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Old 12-31-2014, 10:40 PM   #1
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Hitch Recommendations Wanted for 25RB-BMW X5d combo

Hello - I'm new to this forum business, so please bear with me as I launch my ship into uncharted waters.

As the title suggests, I am looking for hitch recommendations for towing our new 2015 25RB behind my 2012 BMW X5d. We've gained extensive experience over the last two seasons pulling our 2012 19 Flying Cloud using both Equal-i-zer and Eaz-Lift hitches. Can-Am RV did a great job at reinforcing the X5's receiver in anticipation of the heavier load the 25RB will present. My sense is that both hitches handle weight distribution well, but that the Equal-i-zer had better sway control properties. Unfortunately, those square bars didn't provide much vertical flex.

The Eaz-Lift saddles and sway control components are welded onto the 19FC, and we intend to keep that trailer for a while so I need to replace those components, if not just buy an entirely new hitch to pull the 25RB.

I'm confident in the X5d as a capable tow vehicle, and anxious to take delivery next week of our new 25RB. So the question is this: does anyone out there have modest-to-significant experience with the X5d-25RB combo, and, if so, what hitch are you using? And are you satisfied with it?

To the extent possible, I'd like to optimise the Weight Distribution : Sway Control equation without breaking the bank. I appreciate learning of your experiences, and hearing your thoughts and recommendations

Many thanks, and Happy New Year,

Rod Fierek
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Old 12-31-2014, 11:46 PM   #2
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Welcome to the forum.

Hi, I could be wrong, but asking for experiences with your combination might be rare or non-existent. You might get a better response just asking what hitches are being used with a BMW X-5 gas or Diesel. I have towed an Airstream Safari 25-B, or as they call them now RB, for over ten years with an Equal-I-zer brand hitch and it works great.
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Old 01-01-2015, 06:41 AM   #3
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Rod,

Welcome Aboard!!


"new 2015 25RB....2012 BMW X5d...Can-Am RV did a great job at reinforcing the X5's receiver"

"Sway Control equation without breaking the bank."

Just one observation....Even the MOST expensive Pivot Point Projection hitch system would be a minor addition to your already considerable investment.

Why cut corners now?

PPP is my recommendation.

Disclaimer, we are using the Hensley, 8yrs no regrets.


Sweet Streams

Bob
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Old 01-01-2015, 07:03 AM   #4
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Hello and welcome!

The 25FB is WAY TOO MUCH trailer for your BMW.

1) With fluids and cargo your trailer will easily exceed the BMW's 6,000 lb. tow rating. That rating is NOT necessarily the maximum the hitch can handle. It is the maximum amount that the entire vehicle can handle. Just because the hitch has been strengthened DOES NOT mean that your SUV is any more capable than anyone else's.

2) Airstream's advertised 833 lb. tongue weight is without options, water and cargo. You're likely to have a tongue weight that easily exceeds 1,000 lbs. - perhaps even exceeding 1100! Your hitch isn't legally able to carry that load even if it has been mechanically strengthened. Did you change your rear wheels or tires too? The factory ones won't likely be adequate for this job.

3) Your BMW's payload will be non-existent once you strap this trailer to it. At less than 1290 lbs you'll use most of it up with tongue weight. Throw in you a significant other and a sandwich for lunch, and you're already over the limit. You don't have enough payload available to even install a weight-distributing hitch or sway control. Where are you going to put your dog, grill, generator(s), tools, cords, hoses, cooler full of beer, and all of your other cargo. You won't even be able to fill your fresh water tank when driving. You'll need to make sure that your grey and black water tanks are empty too. If you want to be legal you should probably empty your propane tanks too. You don't have capacity in the BMW for any of this stuff. Adding any of it to the trailer just makes the 6,000 lb. problem even worse.

Your BMW might make sense for a 19' trailer, but it will never make sense for a 25' unit. Please think about the bus-load filled with orphans following behind you before you embark on any trip with this setup. We want them to make it home safely just as much as we want you to.

If I may be so bold, I think what you really want is a shiny new (or lightly used) tow vehicle with the capability to handle such a big trailer - The kind that will make grown-men smile and grunt as you cruise effortlessly down the road.
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Old 01-01-2015, 08:05 AM   #5
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I Gotta Agree

Your BMW is simply not up to the task of pulling a 25' AS. As much as I hate to say "look at the numbers", please do. That vehicle will be straining every last inch of umph it has to pull the TT, and it will have to be nearly empty just to do that.
IMHO, and I am not trying to be mean in any way, shape or form, just don't even try it. Airrogant is spot on. You are taxing the BMW over it's capability, and leaving NO room for anything you need to bring. I wouldn't even back that BMW up to the ball of the 25'. I see this all the time. Folks will say "Sure it can pull it."
And I ask, "But can you STOP it?"
In your case, trailer brakes or not, your best bet is to not even bring that vehicle with you when you pick up your shiny new AS.

Used trucks are abundant. As we say here in Nawth Cackolacki: Go on n git u one!
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Old 01-01-2015, 08:16 AM   #6
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We're now five posts into this thread. I predict that within a few hours, several more folks will chime in with "your BMW is more than adequate". And so it will go, with some folks claiming that it's really all just about "opinion".

My "opinion" is it's best to stay within the stated limits the car company published. I stand by that belief no matter what style of hitch, and no matter who might be making it, modifying it, or installing it.

Happy new year everyone, safe towing and happy camping to all.
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Old 01-01-2015, 08:20 AM   #7
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If you like the simplicity and effectiveness of the Equailzer, but don't like the stiff bars, take a look at the Reese SC hitch. It works under the same friction principles, with softer bars, and no noise when turning.

Your Beemer will tow the 25', but I'd wager you won't like it, and get a different tow vehicle within a year.
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Old 01-01-2015, 08:23 AM   #8
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Some wise man once said "Just because you can does not mean that you should".
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Old 01-01-2015, 08:48 AM   #9
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Airrogent is 100% right. Numbers don't lie. Hitch reinforcement will not magically increase the tow rating of your vehicle, nor does using a top of the line hitch. There is no vehicle, that tows great, handles great, gets great MPG, is small enough to park easily, and is a great daily driver all at the same time. There are vehicles specialized for specific tasks. It's all about tradeoffs.


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Old 01-01-2015, 08:49 AM   #10
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You already have a relationship with Can Am. I can't imagine ant opinion more valuable than theirs. Call them back!
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Old 01-01-2015, 09:05 AM   #11
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Can-Am's advice is based on experience setting up hundreds (thousands?) of similar vehicles. Some of these vehicles are better than others. Work with them.

This is not the best place to ask for towing opinions, it's always the same set of warnings and bets with little or no experience towing a medium-sized Airstream with a BMW X5.

And yes, the Hensley/ProPride design will stabilize any wiggle or crosswind/semi bow wave push the trailer may feel. That is based on experience of a short wheelbase truck towing a FC 25RB.
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Old 01-01-2015, 10:31 AM   #12
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Poster withidl has 10s of thousands of miles on his E53 X5. That model is earlier than yours, slightly smaller and lighter. I think his trailer is a 31. PPP hitch. I'd follow his lead.
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Old 01-01-2015, 03:49 PM   #13
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In the big truck world ' it takes iron to move iron' I wouldn't do it, one big cross wind from a truck , you might be in the ditch upside down...
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Old 01-01-2015, 04:15 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tjdonahoe View Post
In the big truck world ' it takes iron to move iron' I wouldn't do it, one big cross wind from a truck , you might be in the ditch upside down...
In the little truck world:

I can tell you we tow our 25' RB (same as OP) with a 120" wheelbase Ram reg cab (similar dimensions/weights as the X5 but we have a less stable solid rear axle) with a ProPride hitch; the ProPride/Hensley design projects those big cross winds to the rear axle where they are stabilized, does not leverage them to the front steering axle.

No other bumper-pull hitch does that, the only thing similar in handling "big cross wind from a truck" is a fifth wheel trailer which also stabilizes the rig at the rear axle. The result is effortless towing, you might notice the "big cross wind" but barely.
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Old 01-01-2015, 04:21 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StillRod View Post
Hello - I'm new to this forum business, so please bear with me as I launch my ship into uncharted waters.

As the title suggests, I am looking for hitch recommendations for towing our new 2015 25RB behind my 2012 BMW X5d.
Get ready for lots of recommendations that have nothing to do with the selection of a hitch for your X5. I had an X5, and now have an X3. Both tow very well. Great choice. You may want to expand your question to not only gasoline X5s (which tow exactly the same for all X5s built from 2004 onwards) but also Touaregs, Cayennes, and Mercs. All will handle a standard 3500 kg tow load pretty similarly, and would give you additional data points.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Airrogant View Post
The 25FB is WAY TOO MUCH trailer for your BMW.

Please think about the bus-load filled with orphans following behind you before you embark on any trip with this setup. We want them to make it home safely just as much as we want you to.
Only post four, and already we have a bus load of orphans


Quote:
Originally Posted by Shamrockboat View Post
And I ask, "But can you STOP it?"
In your case, trailer brakes or not, your best bet is to not even bring that vehicle with you when you pick up your shiny new AS.
Your GM/Chev 2500 (if it is a diesel, as I assume it is) takes 32 feet more to stop from 60 mph than a 2012 X5d. That is most of a school bus length. Hopefully the school bus you are following in this scenario isn't full of orphans. So with better performing brakes than a 3/4 ton pickup, the future for towing with an X5 is bright.


Quote:
Originally Posted by rostam View Post
Numbers don't lie. Hitch reinforcement will not magically increase the tow rating of your vehicle, nor does using a top of the line hitch.
The X5 6000 lb rating in North America is due to the rating of the BMWNA-marketed hitch. BMW sells other designs of hitches in other markets, using the same vehicle attachment points, and all rated 7700 lbs, on the exact same vehicle. Same cooling, same axles, and so on. Even did the part number search to confirm it. Same rating even for the same vehicle equipped with lower power engines not available in North America. Agreed, numbers don't lie.


Quote:
Originally Posted by jgerardi View Post
You already have a relationship with Can Am. I can't imagine any opinion more valuable than theirs. Call them back!
Excellent suggestion!


Quote:
Originally Posted by tjdonahoe View Post
In the big truck world ' it takes iron to move iron' I wouldn't do it, one big cross wind from a truck , you might be in the ditch upside down...
Fortunately, an X5, with its lower CoG, increased roll stability, more precise steering, better brakes, and stiffer chassis, is far less likely to be in that ditch upside down than a heavy duty pickup, which many consider a very suitable tow vehicle.

Off topic: Coming from the Caterpillar world, big iron had a whole different meaning. Big trucks started at 100 ton capacity. On Highway trucks were like pickups. Anything from a D4 down was referred to as "the lawn and garden division" Boy, are we a long ways away from an X5 now

Back on topic.

Rod, there are a few threads with E70 models towing late model 25 and 27 foot Airstreams. I saw one using an Equalizer. I still like the PPP, and would probably go Propride. We are considering an F15 X5 (likely a 35i) with a 27FC. Good luck in whatever you choose.

Jeff
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Old 01-01-2015, 05:07 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by jcl View Post
The X5 6000 lb rating in North America is due to the rating of the BMWNA-marketed hitch. BMW sells other designs of hitches in other markets, using the same vehicle attachment points, and all rated 7700 lbs, on the exact same vehicle.
Yep, the X5 hitch in Europe is rated at 7700#. Jeff forgot to mention the tongue weight limit though: a hefty 264# (or 120 KG). Euro specification are meaningless unless you are in Europe, and plan to tow a Euro spec'ed trailer in European roads.
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Old 01-01-2015, 05:11 PM   #17
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I looked up that BMW ,what I found was 6000 lbs Max , a mid sized luxury crossover suv. My wife has a toyota venza crossover, just a car....with all wheel drive....Iwill stay with my diesel pickup with a 17000 lbs towing capacity.....and it is very stable..
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Old 01-01-2015, 05:18 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rostam View Post
Yep, the X5 hitch in Europe is rated at 7700#. Jeff forgot to mention the tongue weight limit though: a hefty 264# (or 120 KG). Euro specification are meaningless unless you are in Europe, and plan to tow a Euro spec'ed trailer in European roads.
Didn't forget. The point being made was the vehicle rating, not the hitch rating. The vehicle tow rating is relevant to comments about the X5 platform being unable to pull a given load. Reinforcing the hitch can change the effective tow rating of this particular vehicle, although not to the manufacturer. It doesn't change the axle load limits, which is what I think you are getting at. The 1400 lb vehicle load limit stays the same.

If someone is concerned about TV brakes, consider others towing up to 7700 lbs in the Swiss alps with the TV manufacturer's blessing. If someone is concerned about overheating, consider towing up to 7700 lbs through Africa. But then, those of us who have towed with X3s and X5s haven't had issues with brakes or overheating.
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Old 01-01-2015, 05:40 PM   #19
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Question

Hey rod howz it go'n for 'ya?

Big help eh.

I still don't know how I ever made it thru 18yrs of Stream'n, being how ignorant I was back then and how stubborn I am now.

“Education is what people do to you,
Learning is what you do to yourself….

Good luck

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Old 01-01-2015, 06:13 PM   #20
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Here's a video by someone who pulls their 30 ft A/S with a Mercedes GL 350 diesel (something like that). And of course, a Hensley.

Don't know how the Benz compares to the Beemer, towing wise.

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