Bagged a unicorn
 

Have to wait 4 working days for the fedex man to deliver it... will it be the mythical creature of legend?

Towing package??


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Tow hitch with ALL the parts?
Super charger?

Indestructible window regulator?

Lifetime outside door handle carrier?

Subbed.

I just need to make sure that the paint does not get all scratched up!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBpthlEx4Fw

If that be a pix of the actual box, I'm betting on an OEM trailer hitch kit .....

If so I collected that Unicorn one piece at a time.

:P

e30cabrio, sort of like Johnny Cash's psychobilly cadillac, right? Except it cost you more than a dime ...:)

More like 4000 dimes.

lol

So you toss that out there and then leave us hanging? :)

Got to wait to see what is really in the box.

FedEx says it will arrive on Tuesday. I promise to post pics then.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psb2d9edcd.jpg

http://youtu.be/0cmqwbZa6_w

It was real. A real live unicorn!

Nice find!

Nicer price!

Where the hell did you find it lol! (I'm not in the market, I have nothing to tow)

Completely random - I've been emailing the various dealers we all know for a while now and they all have been saying NLA. A couple of weeks ago, I put the part number into eBay hoping to find a used one and a new item with buy-it-now popped up. I was pretty sure they would say it didn't exist after I paid, but thought I had nothing to lose.

We had to wrangle over the shipping, and I ended up arranging shipping myself, but I wasn't going to miss it over the cost of shipping.

And, it did exist....

And now you see the difference between OE and aftermarket hitches. Even after you perform the install, it'll still be worth it. There are enough threads to help.

Congrats! Looks like a unicorn to me. read the long install thread notes and take your time. Very well engineered addition to the E53.

Hi David -

If you have the extra coin, I would send it off to get sandblasted and powdercoated. Hitech end tends to discolor quite quick IMO

I have the original tow hitch install book in my glove compartment with my owner manual.

threads like this make me very happy my 01 already had the hitch on it when I bought it. just had to buy an aftermarket trailer brake kit which wasnt all that hard to install.

oh yeah, there's two more unicorns on ebay apparently.

BMW 71600009711 Genuine Trailer Hitch | eBay

Make that only one more unicorn! :thumbup: I just bought one of the two at the link above. Thanks for posting this up guys. I've been looking for some time now. Can't wait to be able to pull the boat with my X this summer!

A decent price for a unicorn and free shipping as well. But on second thought, the lack of a hitch was how I convinced myself not to buy a snowmobile for backcountry skiing access. Looks like this hitch will cost me more than just $430!:rofl:

Boom! Mine!


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Now thats helping each other out on the forum guys! Nice work and stackz that was real nice of you to find the unicorns for the other guys!

wow that did NOT last long lol.

I almost second guessed myself posting that up in case it would have screwed OP out of possibly making some side cash. you know people do that sometimes on things like this and I dont like to step on toes.

makes me wonder if those were the last two left in the country, hmmm

OR IN THE WORLD :gasp:

Glad you guys got those. Weird - mine was from a different CA dealer - BMW of Ontario. Sounds like a warehouse in CA released a few to various dealers. If anyone is still looking, maybe cold calling other dealers will find some more.

Anyway - they didn't want to ship it to the East Coast - so I arranged for FedEx ground to pick it up and they were pretty nice about opening the box, bubble wrapping everything and then sealing it up and banding it for transport. I'm sure that took some time. FedEx ground was $93 or so to Maryland (112 lbs). While I normally would have bitched about someone not honoring the terms of the eBay auction, I just paid the shipping this time with a smile....

Thanks a lot for the tip. It really made my day!!!!

Now for the installation. I understand it's pretty straightforward just tedious with disassembly.


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Garrett -

It's not only straightforward but not tedious....
The only *time* it takes is just making sure when you button her back up, to get the bumper gap realigned nice and even - but that's more of a OCD issue..

Awesome. I can't wait! I got a note from them - they've shipped it and I should have it Tuesday!


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garrett, I did the install (along with install of rear mud guards) on my X last summer and as tedious as it is, it is rather simple.
lots of write-ups on the job. I used two different write-ups combined.

as a side note and for maintenance, I'd recommend when you take all the parts out of the boxes, inspect them, clean them and even spray paint them with black rust-proof paint to make sure they do not rust up or corrode against the metal body of the X5.
I was SUPER GLAD I black spray painted mine (literally every part) as I see many around my city with rusted up tongue receivers and it makes the X look unloved.
And I love my X5 so the extra shiny layer of rust-proof spray paint was just a nice helping hand to a long life.

Bagged a unicorn
 

Thanks for the tip. What do those mudguards look like? Does it keep the rock-throwing down?

A buddy of mine towed his '64 beetle to the track and back over the summer and found the front-end got all chipped-up from thrown rocks. His tow vehicle was a VW Toureg.

Paint-wise I've had pretty good luck with auto parts store (duplicolor?) "ceramic" engine paint. It's pretty tough stuff!


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Edit.

Google - Duh. They (mudflaps) actually look okay!

Yeah baby - my unicorn arrived today! I must go home soon and pet-it!!! I'll post pics tonight!


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OMG - This kit is massive!!!!! http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...08f22dd43e.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...2ea364f7a8.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...48ba188fd2.jpg


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here are a few pics of the mudflaps installed AND you can see the LUND (brand) step plate I installed in my hitch so its a useful hitch even when its not hauling something.

It's also not recommended to do this solo - I did it by myself and it literally took me 4-5 hours to remove and refit. Much easier with two people so that you can get both sides of the rear bumper slotted in to the locating tab at the same time.

Also recommend putting some low-tack painters tape on your rear 1/4 panels above where the plastic bumper joins so that if you accidentally slip and push the bumper up into those panels on an angle, you won't scratch your paint work.

Wowwee....this was one of those jobs I'm happy to block from memory.

That bad eh? Still looking forward to it!!!


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Awesome! For some reason, I'll bet no one else is as excited about the big box (other than the cat I guess :)). If you have a wife, I'm sure she thinks you're nuts. Mine thought I was plum crazy to spend that kind of money and be excited about it. Then she walked in on me with the back end of her X5 completely decomposed. Ya, she was impressed all right. :)

Does the wife think I am nuts? You bet. <in my best wife mocking voice> "Why are you spending more money on that caaaaaaar"

The cat really dug the box - as did my 3 year old daughter. She got her safety scissors out and was trying to open the box for me. My 11 year old son - not to much. The only box he's interested in is an Xbox.

I took inventory last night and it looks like it's all there except for one missing washer and one reject-washer that was double-struck by the hole-punching-machine.

Someone got into the box at some point - un-bagged a few things and got into the hardware bag. I found hardware floating around inside the box which had a couple holes in it. Luckily it's all still there more or less. I was comparing my parts to a photo I found of this kit unboxed and the only thing that leaves me with a question is - did they provide two rubber "plugs" originally or am I missing some sort of part?

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...d702c37a70.jpg

In the upper part of this pic you see two bags with square things in it. Are these both the same part or different parts?


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Those are the receiver blanking plugs, so when you take out the ball part, that will plug the hole. There should only be one. The top one looks tapered, and the lower one looks uniform. Mine looks like your lower one. If you go through any automated car washes, be sure to pull it out. The dealer put mine through theirs and lost the plug. I made them go back and find it because you can't order them if I recall. If you ever lose it, go to the car wash places and look through their lost and found :).

I love the quality of the BMW hitch kits. Every bit makes it worth it.

If you scroll through the pics here, you'll see exactly what you should have:
71600009711 - Trailer Hitch Kit - (NO LONGER AVAILABLE) - ES#185392

Looks like I've got two of the more shallow plugs then and not the tapered one.

They have the same part number on them. I am sure I'll lose one at some point - so I've got back-up!


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I have one of those rubber plugs too but since it is just a pressure fit and not held in by a retaining bar I figured it would fall out or grow legs and walk away with someone! So I put in a folding step that LUND sells.

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Bagged a unicorn
 

I've never bought a thing that plugs into a receiver before. I assume I can go to somewhere like harborfreight and get something with the appropriate drop/offset to work well with the towbar for my VW?

I recall seeing a "BMW" one referenced somewhere but that just seems silly. I assume this is a standardized part, yeah?


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Not really. the receiver is engineered for a shorter shaft hitch, with a drop, than you normally find at Northern, Harbor Freight, etc.. Details in the manual with the hitch kit. A mechanical engineer could tell you how a longer shaft impacts the load/torsion on the frame; I'm a simple caveman, so that science is beyond me :). I do have a cheap, longer, Harbor Freight shaft with a 1 7/8ths ball I use for light weight trailers, but bought the official, shorter BMW hitch from ECSTuning, I believe, that I use when my trailer/load exceeds a ton or two. I have a 2" ball mounted on it.

Yep. The manuals with the hitch are very clear on what the extension and drop max. limits are for the ball position. It is largely due to the offset of the receiver and the moment an extended load puts on the system. Specifics regarding trailer and tongue weights depending on conditions (live load, 6 vs V8, auto vs manual, off road, etc.) are also clearly defined in the manual.

Garrett, suggest you also compare your parts to the parts list in the manual you should have with the kit. If its missing, there is a .pdf of it early in the long DIY install thread ....

My manual was missing from the kit! I did find a 16 or 17 page .pdf on the site which was the install manual. I breezed through this last night but don't recall reviewing that information - of course I had a couple beers too so it may be in there after all.


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Hitch Install manual
 

Here's another .pdf of the manual

Attached is the manual I have on file

See page 2-6 for the load table and figure J, page 2-11?, for the hitch shaft dimensions. Finding one that short [8"] with the 4-5.5"? drop is tough, other than the OEM from a dealer or ECF? tuning.

Awesome. Thanks for the info.

I probably won't be towing anything really heavy, but you never know. I'd like to be prepared anyway!

Mostly I'll be flat-towing my VW with a towbar. It's a little over 1700 pounds. The tongue weight should be minimal to nothing since the towbar just pivots on the front axle beam.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...a49b1bd71e.jpg


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Long ago, I used a towbar like that to pull my vw karmann-ghia maybe 400 miles to have the engine rebuilt. Loved that car ......

Yup. The towbar is one in the same. I dig the Ghia as well. It's the sportscar Volkswagen never made!

The old air cooled VW's are a lot of fun - been fiddling with them actively since I was 16 and I am nearly 40 now. They are even more fun when you put some horsepower in them! (Hence the towbar - so I don't have to worry about how I'll get home from the track if I break something)


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So the oem uses a special hitch? Kinda glad the universal three ball hitch from my old 06 f150 fits the aftermarket hitch on my x5 lol. I pull my 2015 21' sea skiff just fine with the 3.0 x5.

On a side note are the aftermarket hitches worth anything? An 03 popped up at the upull recently with an aftermarket hitch and light pack and im wondering if its worth it to pull everything off and toss on ebay?

The hitch is definitely diff than the oem. it mounts to the bumper support and looks like it loops down and bolts to the back axle support? From a glance? The people that installed it also went and tapped in on the passenger side light vs what I did by tapping into the driver side light for most connections....though I see why in hind sight as theres nice beefy power wires in the passenger loom they tspped for the main light control box feed.

I just dont want to pay $50 for everything and it be $50 shipping when a new unit is $125 lol

Edit: after looking they sell new for $189. meh.

I updated Post 37 with a few pics
http://www.xoutpost.com/1025568-post37.html

In ur updated post is that an aftermarket lower valance or factory? looks neat!

stackz, you are a braver [or maybe more foolhardy? ;)] man than I. From the looks of the aftermarket X5 hitches I've seen, like that e30cabrio? yanked off his to mount the OEM, no way I would pull a 21' boat behind one. On the other hand, you new owners of OEM westfalia hitch kits will be impressed. Clearly engineered to manage the tongue weight and distribute the tow load across the unibody. That said, I'd stay within specs [the 8' long, 4"+ drop shaft] when pulling two tons or more. Do read the long DIY before you start the installation, and having two to lift and adjust the kit is very helpful. A couple of items are counterintuitive ..... also, think about your trailer brake controllers if your tow doesn't have hydraulic brakes [like the Uhaul trailers I have used to date]. I still need to install one for when I get a new horse trailer this Spring, and will probably get the RF 'remote' version of the Prodigy to avoid messing with the X5's wiring.

Stackz, O.E. parts. But I installed myself 2 winters ago and after 1 winter I was tired of the snow/ice build-up between the black bumper cover and beige wings.

Rigg, I use the Tekonsha Prodigy RF. Wonderfully convenient as I never had to touch a single wire in the X5 to use that brake controller.
works well too on my old (heavy) camping trailer.

I get "invalid thread I'd"


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do not click on the blue worded POST 37, click the "bagged Unicorn" like below that... or just go back to the 4th page

Lol I dont feel foolhearty at all. if I noticed any flex at all I would have not pulled the load. I have a LOT of experience with towing and am very confident with this hitch. crawled all over when looking tk buy honestly. ive towed my mustang on a full trailer as well as the boat. that being said....im always on level ground in my area...aside from the boat ramp and I never jerk the load (hah) up the ramp. I also dont have rust at contact points which help to jerk receivers out of the chassis...

Also my boat and trailer only weigh in at 2200lbs. gotta love all composite boats and aluminium trailers with torsikn axles ��

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::b ustingup:bustingup:bustingup:bustingup:bustingup

Some tow hitch porn.....(pro tip: don't EVER Google that....)

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...c6a500c7c8.jpg


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Well congrats you you guys for your find. I was on the phone yesterday and they told me that BMW stop producing these towing package . :( I guest I will have to install after market.

Tow hitch were not manufactured by BMW. Tow hitch were manufactured by Westfalia, a company that manufacture tow hitches for all sort of vehicles.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...2ea364f7a8.jpg

Group Buy?
 

True thatnks for that i found the companie I have contact them.. hopefully they will reply and will provide the tow kit.

I will hope they will agreed to a group buy from these forum.
:stickpoke if interested please pm me and i will reply as soon as posible.


OP sorry if it is out of topic.

garrett, show some pics of how your hitch looks during the installation, I just looked and I see I have a hitch installed, but no wires, figures, does not look like a butcher job, looks ok , but what do I know.....I will be looking at the installation pdf for the wiring and maybe have to purchase that !!

There is an oem hitch on a wrecked 3.0 near me, Im planning on going and getting it, if I determine that im going to keep the e53 instead of buying an e70. My question is, can someone answer if this is a "load carrying" only or if its is capable of a "load distributing" type?

Thx

Holy Crap.....looked at the trailer hitch that has been installed on my X5 and it seems to be a draw tight hitch, I looked it up and it does NOT look as "Beefy" as the westfailia or BMW......its rated for 6000 lb...kind of glad they did not put the wiring in, I want it done right.....Oh boy...got some thinking to do...........:(

be wary of Unicorns....lol

(1) rmuntan, go to the long DIY hitch install thread and look at e30cabrio?'s posts. I believe he's the guy in Arizona who found a scrapped OEM hitch, had it fixed up, and mounted it after removing a disasterous after-market hitch. As I recall, a real PITA, and it highlighted the differences between the finely engineered westfalia and the cheap slap-ons, which I fear you may have. I wouldn't pull more than a ton or so with the cheap aftermarkets, and only then if its a light tongue weight and you take it slow and easy. (2) Answering Lowblock: A 'load distributing' hitch is, to my knowledge, something attached to the trailer that limits sway. (3) Yes, the Tekonsha Prodigy RF trailer brake controller looks like the way to go with our vehicles, Mercedes SUVs, etc. Glad to see a poster has good experience with it ......

I understand what a load distributing hitch is, I install them almost every day at my work, however, some receivers are rated for only load carrying and I am wondering if the OEM one is rated for both, as I can order new ones that are rated for load carrying and load distributing.

Lowblock, check the installation manual, posted by me and others as a .pdf attachment. It might explain the distinction you draw.

Unicorn installation begins tonight!!!

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...fb7df01bf6.jpg


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Clean everything while in there and seriously coat anything that is a metal to metal contact with a grease/paint to avoid any friction/corrosion from the two metals perhaps rubbing over time.

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Damnit. I hate you all that just got this. I've been searching for ever. Past 3 months have been super busy and missed this. Damn you all.

So who wants to sell theirs?

You guys that are installing your hitches, consider taking the time to trim the blank panel.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...5/IMG_1919.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...5/IMG_1921.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...5/IMG_1916.jpg

I made the asymmetrical notch at the bottom for the RADAR cable.

Well damn. It seems I have hit a snag. I was wondering why my hardware package appeared to have been opened. Now I know. Someone borrowed some hardware and didn't replace it with the correct stuff.

The M10 130 bolts were replaced with 120's
The M10 50 bolts were replaced with 40's

I have not tried to install the hitch yet, but I assume my hardware is too short.

Here's the kicker - minimally the 50's need a 16mm head to fit into the recessed "bolt head trap" in the tow carrier. It looks like the standard is a 17mm head. It may not matter for the 130's - not sure yet.

I've checked McMaster, Grainger and Fastenal and have come-up empty so far.......

What's more rare than a unicorn? Unicorn nuts!


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Apparently I am looking for a JIS standard bolt? - all of the ones I can find seems to be flange bolts and not straight up "normal" bolts. Sweet.

The plot thickens - maybe it's a typo? I'll try the assembly with what I have a a see if the bolts are long enough. They are such an odd size to begin with it seems unlikely they would have been replaced with something similarly odd but not quite right. Dunno.


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So apparently the M10 40's are long enough. You don't need the M50. These have a 16mm head

The M10 120's have a 17mm head so they won't fit into the recess in the bumper brackets.


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I'm surprised you're having trouble.

For some reason, on my car the bolts had been tack welded to the bumper mounts post installation. I had to grind them off (so that I could remove the mount and straighten it as it had been bent in a fender bender by PO). So I had to buy new bolts. I walked straight into a hardware chain store and found a suitable bolt in about 2 mins flat. I know that doesn't help you, but I am surprised that you're having trouble - I'm sure your hardware stores are 5 times the size of ours in Australia.

Don't forget that the length of the bolt is not critical. Because the nut secures on the inside of the trunk, there is actually a fair bit of extra room that would allow you to use a longer bolt if necessary.

The issue of the bolt heads not fitting is a common one if you read the old threads. It seems they originally designed for the 16mm heads and then changed to 17mm without revising the holders. The installers typically grind or flatten the tabs down to use the 17mm bolts.

It's always something isn't it? Here's my issue right now. The bolts that go at 12 and 5 or 7 o'clock are okay even though they are 40mm long and not 50 like the spec says.....the threads on the nut are fully engaged.

The bolts that are at 3 and 9 I believe will be long enough even though they are 120mm and not 130 or 135 as the spec suggests they are/need to be.

The current issue is the bracket has ident/traps that need the head to be 16mm and not 17mm. I am thinking I'll just grind .015 or so off each flat and make em so......

My local hardware stores seem to only have M10 10.9 cap screws up to 100mm in length.

I thought about finding maybe something grade 8 SAE - but I figure I'll give this a shot first.

See? No fit!

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...ab92aa2b6e.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...c4f8393f98.jpg


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Ah hah! An explanation! I didn't think about digging through old posts. I just thought I was going nuts. Since the bolt has to fit down into the recess past the tabs - they must have chiseled the thing to open it up. I've just been carefully grinding down the flats a little at a time 'till the bolt snaps in place.


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Ahhh....this explains why my bolts were welded to the plate.

Those recesses were completely ground flat on mine. Bolts must have been tack welded in place as an alternative to stop them spinning.

I used a punch to open those tabs up. I wasn't pretty, but I gave it a shot of tremclad when I was done fwiw. I cursed the tabs too.

One side I ground down the bolts - the other side I cut a couple relief cuts with a Dremel and opened the tabs up with a chisel. Things are moving along again!!!


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Got mine installed this weekend. Yaaaay!!!!!

Weird about the bolt retainers - I had to open the ears a little bit with pliers, but my bolts fit inside with no more trouble. The bag of hardware I received was completely sealed, so maybe it was an early version thats been sitting in a corner for a long while.

Wish someone had warned me to buy extra plastic rivets to hold the new steel bumper to the bumper cover - I broke about half removing them and had to make an emergency run to Advance Auto on Sunday around 7pm. After some scrouging, I found some plastic rivets that were close and was able to wrap it up.

Ah. Mine is not quite done yet. I still need to do the bumper skeleton replacement. Thanks for the warning on the clips. Any tips to avoid destroying them? I plan to do this tonight.


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Curious. How did the bumper re-fit go. The instructions suggest you push the mounts up as far as they will go then torque the 3 and 9 o'clock bolts to 65nm. How much fiddling was required to get the gaps right? Still not sure which gaps I'll be looking for when the time comes.


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I don't have any magic to offer on the clips. Stop by the dealer and get extras if you can. I broke about half, trying to be real gentle. I think there are 15-20 all together. They are plastic and have aged to the point of being real brittle.

OK, one hint - spray something like WD40 on it (front and back) while you are trying to pry the center pin, once the lube gets in there, it will be much easier to move it and you are less likely to rip the plastic cap off. Did the same thing for reassembly - you need to use a little lube to be able to push the center pin down with a hand tool or your fingers.

How did the bumper re-fit and alignment work out for you? Lots of fiddling or did it work out right the first time?


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Worked out fine the first time. I decided to snug up all the bolts before putting the bumper on, as I was working along and thought it would be better if it wasn't floppy. Something like 16 of them can be torqued all the way, but the instructions (from the DIY) said leave the other 4 loose - i left those snug. I used a transmission jack (flat top) as a work platform which worked great - cranked it up till the height was right, then slid the bumper in to engage the ears on each side. Had to go back and forth from side to side a couple of times, as it seemed to like to engage one side and then pop out when I walked aroud to the other side (this is where two people would help). But, it stayed put and I put the two big bolts in with no trouble and it was lined up with an acceptable visual gap.

I thought about breaking out my laser level then decided I would rather get cleaned up and go to bed :-). Good luck!

Mines done as of last night! Very-clean stealthly install. I really dig it!

Still need to figure out if I'll need a drop-hitch in excess of the specification. Makes me a little uneasy but at the same time I'll be towing something relatively light with no tongue weight.....still haven't fitted the tow-bar to my beetle to see what I need to do to keep it horizontal.



http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...88c464bdc0.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...d35239a81f.jpg


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Nicely done, Garrett. As I understand it, your issue is keeping the tow bar close to horizontal given the low ride of the VW compared to the height of the hitch when mounted 'oem' - the short [8"] hitch shaft and relatively low drop of that hitch [4-5", as I recall]. Pulling the VW flat, on all four wheels, would give practically zero tongue weight, and [as I recall] NMT a ton of towed weight of the bug. Not within spec, but, as a simple caveman and not a mechanical engineer, I would think [absent sway issues] this wouldn't test your OEM hitch if you have, say, an 8" drop. I would be concerned about length of the hitch shaft, and would keep it as close to 8" as possible. See etow dot com for a wide variety of drop hitch options. FWIW, I use a cheap northern tools hitch [maybe 10" long, 4" drop, 1 7/8" ball, but 1" shaft, I think] to pull my bro-in-law's light yardwork trailer to pick up 20-25 bales of hay [a ton of load and trailer, max], local hauls. I use the 'official' hitch with a 2" ball when towing more than that ....

My trailer towing experience is limited to my 4x6 landscape trailer, but I've pulled it (with my old VW GTI no less) up to and a bit past its rated 1000lb capacity.

My experience is that a little weight on the tongue is actually a good thing as it seems to minimize swaying. IIRC, most of the guidelines I recall say that 10-15% of the total weight on the tongue is ideal.

Yup. That's exactly what's going on. I need to keep that tow-bar horizontal. Even though I have not measured it yet - I presume I'll need something that's a little lower than the 4-inch drop BMW shaft I got. Picked it up off eBay for $30-something shipped. Just as inexpensive as the harborfreight haul-master stuff I picked-up and then returned over the weekend. That was closer to 10 inches center to center vs 8 as the spec calls for. I probably could have re-drilled the hole closer to 8.5 but I don't think 8 was achievable.

As for the car - it's probably around 1800 pounds or so. Stock spec was 1714 but it's got a completely different engine and trans in it from what amounts to later-model-designs as opposed to what it came with in '59.

I noticed the BMW spec says 1650 pounds for something without a trailer brake. I am above that but assume that the fact there is no tongue weight may change the story slightly - the tongue isn't getting more weight put on it as a normal trailer would "push down" under braking conditions.

Looks like BMW says 5.5 inch drop is the max - but that also assumes you're able to tow to the max capacity - whereas I am closer to 1/3 of that.....


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I think the 1650 without brakes has to do with the offset of the receiver relative to the mounting to the frame. When you brake with a load that has no brakes, it will want to twist the hitch under the upper mounting points. The brakes are meant to prevent that. I wouldn't push it. If you do, brake really loooooong.

figured I'd just post this in here.

no clue if its for real or not but bmw of atlanta is showing in-stock for at least one tow hitch. whether its a hoax or not, I do not know. shows the proper part # though and it wasnt up there a month ago...

I would probably call first before dropping the order online lol

Cross member kit for tow hitch, US. Trailer hitch for BMW X Series X5 (1998 - 2007). #71600009711

^Doesnt show it in stock, just that you can "add it to cart"

This happened a lot with the NLA skid plate when it was out of production, it could be ordered from BMW parts websites but they will cancel your order right after you place it

Aww I actually got exited