Towing with your CX-9

[Pele2048]

Anyone tow with their CX-9?

I had to move some playground equipment and decided to hook the tandem axle car hauler up.

Hooking up to a trailer and maneuvering a trailer is an absolute JOY with the rearview camera and parking sensors.
Granted I wasn't hauling much weight in cargo, the trailer weighs about half a ton on its own. I definitely felt it back there but it wasn't too bad.

 

[19CX9]

I have a Curt hitch ordered for my 2019 but it will just be used for my 1UP USA bike rack. I doubt that I'll ever install the wiring let alone tow. Although you just never know. My previous vehicle was a '11 Acura TSX Sport Wagon and I towed a small landscape trailer behind it quite a bit. Before that I towed it with my Lexus RX330. But now I live in the desert and just have rocks in the yard so have little need for that sort of thing. I like caring for rocks much better than grass though.

 

[Midnight Rider]

I tow a 2500 lbs pop up camper. No problems until now.

 

[Pele2048]

2915 lbs (dry) plus cargo... I also forgot to bring the weight distributing hitch and trailer brake controller. Knowing this, I drove fairly conservatively leaving long braking distances and whatnot.
Towed rather nicely in the Blue Ridge mountains at highway speeds though.

Dropped mileage from 19.5 MPG to mid 17s. I also filled up with 93 Octane instead of her regular diet of 87.

 

[anderson930]

I tow a 2500 lbs pop up camper. No problems until now.

What problems are you experiencing?

 

[Midnight Rider]

What problems are you experiencing?

None.

 

[Pele2048]

U-Haul's trailers are stout... But man, they tow like pigs. Lost several MPG with this one and it was noticeably heavier and more rigid than with my car hauler or the camper.

 

[table5511]

I feel your pain.
This is from some time ago.
<a href="https://ibb.co/B48pgLN"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/1sHg9Z6/uhaul.jpg" alt="uhaul" border="0"></a><br /><a target='_blank' href='https://aluminumsulfate.net/uses-of-aluminum-sulfate'>aluminum sulfate in deodorant</a><br />

 

[PTguy]

U-Haul trailers are built stout to be sturdy.

Keep in mind that their brakes are surge brakes. When the towing vehicle slows, the floating hitch coupler activates a hydraulic master cylinder on the trailer tongue. This applies the trailer's hydraulic brakes. If the towing vehicle doesn't slow, the trailer doesn't brake. Brake failure, or tire loss of traction, or overloaded weights, anything amiss with the brakes, and you don't stop.
https://traxpowerdolly.com/articles-mb/what-are-surge-brakes-mb

 

[lameoliver]

yeah this is the very powerful vehicle and we can tow from this easily, i have tried a lot of time even i tried it for emergency roadside assistance service NY, it never disappoints me very satisfied with its performance.

 

[roadrutz]

Tows boat easily

 

[DOUGBT]

How does the CX9 handle with the boat. Somewhat looking at somewhat the same setup. 2019 CX9, towing a 18foot Searay, single axle, surge brakes.
Do you find the power of the 2.5 litre turbo adequate? how are pulling and braking characteristics? don't really plan long trips, mostly local lakes in Fraser Valley.

 

[roadrutz]

How does the CX9 handle with the boat. Somewhat looking at somewhat the same setup. 2019 CX9, towing a 18foot Searay, single axle, surge brakes.
Do you find the power of the 2.5 litre turbo adequate? how are pulling and braking characteristics? don't really plan long trips, mostly local lakes in Fraser Valley.

See PM.

 

[arock712]

Do you think the CX-9 can handle something like this at 2800 lbs (dry)? https://www.kz-rv.com/products/escape-mini-travel-trailers/M181KS.html

The reason I ask is I'm reading that for 3500 lb towing capacity vehicles like the CX-9 it is best to have something under 2000 lbs. Here's an example from here: https://camperreport.com/how-much-can-my-vehicle-tow-complete-guide-to-safe-towing/

Max towing 3500 lbs

Trailer popup or tent camper like the forest river Rockwood Freedom 1940ltd. The trailer weighs 1600 lbs dry and 2350 gross vehicle weight and a tongue weight of only 195 pounds. Loaded up it is safely with in the limits of the Equinox and other SUVs the same size. Has plenty of sleeping room for the family.

Because it is a Popup or Tent Camper it will have less wind resistance when being towed. There may also be some travel trailers that have light enough dry weights to tow with this size SUV but their gross weights max out or exceed the towing capacity.​

The one above at 2800 lbs might be pushing it after all the cargo, fuel, and passengers are loaded up. That's why I was surprised that in Pele2048's post above he seemed to be able to tow 2900 lb (dry) camper with little or no issues.

What do you think the limits of towing should be with the CX-9?

 

[PTguy]

A specification I have not yet seen is the CX-9 GCWR, the gross combined weight rating. This is the maximum allowable weight of the loaded vehicle plus loaded trailer. If that's not in the owner's manual, you might try telephoning Mazda North American Operations, 800-222-5500, for the answer. I've seen other vehicles' GCWR that is quite a bit less than the vehicle's GVWR plus the trailer's GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating). How much weight in people, dogs, boats, and other stuff will the car be loaded with? A load on a top rack increases wind resistance and increases the load on the machinery. Towing in Sport mode runs the engine at higher rpm, thus lower load, than otherwise, so it can work well for towing. (The power calculation is torque x rpm = power. If the power is constant (say it takes 100 hp to hold speed up a certain mountain), then higher rpm needs lower torque which is easier on rotating parts.)

You don't list your location. Will you make long tows or short? Up & down steep mountains or into high winds? Full freeway speeds or moderate country road speeds?

Do get a good proportional electric trailer brake controller. Do downshift on long downgrades to keep the brakes as cool as possible (but our little engine doesn't give a lot of engine braking). Do get a superior sway-resisting hitch, not just the friction bar type. Consider the weight of the hitch in the car's tongue weight limit.

 

[arock712]

You don't list your location. Will you make long tows or short? Up & down steep mountains or into high winds? Full freeway speeds or moderate country road speeds?

Thanks PTguy. I live in the Pacific NW, so there are many mountainous areas with a combination of road types and speeds. I'm just in the looking stage of finding a travel trailer in the next year or so and trying to get an idea of what I should be looking for in relation to the towing capacity of the CX-9. Pele2048's posts seems like it does just fine, but I suppose I'm looking for more input from more second generation CX-9 owners who've towed near the towing capacity and how they've done, as well.

 

[PTguy]

I know what you mean. Towing up one of the mountain passes stresses everything, then coming down the other side, especially with high winds, really tests the sway damping ability of the hitch assembly. Even running flat on I-90 or 84 or one of the others with very strong head winds or side winds is a tough drive.

 

[jhmman]

I just moved from Seattle to Den er this last week hauling roughly 2800lbs behind my 2018 CX9. We averaged 15mpg overall, but there were lots of parts that were flat driving. We never had an issue with sway, even when we (accidentally) hit 86mph though Idaho. Winds were never an issue either. We did have to stop and let the brakes cool down coming down I-70 in to Denver due to an atrocious amount of traffic though the Rockies, but that was really the only exciting part of our journey.

 

[PTguy]

"We did have to stop and let the brakes cool down coming down I-70 "

Downshifting and letting the car & trailer slow under engine braking on long downgrades helps keep the brakes cool. I know, the little sewing machine motor in our cars has little engine braking, but it all helps. Ideally we'd want to downshift until the car holds just a bit more than the speed we judge to be safe, then get on the brakes to slow below that safe speed, then off the brakes to let them cool, on, off, etc.

If the brakes got hot enough to smoke, or even fade, really examine whether the pads and discs have been damaged by the heat. The brake fluid can also be damaged by the high heat as well as the elastomer (rubber-like) parts inside the calipers. If there is sign of heat damage, get new pads, rotors, calipers, and fluid.

 

[jhmman]

I totally agree about downshifting as much as possible. The car was in first or second most of the time. But traffic is traffic, and there's only so much slowing it'll do, so I had to tap down now and then. Car hasn't been driven much since that trip,and I plan on replacing pads and rotors here soon, since even now with relatively cool brakes there's a rumble when braking for a stoplight. Is there a thread that talks about best pads/rotors?