Towing with my 35D- load leveling?
 

On saturday I'm likely going to be towing about 5500lbs a bit over an hour away. I'm still super nervous, being that I don't have the self leveling suspension, and know it's going to be squatting like crazy with 500-600lbs on the hitch.

Everything I've looked into says that retrofitting the SLS is near impossible, because the car's not wired for it if it wasn't optioned for it. I can't really find anyone that seems to have fitted any aftermarket system either- Vague mentions of doing arnott bags, but with a standalone pump. I'm trying to find out if this would be possible. Can anyone point me any direction?

I'm going to do a nice suspension refresh sometime soon on the front, and would love to do the back too, but want to consider making the vehicle more tow worthy. It's got the rating for 6klbs, and I do plan on driving it some decent distance at around that weight. I've had 2300 lbs behind it before and it was great, barely noticeable.

You'll be fine. Make sure you know what your tongue load is, take it to a weigh scale to be sure.

I’ll have a tongue weight scale to check it before driving.

Two ideas:

(1) use a WD hitch setup
(2) there are generic Airbags and spring helpers people install on their pickups etc to prevent sag when towing. Perhaps they are avail in a size which could fit within your rear coil springs. You fill them up with an external air pump.

You'll be fine. Towing a 20' SeaRay (3500lbs dry + trailer and gear) I couldn't hardly tell it was behind me so SLS here.

For those who were unable to get the rear self leveling suspension yet want to tow bigger loads, maybe this could help:

https://www.amazon.com/LIFT-60732-10.../dp/B000CFS028

My rear end squats pretty hard with my car hauler behind me. Load is 5500ish, and I'm putting around 500lbs on the hitch. car handles fine, but I'd like to avoid the squat + the crazy tire wear that I'm sure will follow it. Have about 3k miles of towing planned for the near future, so I'd like to get the ride height settled.

Bfeng- That looks interesting. Reviews are mostly with various generation toyota siennas, but theres a highlander too. Looking at their site, I'm going to follow their directions for measuring my rear springs- min interior diameter in middle of spring, and height. If i find a set that roughly matches my measurements, I'm going to go for it. What's $100 for a try. I'll get a cheap DC compressor if the install goes well, so I can change it on the fly. I'll keep this thread updated with information I find!

I’m really disappointed with how the F15 handles hitch weight vs the e53, I would have thought it would be better, not worse!


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Bmw designs these for road worthiness, rather than hauling ability. Base on the user base, I completely understand it. Wish I had SLS though, and I'm really hoping that I find a set of bags that will fit and they can help me out!

If you plan to tow with an X5, you should stick with those equipped with the air suspension. When I was shopping I specifically only looked for diesel plus 3rd row seats to make sure I had the torque and air suspension. It took quite a bit longer to find the right one to buy, but the X5 works great without bandaids and compromises.

Trying to tow with significant tongue weights without air suspension or WD would be a problem with most vehicles, not just the X5. You can sag out the back of a pickup too.
For that matter I’m surprised pickups don’t come with an OEM rear air bag setup for ride height leveling. These aren’t cheap vehicles anymore.