My Version Of a 2003 X5 Hitch Installation
 

By no means am I suggesting you do this, I just wanted to share my version of how I installed a Draw-tite hitch on my X5 without cutting the fascia under bumper or any other parts other than the bumper hitch fascia door.
I purchased a Draw-tite hitch from 1800hitchit.com for $116.00 plus $20 to ship it to Birmingham Al. I didnt want to cut the bottom of the bumper fascia or drill an 11/16 hole in the FORWARD ATTACHMENT CROSS MEMBER bar to attach the hitch sway bar
so, I took my Hitch reciever to my locale auto body shop and had them cut the sway bar off the hitch and weld some extra support on the back of the remaining part of the hitch. The X5 bumper only took about 20 minutes to get off due to the to screws under the tail pipe being very tite:rolleyes: After I got it off, the rest was easy, I just pulled the bumper straight back, Make sure you unclip the fascia underneath the tire well:yikes: Now all I had to do was unscrew the 6 bolts that hold the factory hitch in place and replace them with new bolts for the Draw-tite hitch.:thumbup: Get a second hand to help Replace the bumper and your ready to go.:thumbup: Note: be sure to buy a quality T50 and T55, I purchased an off brand and it shreaded
on me:confused: I had to go back to O'reillys to get another T55.
:bmw: see the attachment I posted my pictures so you can give me your opinion of my job.

P.S. I'm only gonna tow about 1000 lbs tops when I need to use the hitch. The auto body shop advised me the modification of the hitch wouldn't be a problem as long as I don't try to tow a camper ;)
I hope this helps someone. My next project is putiing on the factory wiring harness I purchased from circle bmw.com for $170.00 I'll post those photos next

Not sure what to say. On the positive side, the finished installation looks very neat. And you saved about $150, if the autobody shop mods were free.

On the downside, I don't know how the bodyshop calculated the strength of the finished hitch. It is bolted to the sheetmetal at the rear, without the fore-aft tie-in that Drawtite designed into it. There is nothing to stop the hitch twisting up and down except the sheetmetal and that piece of flatbar.

While you will only be towing 1000 lbs, you may want to put a decal on the hitch so that in the future nobody assumes that the 6000 lb Class III 2" square receiver is able to tow what it was designed to. Drawtite would probably appreciate you taking their certification label off it as well.

Good luck.

Point well taken :thumbup: And the body shop did the cut and weld for
free;) so I did save in that respect

I agree with JCL. There's no way to tell what the tow rating is now.

Also, you say you are only towing 1000 lbs, but what about tongue weight, and the load exerted on decel. Looks like that piece would have significant effect on more than just the pulling ability. You've now put all the load on that rear panel and the rear bolts, non of which are used for the factory hitch which would lead me to believe they aren't strong enough structurally by themselves.

Also, keep in mind the forces while in motion. You could say that you only have 150 lbs tongue weight when static. But hit a deep dip in the road while hard on the brakes, and your tongue weight could go up significantly. The hitch in now located in only two planes, whereas the original configuration added a third dimension to triangulate.

That all being said, I suspect you'd be fine. But keep an eye on the bolts and check the torque periodically. And I like how you trimmed the hitch door for a cleaner look.

Awesome idea dude
 

Hey 2x4nyc,

I just now saw your post and I think you have an awesome idea. How is you hitch config holding up? What have you towed so far? I have the exact same hitch and I am thinking of hocking it on ebay to just give up and buy the factory hitch and avoid all of the cutting and drilling myself. I am curious to try what you have done but I am worried about towing a 18 ft. boat sometime later.

One again, awesome idea and I hope it is working out for you. I may be inspired enought not hoc mine on ebay.

Adrian

I just wouldn't trust that... with all the horror stories floating around here from carrying a simple ice chest on a rack twisting the hitch and tearing the body, and thats WITH the support you removed. I would think this would cause more future trouble than its worth.

But either way, good luch with it, hopefully you never have a problem! But keep an eye on it during/after every tow you do!

All is still well folks and I've been towing my K1200Lt as well as my enclosed Trailer since my first post. I do keep a check on it and have also removed the bumper to check the bolts and connection. As suggested by many I am being as safe as I can. Thanks for the input.. by the way does anyone know it a set of 17"x8" 5x120mm wheels will work on my x5 with the factory wheels being 17"x7.5" 5x1200mm? Does is matter any? I want to use my 235/65R17 tires.

As long as you get the correct offset, the 17x8 should work fine. I run 18x8 et40 TSW wheels for my snows.