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Originally Posted by drgeeforce
If a warranty is one measure of how a hitch will perform, then by the previous four posts, DrawTite's lifetime guarantee beats them all, including the so-called "OEM".
That leaves me with one question, why are there six holes with bolts into the crossmember?
All of the OEM hitches don't use these six bolts.
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A warranty has absolutely nothing to do with how a product will perform. That is like saying that you will live longer if someone sells you life insurance. Remember when Chrysler went to 7 year powertrain warranties? Do you think they redesigned the engines that year?
A warranty, by definition, covers defects in materials and workmanship. It generally doesn't cover suitability for purpose, although some local laws require a form of that. It doesn't cover wear and tear. On a hitch, it really covers only the weld quality, since they commonly exclude the paint finish.
The issue with hitches on E53's (that is the only model that I researched extensively) is not the hitch itself, it is the design, and by extension, the attachment method. Those 6 holes you reference are all drilled in the bodywork. There is no frame on an X5, it is a unibody design. In my opinion, it doesn't matter if you use a few or all of the holes in the bodywork, you are still attaching a trailer hitch to sheet metal. Early failures of the Drawtite hitch discovered this the hard way. The response was to add a fore-aft member to stop the 'twisting' of the bodywork when you do use those holes.
The horizontal shock struts for the bumper are attached to longitudinal box sections, one per side. The OEM hitch replaces those struts with carrier braces that transfer the load into the strongest part of the unibody. It isn't a frame, but it is the nearest thing the X5 has.
Some caution on the 'just using a bike rack' argument. The original damage was on vehicles using a load carrier, essentially a receiver-mounted load tray. The problem with any load carrier is that it applies the load further out from the hitch mounting, essentially creating a bending moment (twist). It is worse if you go over bumps, as you introduce a dynamic loading effect. If you are carrying one or two light bikes, close in to the rear window, probably it will never be an issue. Trouble is, nobody remembers this later after you install a hitch bolted to the sheetmetal, and end up pulling a trailer. People only look at the 6000# label on the receiver itself.
In reference to dandruff's comments on more aftermarket hitches than OEM, well I don't think that is true. Perhaps other parts of the world have different experiences than where I live. I note that my local U-Haul outlet (they install many different aftermarket brands) has a disclaimer that due to previous installation warranty issues they won't install any hitch on an X5 that isn't the OEM model. They also won't touch the wiring. Maybe they just had bad luck.
The aftermarket hitches are rated. However, they appear to be rated based on a bench test or theoretical design, not in a real world application. The hitch itself is one thing. The rating of the hitch and the attachment method, together, is far more important.
I don't have anything against Drawtite, Hidden Hitch, or the others. I have installed many similar hitches working as a mechanic years ago. We lived and worked on a small island, and many of our customers had trailerable boats. However, they also mostly had cars and/or trucks with frames. Bolting a hitch to a real frame is a pretty simple exercise.
I agree that the OEM hitch is expensive for what it is. It is a piece of steel. But it is also a piece of steel that includes some thought in the design. It is designed to protect the integrity of your investment in your X5. I don't think it matters if it was built for BMW by Dalan, Westfalia, or someone else. The OEM hitches all use the same attachment method, and that is the important point. If the design content isn't important, by all means use any hitch out there, there are lots of choices.
I am obviously a fan of the OEM hitch. But it generally goes along with valuing the engineering that went into the BMW vehicle in the first place. Good luck whatever you decide.
Jeff