Trailer Hitch

[mazdaFIVEmike]

Has anyone put a Class I Trailer Hitch on yet? I have a small trailer that I use for hauling everything from motorbikes to garden waste... I have been getting mixed opinions out there so I thought I'd see what others have done or considered. Unfortunately, the manual says do not tow anything. But I can't imagine a small trailer towing less than 2000 pounds can have too much of an effect on the car.

Thoughts???

 

[Zoom5Zoom]

You have to repect the Gross Vehicle Weight Specs. The problem is that if you tow a trailer and that is 2000 Lbs tongue weight and you carry people well you know what you will exceed the Gross Vehicle Weight Classification. OK enough with the technical stuff. If you tow and you break the rating of your Mazda 5 GWGR status you will risk two things:

1) YOU CANT STOP THE CAR THE BRAKES WONT STOP THE WEIGHT UR PULLING
2) YOUR TRANNY WILL FRY

ok so if you want to tow 2K of weight rent a truck for the weekend or reduce the weight abit.

 

[Wytchdctr]

If the manual says dont tow and a dealer sees a hitch.. you smoke your trans... you just gave them a way out. I wouldn't do it.

 

[mazdaFIVEmike]

Thanks folks.

I plan to talk to Mazda this week to see what they say - especially about the warranty.

I certainly don't plan on hauling a fifth wheel... haha

I'll keep you posted on what Mazda has to say.

 

[miatafied]

I coulda swore that there were a couple folks here that had trailer hitches for their bike racks. Considering one for a bike rack in the semi-near future. Also - an occasional motorcycle or something -but 2000lbs tongue weight? I thought that actual hitch weight/tongue weight for a 2000lb or less trailer ended up being only about 200lbs. I was considering a travel trailer like this one:

Too bad it costs almost as much as my 5 for a new one!


If my miata can tow something like this:

Then, I'd think that the 5 should be just as capable.

 

[X10James]

When we attached a u-haul to the back of my wifes ford probe (she was my girlfriend then and I was helping her move cross country) They added a transmission cooler in addition to the trailer hitch to keep it from frying.

My only complaint about the install was that they just ran the rubber pipes under the frame beam in front so that they hung below it and I could just picture her pulling up to a curb and cutting them off below it spraying transmission fluid all over the place and killing it a few moments later for good.

Could a transmission cooler be added to the 5 to help out when pulling a bit more load?

 

[Fly on the Wall]

More details here:
Mazda5 hitch installed

I don't tow a trailer, but use it for a rack.

 

[mazdaFIVEmike]

More details here:
Mazda5 hitch installed

I don't tow a trailer, but use it for a rack.

Awesome!! Thanks Fly!! And my 5 is the same colour - perfect thanks for the pic! Is that the Curt hitch you have? Also, how tough was it for you to get a drill up under the bumper to enlarge the holes for the bolts?

I spoke to my dealership today and they strongly recommended against towing anything with the 5. I think its mostly because the engine is underpowered for the car although that was not the 'official' reason. I said I wanted it for a bike rack and they said that would be fine. I made a comment about warranty and just merely having the hitch could void my warranty and they said that in the absence of wiring - they would know I wasn't doing any towing.

Hey Miatafied - looks like your camper idea is out. I too wanted to haul something similar to what you have your Miata hooked up to. I'm really disappointed now that I can't, especially after the salesman told me that I should have no problem with towing something like that before I bought the car. I guess next time I'll ask to see the owner's manual first.

 

[Zoom5Zoom]

Mike

To install the Curtis it is easy. The drilling is easy to access because you only have to enlarge the rear bumper bolt holes. Ensure when you enlarge the holes you use some paint to cover bare metal.

As for the process the most difficult part will be feeding the blind bolts in the bumper. From under the car looking up feed both blind bolts from the Left side. On the right side you will fight with the muffler.

BTW Curtis is 200 lbs tongue weight great for bikes.

 

[miatafied]

unbelievably - that tab trailer only has a tongue weight of 154 - is that possible? If so - it would seem that you'd be fine w/ the curtis

http://www.tab-rv.com/specs/dimensions.php

 

[Rocket]

FWIW, I used the power coming to the rear cigarette lighter to power the trailer converter. That kept me from having to run a wire up to the battery.

 

[mazdaFIVEmike]

FWIW, I used the power coming to the rear cigarette lighter to power the trailer converter. That kept me from having to run a wire up to the battery.

How does this work? You still need to have the signal/brake functionality to have the trailer legal... can you explain more?

 

[Zoom5Zoom]

mike

I think there is a kit now availible now for the Mazda 5 wire conversion from 5 wire to a 4 wire system or something like that. I will inquire when I put my hitch on this weekend.

 

[Rocket]

How does this work? You still need to have the signal/brake functionality to have the trailer legal... can you explain more?

The trailer light kits come with a converter box that uses its own power supply to power the trailer lights. The reason is that the power going to the vehicle lights is not enough to also power the trailer. Plus, a short in the trailer could fry the vehicle lights. You can pull a wire from the battery to the converter, or you use the power off the rear cigarette lighter. But if you use the rear cigarette lighter, it is ignition switched power, which means the trailer lights will only work when the car is running. Big deal you say, but if you have to pull off the road due to engine trouble the flashers would not work on the trailer. But I see that as a remote possibility.

 

[mazdaFIVEmike]

The trailer light kits come with a converter box that uses its own power supply to power the trailer lights. The reason is that the power going to the vehicle lights is not enough to also power the trailer. Plus, a short in the trailer could fry the vehicle lights. You can pull a wire from the battery to the converter, or you use the power off the rear cigarette lighter. But if you use the rear cigarette lighter, it is ignition switched power, which means the trailer lights will only work when the car is running. Big deal you say, but if you have to pull off the road due to engine trouble the flashers would not work on the trailer. But I see that as a remote possibility.

So you are still tapping into the vehicles wiring for the signal/brake functions then?

If so, this is what my dealer told me could potentially void your warranty on transmission/engine/brakes...

 

[Rocket]

So you are still tapping into the vehicles wiring for the signal/brake functions then?

If so, this is what my dealer told me could potentially void your warranty on transmission/engine/brakes...

My interpretation of what the dealer is telling you is that if there are no provisions for trailer lights installed in your car, you can say you never pulled a trailer. You only used the hitch for a bike rack or cargo carrier. If there is a provision for lights, then how can you claim that you never pulled a trailer? Why would you need lights if you don't pull a trailer?

 

[mazdaFIVEmike]

My interpretation of what the dealer is telling you is that if there are no provisions for trailer lights installed in your car, you can say you never pulled a trailer. You only used the hitch for a bike rack or cargo carrier. If there is a provision for lights, then how can you claim that you never pulled a trailer? Why would you need lights if you don't pull a trailer?

If I'm understanding you correctly... that's my whole point - I want to pull a small trailer. If there was a way that I could do this without wiring the lights, I'd be all over it, but, I'm not going to pull a trailer without lights.

If someone hit you and you didn't have lights.... well... all hell could break loose.

I guess I had the impression that there was some kind of kit out there that could tap into power and signal/brake functionality without hard wiring to the vehicles systems.... perhaps a little naive of me... but these days - you just never know what someone might come up with.(confused)

 

[Rocket]

If I'm understanding you correctly... that's my whole point - I want to pull a small trailer. If there was a way that I could do this without wiring the lights, I'd be all over it, but, I'm not going to pull a trailer without lights.

If someone hit you and you didn't have lights.... well... all hell could break loose.

I guess I had the impression that there was some kind of kit out there that could tap into power and signal/brake functionality without hard wiring to the vehicles systems.... perhaps a little naive of me... but these days - you just never know what someone might come up with.(confused)

Sorry, I don't know of anything like that. Funny, up until two years ago, the law in SC was if the vehicle lights could be seen while pulling the trailer, the trailer did not need lights. That would have solved your problem!

 

[Zoom5Zoom]

HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPP

Hell I did a dry run on the hitch installation and now found out I need to remove the bumper to install a curtis hitch. I thought in todays day we could install blind bolts that could support a hitch.

I found that to install the side bolts for the support of the hitch there is no access point to install the hardware as the bumper is a hollow member with no avenue to make a turn into the bumper mounting points.

Does anyone have an Idea or some damn new methods to install the side bolts............

thanks

 

[Rocket]

HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPP

Hell I did a dry run on the hitch installation and now found out I need to remove the bumper to install a curtis hitch. I thought in todays day we could install blind bolts that could support a hitch.

I found that to install the side bolts for the support of the hitch there is no access point to install the hardware as the bumper is a hollow member with no avenue to make a turn into the bumper mounting points.

Does anyone have an Idea or some damn new methods to install the side bolts............

thanks

Mine installed no problem. The side bolts were the easiest. Can you take a picture for us?