and wheels ····························································6-30
Towing ···········································································5-15
Trailer towing ································································4-28
Trip computer·······························································3-112
Vehicle break-in process ··················································1-3
Warnings and indicators···············································3-118
Window ··········································································3-26
Windshield defrosting and defogging··························3-160
Winter driving ································································4-28
Wiper blades ··································································6-18
Wipers and washers ·····················································3-130
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