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cantilevered excess loading behind the rear axle centerline?
 

PropellerHead, nice X5 (blue is best, IMO, hahaha). I'm concerned about excess loading and the resultant tire & suspension wear that your extended bike carrier may end up causing.

Are your bikes very heavy, do you have air springs to help compensate for the added load, and have you considered using a small trailer (either an enclosed or an open type) that would help distribute the rear load better?

I used to have a single-motorcycle trailer that the previous owner had converted to haul three bicycles; it was 50" wide X 60" long (with a 36" tongue, IIRC), and it would've been perfect for your bikes, but I converted it to a 4'x8' squareback camping trailer.
Attachment 84248 "single-bed" frame used for size comparison

In your case, with the aluminum carrier sticking way out behind the truck, the carrier/bikes exert a greater load on the rear axle, tires, and suspension than if you were towing a small trailer (like shown in another of your photos).
Attachment 84249 see how the trailer helps ditribute the load

I carry a lot of tools and supplies in the trunk of my X5, pushing them up against the rear seat back, to focus the weight closer to the rear axle centerline. I have steel springs, not air suspension, but if I were to try to carry your bike carrier, I'd have to add supplementary overload springs (possibly Sumo or Timbren or homemade, like on my camping trailer), air shocks (if available for X5's), or overload shocks (coil over shock), like I use on my 2500HD Chevy.
Attachment 84250 comparison of loading


Though I don't carry bikes like you, I do haul my 2225 lb camping trailer, which exerts 245 lbs on the hitch (negligible behind the overbuilt 2500HD, but perhaps a concern behind the X5, if/when I install an AHM braking module or alternative). I sometimes use a "Weight Distributing Hitch" (if camping far away or semi-offroad, or hauling heavier trailers (up to 11000 lbs, max), and would do the same behind the X5, because I can really tell the difference when the WDH is being used.

I'm just sharing my opinion and some experience with you, not being critical. Perhaps at some later date you might need to switch to a light trailer, and if so, could you compare the differences with me/us?

I do have air springs. Towing or hitched bikes is the chief reason I have not replaced with coil overs.

The bikes are not terribly heavy. The basket is probably the heaviest at under 30lbs. The new fatty is next. All 4 together would probably be a little over 100lbs. It's rare that I would carry all 4, but I would move the heaviest ones to the front tray closest to the body, of course.

The hitch and the 3 trays are aluminum, so they are probably not over 50lbs. That swing away though is massive. I'd say it alone is nearly 50lbs. So, fully loaded, I am probably at 200lbs on the rear. While it is concentrated further outbound, I figure it's about like hauling a couple good size people or animals in the rear.

I have hauled as many as 4 bikes with my old carrier. It was also closer to the rear axle. But I have covered from Colorado to South Florida with a couple of VERY heavy bikes without a problem. Gas mileage does suffer by about 20%, but I attribute that to drag.

With my investment in this carrier exceeding what I can get for 189k mile 2004 X5, I am pretty married to the platform. I do like flexing a tow muscle though so if I can tow again I will jump at the chance. We are headed on a 6-700 miler later this month. I expect at least one bike in tow. Probably 2. At least two. :whistle:

Amazeballs graphics, BTW. You could do that for money!

sorry, but I still favor a trailer
 

I'm wondering if your gas mileage problem might be because the bikes are sitting at the spot that the airflow from over and under the truck converge, creating a vortex of drag. There have been many studies concerning drag on the trailer/camping website I've been on since '09 (lurking for two years before I signed up)https://www.tnttt.com/, and I implemented a couple of ideas (one found in an automotive site, as well) while building my trailer, and another, by covering the bed of my tow vehicle (Chevy 2500HD WT). The end result, while towing my 4'x8' trailer behind the 2500HD, there's less than 10% difference in gas mileage, at 75 mph.
Attachment 84262

Seems like you take many long trips with your bikes. I know that if I were to do the same (not possible, with my knees, I couldn't ride ten miles without wrecking them for weeks), I'd probably need extra gear and supplies.

That's why, on my 100-500 mile trips, towing either my race car on an open trailer, or my homebuilt squareback 4'x8' enclosed trailer, I eventually carried so much extra gear that I reinforced both frames, put 3500 lb braked axles under both...the car hauler got two, and added extra storage boxes on both, as well. But, afterwards, I was glad to have the extra gear along, as were others at dragstrips where I had extra supplies and generated power, fuel, and air to share, or much of the same at campsites with my camping group.
Attachment 84261

If, you'd ever decide to sell or replace your aluminum bike carrier, you could easily and cheaply build a light trailer atop a Haulmaster from Harbor Freight $400 steel-framed trailer https://www.harborfreight.com/1090-l...ility+trailers, or an Ultra-Tow from Northern Tool $600 aluminum-framed trailer https://www.northerntool.com/product...B&gclsrc=aw.ds
Attachment 84263

i've seen many teardrop trailers (based on the larger 48"x96" HF trailer, and the 60"x96" NT trailers), and they hold together quite well, after a few modifications, as is usual for home-builds); after all, my home-built was a junked older version of nearly the same size (50"x60") as these 40"x48" trailer, and I've semi-abused it over 13 years as a camping trailer (a total of 31 years of ownership, plus ??years, depending on how old it was before I bought it).

The point(s?) is:

• 1) a trailer platform for carrying bikes and/or gear is more versatile (whereas, the bike carrier you have only carries bikes),
• a small trailer will put less strain on the rear suspension (inline with the driveline, and putting less of a leveraged load onto the rear of the vehicle), and
• 3) a small trailer will add less drag to the back of the car/truck (because it follows out of the main vortex, and the bikes are sitting lower to the ground).

Just my honest opinion, as a long-time user of trailers (I have a spare utility trailer in my back 1/4 acre, a 5'x10', just in case I need it...I wish I still had my 18' car-hauler, too!)

And thanks, I believe in illustrating my posts for better understanding (a picture is worth a thousand words, I believe). I use Microsoft Paint for modifying photos and posting them, and MS Photos for enhancing them, or to remove backgrounds (I've never had a professional photo app, like photoshop, because I'm cheap).

Hey Lets make a deal:

Post this in the E53 forum.. Like copy and paste your 1st post here... And then *I* will do the same...

And YOU will do it again.. And we'll have some FANTASTIC E53 content where the folks who wanna see it.. like.. WILL see it!


Deal?

Edity:

So I went ahead and made a soft introduction in the E53 forum.. You could 'edit' your 1dt post here.. copy it.. and paste it into a reply to this thread:

https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...ml#post1239947

And then the whole BOARD gets to see what you have done here.. cause it is AWESOME, dude.. Makes me think of getting the gang together in real life.. Like.. an intentional meet... LIke the old days..

post a link to the bike carrier v trailer conversation,inside your personal test page
 

It's up to you; I just happened to find your "pics for link" thread when looking at "Today's Posts", after perusing the E53 forum. I sometimes comment on subjects that interest me, most often the E70 forum, though I wonder if i should...it might offend real E70 owners.

I just thought I'd share my opinion and experience with you, and almost didn't, because the "pics for link" thread wasn't meant for others to butt-into. Sorry.

I hope it interested you, somewhat, and if others on the forum search about bike carriers or small trailers, then they might find what we posted here. I don't think using more bandwidth to duplicate post our conversation is necessary.

Post a link to your "pics for link" thread, starting with your post of July 9, 2024; that way you can invite others to the conversation.