Towing Issues with a Mazda CX-5,

[Palmerboy]

My 2019 Mazda CX-5, with a towing capacity of 2000 lbs, is my proposed towing vehicle for my ordered 13 ft Scamp, layout 1. No shower or toilet.

Will the speed be limited to 55 to 65 and marginal on hills...? Always in 5 th gear?

It’s a 4 cylinder with 187 hp

[Campingbliss]

The 13” class C tires that come with the Scamp are only rated for 55mph. I would not drive above 60mph.

[stevebaz]

read up on your owners manual. You will probably need to stay out of 5th gear if its an overdrive or an automatic. If it is an automatic, if it were mine it would get a tranny cooler if it doesnt have an extra one for towing. I am assuming the new trailer has brakes if not make sure you get them you will need them. towing is right at the limit at 2000 lbs. my 1986 scamp scaled out at 2150 Lbs. traveling weight at our last rally, that's with no bath or holding tanks.
So you will be working that little car.
be safe and have fun with your new trailer.

as for power HP pretty much means nothing, its peak torque at what ever RPM it peaks at. Once you run out of torque your pretty much done and start producing excessive heat. so best to back down to your peak torque level. and cruse her over the top of the hill.

[Glenn Baglo]

It sounds like, "you can pay me now, or you can pay me later".
I'd get a vehicle with more tow capacity.

[nofieldfive]

I tow a 2017 scamp 13ft no bath with a 2016.5 cx-5 2.5l . I have towed this trailer for over 30,000 miles from SOCal to NY. You name the grade I have probably been over it including Union Pass Bullhead City to Kingman 12miles 6% grade, ambient temp 115, AC on. Last Cat scale weight axle 1730 tongue 216. Rear squat 3/4” front rise none
The car has performed flawlessly, avg mpg towing 24. I try to stay between 60-65 mph on the flats. Always in Drive (sixth gear) flat or hills, for the hills I let the trans downshift 5th/4th at each downshift I like to hold my rpm at around 2400 rpm I’ve found that my coolant temp never gets higher than 198°. Normal operating temp is around 184° +-5. You also have an additional cooling fan that comes on at 212° here is your
torque yield curve
same as mine. I could go much faster up the hills I simply choose not to, I have plenty of throttle left if I need it.
CX-5’s have a built in trans cooler there are no external fluid lines so even if u wanted an external trans cooler u couldn’t. The trans cooler works in conjunction with the engine cooling system. Because your concerned about the vehicles ability to tow I recommend you purchase a cheap ELM 327 something like
https://www.amazon.com/Foseal-Improv...141005&sr=8-11

to monitor your cooling temp. Down load a Free app I stress Free you don’t need a paid app to read all the OBDII PID’s for IOS Car Scanner is a good app it has a trans temp PID but not sure if its accurate.
The main thing you want to monitor in the beginning is the coolant temp find your normal Non Towing temp that will establish your baseline. Because I’ve towed so many miles with this combination I rarely use my ELM now

Coolant temps the blue light turns off at 131F high temp a red light starts flashing at 252F and illuminates at 261

You will need to wire your car for a brake controller etrailer has a good video on how to do it
Regards
Tom

[Palmerboy]

Thanks to all that replied with their views. You have been helpful.
My plans are to purchase Carlisle tires rated at 81 mph, but hold my speed down as suggested. I have been a witness to a tire blowout, no good.
My trailer has been ordered with brakes and a wireless controller. That makes it easier to change tow vehicle should you desire.
That plugin device to monitor vehicle performance would be a great upgrade to see what’s going on... I have destroyed a transmission towing a boat that was too large...also gotten a vehicle overheating in Florida on a hot summer day. Been there done that. Never again ..
Glad to hear about the Mazda cooling method, so no extra cooler is necessary. It’s a great car, and glad to hear it has been successful with a Scamp.
Appreciate all comments...You helped a lot!
Jimrh

[MJo]

I worried about my 2004 Volvo XC-70 towing the 13 ft. Scamp with bathroom and without the electric brakes, 1300 lbs.+. My dealer said, “cars in good shape, don’t worry about it, it’s like you’re carrying 4-5 people.”. I was advised by someone, don’t remember who, that I might want to get a transmission cooler, (like the radiator only smaller and fastens to the side of the transmission.). So I plan to slow down, maybe shift into 1st or 2nd depending on the hill and I don’t plant to “climb Mt. Washington.” But talk to the Mazda dealer and see what they think. Unless your car is already past it’s prime, don’t go out and buy another car, unless you’re just looking for an excuse to buy another car.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by nofieldfive

Towing with cx-5

Tom,

That was an outstanding post! Tell them I said you could take the rest of the day off!

[Palmerboy]

Yes, that post from Tom was a great one. He saved me thousands of dollars...
That post along with the others, convinced me to use my present vehicle.
Thank you to all that responded.
Jimrh

[wayneh]

I too have a 2019 CX5 and a 1998 scamp 13 deluxe that I weighted by it's self at a truck stop with most of what I normally take camping including propane, and the scale read a weight of 1640 lbs. I have tires on the trailer that are rated for 75 mph and have no problem running 70 mph on the freeway. In certain situations I will manually downshift to a lower gear but most often I just leave it in drive and the vehicle does all the work. I don't have breaks on the trailer so I leave a little more room for stopping but I don't feel as though it's a problem. It feels like a good combination to me and I think it should work good for you too. Give it a try, happy camping.

[bertherr]

Automatic transmission cars have used the engine's radiator as a heat exchanger for many years. A transmission oil cooler is an additional item. It looks like the 2017 CX-5 does have transmission coolant lines:

https://www.carid.com/2017-mazda-cx-...ml?view=107373

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by bertherr

Automatic transmission cars have used the engine's radiator as a heat exchanger for many years. A transmission oil cooler is an additional item. It looks like the 2017 CX-5 does have transmission coolant lines:

https://www.carid.com/2017-mazda-cx-...ml?view=107373

thats an odd looking cooler. almost looks like they are running coolant through those hoses, and that 'cooler' is mounted directly on the transmission and somehow connects to it



ahhh, back side view of that cooler, I do believe that might be how it works, depending on where its physically installed...

[Palmerboy]

Thanks for the input...
Plan to run my 2019 CX-5 with no additional transmission cooler. I will see how it does with monitoring system reviewed by the previous post by Tom. Ordered the hardware from Amazon as suggested.
Also, I will upgrade the factory installed trailer tires.

[Jon in AZ]

You might want to check the tires when you get it. I’ve never seen an ST tire rated for less than 65 mph. That’s a maximum sustained speed; they’re fine for short passing bursts over that. The OEM tires on mine were load range C, speed rated for 65 mph, and good for several years of use. Checking pressure faithfully is the best thing you can do for any tire.

Curious whether they’re now putting load range C or D on 13’ers. Anybody know?

[steve dunham]

I’ve read this whole thread twice and I am still in disbelief.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I’ve read this whole thread twice and I am still in disbelief.

Mazda has avoided the usual route of using turbos to increase horsepower and torque.

Features of SKYACTIV-G
・The world’s first gasoline engine for mass production vehicles to achieve a high compression ratio of 14.0:1
・Significantly improved engine efficiency thanks to the high compression combustion, resulting in 15 percent increases in fuel efficiency and torque
・Improved everyday driving thanks to increased torque at low- to mid-engine speeds
・A 4-2-1 exhaust system, cavity pistons, multihole injectors and other innovations enable the high compression ratio

*The 15% improvement in fuel efficiency and torque was calculated by comparing SKYACTIV-G to Mazda's current gasoline engine.
Compression ratio, fuel economy and torque vary according to market, carline and transmission.

https://www.mazda.com/en/innovation/...iv/skyactiv-g/

[Civilguy]

Our 2018 CX-5 has SKYACTIV-G. (I had originally posted a link above to the webpage for SKYACTIV-X, a newer technology.)

These are the specs for the 2018 CX-5. When we are building 152 cu-in 4-cylinder engines with better than one horsepower per cubic-inch, and cylinder deactivation(!), we're clearly not in Kansas anymore.

ENGINE & MECHANICAL
ENGINE TYPE: SKYACTIV®-G1 2.5L DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder with Cylinder Deactivation
HORSEPOWER: 187 hp @ 6,000 rpm
TORQUE: 186 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm
REDLINE: 6,500 rpm
DISPLACEMENT (CC): 2488
BORE X STROKE (MM): 89 x 100
COMPRESSION RATIO: 13.0 : 1
FUEL SYSTEM: Advanced Direct Injection
RECOMMENDED FUEL: Regular unleaded
IGNITION SYSTEM: Direct coil-on-plug electronic ignition with platinum-tipped spark plugs
VALVETRAIN: Chain-driven dual overhead cams, 4-valves per cylinder with variable valve timing (VVT)
ENGINE BLOCK: Aluminum alloy
CYLINDER HEAD: Aluminum alloy
EMISSION CONTROL TYPE (FED/CAL): BIN125/SULEV30

[docarter]

Originally Posted by Campingbliss

The 13” class C tires that come with the Scamp are only rated for 55mph. I would not drive above 60mph.

Can you share evidence of this? I believe they are 65mph tires.

[nofieldfive]

civilguy Jimrh Thank You

Tires my 2017 came with Global Trax 175/80 speed rated 81mph load D

https://www.walmart.com/ip/ST175-80R...Tire/505389912

John in Santa Cruz you nailed it that's the trans cooler

Steve Dunham what don't you believe?

The cooler is thermostatically controlled if u look at the adjusting procedures it coincides with the coolant temp blue light ie 122°

The ATF color is blue.
• Only use ATF FZ for the GW6A-EL, GW6AX-EL

From what I know traditional max trans temps should be around 200°. Since Mazda is using engine coolant at say max around 240-245 seems to me the trans was engineered to get that hot, hence the blue fluid?

Regards

[TimHands]

"Tires my 2017 came with Global Trax 175/80 speed rated 81mph load D"

I don't know, man. I have a feeling that it might be your tires. You should get better ones. Check out 4WheelOnline in your free time. They have various tire types and sizes from countless tire brands, all are sold at affordable prices.