Disagree. Short wheelbase Bronco and Blazer suck as towing vehicles. Backing up is tedious
Disagree. Short wheelbase Bronco and Blazer suck as towing vehicles. Backing up is tedious
I’ve always found backing much more pleasant when the truck is shorter proportionally to the trailer. Especially pulling end dumps that get backed a long way, I want the shortest tractor I can get away with.Originally Posted by DaveBrabec
All that aside, there’s an old rule of thumb about wheelbase to trailer length- wheelbase/5 = trailer length in feet. Bronco is a 105” wheelbase - 105/5 makes for a 21’ trailer length. More than adequate for most bass boats.
Were you backing up a single axle trailer? which is a PITA with any towing vehicle. I had a 2001 Tahoe 4 doors as a daily driver for my wife, which was used occasionally for towing a 10' enclosed trailer to the lake house and launched the boat at the near by ramp about a mile down the road at Hurricane Joe's without any issues ever.
I tow with a Lincoln Navigator XL. It has a 3.5 ecoboost in it and it pulls my 520r very well. I was surprised coming from 6.2 GM'S that
it does as good of a job as it does. Lot's of power and very stable.
Ive driven GM half ton trucks with the 5.3 for a little over 17 years. MY last 21 with the 5.3 could pull my 19ft skeeter, but it didnt like it on hills I also have a hunting buggy that i opull in the winter time, and after 3 years of towing most weekends my transmission started acting up. I went ahead and bought a 2020 f250 with the 6.7 powerstroke, and i wont ever go back to a half ton gas burner. Dont even know the boat or hunting buggy are back there. Also went from getting around 10mpg with the chevy to getting 16-17 while towing with the f250. delted, tuned, w/ 37s.
BMW USA derates them and uses that sorry poorly designed hitch.
The manufacturer rates them at 7700#. I am not using a factory hitch for that exact reason. I am using a Stealth Hitch rated at 8000#.
BMW USA is not the manufacturer they are just the importer dealer network on this side of the pond.
Do your research.
Better tell the associates at the Spartanburg SC plant that they don't build them.
My 2005 4runner with the V8 hauls my z185 really well, and it's rated for 7300lbs. I'd like to get a truck, but with the prices they are now, no freaking way. At least my 4runner only has 110k miles on it, and it's the 4.7L that everyone says lasts forever. Mine is all wheel drive, with a transfer case lock to put it into 4wd.
2019 Ranger Z185, ProXS 150
Check out my bass fishin' YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@LifeOnTheLineShow
*yawn*
Love life....Love each other
You must be really insecure. Wife and I have put 490k miles on 4 different BMWs with zero major issues. My two are constant abusive tow duty for my guide business. Never have had a need to wrench on one at all in 10 years. Never had an x5 with air suspension so no idea there....
Built and rebuilt more vehicles, engines, rock crawlers, RVs, boats, tractors, trailers than i can ever remember. I mechanic for part of my living.
So tell me..... you ever towed with an X5 or just talking out of your orifice .... cuz it sounds like you are only full of assumptions with zero first hand knowledge. And you know what they say about A-S-S-U-M-E....
Except with no actual knowledge and experience you're only making one out of you not me.
The hostility is fascinating. No reason for it at all but you seem really really offended that there are highly capable tow vehicles that you would never consider. Everyone so sensitive these days....
Last edited by SGrem; 05-15-2025 at 11:01 PM.
I wouldn't even consider owning an X5 unless it was an M40i, but a have help a friend with his Q7 in my shop so I am familiar with the VW owned BMW and Audi suspensions in SUV's and their recalls. Unless the self-leveling suspension was altered by the previous owns of your x5, since you bought them used, like the Q7 and Q5, came with self-leveling, which was the limiting factor on the 6000# towing and the special hitch from BMW.
You mentioned that you used your own hitch, but it does not change the limits of how your car was built with the corporate shared VW Atlas parts.
BTW, I considered an M5 540i and 440i in 2017 for my wife, but though more expensive, I went for a better vehicle MB AMG E400 Biturbo as her Sunday driver, since she has no need to ride a horse.
Remember that Big and Rich song 'Save a horse'.
I have never had the self leveling suspension for the reasons you mentioned. They were not equipped with it from the factory. It is an option not on all of them. The three I have owned did not have that suspension.
Since BMW doesnt offer the diesel anymore I will likely be going to the Tahoe diesel offering next.
Last edited by SGrem; 05-16-2025 at 08:17 AM.
You guys are ridiculous. Lots of bass boats are towed successfully with mid sized suv's. Heck, I've towed with a 68 Buick LeSabre and a Isuzu trooper and never had a problem. Pilots, Explorers, Grand Cherokee's, Q7's, X5's, etc. are perfectly capable towing machines.
2020 Ranger VS1782 DC
Mercury ProXS 150
Garmin 106 Ultra/UHD 93sv/LVS34
Ulterra Quest, 115/90
2023 Tahoe Premier, 5.3
Again....even tho most believe otherwise and the info is not widely advertised the three BMW x5s that I have owned (2015, 2015, 2018) are rated from the manufacturer with their goofy European gooseneck looking hitch is 7700 pounds. That hitch is not available in North America. The BMW USA factory hitch is rated to 6000 so BMW USA derates the vehicle to that.
However their are aftermarket hitches that ARE available here that are rated for more bringing that tow capacity back.
To be clear the vehicle from the manufacturer is rated to 7700.... and the factory hitch available all over the world EXCEPT North America is rated to 7700.
The factory hitch in North America dictates the 6000 pound here.
The Stealth hitch I am using is rated to 8000. I have towed 7500.
These BMW SUVs have better brakes, better suspension, better handling than any truck. Match that with low center of gravity and a very short distance from the ball to the axle and I wish everyone could experience the relaxed comfortable towing of these vehicles compared to supposedly "more capable" tow vehicles. These luxury suvs from several manufacturers are very very capable. And so much more comfy.....and in the case of the used BMW market.... .way way way cheaper than the dang trucks available these days.
LOL, not even close. The break and suspension components of a 3/4 ton Ford or Ram are a whole lot bigger.
2015 Triton 19TRX, 225 Optimax
2006 Skeeter ZX190, 150 Yamaha SHO
1989 Ranger 373V, Mercury 2.5L 200hp
16' Tracker jon 25 hp Merc 2 cycle
What you described above are all great things to have, which most HD trucks are equipped with bigger brakes, especially rear brakes which is where the kinetic load and forces work on a towing vehicle. 5 link rear suspension is great for handling and performance, but not great for lateral forces applied against a towing vehicle in curves or turns especially at highway speeds.
Here is a great bottom set up: double A-arms, coil overs, 38mm front sway bar, 14.625" front rotors with 6 piston calipers, 14.5" rear rotors with 4 piston calipers, 5 link A-arms, coil overs, 30mm rear sway bar.
Now, that is a great handling and stopping bottom to build on, but it's not meant to tow anything, since it is the set up on my Z06, which will stop on a dime and give you back 9 cents.
Towing forces and high performance/racing forces have very little in common, and unless you get a current X5 with M60i or and older M40i, I wouldn't push an X5 too much in HPDI or open track day.
Do your research....
It takes A LOT more brake performance to bring a car down from 155mph racing speeds than it does to slow a heavy load. Truck brakes designed for load. Luxury SUV brakes designed for racing.
Unless you have done it and experienced it then you are just speculating. Im sharing actual experience..... literally have done it side by side.
A BMW X5 is not a racing vehicle and even if it was the brakes on those still don't compare to what is on an HD truck. Rotors, pads, and calipers are all much larger and heavier.
2015 Triton 19TRX, 225 Optimax
2006 Skeeter ZX190, 150 Yamaha SHO
1989 Ranger 373V, Mercury 2.5L 200hp
16' Tracker jon 25 hp Merc 2 cycle
Apples, grapes and watermelons…
BMX X5 Curb weights start at 4,919 pounds, and there’s little variation and the payload is quite different.
Ford F250 curb weights are more complicated, though start at 6,504 pounds for curb weights, and can range into nearly 8,000 pounds. With payloads well beyond that.
This goes way beyond a rotor and brake system. Pushing a 7,900 pound vehicle will be much more resistance than pushing a 4,900 pound weight vehicle. We can all go to tire selection, vehicle designs, suspensions and more that also are designed specifically for totally different uses. That doesn’t mean you can’t tow with an X5, just that an X5 won’t carry a 15,000 pound rated trailer (insert RV) with a gooseneck. Thats no matter what hitch you put on it, and the F250 gas burner will.
That doesn’t mean the X5 won’t pull your boat. We’ve seen Corvettes, Lexus, Porches, and Mercedes all pulling bass boats safely it appears. Maybe even better than an F150 base cab 2wd.
That's it! I'm trading my truck in for a Chevy Spark to pull my boat with. HOW BOUT NOW?
2023 Xpress H18 with 115 SHO.
Is that small spot with someone already on it really worth finding out the hard way they don't like company? Keep it a mystery and go somewhere else.
Reply With Quote
