MAZDA BT 50 FEEDBACK PLEASE.

[JNR]

Hi just wondering what peoples thoughts are on the mazda bt 50 for towing .Any info would be greatly appreciated.looking at the 3.0 turbo possibly auto unless i get better feedback about manual.we tow a jayco outback dove.i was also thinking about nissan nav d40 and holden colarado.i am a diesel man.cheers in advance Jnr.

[HEM19X]

JNR,

We have a BT50 [2010 model] and they tow well. You would need an upgrade of the rear springs and probably air bags to stop it dragging it's ar$e if your CT is heavy.

The only problem we have had is reversing with the CT attached - reverse is geared too high & you have to keep slipping the manual clutch. If you are doing this up an incline, you WILL burn out the clutch..as such we drop it into L4.

All the best

Hem

[bert56]

I have a 07 model which I used on last years cape adventure. I ended up towing a camper for part of the otl and had no troubles. I also had a 2"lift fitted with heavy duty springs before we left, just in case it did sag.

As Hem said reverse is geared to high and on any sort of incline you need to use low range when reversing.

If you are thinking about a dual cab I would definitely advise you NOT to fit air bag shockies as they act a pivot point for the chassis to bend. This is a major fault with all makes of dual cabs.

I have found mine great to drive.

Bert

[Blue Bravo]

I've got the 09 model with manual gearbox. As previously pointed out reverse gear is too high. Mazda will fit a solenoid swith to disengage the hubs when reversing in low range so you can steer. They did this for me (at no charge)when I burnt the clutch which they replaced under warranty. Mazda know of the gearing problem and have developed the switch accordingly.
Otherwise the truck is fine.

Glenn

[Teabag]

Correct me if I wrong but didn't the gear box issues get sorted with the new Boss edition?

[walda47]

I have a Mazda BT50 manual 4WD which is just 12 months old. I am very happy with it as a tow vehicle. I am towing a Kimberley Karavan with it and it is not a light trailer.

 I fitted a switch system to lock out the front wheels in L4 for reversing and also removed the annoying key reminder. Both jobs took about 10 minutes to attend to.

I also have had a 50 mm lift as well as using an Ironman Load Plus helper springs. The main springs are the heavy duty ARB. It is great not only to tow with but also to drive empty.

DO NOT go near airbags. They will more than likely assist in bending the chassis. I had them on a Mazda Bravo 4wd for a little while and managed to bend the chassis with the Kimberley. I ended in putting a similar spring arrangement on the Bravo as I have now on the BT5O. It had an Aussie Super Spring system that I was not able to get for the BT50 due to a dealer problem. Either the Load Plus or Super Springs will help the heavy duty springs.

Cheers
Duncan

[HEM19X]

Correct me if I wrong but didn't the gear box issues get sorted with the new Boss edition?

Nope, ours is a "Boss" & the clutch burnt out within the 1st 3,000k's.

Have also remove the key reminder as has walda47 but not the "L4" ..if you are interested I think instructions for both mods are still on the "4WD Action" forum site.

Hem

[Kris]

The old man has a 2010 model manual Xcab, upgrading from a 97 cruiser tray.  He raves over it- loves the amount of power down low, speed, economy.  He has driven a mates prado, and says his drives heaps better, especially over the mountains.  Doesn't tow all that often, but he hasn't said anything bad.  Has had no problem with Mazda service. 

We have a auto 06 hilux, and whilst it is great driving around town, through mud and uphills, it's downhill speed in lowrange is too fast, and towing the CT sometimes struggles a bit to find a comfy gear.  Next time, whatever make we choose, we'll get a manual.

[peejay3550]

Hi,  Got a new BT50 Freestyle in the manual six months ago 2011 model (not the new 3.5 L) and its great tows like a dream, the trailer with gear is just under 2 tonne and have had no probs.  Haven't had any probs with reversing in 4WD but haven't really pushed it yet.  Know there have been some complaints on this know someone who burnt out a clutch but also know how he uses  his right foot  sometimes I reckon a lot of this is around driving style his was also older model & I was told this was fixed for the Boss models.
Must find that link to stop the beeping when key is left in .. its painful.
PJ

[outback jack]

Must find that link to stop the beeping when key is left in .. its painful.
PJ

here ya go mate (it's a 5 min job)

http://www.4wdaction.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=118&t=61915&p=809145&hilit=BT+50+annoying+buzzer#p809145

[Garry H]

The brother in law tows with one and thinks its ok,
I have my reservations, but I think most of the bent ones on the net have to much down weight and rough country towing

slightly related link
http://forum.outerlimits4x4.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=227000

[JethroT]

The brother in law has a 2010 manual which burnt out the clutch after 20,000k.  Not sure if it is a problem with all that model but might be something to think about. 

We tow our 1300kg van with a Prado auto with the early 3L engine which has much less power that the BT50 and it does the job easily and comfortably.

Regards

[Fmx001]

I have an 07 BT and have had no probs with it at all, they tow great and work at there best whilst towing' we have just purchased a van and it pulls fantastic, when we use our camper' it doesn't know its even on...
As the others have said, they are geared way too high in reverse' we have to use L4 coming up our drive'
but it is very steep...

Good luck
 Rod...

[whitey]

As Hem19x (said to the letter) i have a Ford ranger (made in the same factory as the BT but they made the Mazda's in their smoko breaks)
 The standard springs, mine and a few others i know of, lost a bit of strength after 30,000 +k's as do most makes these days after carrying a bit of weight, so i added air bags and foam assisted shockies. It always did the job with ease towing a Tandem trailer with my gear but the suspension to put it bluntly was crap until i did those Mods ..... As for the air bags bending chassis???  mine would bend too if i jumped culverts and drove it like a rally car. I read up on the subject prior to getting mine and i know of issues with (2004) Rodeos bending theirs with just carrying loads. I have Mates in the suspension business ( 3  separate  groups ) and if airbags were renowned for bending them i wouldn't have them on my bus they all only recommended one brand thou so do your home work if you wish to go down those lines. Cheers

[Tuco]

Your BT50 will tow just fine - plenty of power.

BEWARE of any camper trailer that has excessive ball weight.

Your Jayco Outback Dove is pretty well balanced - with a reasonable ballweight.

The Ranger / BT50 max ballweight is 180 Kg's without a WDH.

Many of the CT's with a lot of storage on the front have high ballweight.

Friends recently had to ship their BT50 and Kimberley Kamper from Weipa to Cairns because of broken rear chassis on the Mazda. Insurance assessor and repairer both of the opinion it was caused by excessive ballweight.

see my previous thread on the subject.
http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=17564.0

[dazzler]

As Hem19x (said to the letter) i have a Ford ranger (made in the same factory as the BT but they made the Mazda's in their smoko breaks)
 The standard springs, mine and a few others i know of, lost a bit of strength after 30,000 +k's as do most makes these days after carrying a bit of weight, so i added air bags and foam assisted shockies. It always did the job with ease towing a Tandem trailer with my gear but the suspension to put it bluntly was crap until i did those Mods ..... As for the air bags bending chassis???  mine would bend too if i jumped culverts and drove it like a rally car. I read up on the subject prior to getting mine and i know of issues with (2004) Rodeos bending theirs with just carrying loads. I have Mates in the suspension business ( 3  separate  groups ) and if airbags were renowned for bending them i wouldn't have them on my bus they all only recommended one brand thou so do your home work if you wish to go down those lines. Cheers

Airbags in general are not the problem its in some applications.  By installing an airbag you are moving the load point from the chassis where the ends of the springs mount to the chassis midway between these two.  The chassis is always a wave shape so that the chassis is in compression when loaded.  Putting a load point between them means the chassis is no longer in compression and the load is concentrated in the middle where the manufacturer never intended it to be.

I had airbags fitted to our work Rangers.  They have been great and we have had no problems with them.  However, we have a static load and never tow with them so the chances are that we will have no chassis issues with ours.

The issue of course is that many people fit them BECAUSE they have overloaded the rig to begin with and then further overload it because now it looks fine.  The issue does not appear to be as bad for wagons as the body supports the chassis. The ute does not have this sadly.  Throw in some undulations, even on a highway, and fatigue takes over pretty quick.

Only real criticism of our Rangers is they eat tyres and noise vibration and harshness is pretty poor.  I drive one during the day and its chalk and cheese compared to my own Prado.

cheers

[whitey]

Totally agree daz about how you load up with airbags, not getting off the BT50 story, but i also got them fitted mainly for the load on the tray application, if you fill em too much you will be acting like a jack in between the chassis and springs, as for tyres i have heard some tradies (2 cases in particular) who use the vehicles full on, have  feathered off the outer edges of their back tyres one edge only i recall? i.e similar to a motor bike tyre where the outer edge gets powdery / feathery when they are hard on with their cornering, would that be an alignment issue or do similar ute / tray bodied 4wds do that also i can understand them doing it on the fronts with wheel alignment probs.