Towing with the X5

[MatzoBallsX5]

In case anyone is curious, the X5 is a beast when it comes to towing. I just moved from inland California out to Huntington Beach and used my tow hitch and a trailer to make it in one trip. No issues whatsoever. I was nervous at first, but after the first five minutes I completely forgot I had all the extra weight attached to my X5.

[Eurosport]

swweet,
see you don't need to be selling your useful X5

[ZDigital 1]

Originally Posted by MatzoBallsX5

In case anyone is curious, the X5 is a beast when it comes to towing. I just moved from inland California out to Huntington Beach and used my tow hitch and a trailer to make it in one trip. No issues whatsoever. I was nervous at first, but after the first five minutes I completely forgot I had all the extra weight attached to my X5.

Just out of curiousity, how much weight were you towing overall?

[bimmers888]

I easily towed a SeaRay 24 ft and tandem trailer package at around 6000LB with my 4.4. Once you start moving, don't even feel the weight that much, very stable, even on steep grades.

Does a much better job than my old RR 4.4, what a dog that thing was.

[Driver8]

Ditto on the 4.4i being a towing beast. My '02 was ideally suited for that task. I've not yet towed with the I6 (with a PowerStroke diesel sitting in the drive, I really haven't had a reason to do so).

[ZDigital 1]

Originally Posted by bimmers888

I easily towed a SeaRay 24 ft and tandem trailer package at around 6000LB with my 4.4. Once you start moving, don't even feel the weight that much, very stable, even on steep grades.

Does a much better job than my old RR 4.4, what a dog that thing was.

I just bought a 20' enclosed car trailer and plan on towing approximately 6400 pounds (total weight). Thanks for the details,this is re-assuring!

[hayaku]

i tow a 24' enclosed carson race car hauler. loaded was 6500-ish and i have more gear coming... total guestimated weight should be about 7500... at 6500ish, i was towing at 75-80 with no issues on the flat straight parts. out here, up the grape vine in california, i was able to go up 60-ish while deisel tow rigs were pushing 35... be sure to have an anti-sway system and brake controller that is up to the task. i use 10,000lbs anti-sway hitch with a tenkonsha prodigy controller = no sway what so ever.

widthl should have some more insight to share. he's towed close to 9800 lbs..

[ZDigital 1]

Originally Posted by hayaku

i tow a 24' enclosed carson race car hauler. loaded was 6500-ish and i have more gear coming... total guestimated weight should be about 7500... at 6500ish, i was towing at 75-80 with no issues on the flat straight parts. out here, up the grape vine in california, i was able to go up 60-ish while deisel tow rigs were pushing 35... be sure to have an anti-sway system and brake controller that is up to the task. i use 10,000lbs anti-sway hitch with a tenkonsha prodigy controller = no sway what so ever.

widthl should have some more insight to share. he's towed close to 9800 lbs..

I can breathe much easier now! THANKS! I have a brake controller already installed (from the BMW dealer) and have the factory hitch installed as well. I plan on short trips primarily, up to 90 miles each way. Sounds like my X5 4.4 is up to the task without any problems!
Thanks again!

[Steelhead]

I have a 2002 3.0 with 85K and plan to tow my new boat with it. Total weight is 5200 lbs which means a little over capacity. I have a 6000 lbs class hitch and brake controller installed. My main concern is how the transmission will react, especially on a hilly road. Do I need to install a tran fluid cooler ?

[JCL]

Originally Posted by Steelhead

I have a 2002 3.0 with 85K and plan to tow my new boat with it. Total weight is 5200 lbs which means a little over capacity. I have a 6000 lbs class hitch and brake controller installed. My main concern is how the transmission will react, especially on a hilly road. Do I need to install a tran fluid cooler ?

While it depends on how steep a grade you are on, and for how long, I don't think the 200 lbs is as much a factor as how you drive it when towing.

It is important to think about the effect on the transmission. Use the manual feature to hold a gear, preventing hunting on a climb. Also, think about whether the transmission torque converter is in lockup or not (it feels like a shift, in a way, and you can determine what speeds it locks up at with careful attention). In lockup mode, there is no additional heat being generated.

Search on withidl's posts, he has some good tips on how to be kind to your X5 with a significant load behind it. The one other thing you may want to think about is when you are recovering the boat on the launch ramp, and how steep that ramp is.