good hitch deal?

[JCL]

Originally Posted by weasel56

But is only the ball different? Or is the whole receiver a different size square tube... And how different is the mounting design stregnth wise?

The ball is different, but usable.

There is no receiver as such. There is a socket for the swan neck, but it is not anything like a 2" square horizontal receiver. The ones I have seen are vertical.

The mounting design is a BMW design, and I think it is safe to assume that it is as strong as the OEM BMW NA mount.

[Weasel]

I searched for pictures, but the googles came up dry... And european board members want to hook up up with pictures? It would be MUCH apprecaited!

[JCL]

Originally Posted by weasel56

I searched for pictures, but the googles came up dry... And european board members want to hook up up with pictures? It would be MUCH apprecaited!

Go to the X5World home page, body wheels and tires section, item 2: BMW factory hitch installation instructions. The instructions show the Euro hitch. These are drawings, not pictures, but they are very clear.

Here is the link:

http://www.bmwmotorsports.org/pdf/X5_trailer_hitch.pdf

Incidentally, an advantage of the Euro hitch is that there is a holder for the swan neck next to the spare tire, it won't rattle around in the back of the vehicle like the 2" receiver drawbar and ball tend to do.

[Weasel]

Hmmm. So it would be a matter of attempting to modify the end of the swan neck to a common 2" ball... I bet I could be done easily with my 4" cutter and mig welder. Might be worth putting on a shaft for interchangeable balls like this for ball size interchangeability...

http://www.etrailer.com/pc-~40314.ht...utm_medium=ppc

[MD11F]

I got this installed at AZ Bumper of the 101 and Thunderbird in Peoria. The heavy duty bumper and super duty (10,000lbs) hitch all together with labor came out to $600.. far better than the BMW part IMHO.

http://web.mac.com/sjsamaha/Site/BMW_X5.html#37

[Weasel]

That link doesn't pull up any pictures... but it looks like you have an E70, correct?

The hitches we need are for the E53.

[MD11F]

Originally Posted by weasel56

That link doesn't pull up any pictures... but it looks like you have an E70, correct?

The hitches we need are for the E53.

I just tried it and it worked for me... but I am pretty sure this identical item is also available for the E53, as when I called them to get a price quote, they asked me if I had the 2006 or prior model, or 2007 or later..

Be patient with the link, it might be slow sometimes.

[Weasel]

Well, this is what I get when I pull it up. (cropped screenshot)



Could you post pics on here of the hitch? Because if it is at least as strong as the OEM or better, I will be looking into it!

[MD11F]

yeah, sorry man ok..mabye it's PC/Mac thing... sux since this is a cool website I made for some of my toys..

here is a hosted photo of the item:

The hitch alone was $300 or so, and is fully adjustable and has a 7500 and 10000lbs ball. There is an option for a 3rd ball if you need it.

[JCL]

Thanks for posting the photos. I saw them on the original link, as it worked for me, but it was very slow.

These photos primarily show the hitch drawbar and ball (or balls, in this case). The drawbar fits into the 2" receiver. The part that is not possible to buy from BMW (for the E53) is the receiver; drawbars are available on the aftermarket.

If you have any photos of how your receiver mounts to the rear of the vehicle, that would be very helpful. The interest is in seeing how it is bolted up, and how it is braced to the box sections in the unibody.

Thanks in advance.