Tow Vehicles

Hello, My name's Sandy, & I'm very interested in Purchasing a 1994 18' Hi-Lo Towlite.

Trailer is in great condition, but the seller is a widower & doesn't know much about it as it belonged to spouse. Trailer's missing Owner's manual, & seller wasn't sure how to lower top, though knew it had been lowered several times since spouse purchased it a few years ago. Trailer was plugged in; we turned off lights & made sure everything lowered & off counters. We pulled small cable & pressed toggle switch on panel @ bottom left of entry steps, but nothing happened.

Also, I have a KIA Sportage which has a tow capacity of about the dry weight of trailer. It will be just me, & about 500-600 lbs. of gear. With correct hitch, sway bar & weight distribution, would Sportage be capable of towing?

O, right, forgot to add that I have been reviewing the Owner's Manual for my 2006 KIA Sportage, but it is confusing, & not as helpful as I need. Also called KIA Consumer Affairs, & that's also been confusing. Sportage is a V6, 2.7 Liter, Automatic Trans, 4X4. Wanted to know, with the Hi-Lo lowered, making it more aerodynamic, plus the correct hitch, sway bar & weight distribution, can I tow the 18' '94 Hi-Lo?

Thank you again, Sandy

I own a Sportage like yours. It is rated at 2000 lb towing capacity. Frankly, it is so underpowered that I wouldn't attempt to tow anything that weighs that much.

I recommend that you read this: Introduction to Towing a Trailer | Hitches & Towing 101

Norton Rider is correct the tow rating for the Kia is 2000 lbs and the 18ft Hi-Lo weights around 3000 lbs,

tow vehicles

Thanks for the quick responses!

Aw, shucks! The Widower thought the 1994 weighed only about 2000 lbs! But she didn't have the manual.... Was trying to go direct to TowLite, but are they still manufacturing them?

Hi-Lo is out of business. This forum is your best source of data . There are also manuals and brochures posted here for most years and models of Hi-Lo trailers.

Regarding your Kia Sportage, the point that I was trying to make is that I don't believe the vehicle is capable of towing safely at the full 2000 lb rated weight. The last generation Sportages are underpowered all by themselves, even with the V6 engine. Imagine trying to tow something that weighs a ton with one of them.

sandra said:

Hello, My name's Sandy, & I'm very interested in Purchasing a 1994 18' Hi-Lo Towlite.

Trailer is in great condition, but the seller is a widower & doesn't know much about it as it belonged to spouse. Trailer's missing Owner's manual, & seller wasn't sure how to lower top, though knew it had been lowered several times since spouse purchased it a few years ago. Trailer was plugged in; we turned off lights & made sure everything lowered & off counters. We pulled small cable & pressed toggle switch on panel @ bottom left of entry steps, but nothing happened.

Also, I have a KIA Sportage which has a tow capacity of about the dry weight of trailer. It will be just me, & about 500-600 lbs. of gear. With correct hitch, sway bar & weight distribution, would Sportage be capable of towing?

Click to expand...

This should get you close since they do not change much between model years.

http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f49/owners-manual-95-96-towlight-621/

Brochure

http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f52/1994-funlite-brochure-2833/

Older Hi-Lo's are much lighter since they used little particle board and had hollow cabinets. My 1978 weighs 2700 lb as I recall. Your Sportage could tow that OK in flat land. However, you would be safer with a lighter trailer. Trailmanor is a similar idea but lighter.

Tow vehicle

I don't agree with the advice that Bill has given you. Many of the prior posts are spot on. You don't have the correct vehicle for this HiLo that you are considering. We want you to have a correct and safe tow vehicle. You are very wise to ask for advice as our forum members are very experienced with safety being #1.

Sandy,

Regarding this operation: "Trailer was plugged in; we turned off lights & made sure everything lowered & off counters. We pulled small cable & pressed toggle switch on panel @ bottom left of entry steps, but nothing happened".

Aside from the weight/tow vehicle issues addressed in the posts to your question, since the seller did not know anything about the trailer or its operation, I do not see that anyone pointed out to you that simply pulling the release cable and pressing the lower position on the toggle switch will not lower the top. There is a lot of pressure on the locking bar and you should first push the toggle switch to the 'raise' position. The result will be a loud squeal from the lift pump and a slight raising of the top. This will take the weight off of the locking bar and should allow you to pull the release cable, then you should press the 'lower' position on the toggle switch. Continue to hold the toggle switch in the lower position while holding the release cable and the top should then come down.

I would have to agree with the general consensus of the posters that your tow vehicle is too small for towing this HiLo. If you are intent on buying this HiLo you should consider that a larger tow vehicle must be given consideration for safety sake.

Good Luck.

jcurtis95

This might be helpful to someone.

Travel Trailer Weight Calculator