Just posting to add some information:


Curt offers two hitches for the E61, depending on the year (or rather the engine).


We have a 2006 530xiT. The hitch that Curt offers for this car requires drilling.
The hitch for the 535xiT is bolt on. I didn't want to drill in the car if I could avoid it, and as far as I could tell in my research the rear ends of the cars are identical.


I took a risk and ordered the model intended for the 535xiT (Curt #11194). It fit the 530xiT perfectly.

 

that curt hitch says $352. Hangs at least 2" below the edge of the rear bumper trim, is only a 1" receiver.

I am genuinely curious as to why you decided on that over a custom build with no loss of departure angle (tucked up higher), 2" receiver, and built a lot stronger for just $150 more when you are local to the shop that did mine?

 

On your price point, hopefully he didn't pay $350 for the hitch... You can get it off Amazon for $160.

 

I wish I had a local shop that would make me a 2" like norsecarnut has....just sayin....

 

Too bad his shop didn't make a template... He could have then made multiple copies!

 

My reasoning is two fold:
1) Most local shops laughed at me and would not make a custom hitch at all for a BMW car. And definitely not a 2" class-3 type receiver.


2) The Curt hitch was less than $170 from Amazon (including 2" ball), and bolts on. All I really wanted it for is a bike rack, and maybe very very light duty towing. The hidden options are ridiculously priced and I did not want to pay for a custom build when the Curt option was so cheap.

 

Can you post up some pics of your setup please?

Which bike rack also did you go with? There are a few really lightweight ones that can carry 2 or 3 bikes, IIRC.

A Class 1 trailer hitch is one "with capacity of up to 2,000 lbs gross trailer weight and 200 lbs tongue weight."

 

I went with the Yakima HighLite 3 and bought from Amazon. I went with white because it was $30 cheaper than silver.


My second choice would have been the Softride 26428 Alumina3, however it was $150 more than the Yakima. It has better features, as far as keeping the bikes level when you pivot the rack, but it also requires an adapter to fit a 1.25" receiver. The Yakima fits 1.25" by default.

 

Capro, great info and pics, thanks!

I've been toying with doing this for a while, as I can't get 4 bikes and a roof box up top, so need to eventually move a couple of bikes to the back.

Did you install the hitch yourself? Doesn't look too bad, from what I could see in the install guide. There's a bit of trimming to be done IIRC. But the bumper doesn't need to come off, does it?

I've got some Rhino ramps, which should be enough clearance if it's DIY thing.

Did you consider the Thule Helium Aero 3? Granted it's in the high $300's vs. your Yakima which sounds like it's $100 less. With none of these, you can tilt back the rack with bikes on them. So I wonder what extra features can you get?

 

You can definitely DIY it, though it would help if you have a child to help with their small hands.
There is a trim piece in the middle under the bumper which gets removed (it doesn't need to be cut).


I couldn't tell the difference between the Yakima and Thule, except for the price. And everything else we have is Yakima. So I went with Yakima.