My father-in-law is a former Draw-Tite sales rep and can still get hitches for a decent price, so I wanted to know if anyone has experience with them. Evidently, draw-tite has a warning about them potentially interfering with the vehicle stability system.

Does anyone have experience with this?

Supposedly he checked with Draw-tite engineering and did not get any answer on it.

I know the OEM hitches are preferable, but they are scarce now-a-days. I'm also not psyched about the way the brace on the Draw-Tite hangs down, either, but I think it is the strongest design of the aftermarket hitches, right? I also don't like how it seems to bolt to the rear body instead of to the bumper mounts.

Any other general opinions (other than "buy OEM and nothing else")?

Oh, I will be using the hitch to tow a single axle enclosed trailer and an 18' boat. I can use my wife's Pathfinder, but I am sick of having to. My car is a 2006 x5 4.4 with the sport package. It does not have the dashboard mounted controls for the suspension height, if that matters.