[ethanost]

Hi all, I'm brand new to the car forum thing and I've already got questions.

First, my car. 2016 Mazda3 hatch touring. Bought it with 6 miles in November 2015. Currently have 11,200 miles.

Second, my burning question:

I live in east Texas right now, and in December, I'm moving to Salt Lake City to shake things up a bit. My problem is getting my stuff there. (I'm leaving 70% of my stuff behind.)

I was on the U-Haul site, and found I can have a trailer hitch installed with all the parts for $454. I can also use a 4'x8' trailer cross-country for $314. All told, that's a hair over half of what two moving van lines have quoted me for the move.

BUT!! Can my car handle that? It's about 1,800 miles. According to the U-Haul website, the trailer can accomodate 1,165 pounds of my stuff. Doable, I'm moving light. Will my car survive? What's this about tongue weight? Driving across a mountain range in December is probably bound to have some effects on all of this, too, right?

 

[Liquid]

I tow 1000 pound trailer each and every weekend short distance but once a while on a 300-500mile trip. It tows much better than I expected. Stops and accelerates really good. When towing, I keep it in "sport mode" to keep the RPM's up a little and helps. On long flat highways it's in regular mode but put transmission in manual mode and keep it in 5th gear.

Tongue weight is how much weight is sitting on the hitch ball. I keep about 50 pounds of tongue weight but with a utility trailer, it will likely be more. A class1 hitch is rated at 200LBS max tongue weight. Bottom line, you can adjust the tongue weight by how you load the trailer. Too light and it will not tow well, too heavy and it will really sag down the rear and cause extra wear on the tires.

FYI: I have an AT 2.5L gen3.

 

[dpawlak]

This has been brought up a few times. The user manual for our car says that we should not be towing anything. However there are people that have, see the links below

It seems that may people agree that the transmission is the weak link.

http://mazda3revolution.com/forums/...hat-word-towing-small-trailer.html#post108413
http://mazda3revolution.com/forums/...atchback-trailer-hitch-towing.html#post773746

 

[lucasdsf]

Why don't you do the opposite? Rent a small U-Haul and a trailer for your car. Fill the U-Haul truck (whatever size you need) with your stuff and load your car in the trailer. It might even be cheaper (of course you won't end with a hitch in your car).

 

[Matt22]

Renting the truck and trailer is a great idea, or have a friend follow and send him back to Texas on a plane.
Or do it the simple way and drive to Utah with the uhaul, unload and drive it back to texas the next day.
then take your car loaded up on the final trip.

 

[Liquid]

Mazda UK actually sells a beefy trailer hitch as an OEM option.

Have a look at this:

I wish I could buy the UK trailer hitch here in the US as its a really slick unit (EcoHitch comes close).

 

[dradernh]

Renting the truck and trailer is a great idea, or have a friend follow and send him back to Texas on a plane.
Or do it the simple way and drive to Utah with the uhaul, unload and drive it back to texas the next day.
then take your car loaded up on the final trip.

I like the idea of the friend/plane. Of course, it's not my money.

The three-leg scenario you've outlined will take around sixty hours of driving. If the OP took different routes each time it could be a nice way to see that part of the country.

Mazda UK actually sells a beefy trailer hitch as an OEM option.

I wish I could buy the UK trailer hitch here in the US as its a really slick unit (EcoHitch comes close).

Can't you get onto a UK site and order one sent to you?

 

[harweyko]

just FYI, this is how original EU/UK trailer hitch looks like. Seems they cut piece of bumper and glued that medium sized part with removable small piece..

 

[wolstentech]

just FYI, this is how original EU/UK trailer hitch looks like. Seems they cut piece of bumper and glued that medium sized part with removable small piece..

I wish they had something that clean for the US model. But I do prefer the American-stype receiver hitch (a hollow square design), as it's a lot more versatile. There's a lot of accessories you can put into receiver hitches, most notably bicycle racks, which is what I use mine for.

 

[The Italian]

just FYI, this is how original EU/UK trailer hitch looks like. Seems they cut piece of bumper and glued that medium sized part with removable small piece..

I know this is a dead thread but damn, that's a slick set up! I like it a LOT! 😂

 

[Cdn17Sport6MT]

Go onto Mazda Australia...(Accessories) and see the absolutely most slick hitch. Vertically oriented receiver tube. All but invisible when hitch is removed. Significant tongue load and tow load rating.

However, transmission cooling is the biggest issue. It is doable... but in my view requires an aluminum plate be custom machined, added between existing Engine Coolant-to-ATF heat exchanger and the transmission case... Allows an external air-to-ATF aux. cooler.