Wow. Great forum!!
(brief intro at the bottom)

I will tow a small utility trailer 5-6x a year and use an elaborate multi-bike rack 5-6x a week. But... I want the wiring to be as comprehensive as possible in case I tow a boat or vacation trailer, etc. from time to time.

2 questions...

1. Mr. Roadkill mentions that he did not have to trim his fascia but the DrawTite site for the 75600 says "yes" you have to trim the fascia. Mr. Roadkill, how did you accomplish this (as I want to avoid cutting if possible) ?

EDIT - PM'd to say that there was a slight trim on the underside (expected) but not of the bumper as would be the case with the OEM hitch.

2. I have head that using the BMW OEM wiring harness enables you to program the X5 collision detectors to ignore the trailer when backing up, and adds a zoom feature to the back-up camera so you can watch your hitch as you back into position. Is this true?

EDIT - generally true but depends on factory features installed in the X5 - may only be true for 2010 onward (?)

BTW, I have a great indy mech so I'm not going the $1200-1500 route for the OEM hitch and install. After looking through this thread, its obvious that better, tidier options exist.

Brief intro...

We have a 2012 X5 on the way and I'll post pics etc. when it gets here. I'm already on the Z4M forums and the R1200S forums and now here on the X5. Honestly, I never set out to own BMWs... the bike won the toss between it and a Ducati... the Z4M Coupe won the toss between it and a Cayman S... and the X5 is simply nicer than the Merc 350 and others my bride looked at. LOL. Life's funny, innit?

Cheers,
Ian