What brand hitch is it- Westfalia or Bosal? Those are the big 2 in Europe.

Let me offer my thoughts as you go down this road. Several years ago the Audi allroad people had the same problem- the factory US hitch was discontinued and a lot of us wanted to tow with the allroad (3500lb capability). A lot of research went into the European parts. Here's some of what we discovered:

European hitches don't have the brackets for saftey chains. Not used in EU but required by law in the US. So some sort of brackets will have to be fabbed or you'll be illegal.

As you stated, European hitches are 50mm. The ball is a machined part of the dropout and not replaceable. This might be suitable for a 3000 lb jet ski but in the US virtually all car haulers are a 2-5/16 coupler. One trailer manufacturer that was making 6000 lb capacity trailers with a 2" coupler was sued back in the 90's when the ball broke. Most 2" balls are not rated for even 5000 lbs. This can be overcome by custom fabbing a new dropout that has a 90 degree bend and has a flat plate with a hole for a US ball to be bolted on.

Technically, the EU hitches with a kg rating are not legal for US because they do not have a rating in pounds.

Don't know if this applies to the X5, but with the allroad, the bumper is attached to the hitch just as with the original bumper shocks. but the European bumpers are different than US because of the 5 mph US standards. Having done my own installation on my X5, I know the bumper mounts to the hitch, but just don't know if a European model bumper is different than a US. I can't imagine why since they're all made in the US, but with BMW, you never know.


Regardless of these problems, a lot of Audi guys have used the Westfalia European hitches. The cure to the safety chains is to weld on 2 large steel chain links (found at most Farm and Fleet type stores). Simple and easy. The dropout is modded by cutting the EU part right at the 90 degree bend, then welding and gusseting a flat 1/4" steel plate sticking out the back with a hole for the ball. Almost any good trailer supply shop can fab this with off the shelf parts. They can even supply the steel plate with an "s" bend to get the ball closer to the ground if necessary. (FWIW, I need a 3.75" drop to use with my trailer to keep it level. If I used a straight out ball mount, the tongue of the trailer was way too high in the air which puts too much load on the rear axles and tires, and causes sway.)

These are all small hurdles in comparison to getting the actual hitch. The Curt and others that require drilling holes in sheet metal are not only poor substitutes, but are putting loads on the thin chassis sheet metal in areas not designed for the loads. Getting a hitch designed for mounting in place of the bumper shocks and utilizing chassis holes designed for these loads is 90% of the battle. Good luck, and can't wait to see what one looks like

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'04 E53, 4.4 Sport
'97 E39 528i
'86 911 Carrera, track car
'96 BMW R1100R