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  #1  
Old 07-15-2020, 02:29 PM
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Towing an Airstream - Help me check all the boxes

Guys

I bought my X5 back in Feb 2020 and we recently bought an airstream. I have a 800+ Mile round trip coming. Trailer dry weight is 4200 lbs with the tounge weight being 600 lbs. On the three local trips i have already taken the X5 performed excellently (Well to my knowledge anyway) as i have never pulled anything prior to this. Anyway.....

The below is the current set up i have the the 35d. Is there anything else i should be considering or should pay particular attention too?

x35d, Stage 2 car - Appears to handle the Airstream without issue and no notiticable stress upon the engine, No major sway or inbalance from the rear end, It does have self leveling due to the 3rd row option, Gearing likes to drop down when attempting steaper grades but nothing i would consider out of the ordinary.

The Airstream dry weight of 4200 but of course tounge is 600 and close to the limit of the X5. The double propan tanks on the front the the trailer are @ 25% capacity and i wont be filling them until i reach my destination 400+ Miles away.

Trailer is a double axel 23ft with Prodgidy RF brake controller.

New tires all round, New Good Sam membership for roadside assistance if needed.

Figure the trailer will be 4300 lbs loaded with clothes and Food, 2+2 + Dog in the x5, 550-600 Pounds there so i'm nearing the 5000 lbs mark.

What else should i be considering here? My brakes feel good and strong, With the trailer brakes i feel confident in the stopping ability. The trip generally doesnt have many step grades to climb or decend from, I will mostly be taking I5 down from Seattle to Eugene then cutting accross to PCH into south Oregon.

Plenty of post out there about the X5 towing ability and shortfalls. I have read tons of them, I think i am ok but just being extra cautious.

Welcome any feedback
Thanks
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  #2  
Old 07-16-2020, 12:34 AM
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You will be fine. Assume all other drivers around you are idiots. Use good towing mirrors. Increase rear tire pressure for max load capacity, take it easy and enjoy the drive rather than rushing anything.
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Old 07-16-2020, 02:14 AM
ard ard is offline
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Have you personally trailered other things before?


Just be vigilant. Dont get cocky or comfortable.
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Old 07-16-2020, 03:11 AM
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2 things I can think of:

1) Coolant system of towing vehicle - as the engine will be working harder, so too is the cooling system, so would be good to know it is in perfect health.

2) spare wheels for the trailer. I bought myself a second spare because as they dont have TPMS there is a good chance I will run on the flat for a while, thus compromising the other tyre on that side.
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  #5  
Old 07-16-2020, 10:01 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ard View Post
Have you personally trailered other things before?

No, this is a whole new world for me. This will be my 3rd trip and i have pulled this Travel Trailer a total of 250 miles in 3 weeks
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Old 07-16-2020, 10:01 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bfeng View Post
You will be fine. Assume all other drivers around you are idiots. Use good towing mirrors. Increase rear tire pressure for max load capacity, take it easy and enjoy the drive rather than rushing anything.
Thanks
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Old 07-16-2020, 10:03 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by V12noise View Post
2 things I can think of:

1) Coolant system of towing vehicle - as the engine will be working harder, so too is the cooling system, so would be good to know it is in perfect health.

2) spare wheels for the trailer. I bought myself a second spare because as they dont have TPMS there is a good chance I will run on the flat for a while, thus compromising the other tyre on that side.
This is something i didnt think of, The AS has a Spare tire but i didnt check it, I dd get a Good Sam membership in case of a flat or blow out but this is a good precaution too

Will go over the cooling system too. Unfortunately the X5 doesnt have real time coolant system temp readout. that would have been nice too
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Old 07-16-2020, 11:03 AM
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I use an cheap Android tablet and a BT wireless OBD transmitter along with Torque App to monitor the engine or my Scangauge II.
Torque is only a few bucks and well worth it. You can set up a set of gauges to monitor how things are cooking under the hood.
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Old 07-16-2020, 12:32 PM
ard ard is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ARZ540I View Post
No, this is a whole new world for me. This will be my 3rd trip and i have pulled this Travel Trailer a total of 250 miles in 3 weeks
welp, here goes...Hop into the deep end.

Ive been reading an absolutely fascinating book, Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. It has pulled together thoughts and observations over my life in a way few other books have. (Ill start a thread in OT actually)

Here is an observation...

You have driven cars half a million miles in your life. Perhaps. That has given you a neurological pattern of ‘driving’. When things happen when driving, you respond- at a subconscious level at times. You are probably pretty good with 4 wheels.

Now you are clamping 5000 lbs on the back and loading the family in the car. In what he would call a ‘tightly coupled’ system. 6, 8 wheels. Two braking systems. A pivot.

Recognize that the margin of error your body and mind have learned driving a car may not (will not) apply to this new set up. Just recognize this, dont be lulled into forgetting it, when after crushing at 60mph down I5, your brain says “yeah, I got this”


Also, another aspect... Your mental image of this whole trip is that you will drive, camp, return. Intellectually you are trying to prepare: spare tires; propane; weights; questions in BF. But all of that prep is in the neocortex, not at the amygdala where survival skills are honed through reactions and escape.


Be present.

(Told ya this was gonna be odd...)

My question about ‘have you towed before’ is not that if you have towed a lot you will be an expert...it is more that if you have, then you have likely had an ‘indicent’. Not an accident, but a puckering event that leaves an impression. Hair on the back of the neck..... You can drive 10,000 miles without an event, but drive 100 miles and deal with a runaway sway, you will have learned a survival skill at a Neurological level that may save you again.

Check out the book’...


Oh, have a great trip.


Last edited by ard; 07-16-2020 at 07:11 PM.
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  #10  
Old 07-16-2020, 01:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zulu95 View Post
I use an cheap Android tablet and a BT wireless OBD transmitter along with Torque App to monitor the engine or my Scangauge II.
Torque is only a few bucks and well worth it. You can set up a set of gauges to monitor how things are cooking under the hood.
Pretty cost effective suggestion here. Thanks
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