BMW X5 35d as tow vehicle
I've been towing a 21 foot TT the last 6 years with a Jeep Liberty CRD. The trailer is 3860 lbs empty, and around 5,000 lbs loaded for a trip. This is at the Jeep's official weight limit, and while it...
Forum Discussion
naturist wrote:brulaz wrote:
One thing that bothered me when I was looking into Touareg TDIs was that they did not want you to use a WDH. But using VW's own very short shank tow bar, the max tow rating was about 7-7.5K and the max tongue weight was about 10% of that IIRC, so not bad. Still I was concerned.
I understand other unibody vehicles have similar restrictions. Does the BMW?
Yes. BMW says never use any weight distributing equipment.
For what it is worth, the hitch chosen by BMW North America is rated only 6,000 lbs tow weight, 600 lbs tongue weight. BMW Europe chose instead a US manufactured hitch rated 7,700 lbs/600 lbs tongue weight. That hitch is available in the US, but is strictly aftermarket.
Europeans never use WDH, AFAIK, I guess because their trailers have very low % hitch weights with the trailer wheels more centred on the trailer. They're designed to be towed by diesel sedans not trucks. They do use separate friction sway bars though, and I'm sure they need them, with the low tongue weights, to prevent "snaking" as the Brits call it. Recently they have added sophisticated electronic sway control built into the trailer's brake system.
Anyway, it's just as well we got the F150 EcoB instead of the Touareg as the new trailer is well beyond the Touareg's capabilities, especially with the ~1150# (>15%) tongue weight. Still, those diesel Euro-SUVs are really nice, and will fit in more underground garages:).
