Tow Hitch

Thanks, rowlands57, for your input.

Since mine would be for occassional transport of wood for diy stuff, I was thinking maybe a platform type rented from home depot or something similar. Would those connect directly to the hitch or would I still need a ball hitch that's typically used for trailers? Would you please elaborate on the wiring for trailers? What is this for? My plan would be to install the Curt 56338 wiring on my car myself as it seemed pretty easy/doable.

Regarding the hitch install... The video I saw had a 2018 CX-9, so I'm assuming the wiring for my 2019 would be very similar... Seemed pretty much plug and play... Further, sre ramps absolutely necessary? I may have misread but I thought I read somewhere that someone had installed it without raising their car...

Apologies for any silly questions, y'all!
 
The platform I mentioned just slides right into the receiver of the hitch, pretty much like the hitch mounted bike carriers you'll see on lots of vehicles. I have not seen them for rent anywhere though and they are pretty cheap to purchase if you will be using one regularly. The platform is handy but the capacity is limited if you are moving longer pieces of material as you would be limited to the just about the width of the vehicle.

When I mentioned the wiring it was in reference to the fact that a trailer would require wiring in order to be legal. If you decided to rent a trailer then you would also need the wiring. Mine was pretty easy as Mazda had placed the trailer harness connector under the rear hatch trim. All I had to do was purchase the OEM extension harness (4 pin plug) and run it out under the vehicle.

Ramps are not absolutely required I but did find that they made the job a bit easier when maneuvering things around. I cannot recall on that install whether I had to move some of the exhaust. If you do on the newer generation then the ramps may come in handy.

I hope you find the solution you're looking for.
 
The platform I mentioned just slides right into the receiver of the hitch, pretty much like the hitch mounted bike carriers you'll see on lots of vehicles. I have not seen them for rent anywhere though and they are pretty cheap to purchase if you will be using one regularly. The platform is handy but the capacity is limited if you are moving longer pieces of material as you would be limited to the just about the width of the vehicle.
Just to clarify, the platform mentioned here looks like this:

1597234490036.jpeg

Not really suitable for long pieces of wood, drywall etc. the only solution for those remains a trailer which you can rent if you don’t need one often enough to justify buying one.

In most places. Every trailer is required to have brake lights and turn signal lights. The wiring connects the trailer to the car to power and operate the lights.

To attach a trailer you need a hitch mount and ball head. They go for like 30$. Ex: https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motomaster-trailer-towing-ball-mount-kit-2-in-0406580p.html

Bike racks and the plaform above don’t need a hitch mount, they connect directly to the hitch.
 
Just to clarify...the "hitch" has several components.

-- The hitch receiver bolts to the car.

-- The ball mount slides into the hitch receiver. A ball mount labeled "3-3/4 drop," turned over to give a 3" rise, fits my trailer tongue height.

-- The hitch ball bolts into the ball mount. The ball must be the correct diameter for the trailer coupler, must be the correct shank diameter for the hole in the ball mount (or use an adapter sleeve), and must have adequate weight capacity.*

-- A weight distribution hitch may be used instead of a ball mount. The WD hitch has spring steel arms that lever the rear of the tow vehicle up to a level position. Some WD hitches have sway damping capability.

-- The hitch coupler is bolted or welded to the trailer tongue.

*Tightening tip for the nut on the ball...Put the ball mount into the receiver so the ball is sideways. Point the ball to the left, put the wrench on the nut, stand on the wrench and easily loosen the nut. Reverse to point the ball to the right, stand on the wrench and easily tighten the nut.
 
Aha! This is all incredibly helpful and makes way more sense to me now. Since I'm not in a hurry to transport anything just yet, I'm thinking of just getting the hitch and wiring harness installed for now. And then when I do need to transport in the near future, I might just get the ball mount, hitch ball, pin/clip at that point, when I rent the trailer for example.

The picture really helps, youri. You're right, a platform/cargo carrier might not be suitable for my transport needs.

I am still a little confused about the wiring. Do I need to get wiring installed on the trailer too? Or do trailers come with wiring installed? My understanding was that you need to install a wiring harness on your car to connect the trailer lights to your car lights.

U-Haul has these options:

1597253618049.png


These would be installed on my car, correct? What is the difference in these (i.e. how do I know which one to select?)

I called two dealerships around me to ask for a quote for hitch and wiring + install. One quoted me $740 and the other $950. If I won't be doing this myself, U-Haul will be having my business.
 
Trailers usually have all the wiring and have a connector that you connect the car to. The wiring installation on the car is to install the connector and route it to the back where you can plug it into the trailer. Depending on t installation the connector can be in the trunk where you rake it out when tou need it or routed to the outside permanently to the side of the hitch where it is always ready to connect.

i don’t know the difference between the kits quoted above though.
 
Every trailer designed for on-road use will have wiring and tail lights from the factory.

Our CX9s have the trailer wiring connector under the interior panel in the right rear. It takes longer to figure out how to pop the panels loose than it takes to plug the wiring module in and lay out the wires. Those quotes from the dealerships are robbery. Do any of the CX9s not have the factory trailer wiring? Anyone?

Look at this video: https://www.etrailer.com/t1-2019_Mazda_CX-9.htm

Tekonsha, DrawTite, U-Haul, Reese...same item, different labels. Curt is very good, also.

I ran the flat-4 conductor trailer wire into the storage compartment under the deck just inside the lift gate. When I pull the trailer I lay the wire across the rubber seal, connect the trailer with a bit of slack wire, close the lift gate, test the lights, and drive on. Works fine.
 
Thanks youri and PTguy for your clarifications. That helps. I think I'm ready to commit to getting one installed by U-Haul.

It does seem that U-Haul installs Draw-Tite, after all. I looked closer and noticed that their Cequent receiver (Part No. CQT76020) is also listed on the installation instructions for the Draw-Tite 76020.

1597692931259.png


I ran the flat-4 conductor trailer wire into the storage compartment under the deck just inside the lift gate.
I might just do that as well. Seems to me the only difference in the wiring kits U-Haul offers is the brand itself.

In another thread (https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/index.php?threads/tow-hitch.123872709/page-2#post-6695525), user Candurin had recommended NOT using WD-40 to remove the muffler bushing. Anyone know why?

Thanks!
 
Back