How much can I tow with the 2021 Mazda BT-50 4×4?
How much can you safely tow and carry with the new 2021 Mazda BT-50 dual-cab 4×4?
Question: I read the How much can the Isuzu D-Max tow? article and want to know how that compares to the new Mazda BT-50, which is based on the same Isuzu model.
For those that haven’t read that guide, the scenario is to tow an approximately 2000kg caravan. There will be about 500kg of extra equipment in the caravan and maybe 250kg in the tow car.
Answer: Mazda has revealed all of the official specs on its new model, so we can calculate its equivalent tow figures.
All this is explained in our All You Need to Know About Towing article, but using the Mazda BT-50 XTR dual-cab 4×4 automatic as an example (all weights in kg):
2021 Mazda BT-50 XTR dual-cab 4×4 | |
| Tare | 2030 |
| You | 75 |
| Passenger | 75 |
| Cargo | 250 |
| Total weight of the vehicle | 2430 |
Caravan | |
| Caravan tare weight | 2000 |
| Additional gear | 500 |
| Estimated total trailer weight | 2500 |
| Required towball mass | 250 |
Car spec | |
| GCM | 5950 |
| GVM | 3100 |
| Max tow weight (braked) | 3500 |
| Max towball mass | 350 |
To explain:
The Mazda BT-50 XTR 4×4 weighs 2030kg. With you and a passenger in it plus 250kg of gear, that’s 2430kg.
The caravan and its gear come in with a total weight of 2500kg.
The gross combined mass (GCM) of the two is 4930kg, a healthy 1020kg less than the maximum 5950kg GCM for the Mazda.
Next, we need to look at the max tow weight. For the new BT-50 XTR, that’s 3500kg (braked). Again, we’re within limits at 2500kg for your loaded trailer.
So we have a factory 5950kg GCM and a 2500kg trailer. To find the maximum you can carry in the Mazda BT-50, we take 2500kg away from the GCM of 5950kg, leaving 3450kg. The weight of the BT-50 XTR with you, a passenger, and 250kg of gear is 2430kg. So there’s an additional 1020kg payload left for gear.…
However, the gross vehicle mass (GVM) is 3100kg, so you can’t have 3450kg, that’s 350kg too much. That leaves 670kg for payload. Except we need to think about the towball mass…
The towball mass is tricky. That doesn’t count as part of the GCM as the towball mass is already accounted for as part of the trailer. However, the towball mass does count towards the towcar’s GVM. So, if we add 250kg to the towcar’s mass we get 3100kg+250kg = 3350kg. This is obviously more than the 3100kg GVM ( 250kg more).
This means you must take 250kg from that 670kg payload. That leaves 420kg, or approximately 170kg more than the planned 250kg planned.
To recap:
You can safely tow 2500kg with the Mazda BT-50 XTR, and with a driver and passenger who both weigh 75kg, you still have a total 420kg of payload left in the BT-50 XTR to load up gear… or people and gear.
However, all the above are approximate and you need to double-check all figures once you’ve decided exactly what towcar and trailer you’ll get, and determine precisely your extra load. This answer is just a guide.
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Hi the statement “This means you must take 250kg from that 670kg payload. That leaves 420kg, or approximately 170kg more than the planned 250kg planned” is wrong as you already allowed 250 kg of gear in the vehicle weight.
GVM 3100 – TBM 250 – 150 for 2 passengers – kerb 2030 leaves 670Kg payload for your 250 of gear and other stuff (towbar, bullbar, driving lights, canopy etc. etc that are not included in kerb weight) If you try and tow 3500 ATM you will only have 420kg payload so after 2 passengers, accesories etc. you need a pretty empty tray. Not ideal for towing.
Regards Graeme.
But that’s true for dual cabs overall. Almost all need modifications to be ideal tow vehicles.
hi my van weight is 3000kgs how it go towing that