Towing with a Mazda2?

So I am going to pick up a couple of CL deals (non-car related, though one is a dirt bike). It will be about 350 miles round trip on slightly hilly roads towing 1500 lbs (Trailer included). The 2 is rated at 500 kg elsewhere and my bar states a 2000 lbs limit.

Is this something that you would do or should I track down a larger vehicle?

I can probably get a half ton for tow duty but I don't want to pay for the gas and I would have to return it full so there is even more gas.

Edit: my car is a stick, I wouldn't even think about this with an auto 2.

500kg is what, about 1100lbs? Seeing as "elsewhere" has much more liberal towing regulations than we do, I'd be tracking down something else as you are 400lbs over their limit, and 350 miles is no quick trip around the block. Small SUV would be fine. Midsize car would be fine. Minivan would be fine. Any pickup would be fine. Subcompact with short wheelbase? No.

FWIW, this is coming from someone who just bought a trailer hitch for his miata and is intending on towing up to 600lbs. Admittedly I'll likely never see anything most people would call a hill in it, but I wouldn't say I'm a "OMG YOU NEED A 3/4 TON DIESEL TO TOW ANYTHING" type of guy.

EDIT: If you do tow with it, please please please make sure that you have an appropriate tongue weight (not negative, and not over xx lbs--xx to be determined by someone who knows more than me) and that you have a long tongue on the trailer. I can imagine even a small trailer wagging the dog on a car like this--for that reason, I'll likely be lengthening my tongue.

500kg = 1,100 lbs and you want to tow 1500 lbs with a hitch that tells you it can handle 2,000 lbs.

To me, the greatest issue is going to be tongue weight.
I would want nothing in the trunk and a second passenger up front.

Mazda Austrailia which tends to be more liberal with towing also says 500kg but says 700kg (1543 lbs) if the trailer has brakes. Does it?
In the Mazda AU link, under Specs, it says max tongue weight of 70kg (154 lbs)

Edit: typing at the same time a MTN

A dirt bike will fit in a Pickup bed. Enterprise will rent you a Pickup for $35 a day. It would be worth it to me. As for MPG, dont think that the 2 will get its same MPG while towing, overloaded. A Pickup with a bike in the bed will get its same mpg as if it was empty.

The bar may be rated for 2000 lbs, but the car is only rated for 1100 lbs. I would be leery of towing that weight with that car. If you do, go slow, leave plenty of stopping distance, and be preparred to need a crow bar to remove the seat cushion from your posterior.

Typed at work while on the phone with customers, took too long and other's beat me to it.

I will say that my 1.6 Miata dropped from 30+ hwy to 20 hwy towing a bed frame on a small trailer. Not heavy, but non-aerodynamic. Would have done as good with my diesel pickup (though not had as much fun in the twisties).

put 4 people in your, accelerate and brake on the highway.

then re-ask your question about towing.

Yeah, ok guys, point made. I'm just cheap. I will be towing similar loads around town occasionally but the distance made me think twice. I'll find something else.

fidelity101 wrote: put 4 people in your, accelerate and brake on the highway. then re-ask your question about towing.

I have had 5 big guys in here before and was surprised how little changed in the driving dynamic.

In reply to singleslammer:

Little change, how? I instantly notice a serious decrease in acceleration and braking when my car is loaded. I think one of the "Gear" shows tested this and showed considerable performance loss.

Yup - I can definitely tell when the whole family is loaded in the 2 - performance suffers and we aren't a bunch of fatties either. Put on the A/C at the same time and I have to keep double checking the hand brake to make sure it isn't on.

Take a look at this:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=333675

And you need trailer brakes. Always.

Jeff wrote: Take a look at this: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=333675 And you need trailer brakes. Always.

That guy is asking for legal trouble. Hope he never gets in an accident.

I love his comment when he is challenged on how it handles:

" i've actually gone in an empty parking to feel the swerving/swaying and it doesn't sway at all (sway bar helps with that) and it doesn't wag at all."

Nice, so he tested his emergency manuvers in an empty parking lot at low speeds, so now he is ready for the highway with a 4k trailer and a car rated to tow 1k.

Jeff wrote: Take a look at this: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=333675

I would totally do that. Worst thing would probably be gusting crosswinds. Those trailers are light.

put 4 people in your, accelerate and brake on the highway. then re-ask your question about towing.

I usually use that argument for why towing really light loads is NOT a big deal. But 1500 lbs is more than most passenger weight loads, and it's on the end of an articulated thing that can go all goofy on you at the worst moment. Personally i do not like the idea of towing 1500 lbs behind a stock mazda2. I think there are ways it can be safe, but it's a lot of IFs involving how it's loaded/distributed, how it's driven, where it's driven, what speed it's driven, etc. It's not safe for a Tundra to tow a Space Shuttle either but with enough precautions you CAN make it 'safe'. It just involves a lot of forethought and willpower to go slow even though you feel it would be safe to go faster.

http://www.canamrv.ca/towing/car-videos/mini-towing-airstream/

http://www.canamrv.ca/towing/car-videos/intrepid-towing-airstream/

Jeff wrote: Take a look at this: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=333675 And you need trailer brakes. Always.

A bit surprising there... Tdiclub guys often push the limits of what those cars can tow. There's a long thread about it. If they say it ain't a good idea, I'd take it seriously.

FWIW, the MkIV TDi is rated for 1200kg in Europe with trailer brakes.

I've pulled an F250 with a short bed step side regular cab ranger 5spd. Holy cow it was terrifying.

On the otherhand my neighbor pulls a horse trailer with a grand am and they drive it daily. It wouldnt hurt my feelings to drive overloaded for a puny 300 miles. 600 miles maybe...

1500 lbs? I towed more than that with my 84 Rabbit, and I'm sure the 2 is way better equipped to tow than it was. It wouldn't bother me to do it.

One of the trips we made in that car was about 2500 km with a hardtop trailer, 2 kids, a black lab, and everything we needed to survive for about about 6 weeks. About a month after we got back, the hub tore out of the center of the clutch. It didn't take me too long to put 2 and 2 together

I knew there would be a good mixture of yahs and nahs here. We'll my better judgement prevailed and I have acquired my FIL'S trooper for towing duty. Boy am I excited about 14 mpg!

I think in an emergency maneuver the trooper might actually be more 'exciting' than the 2 , even towing the same trailer, but it is in all likelihood a better way to do things than to use the 2. Its ability to handle the more mundane aspects of towing is probably tons better. I towed a car on a dolley with a 3.2/5spd trooper once. I honestly loved the hell out of that vehicle.

Without brakes I'd be reallllllllllly careful, with brakes, I would only think twice. To give an idea of how wimpy car tow ratings have become,even overseas, in the UK, my 88 Yugo GV (Yugo 55 over there) is rated for 635kg(1397lb) braked, the 65A (aka GVX) with its 10 more HP, is rated for 685kg (1507lbs) braked. Thats a 1800lb car with a 84.7" wheelbase, and 9" solid disc front brakes, 7 1/4" drums out back.

HD towing with the 2 has been postponed. I may have to look into brakes for my trailer and a controller for my car. That would be a hoot wouldn't it. A brake controller in a Mazda2.

In reply to Kenny_McCormic:

See this is what I was thinking about. The companies seem to be continually reducing and removing tow capacity on anything that isn't a CUV or larger.

MA$$hole wrote: In reply to singleslammer: Little change, how? I instantly notice a serious decrease in acceleration and braking when my car is loaded. I think one of the "Gear" shows tested this and showed considerable performance loss.

+1 million

Fine, whatever, I guess I didn't push the car and it has been a while ago.

fidelity101 wrote:

MA$$hole wrote: In reply to singleslammer: Little change, how? I instantly notice a serious decrease in acceleration and braking when my car is loaded. I think one of the "Gear" shows tested this and showed considerable performance loss.

+1 million

As a counterpoint (and ive said this in other threads about towing), it's only in the last few years that 1 ton trucks stopped nearly as well as cars BEFORE you put weight on them. Go back into the 90s and the published 60-0 distances for 1ton trucks are sometimes over 170ft. It's entirely possible a mazda2 with 4 people in it still stops shorter than a lot of EMPTY big trucks. Thats a comparison of extremes but i dont doubt that a well-braking sporty car with a smallish load behind it can still stop quicker than a lot of old trucks.