OEM Trailer Hitch

[xsx450]

I am not looking to start a raging battle. I think the OEM hitch looks heavy duty as hell and I am sure it is a better part.

I chose to go with this hitch: 2000 2006 BMW x5 x 5 Trailer Hitch Receiver Class III Reese Pro Series 51093 | eBay

$115 Delivered to your door.

Fairly simple install. You use the existing bumper bolts, and you drill a 1/2 hole into the subframe.

Rated for 6000 lbs / 600 lbs tongue weight which is all the x5 is rated for anyways.

Personally I think it is good ENOUGH. and in that degree it is great. I would never tow crazy amounts with my x5, because i love her, so to me the OEM hitch is overkill, especially if only rated the same.

Now I am not saying all of this without backup.

What I use my hitch for is hauling my dirtbike, not heavy, but quite significant tongue force. Bike weights 240lbs, it also held me and 2 other buddies jumping up and down on it. No signs of stress.










Please dont say its bending, the hauler doesnt fit 100% tight which gives it that slight angle. I have hauled like this over 20x without issue.

Just throwing that out there!

[JCL]

Originally Posted by xsx450

I am not looking to start a raging battle. I think the OEM hitch looks heavy duty as hell and I am sure it is a better part.

I chose to go with this hitch:

Glad it is working for you.

Have you calculated the bending moment being applied to the hitch? When BMW publish 600 lbs tongue weight limit they specify that the maximum load distance is 8" from the pin. Your CoG would appear to be a multiple of that, hard to tell from the pictures. Not sure what your hitch manufacturer publishes as a load limit for carriers, but it shouldn't be the same as a tongue load limit.

Also, BMW publishes a lower limit for bouncing loads, 330 lbs tongue weight. They use the lower figure for non-highway, where a load isn't always constant.

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by JCL

Glad it is working for you.

Have you calculated the bending moment being applied to the hitch? When BMW publish 600 lbs tongue weight limit they specify that the maximum load distance is 8" from the pin. Your CoG would appear to be a multiple of that, hard to tell from the pictures. Not sure what your hitch manufacturer publishes as a load limit for carriers, but it shouldn't be the same as a tongue load limit.

Also, BMW publishes a lower limit for bouncing loads, 330 lbs tongue weight. They use the lower figure for non-highway, where a load isn't always constant.

His hitch has that kicker strut, so it not a pure cantilever. That bike wouldn't weight 600 lbs or even 330 lbs.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by upallnight

His hitch has that kicker strut, so it not a pure cantilever. That bike wouldn't weight 600 lbs or even 330 lbs.

Fully agree that it isn't a straight cantilever. That said, the 600 lbs tongue weight limit has no relevance at anything more than 8" from the pin to the CoG of the load. It would be like saying that a bolt was overtorqued to double the specified torque, but it is OK because the tech used a longer wrench to accomplish it. Torque is torque.

I don't have the distances or weights for this carrier, but a sample calculation would be:

240 lbs bike, plus 60 lbs carrier, equals 300 lbs.

Load being applied at 24" vs 8" spec is a three time multiplier on the bending moment, so 3 x 300 = 900 lbs equivalent tongue load.

Using the OE hitch, it would likely survive. That assumes the load didn't bounch at all (which has a 1.8 multiplier effect, recalling limit of 330 vs 600)

Using an aftermarket hitch, no idea. But it appears to be surviving so far. I would still inspect the trunk seams from time to time.