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-   -   Being a Good Samaritan in Inclement weather (https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/x5-e53-forum/110090-being-good-samaritan-inclement-weather.html)

270_BMW 04-07-2019 03:09 PM

Being a Good Samaritan in Inclement weather
 
Good Afternoon everyone,

Just wanted to get some outside opinion of utility use for the greater good with an E53.

I know some SUVs are equipped with low range for climbing hills and pulling heavy loads, but I don't think the X5 has this capability... at least not on the 3.0i -- so when inclement weather strikes and there is someone off the road, can you safely pull them out without risking mechanical damage to the gearbox?

A few times this last winter I pulled my fair share of pickups out of medians and ditches on the interstate and offered rides when it was jammed into mud and debris.

Could have just gotten lucky not to over do it and break anything, what do you guys think about this matter?

Purplefade 04-07-2019 03:42 PM

I would think that as long as you don’t exceed the factory spec towing capacity or total load rating of what the factory hitch recommends (which I believe is about 6000lbs) that you would be fine.

That said, I wouldn’t do any “yanking or tugging”, just a nice smooth pull.

SlickGT1 04-07-2019 09:25 PM

Those front and rear tow hooks can take some serious yanking. And yes. We have one in the rear too.

270_BMW 04-07-2019 09:30 PM

I have a rear hitch on mine, never seemed to have any problems with a tandem trailer moving debris, patio pavers and the like. Think I've only ever loaded 2900lbs of materials with it.

...But thats somewhat reassuring that is has such a capacity for a smooth pull.

SlickGT1 04-08-2019 07:53 AM

Can’t find the video now. But there was an e53 stuck in one of those off roading mud holes. And some crazy off road Jeep snatch recovered the x5 by literally yanking on that tow hook. I thought the front clip would rip out. Nope. Car came out. So I think if a 5k lb x5 can be yanked out super violent, taking it easy to help someone wont be a problem.

Purplefade 04-08-2019 10:18 AM

Being a Good Samaritan in Inclement weather
 
I would agree the X can take a yank, I was more thinking of the t-case and diffs in the X not giving a yank. I wouldn’t call them fragile, but I wouldn’t want to blow one up either... dunno- maybe they’re tougher than I think they are, but I sure wouldn’t get a running start to yank a jeep out of 2 feet of snow with my X...

andrewwynn 04-08-2019 11:58 AM

i've pulled cars out of a parallel parking spot sideways and i'd do it again. Here's a little trick that i use in such cases that puts a lot less strain on the transmission; do it sideways. You not only put less force on the transmission you also multiply the force on the chain and get a lot more control.

I did it that way in this case so i wouldn't block both lanes of traffic; i was parallel to the car i was pulling sideways out of the stuck spot (less than 2' of space front +back to other cars and a 4" tall bump if ice/snow the car was stuck behind).

I hooked up my front EYE to something substantial under the other car, and i drove back and forth about 2' and just turned the wheel exactly like you would perform a parallel parking maneuver. It pulled the front of the other car straight sideways until both wheels were out of the rut and the front of the car cleared the other parked cars.

I can't remember if i had to follow up with pulling the car forward out of there but that worked so well i used the same method (zig zag) whenever i can get the car into such a position.

I've measured 3.8g acceleration on my car that means every time i hit the throttle hard at low speed i'm pushing with just shy of a ton of force through my drive train.

If you can't pull a guy out of a ditch with a ton (literal not figurative) of force, then you might both need a tow truck at that point.

There is a video of a guy using an X5 to pull a semi out of mud; using a 'tug' method with a nylon strap and some momentum; X5 also in mud so that helps reduce the strain on the drive train i suppose.

BMW does specify the amount of force allowed on the EYE bolt and the trailer ball can handle quite a lot more, so I use the trailer ball when I do a straight pull. The front eye gives me a lot more control and in winter i leave the eye installed and my 20' chain and a couple 10' nylon lifting slings are usually also in my car.

SlickGT1 04-08-2019 09:56 PM

I pulled a golf gti some shit out of my driveway clean across the street and down the block. Didn’t even feel that shit burning rubber down the block. It was a manual, in gear, and handbrake on. Cops gave him a ticket but it didn’t solve my immediate need to get into my garage and leave for the airport. Cops watched me do it too. Fun times.

270_BMW 04-08-2019 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlickGT1 (Post 1159483)
I pulled a golf gti some shit out of my driveway clean across the street and down the block. Didn’t even feel that shit burning rubber down the block. It was a manual, in gear, and handbrake on. Cops gave him a ticket but it didn’t solve my immediate need to get into my garage and leave for the airport. Cops watched me do it too. Fun times.

I wish I could have seen that.

stiubhartach 04-08-2019 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlickGT1 (Post 1159483)
I pulled a golf gti some shit out of my driveway clean across the street and down the block. Didn’t even feel that shit burning rubber down the block. It was a manual, in gear, and handbrake on. Cops gave him a ticket but it didn’t solve my immediate need to get into my garage and leave for the airport. Cops watched me do it too. Fun times.

Excellent! I’ll remember that one.

Purplefade 04-08-2019 11:20 PM

Did that with a lawn guys trailer once.. jackass parked his truck and trailer in front of my driveway and then told me I could wait while he finished my neighbors yard that he’d only be 15/20 minutes and wasn’t shutting his mower off to move his truck. I had a 79 Ford F-150 with a 460 big block at the time, so I strapped up to the tow hooks on the front of his truck and pulled his truck and whole damn trailer down the street and around the corner!

Goes without saying he wasn’t thrilled... he jumped up and down and threatened to burn my house down, etc, etc... but nothing ever came of it.

Ahhh, good times! I’m way more “calm” now in my older age [emoji16]

Crowz 04-09-2019 12:02 AM

Ive used the screw in tow hook deals to pull several of my bmw's out of my driveway when they got stuck (none of the x's but the cars)

One thing I learned is the hooks can take a ton of force when pulled straight but they bend fairly easy when you pull to the side on them. So make sure your pointed straight from whatever your pulling or the hook will bend.

andrewwynn 04-09-2019 10:48 AM

Good to mention the side force one of mine came a little bent. They can handle a lot more force sideways when you use a lifting sling fed through so as to grab near.thr base. I'm thinking I might find a big steel eye vs the aluminum one.

Amazing about the locked wheel drag. I'd have called the cops to ticket the lawn guy before dragging the truck n trailer definitely earned the flat spots on his tires and the bump bump bump would be a constant reminder of his dipshitness

Purplefade 04-09-2019 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewwynn (Post 1159520)
Amazing about the locked wheel drag. I'd have called the cops to ticket the lawn guy before dragging the truck n trailer definitely earned the flat spots on his tires and the bump bump bump would be a constant reminder of his dipshitness



In the time I owned that 460 there wasn’t anything I found that could stop it except a gas station! I think I was lucky if I got 8 mpg... but the sucker could pull a house of the foundation for sure!

I miss that truck to this day - TONS of fun in the mid and snow but a constant sore spot to my wife when it was parked in the driveway... she liked to tell me it made us look like hillbillies! (To which I would remind her, I was raised in the south [emoji16])

SlickGT1 04-09-2019 11:57 AM

My one mistake that I did when dragging that golf was I rushed and just grabbed some heavy duty rope. I just couldn’t find my tow strap (it was in the spare tire well thing). When I started the drag, the knots tightened up so forking hard that I had to cut the rope on both ends. No big deal, lost about 2 feet of rope, but worth it. Felt like a kid in a sandbox pulling that car. Deff got flat spots with that pull. Not a truck and trailer pull, but I’m confident that if a tow truck can pull the x5 at 5000lbs, then the x5 hook can pull 5000lbs as well. Plus with our superior German engineering, 4.8 powa, we can probably maybe pull an f150 with trailer, with locked brakes. Just a matter of breaking lose the towee vehicle. Then it’s like smooth sailing. Those burning melting dragging tires work like lube at that point.

andrewwynn 04-09-2019 03:36 PM

I had a similar problem when I left my lifting sling through itself. It snugged so tight It took me about five minutes to work it free


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