Hi, I'm new to this forum. I have a 2012 Mazda CX-9 AWD. I am looking into buying an ultra light travel trailer weighing 2700 lbs. it's a Starcraft launch 17b. The dealer is saying that my car can pull 3500lbs, not including the weight of the loaded car, and that it has its own braking system and is perfectly safe to toe this trailer. I'd like to get a few more opinions, thanks!

Don't believe a salesman. Look in your owners manual for towing capacity. Personally, with a CX 9, I wouldn't tow anything other than a popup

Lisa,Your owners' manual should tell you the maximum towing capacity as well as the maximum tongue weight for your car. There should also be a (probably yellow) sticker on the driver's side door frame with weight specifications. Just because a vehicle can tow 3,500 lbs. doesn't mean that it can handle the tongue weight (and don't use the "dry" weights for the trailer, either). The specifications on your vehicle run from 2,000 lbs. to 3,500 lbs. max - depending on how the car is equipped. You'll need to determine the exact specifications for your vehicle and use 15% of the GROSS weight rating of the trailer to estimate tongue weight. You can PM me if you want to carry on the discussion in detail.Rob

Not a mattter of what the car can pull ( 3500 lbs), its the tongue weight you need to be concerned about.At 380 lbs for the star craft youll probably be over the limit. when propane and gear/people in car...etcYou need a WD hitch at a minimum. Dont know whats on there now but IMO get one period.Even though its rated the same as the hitch you may have, the WD hitches allow WD bars to shift the weight to trailer and front of TV..Mazda WD hitches.This way if you have a 400 lb tongue weight you may be able to take 100 lbs off it.. exampleAs I stated in another post look at the jaycos, But the start craft AR ones are also what you should be looking at. Aluminum sided is lighter..Youll be glad you have a closet. This model is 315 tongue/2760jayco 185 rbStarcraft AR one305 tongue/2865ar one 17rdWD hitch!!!!

(1) How can you tell if a salesman is lying? His lips are moving.(2) There are two parts to this puzzle, gross weight of the fully loaded trailer and tongue weight. If your CX-9 can tow 3500 lbs, a 2700 lb trailer (dry weight) is only going to be able to have an 800 lb cargo capacity. IMHO, that is not enough cargo capacity. Load up clothes for everybody for a week, week's groceries, towels and bedding, cooking gear. It all adds up. And what about fresh water going and waste water returning?The tongue weight also needs to be considered here, as the maximum weight the CX-9 can carry, it's cargo capacity, includes a full tank of fuel, weight of all passengers and their "stuff," and the tongue weight of the trailer. And a WD hitch will not decrease the tongue weight as a component of the cargo, all it does is transfer that weight from the rear to the front axle. If the tongue weight is 400 lbs w/o a WD hitch, it is still 400 lbs with the hitch. You need to look in the owner's manual and see what the total payload capacity is.To give you an example, my TV's cargo capacity is listed as 1290 lbs. A full tank of fuel is going to weigh 160 lbs, our dog is 100 lbs, my wife and I together weigh 400 lbs, that is a total of 660 lbs. Throw in 30-40 lbs of snacks, books, and the other miscellaneous junk we all haul around, that leaves just about 600 lbs for tongue weight . . . gosh, guess what the TV manufacturer specifies as max tongue weight? 600 lb.Beyond all that, most folks here are going to recommend that you don't take it right up to the limit. The entire towing experience is so much more pleasant if you only tow about 80% of the max. Less angst climbing hills (getting passed by everybody, worrying about overheating). Less getting tossed around when the 3rd and 4th axles hit that pothole. As for braking, yeah, that trailer is required by law to have brakes. So, yeah, safe. But safe is less the question than will it be enjoyable.So, your call. But I think that is a bit too much trailer for your TV.

Should this entire thread be moved to "Tow Vehicles" section?IMO, I wouldn't pull more than a light weight PUP (with full electric brakes on the PUP) with this little vehicle. Remember its more than weight numbers and hitch weight. It's also about wind drag / wind resistance and sway risk behind all tow vehicles as well.

Towing capacity of Mazda CX-9? | Good Sam Community

22 Replies

Second_Chance
Explorer II
Aug 12, 2015
Lisa,

Your owners' manual should tell you the maximum towing capacity as well as the maximum tongue weight for your car. There should also be a (probably yellow) sticker on the driver's side door frame with weight specifications. Just because a vehicle can tow 3,500 lbs. doesn't mean that it can handle the tongue weight (and don't use the "dry" weights for the trailer, either). The specifications on your vehicle run from 2,000 lbs. to 3,500 lbs. max - depending on how the car is equipped. You'll need to determine the exact specifications for your vehicle and use 15% of the GROSS weight rating of the trailer to estimate tongue weight. You can PM me if you want to carry on the discussion in detail.

Rob
Tyler0215
Explorer
Aug 12, 2015
Don't believe a salesman. Look in your owners manual for towing capacity.
Personally, with a CX 9, I wouldn't tow anything other than a popup

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Towing capacity of Mazda CX-9?

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