Towing cross country with a 4.4

[bjo]

my 2003 X5 3.0L tows my e36m3 or e46m3 track car fairly well and that is using the heavy uhaul trailer. The furthest I've towed was a 400mile round trip though.

[<deleted>]

I think I feel comfortable with the e53 route... now I've just got to find the right one

Do you all have any recommendations for reasonably priced car trailers that would work for a track car (low clearance)? Open trailer... I'm fine with a wood deck. I've been looking around on the NASA and SCCA forums, ebay, etc, but it's tough.

I found a shop in southern VA that has 16' open, wood deck trailers around $2k brand new; I need to find out more about the dimensions, and trailers in general. I've only towed with a uhual before, and it worked fine, except the s2000 door would hit the trailer's tire cover.

[admranger]

While not towing, I drove mine from Vegas to DC and back fully loaded to the ceiling and I had a Thule Terrapin cargo container on the hitch, also fully loaded. No issues.

BTW: only buy the factory hitch and wiring harness. Some of the others don't attach as securely. There's a ton of threads on here about the hitch and some good install DIY's.

[<deleted>]

So I found an '06 4.4 X5 that I was really excited about - clean carfax, awesome options, decent mileage at 115k, 3rd party warranty, blk/tobacco... Price was on the high side, but after getting a PPI done it seems like this one is a no-go - noises from transfer case, indications of valve seal leaks, after market hitch, etc.

Easily 5-8k in repairs needed...

[ants_oz]

Mate, dunno about in the USA, but here in Australia they are a common vehicle. Even in little old Hobart where I live (with a population of a little over 200k people), there are plenty on the market at any one time. Keep looking mate. And sometimes it can pay to look a little further afield. It might cost you an airfare to go check out a vehicle a few hours away, and worst case you might have to fly home. But you might pick up a shining diamond too.

[Riggodeaux]

Deleted, check craigslist and be prepared to travel to buy. I saw lots of nice E53s on the roads in LA last time out there, SoCal might be a good place to look.

[<deleted>]

Yep! Definitely willing to travel.

I'm currently in Alaska for work, and live in CA... the one I was checking out is in North Carolina. I had Bimmer Performance Center (BPC) do a PPI on it - great guys, Dan and Phillip, helped me out.

[Riggodeaux]

I've been watching craigslist here in ATL for wheels and will keep an eye out for V8 E53s. At their age these days, high mileage might be an obstacle. I'm also a little leery of the auto trannies in these vehicles, and you will have noticed that some V8 versions can have oil leak and other drivetrain issues, but manual tranny versions [like mine, Green Hornet, and Ricky Bobby's], available only with the 3.0L six, are hard to come by. I haven't yet hooked up a horse trailer to my recently-installed OEM hitch, but am looking forward to seeing how my signature E53 will handle that weight [5k or so total, loaded]. I'll be sure to post a report and pictures when I get there

[Tautog13]

Ahem....cough...cough......no hitch on mine....but I would consider letting it go.
Southeast SC

C

[Riggodeaux]

Not as nice at Tautog's, but worth considering if the transmission replacement was with a proper rebuild - especially if it has a hitch installed: *#! 2002 BMW X5 with RARE 4.4

deleted, if this suits your fancy, after you talk to this guy, I can point you to reputable shops for a PPI.