Jeff, cogent and helpful, as always. Good point about the hitch length, too, which BMW specifies and requires the short BMW hitch shaft. Picture of my 'hay hauler' attached.

I have seen/heard about enough horse-hauling horror stories to be very conscious of trailer towing limits and safety.

So I just purchased this used OEM hitch off ebay. It looks like it includes everything, but is a little harder to tell since much of it is still bolted together. Those of you in the know, can you verify that's all I need or what else will be required. Going on an '06 4.8is
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 x5 E53 Factory Hitch Package Complete | eBay

Looks like you're missing the bumper brackets. They look like this....

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...21a1d1ac85.jpg

Also looks like they took part of the car and included in your kit too. Those are the (small triangle) things that are bolted to the things that replace the shock absorbers. Those are in the car already but not bolted down to anything.


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Hard to tell from the picture, but like Garrett sez - either the bumper brackets are inside your 'assembled' hitch, or missing. Suggest you look at the BMW installation instructions at the start of the thread and particularly its parts list and compare.

Well crap!! I've sent a note to the seller to inquire.

So these bumper brackets (figure D item 8) should be between the bar itself and the replacement bumper carrier (figure G) correct? File “BMW E53 X5 Hitch install 20120331143051744.pdf.png”
I'm assuming the carrier somehow attaches to these brackets, but the instruction PDF isn't clear about this?

Bolts run straight through the bumper brackets, through the carrier and into the car. These are the bolts in the 3 and 9 o'clock positions.

When you reinstall the bumper - the bolts run vertically through these bracket things and tie into the new skeleton you installed in the bumper


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Like this.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...f57ffc00ec.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...826dce38d4.jpg


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The OEM hitch kits are NLA! PN# 71600009711

What's my next best bet? I found one on eBay that looks like it bolts to the same spot behind the bumper supports.

Attachment 65957

The hitch odyssey is something we've been through several times. Absent Westfalia running another batch of OEM hitch kits [not likely], or finding one off a wreck/parts car, you may be SOL. If you aren't expecting to tow anything close to the Class III and E53 rated limits [3 tons on my stick shift model] you may be able to get by with an aftermarket, but I would be very leery about towing anything important [or heavy]. If its a bike rack or towing less than a ton, maybe?