“Plan everything”. That’s just me. Two years ago, when buying a vehicle, I chose the vehicle that gave me the best performance, premium features, fuel economy without power compromise, and the ability to tow modestly if needed. I knew then that I intended to change the next few years of our life into a different type of adventure. So now that I’ve decided to buy the thing that we will be towing, I have to consider how to prep my vehicle to properly tow and do it safely.
I have a Mazda CX-5 Signature, it has a 245 HP turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, all-wheel drive, with intelligent adaptive cruise control, automatic collision avoidance braking, and radar lane positioning. I love the vehicle, but while it CAN tow, there’s not a lot of people that DO tow with it – so there’s just not a lot of information on it. CURT Towing products makes a fantastic bolt-on Class 3 hitch (2-inch receiver), so that was a no-brainer. It was installed in about an hour. Trailer lights are more of a challenge. Mazda uses independent turn signals and brake lights, and their computer drives these signals because of the automatic collision avoidance system – standard trailer wiring won’t work.
Tekonsha to the rescue. The Tekonsha model 118746 wiring module takes all the work out of it and terminates in a standard 4-pin connector. Installation took a leisurely 2 hours, mostly due to removing several rear interior body panels – which in a Mazda is a snap, literally. It’s in my nature to plan for safety, and performance design. Despite the trailer only weighs about 1400 lbs, I want to make sure I have nearly zero issues and less stress on my vehicle. I decided to order my camping trailer with electric brakes. This means I need a trailer brake controller.
There are many out there, and most have decent reviews, but nearly all of them are radar detector-sized boxes that typically mount under your dash in arm’s reach. I don’t want that. What I found was an awesome product from REDARC in Australia, the Tow-Pro Liberty. It has a small controller box that has an intelligent solid-state gyro inside and can be mounted in any orientation, then it has a single small remote control knob you can mount anywhere in your dash. It’s a proportional controller that can handle electric brakes or electro-hydraulic brakes. Adding brakes means I have to change the trailer wiring connection from the 4-pin to a standard 7-pin round connector. I’ll order both, and soon my next post will hopefully be about the installation.