ProMed

I found very little hitch related e60 info on any of the forums so I'm posting this up.

Had the dealer install my Curt 11498 hitch this past week. $200 for the install, including the wiring. With the cyber monday coupon at etrailer my it was right at $200 for the wiring and hitch. So the total was around $400 for everything.

Overall I'm very happy. It doesn't destroy the lines of the car (imo) as a few guys on the forums had said it would. It is hard to see the hitch in my cell phone pics at the dealership. I took the last pic below at the hospital today with better lighting, but it still came out pretty dark.

There is also the Euro-style hitch option, which is almost totally out of sight when not in use. The downsides on this setup for me was; higher price, bumper trimming, and an inability to use the hitch mounted Yakima bike rack I already own.

Only thing I plan to regularly haul with the car is one of my motorcycles for races, track days or practice sessions, and I have a hitch mounted mountain bike rack. May also use it pick up oversize items from time to time at Lowes/ Home Depot. Definetly wouldn't attempt any serious towing with this type of setup.

The trailer I have is 250 lbs, the CRF450R is ~230 lbs, and my CBR1000RR is ~439 wet.

Manufacturer: Curt Manufacturing
Part Number: 11498
Rating: Class I
Receiver Size: 1.25"
Maximum Weight Carrying Capacity:
Gross Trailer Weight: 2000 lbs.
Tongue Weight: 200 lbs.

Hitch: http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Curt/11498.html
Wiring: http://www.etrailer.com/Wiring/Tow-Ready/119176KIT.html



btw - The 535i"P" is a joke between my bmw service advisor and I, not planning to keep it on. Asked him to price a diesel engine swap and he handed me a "d" emblem when I came to pick up my car. I flipped it over to make a "P", my first name is Paul.

or_550i

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nwwrjyuPgo

Ha. I bought a factory Westfalia hitch since I _hated_ the idea of the curtis bolting to the spare tire sheet metal. I was going to post a write up for it... But I never did.



Higher price is nothing considering you have to drill holes in the body for the curtis install. I paid the higher price not to drill into the body. For the OEM trailer hitch all you would have had to 'trim' is the plastic underbody. The bumper needs NO, ZERO, trimming.




Fully loaded trunk, four people, filled trailer...

ProMed

Looks great, thanks for posting pics. Your install looks more involved, but of course more sturdy as well. There is no drilling into the "body" with the Curt, it is just attached to the spare tire pan which I don't consider the body. When I sell the car I only need to pull the wiring, plug the 4 holes (no need to pull bumper), and replace the plastic underbody trim which wasn't cut.

I looked at the OEM/ Westfalia and execuhitch which look to be a very similar design to each other. Pretty sure I saw your video, there were a few other bimmer hitch vids I think. Both of those are Class 2 which would be great if I was planning to tow more. I'm only towing less than 700 lbs total with my heaviest bike. As mentioned, I couldn't use my Yakima hitch mounted 4-bike rack (which cost me more than the Curt itself) with the euro style hitches. I think it was execuhitch that makes their own bike rack to fit that style of hitch but it looked pretty cheesy.
Looks like you did the install yourself. How much was your hitch and wiring? Any idea how much weight it added to the car?

lol, there are 4 people in the car?

or_550i

Eh, you got me. There was only one person in the car AT that time. We all got in shortly after to drive 1200 miles. It's an awesome feeling passing people uphill. You could hardly tell the trailer was there.

yes, this towbar install was involved. I learned that the bumper carrier for Europe and the US have different bolt widths. But this is ok since the towbar is basically a replacement bumper carrier.

I overly complicated this project because I wanted to use a canbus controller I built to control the trailer lights rather than tapping the tail light wires. I have a plug in module for the e60 for trailer wiring - basically a home brew AHM. However, two days before we left I realized that the controller would not be ready so I ended up having to make piggy-backs on the tail light wires (I was not pleased). It worked fine though and I'm sure the tail light wires will be easier for most people to understand rather than a home made AHM (canbus to trailer wiring controller).

There are bike carriers for the euro tow balls. The Brits call them 'hangers' and they bolt on over the ball. The THULE 9708 is an example of it.

The towbar/hitch (trailer wiring was included) was about $650 with three day shipping from the UK. The towbar weighed as much as the bumper carrier that I removed so there was no net weight gain. It was about 45 lbs.

ProMed

That sounds about the same as the execuhitch, where did you get it from?

or_550i

PFJones. I liked them. It was fast service.