Towing Cat 22 with CX9

[majorkong1]

I’m looking into trailerable sailboats and of course the Cat 22 is a strong option. One question is whether my 2023 Mazda CX9 could safely tow it up to several hours on a highway. It’s AWD and red up to 3500 lbs. Sailboatdata.com indicates displacement sat 2250 lbs. with a 1000 lb trailer, motor, gear, etc that seems to be at or over the limit. And I understand that ideally you’d leave a buffer to contend with a wet ramp, steep hills, etc. all this makes me think my vehicle wouldn’t be up to it, certainly not up to highway transit. But online discussion makes it seem easy to tow by even lesser vehicles, so I’m a tad confused.

I live near Raleigh where it’s somewhat hilly. I’d mostly be towing to the Chesapeake, Pamlico, and NE FL where is quite flat.

 

[Tedd]

I towed a Macgregor 26S classic with a 1995 Mitsubishi Delica L400, which weighs about the same as the Mazda and has less power (but excellent torque, due to its diesel engine). I found that it was entirely adequate. With AWD the Mazda will probably be fine on wet ramps.

However, you should probably investigate the impact on insurance coverage. I'd be surprised if towing something above the rated capacity of your car wouldn't be used by your insurance company to deny coverage.

 

[dmax]

The other thing to watch out for is overheating the transmission - tow packages often add a transmission cooler.

 

[AaronD]

We've towed a C-22 for 10+ years now; never cross-country, but up to ~300 miles. We towed her home with a Lexus RX400h - same 3500-lb rating as your CX-9, but a bit shorter overall and ~10" shorter wheelbase. I tried towing once more with that rig, and upsized after that. FWIW - in my experience, the ramp wasn't the problem (nor was the engine power).

The RX felt fine towing 3500 lbs of sand, gravel, etc. in a brake-less utility trailer, but (even at a comparable weight) the longer load and greater windage of the C-22 really threw the tow rig around, and made me nervous (even with brakes). In subsequent adventures, we once blew a wheel bearing and on another occasion a trailer tire, both at highway speeds. I was really glad to be driving a sizable tow rig when trying to stop that load safely (GMC 2500HD in that case). YMMV.

 

[majorkong1]

We've towed a C-22 for 10+ years now; never cross-country, but up to ~300 miles. We towed her home with a Lexus RX400h - same 3500-lb rating as your CX-9, but a bit shorter overall and ~10" shorter wheelbase. I tried towing once more with that rig, and upsized after that. FWIW - in my experience, the ramp wasn't the problem (nor was the engine power).

The RX felt fine towing 3500 lbs of sand, gravel, etc. in a brake-less utility trailer, but (even at a comparable weight) the longer load and greater windage of the C-22 really threw the tow rig around, and made me nervous (even with brakes). In subsequent adventures, we once blew a wheel bearing and on another occasion a trailer tire, both at highway speeds. I was really glad to be driving a sizable tow rig when trying to stop that load safely (GMC 2500HD in that case). YMMV.

This is really helpful information, thank you!

 

[Tedd]

The other thing to watch out for is overheating the transmission - tow packages often add a transmission cooler.

Yeah, that's a really important point.

It looks like the CX9 is available with a transmission cooler and one can also be added. On most vehicles it's not hard to add one but I can't say about the CX9, specifically.

Many cars these days allow you to monitor the transmission fluid temperature through the dash display. It's worth using that feature if it's available. I towed a fairly heavy boat (~6,000 lb) through the Rockies with a pickup and it was handy to be able to keep an eye on the transmission temperature.