BMW towing help. Since the barn door is open

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

I'll save all of you the trouble. "You shouldn't of bought the X3". That being said, I want to take the X3 with us on the road. Our rig has a W24 workhorse chassis and is rated (according to the hitch) to pull 5,000lbs. The X3 weighs in at 4300 wet and can't be flat towed. First thought was to use a tow dolly up front and a Remco drivehaft coupler in the rear but Remco says, "there's no room under it to install the coupling". Does anyone have a solution to help me keep the X3 in the family? I'll be car shopping soon if I can't find a decent solution.

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

I'll save all of you the trouble. "You shouldn't of bought the X3". That being said, I want to take the X3 with us on the road. Our rig has a W24 workhorse chassis and is rated (according to the hitch) to pull 5,000lbs. The X3 weighs in at 4300 wet and can't be flat towed. First thought was to use a tow dolly up front and a Remco drivehaft coupler in the rear but Remco says, "there's no room under it to install the coupling". Does anyone have a solution to help me keep the X3 in the family? I'll be car shopping soon if I can't find a decent solution.

[Tom N]

YOur W24 is rated to pull 6000# according to Workhorse.

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

I read the same thing but the hitch does say 5000 / 500. I'm guessing there's a reason for that.

[Tom N]

The Valley hitch receiver is stamped for the W22 and F53 chassis.

[PHESPE]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376:
I'll save all of you the trouble. "You shouldn't of bought the X3". That being said, I want to take the X3 with us on the road. Our rig has a W24 workhorse chassis and is rated (according to the hitch) to pull 5,000lbs. The X3 weighs in at 4300 wet and can't be flat towed. First thought was to use a tow dolly up front and a Remco drivehaft coupler in the rear but Remco says, "there's no room under it to install the coupling". Does anyone have a solution to help me keep the X3 in the family? I'll be car shopping soon if I can't find a decent solution. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ouch! That hurts not being able to use your X3 - great fun car.

But, if you can't use it and need a new vehicle I would suggest a Mini Cooper S, made by BMW. It is surely not a X3 but it is a great fun car.

I have a 2005 that has 9000 miles on it non-towing and 11,000 miles being towed behind my DP. Its light enough for your W24 and base-plates etc. are available and easy to install.

Take a look at it

PHESPE

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

That's a great choice for a towable! I've also thought of a Toyota Matrix and an Honda CRV as alternatives. Yes, it a bummer that I can't take the X3 but I will buy something in the next few months that I can.

[Tom N]

Tow it with the engine running and in neutral.

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

I certainly hope you are kidding about leaving the engine idle for 2 or 3 hundred miles of towing. The X3 is going home to Prescott on the 25th of Aug with my wife and daughter and we are buying some used towable. The X3 could use a rest anyway, we bought it in mid May 06 and it just turned over 10k miles yesterday while we were driving to Irvine Ca for a business Expo we are doing. Not sure what we will buy yet but there are plenty of cars and little sport utes that will fit the bill for what we need.

[Tom N]

No, I'm not kidding. Leaving the engine running is the same as coasting with the vehicle in neutral. You can tow with the engine running.

I often tow my Honda with the engine running, on an extended trip, for a 1/2 hour in the mornings to bring the car battery up to full charge.

[cwg]

A word of caution if you tow with the engine idling. Many of the "in a box" auxillary braking systems require the operator to press the brake pedal up to six or seven times in order to remove the residuary air in the system before towing. This is a requirement as the supplemental braking system is designed to work on a "dead" pedal on the tow. There is cautionary language that having air in the lines can result in too much braking force when the towed vehicle brakes. When the engine is started, the brakes are reactivated. Again, not all systems are designed this way, but many are.

As many more rigs have supplemental braking systems, it is something of which to be aware.