Aftermarket Hitch Installation - what were they thinking?

[JCL]

Anything over 1600 lbs trailer weight requires trailer brakes, per BMW recommendations.

The 4.6 is rated by BMW to tow up to 6000 lbs, with appropriate equipment (proper hitch, trailer brakes, etc). European models have optional higher towing ratings, and BMW also make reference to being able to tow more than 6000 lbs in some circumstances (special trailers, etc).

I wouldn't recommend an additional transmission cooler over the standard BMW one - the standard system seems to work pretty well. Not much reason to introduce another point of failure, IMHO. The X5 had a recall once for leaking transmission cooler lines, so I would just stay away from them.

The top towing expert here is withidl, one of his several posts on his Airstream towing experiences is linked below.

http://www.xoutpost.com/showthread.php?t=640

[NetBrowser07]

Originally Posted by UCrewX5

Apologies in advance if this is an X5 of one of our members, but it does beg the question - was going the aftermarket route route really worth it??

We just had a hitch installed by uHaul on a 2005 X5 (was in a bind). Just the hitch was installed (no wiring) since we needed it for bike racks.

1. The hitch seemed considerably larger that what I thought it would be. It's a Class III hitch. Is the hitch big just because it's a Class III hitch.

2. Similar to the picture, there is a piece of the hitch that protrudes under the car. Is that normal? The metal goes through a plastic cover (looks like it was cut through by uHaul)

Thanks

[Riggodeaux]

Vendetta, if you have an OEM westfalia hitch, I expect your's is rated to tow 6,000 lbs with a max hitch weight of less than 600 lbs. Given the propensity of early 21st century bmw auto trannies to fail, a tranny temp gauge and cooler would be a good idea if you plan to regularly tow anything close to the 6k rating, such as a horse or travel trailer or good sized boat.

[Riggodeaux]

Noting JCL's post - I'm no auto tranny expert, but added a temp guage to my first auto tranny Ford Superduty diesel and watched it closely when towing. I never added an extra cooler, but considered it carefully. X5 drivers who tow don't seem to follow the gauge/cooler theory, though withidl sounds like the guy with experience here. On trailer brakes: I can vouch for the Tekonsha prodigy RF version, works fine and avoids messing with the wiring.

[kvc]

Originally Posted by drex

its the support to keep the hitch from pulling off the bumper

Really? Why would an engineered tow hitch pull the bumper off, unless you've decided to attach something too heavy for the vehicle. Are the u-haul tow hitches simply bolted to the rear plastic bumper or what? I've never seen something so god awful before....

[z168]

Originally Posted by Riggodeaux

Noting JCL's post - I'm no auto tranny expert, but added a temp guage to my first auto tranny Ford Superduty diesel and watched it closely when towing. I never added an extra cooler, but considered it carefully. X5 drivers who tow don't seem to follow the gauge/cooler theory, though withidl sounds like the guy with experience here. On trailer brakes: I can vouch for the Tekonsha prodigy RF version, works fine and avoids messing with the wiring.

For most trucks or full-size SUV makes, a tow package is an extra option (i.e. hitch, tranny cooler, wiring, etc.)

[ants_oz]

The largest selling 4wd's (SUV wagons) here in Australia that are used for towing - no specific "tow package" required, just a hitch. And it's not known for being particularly cool here in the land down under.

[DSSA]

I keep seeing people scoffing at the idea of adding a cooler as if BMW transmissions contain pixie dust and the small water cooler is magically efficient for its size.

Towing anything large is putting more load on the driveline, and creating higher ATF temperatures. Ask anyone highly knowledgeable as to what the number one killer of transmissions is, and they'll tell you high fluid temperatures.

So, we have a transmission that isn't exactly what I would call "bulletproof", a small cooler that depends on BMWs somewhat high temperature running coolant system, and I have yet to see anyone post transmission temperature numbers while towing larger loads.

Yet, with all this, people poo-poo an additional, or increasing the size of the cooler due to the fear of "another failure point".

Sorry, but kinda makes my head spin.

[JCL]

Show me data on X5 transmissions failing due to heat. Standard cooler does fine. Added advantage that the cooler heats the trans fluid at a cold start, reducing wear right after startup. Lack of transmission reliability does not relate to lack of transmission durability.

Driving practices when towing matter more. Keep the torque converter in lockup.

Early aftermarket hitches didnt pull the bumper off. They caused separation of the rear body pan at the seams, allowing water ingress. It was due to the torsion or bending caused by the tongue weight. BMW avoided the issue with stiffeners on the OE receiver. UHaul and others eventually added the longitudinal strut.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by Riggodeaux

Vendetta, if you have an OEM westfalia hitch, I expect your's is rated to tow 6,000 lbs with a max hitch weight of less than 600 lbs. Given the propensity of early 21st century bmw auto trannies to fail, a tranny temp gauge and cooler would be a good idea if you plan to regularly tow anything close to the 6k rating, such as a horse or travel trailer or good sized boat.

For the 3.0, it was 5000 lbs up to 2004, then 6000 lbs. Also, the 600 lb tongue weight is only for on-road, and to a maximum of 8" offset from the pin to the ball, horizontally. No additional cooler required. A gauge is fine, but what temp would you draw the red line at? Better to monitor torque converter lock up via the tach.