Trailer Hitch Installation - 2008 Mazda 5 - etrailer.com

http://www.etrailer.com/tv-hitch-install-2008-mazda-5.aspx

Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today we are going to be installing Draw-Tite part number 24773 on a 2008 Mazda 5. OK, we are underneath the vehicle, and we are going to go ahead and point out the mounting locations for the trailer hitch. You can see the tow hook here at the bottom of the spare tire well. That is going to provide one of the attaching points. And then here at the bottom side of the bumper there are two smaller-diameter holes that we actually are going to enlarge a half-inch. And we are going to feed carriage bolts and blocks from the ends of the frame down and through these holes that we have enlarged. When drilling through the bumpers on this particular vehicle and a lot of other Ford and Mazda products, the metal is very hard to drill through with a standard drill bit. It definitely helps to use a rotobroach-type of a bit to get through there. If you do not have a slower electrical drill, use a hand-held one and set it on low setting, because that slows it down. Because the problem is it heats up awfully fast and then it will actually want to burn through the metal as opposed to drilling it. So those two items will definitely make the drilling a lot easier.

With the holes drilled, we can go ahead and use our fish wire that is provided in the installation kit. We want to fish through the bottom, and we are going to fish that out to the end of the frame. We want to take our block with the square hole in it we are going to feed the fish wire through there. And then we are going to take our half-inch carriage bolt, and we are going to thread it directly onto the fish wire. And then we are just going to pull it back through the bumper and down into position. And you want to do the same thing on the other side, as well. OK, and with the carriage bolts pulled into position, we can go ahead and put the hitch up into place. We want to fasten the carriage bolts with the conical-tooth washer and nut assembly. OK, and then the last attaching point here will be the tow hook. We are going to use a 3/8 U-bolt that, again, is provided in the installation kit. We are going to fasten these with the lock washer and nut. We are just going to hand tighten that for the time being. We will start by torquing the U-bolt here first, because you want to make sure that you tighten it evenly on both sides of the U-bolt, so that the U-bolt is not shifting one way or the other. And, with all the bolts torqued down, our installation is complete. This will conclude the installation of hitch part number 24773 on a 2008 Mazda 5.

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Autos & Vehicles

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[7onisesa5]

anyone knows if the mazda 5 is capable of towing a pop up tent trailer?

[etrailertv]

@7onisesa5 You will need to check your owner's manual to find out what the maximum weight is that can be towed by your Mazda 5. Since we only have Class I hitches available for your Mazda 5, I would think a tent trailer may exceed the limits of your Mazda 5.

[turbotazzy]

Just finished doing this on my wife's Mazda 5. For some reason, when I fished it through, the head of the bolt would show but it wouldn't go through. I may have threaded the bolt too much into the fish wire which made the bolt bigger than the 1/2" hole I drilled out. I ended up using a twist tie to hold the bolt to the washer. With that, it went through without a hitch (no pun intended). Be careful not to lose the bolt in the rear bumper frame. Excellent product, excellent service, thumbs up!