frayed

Have any of you towed with an X5?

I know of one racer who does and has had very good experiences with his 4.4 X5, pulling a 24ft enclosed tailer with 7,000lbs. The keys seem to be using a good weight distribution/anti sway hitch, and dual axle brakes on the trailer.

The X5 is certainly not an F350 long wheelbase diesel, but I don't plan on such a purchase.

Sean F

M758

Hmm that does not seem like a good idea. 24Ft box is one LARGE trailer. I'd bet you would be fine with an open trailer, but I'd not want to use an X5 to tow such a large & heavy box.

ltc

Marginal, at best IMHO.

Lack of proper towing mirror (extensions) is a safety issue.
Way too close to max towing capacity and tongue weight (depends on track vehicle's engine placement, vehicle placement in trailer and spares/tools/tires, etc)
Wheelbase to trailer length is, at best, marginal (side wind/gust stability will likely be an issue)
Range/mileage will be marginal, at best.
Would expect very rapid X5 brake wear (based on pads/compounds), even with a proper electric brake controller.
Transmission shifting will likely have to be manual mode (X5 does not have a 'towing' mode) and transmission temperatures may become an issue.

Perhaps a shorter, lighter, trailer, properly balanced/weighted, with proper mirror extensions....

IMHO, it will be a 'busy' towing experience.

ltc

Agreed. This topic comes up quite often. Perhaps it deserves a 'sticky' at the top of the forum.

George from MD

I tow with an X5 on an open trailex. I personally would not go anything above that- maybe an enclosed trailex at the most. It does have a short wheelbase and I think the tail would wag the dog on anything bigger no matter what you did.

chrisp

looks scary to me and I'm not one of the dually crew. (4Runner w/4,200 lb loaded open trailer)

frayed

Just a clarification, that rig isn't mine, but a fellow who races his 996 actively.

I couldn't search "X5" in this forum

John H

I pulled an open with an X5 and it was okay. I would never pull an enclosed car trailer with one.

deep_uv

Having had a harrowing tank slapper caused by an emergency lane change that used up all 5 lanes of an undivided highway with a 1/2 ton Extended cab 4wd pickup whilst towing a 20 foot bassboat, I'll never tow anything at all with anything less than a 3/4 ton Crew cab HD diesel pickup (pick your favorite brand). Imagine going totally sideways with a trailer attached and then doing it the other way back and forth 4 or 5 times with oncoming traffic diving off the highway to avoid me. How I got it back under control, I'll never know. I just knew I was dead. Even my wife was impressed (and that never happens).

chrisp

since so many of us haven't had the opportunity to live an experience like that, what caused it?

chrisp

Jeff,

A 996 no less. I thought you would have said that he had an 1800lb plastic 914 in there.

That's gotta be at least 3,000 lb of car and 3,500 lb of trailer...but probably more like 7,000+ lbs total which is well over the X5's 6,000 lb rating.

Don't be fooled by the weight dist hitch. It's meant to supplement loads over 5,000 lbs not increase the weight carrying capacity of the tow vehicle.

TR6

Sounds just like your track driving to me...

frayed

The reason I'm asking, is that I had initially concluded I'd get an open trailer to keep weight and profile down since I'm not towing with a big diesel rig.

Then I saw on the X5 forums that these things properly setup can tow quite well, requiring a good hitch with heavy duty sway control and and good brakes. The X5 guys talk about distance from centerline of rear axle to hitch ball, and short leverage of the tailer on the SUV.

So here's a guy who's taken it up a level:

http://www.x5world.com/x5-e53-forum/....html#post5451

I've made numerous posts on Bimmer.org regarding towing and the capabilities of the X5, but because a "picture is worth a thousand words" I'm attaching one of my assembly for those who might be interested.

Following are some statistics on the assembly:

BMW X5
*2001 April build
*All options except phone & load floor
*4.4i with Sports Package (rear axle has air suspension)
*Dinan throttle body, engine & trans software (298 hp & 350+ #' torque)
*Current miles = 60,369 (engine oil consumption = 1 pint every 6,500 miles)
*Hitch is the BMW OEM hitch (I installed it)
*Average city mpg = 13 to 17 (basis number of stop lights)
*Average highway mpg = 18 to 22 (basis wind direction)
*Average towing mpg = 8 to 12 (basis wind direction)

Airstream
*2002 (May 2001 build) 31 foot Classic Limited
*GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) 8,300# (have loaded it to 8,900+#)
*Tongue weight 750 to 1,000 pounds (weight distributed)
*Miles towed by X5 = 20,706

Hensley Arrow
*Towing interface (orange component between the X5 & Airstream)
*Totally negates sway via mechanical geometry (no friction involved)
*Incorporates weight distribution springs with jack screws
*Web site = http://nosway.com/

----------------

He's now done 28,000 miles.

It appears to me, at least, that proper setup is the key rather than admonishing towing with a unibody X5.

Sean F

I'm glad I don't live in Houston Texas. That guy is going to kill someone.