Tow Hitch?

[gilbertfg]

Sweet, I was holding out on the hitch since I'll have mine in Germany for a while and the dealership don't know much about A-Spec unless they deal with military.

[Gus]

Nothing really groundbreaking, but didn't want to cut the bumper. Plus, I won't be towing anything, just hauling a rack or bicycles. This is just a teaser, not the completed project yet. Goal is to have a completely hidden hitch when not in use. Got the idea from the BMW Euro removable hitch and from a guy on the Jeep SRT8 forum. Credit to RetroMan on the cherokeesrt.com forum:
Inspiration:




Step 1: Start with a hitch (in this case I used the Curt #13077


Step 2: Ruin a perfectly good hitch by cutting off the receiver. (Have a good buddy that just happens to enjoy metal work and welds...)



Step 3: Reweld receiver in the downward facing position.



Step 4: Hitch will be painted or powdercoated.
Step 5: Install
Step 6: Modify this hitch extender to form a proper gooseneck: (waiting on install to get measurements of how long the drop has to be)
Start with this:

To end up with something like this, long enough to clear the bottom of the rear valence. I bought an 18" extension, hopefully that will give us enough metal to play with.

I'll post up as soon as we're done.

[gooseus]

Try the USA automated hitch it is hidden www.execuhitch.com , cost is around 690-890 depending on vehicle my X3 was $790 and 328i was $690.

[gilbertfg]

Nice kits, but really expensive compared to regular one! Have to do some thinking on this! If I do decide on this, what's the wiring harness kit for the X5?

[gilbertfg]

Originally Posted by gooseus

Try the USA automated hitch it is hidden www.execuhitch.com , cost is around 690-890 depending on vehicle my X3 was $790 and 328i was $690.

Was the main trailer harness plug and play or you had to do some cutting?

[gooseus]

They send it plug n play with their cpu unit. Its pretty cool, it has the function when one trailer light goes out it substitute another light so Im not without running lights if the trailer has a malfunction.

[330i ZHP]

Originally Posted by Gus

Nothing really groundbreaking, but didn't want to cut the bumper. Plus, I won't be towing anything, just hauling a rack or bicycles. This is just a teaser, not the completed project yet. Goal is to have a completely hidden hitch when not in use. Got the idea from the BMW Euro removable hitch and from a guy on the Jeep SRT8 forum. Credit to RetroMan on the cherokeesrt.com forum:
Inspiration:




Step 1: Start with a hitch (in this case I used the Curt #13077


Step 2: Ruin a perfectly good hitch by cutting off the receiver. (Have a good buddy that just happens to enjoy metal work and welds...)



Step 3: Reweld receiver in the downward facing position.



Step 4: Hitch will be painted or powdercoated.
Step 5: Install
Step 6: Modify this hitch extender to form a proper gooseneck: (waiting on install to get measurements of how long the drop has to be)
Start with this:

To end up with something like this, long enough to clear the bottom of the rear valence. I bought an 18" extension, hopefully that will give us enough metal to play with.

I'll post up as soon as we're done.

Did you ever finish this project? I have thought of doing the same after looking at my oem E46 M3 hitch manufactured by Westfalia.

Hello,

I wanted to know if you ever finished the hidden hitch for the X5M. If so, do you have any more pictures? Did you have to cut anything off the bottom edge of the diffuser? Can you see any trace of the hitch behind the bumper/diffuser?

Thank you,

Stuart

[330i ZHP]

I decided to run with the above idea - here are the results