[OWFPRG]

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I wanted to share my experience with an aftermarket hitch setup and towing a trailer.

*** Installation ***

It took me a good weekend to install the tow hitch (from EcoHitch) and wiring harness (from StealthHitch) myself.

For the hitch itself, I like EcoHitch better than StealthHitch in terms of design. EcoHitch is also slightly cheaper.

For the wiring, you can get the wiring harness kit from StealthHitch. Since I already have EcoHitch, I called StealthHitch and bought just the wiring and the controller for $200, instead of the full kit which is $300. Shout out to folks in this thread https://bmwi.bimmerpost.com/forums/s....php?t=1969710 for information about the correct wires to tap - saved me hours!!!

The hitch height, measured from ground to the top of the receiver opening, is about 13.625", or 13.125" if car is in sports mode. Note that this is with air suspension and EcoHitch; the StealthHitch receiver might be slightly higher, by 0.25" or so. I used a 4.25" riser to make it level with the trailer I towed.

I didn't find a good place to permanently attach the 7 pin socket to. In a pinch, you could jerry-rig and ziptie it to the hitch receiver. Since I prefer a clean look, I made a small sliding door for the cutout in the underbody panel, and stored the 7 pin socket inside the cutout. The sliding door is usually closed, preventing dirt accumulation and rodents. When towing, I simply open the sliding door, grab the 7 pin socket, connect it to the trailer plug, then put it back and close the door.

*** Towing ***

We rented a TT from Cruise America. Gross weight 3800 lb. It has surge brakes, so you do need wiring for the reverse light.

Towing was completely smooth and effortless. Never felt much sway.

At 55 mph, with a bit of headwind (10-15 mph) and a mild temperature of ~55F, the efficiency was ~1.4 miles/kwh. Driving on coastal mountains at 30-45 mph (California highway 1), it rose to ~1.6 miles/kwh.

I used a universal tow mirror from Amazon which fits nicely on the ix mirror.

P.S. The Cruise America trailer is very basic, with a loud furnace that frequently woke us up at night when it ran. We probably won't rent it again.

*** Charging ***

We only had to charge at DCFC twice, both at ElectrifyAmerica. The first EA site has a pull-through station, which was nice. The other EA site has no pull-through stations and we had to be creative (see picture).

We had overnight L2 charging, once at the 14-50 outlet of a RV campground, and once at a "Rivian waypoint" charger at a state park campground. Both were free (or included in the site fee), which saved us $$ since our free EA charging expired.

[OWFPRG]

The StealthHitch control module has a small flaw: it keeps the output "power" wire energized when the car is off. This means the 12v battery may drain if you forget to disconnect the trailer plug. To fix it I installed a relay ($8, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078T8CMF6...tle_0_0&th=1); some of the fuse slots in the rear fuse box are switched, so I simply used a fuse tap to activate the relay.

[Jd19]

Didn’t realize the iX was rated to tow 5,500 pounds in Europe. May look into this down road if we keep the iX and sell our X5. Hoping the iX7 can be optioned with a hitch when it’s released in a few years.

[Bimmerfun82]

So your towing range was ~175 miles?

[X5V8Fan]

Originally Posted by Bimmerfun82

So your towing range was ~175 miles?

Lol the only reason I opened this post was for range impact and they omitted it.

[Bimmerfun82]

Originally Posted by X5V8Fan

Lol the only reason I opened this post was for range impact and they omitted it.

Everyone likes to speak in Greek with this stuff - it’s almost like it’s done on purpose

[DocWeatherington]

How was the range? How did the IX feel when doing it?

[Fugly M3]

Right, the big question is what is the range? One of these days I'll get up the nerve to go rent something and do a tow test with my 20' Chris Craft. Past big-engined SUVs have towed with ease at 80-85 mph. The Land Rover Disco 3 liter diesel got 20 mpg at 85 on flat surfaces. Trailer is double-axled and braked and sits down beautifully. The new Cayenne 3.0 I don't expect will break 15 mpg. I suspect at 80+ none of these EVs will go 100 miles.

[Salespunk]

You can do the math on the range. They said they got 1.4 mi/kWh. Assuming you are using about 80 kWh you would get around 110 miles.

[exxxviii]

I think the towing range impact is generally the same between BEV and ICEV - towing cuts range in half.

As far as the actual act of towing (smoothly pulling something very heavy), BEV is superior, since it has 100% torque at 0 RPM and generally far more torque than ICEV.

[wesleyan92]

Originally Posted by X5V8Fan

Lol the only reason I opened this post was for range impact and they omitted it.

Originally Posted by Bimmerfun82

Everyone likes to speak in Greek with this stuff - it’s almost like it’s done on purpose

Kill joys! At least drop a thank you before getting to your needs.

OP - thank you for the awesome post.

[Bimmerfun82]

Originally Posted by wesleyan92

Kill joys! At least drop a thank you before getting to your needs.

OP - thank you for the awesome post.

Thanks OP.
Need: range info
1.1-1.6 kWh is 150 miles, I’d guess

[G30M]

Originally Posted by jcolinzheng

I wanted to share my experience with an aftermarket hitch setup and towing a trailer.
.

good stuff! that thing is a lounge on wheels.

sorry i might have missed it , how much range did you lose compared to not towing?

so 1.6miles/kwh towing, what kwh not towing in the same route under the same conditions?

[OWFPRG]

The range I had was:

- 1.6*106 = 170 miles for steep mountain driving at 40 mph

- 1.4*106 = 150 miles for cruising at 55-60 mph. If there was no headwind, I'd maybe get another 10% of range.

In both scenarios the net elevation change was negligible.

I didn't test towing at 80-85 mph, so I have no idea what range you'd get.

I'm not sure how useful it is to compare with my non-towing range. I'm one of the more efficient EV drivers, and can probably hit 3.4 or 3.5 miles/kwh both for that stretch of mountain driving and for cruising at 55-60 mph (without headwind). So for me, the towing efficiency is more than 2x worse. That's actually expected because the wind drag is the dominant factor; whether you are an efficient driver, have efficient tires, etc, don't matter much anymore.

[Fugly M3]

Originally Posted by OWFPRG

I didn't test towing at 80-85 mph, so I have no idea what range you'd get.

I'd recommend against it as you have a single axle and a very top heavy vehicle. Trailer sway would be very real with that thing. Having towed both single and double axle it's insanely different.

[Bimmerfun82]

Thanks for the range numbers, my estimates were spot on. What I don’t understand is why I only get 2.3 mi/kWh in my iXM60 while everyone else seems to achieve 3.5. I have the big wheels and might utilize sport mode a bit too much, allegedly.

You have the 50? Maybe the M60 would fare much worse but tow more weight

[brettl]

Originally Posted by Bimmerfun82

Thanks for the range numbers, my estimates were spot on. What I don’t understand is why I only get 2.3 mi/kWh in my iXM60 while everyone else seems to achieve 3.5. I have the big wheels and might utilize sport mode a bit too much, allegedly.

You have the 50? Maybe the M60 would fare much worse but tow more weight

Tow ratings aren’t really about the power of the vehicle, it’s more about the weight, drivetrain, wheelbase, and the weight distribution, brake capability of the trailer.
you see these pictures from UK of these tiny SUV’s towing these giant camping trailers, there it’s how they distribute the weight on the trailers. In the U.S., we tend to have higher tongue weights so our tow ratings tend to be lower, but I think safer.
For example, in pickup trucks or body on frame SUV’s, 2wd versions can tow more then 4 or AWD.
I’m surprised the iX (no matter trim) is rated to tow so little in EU for how long the wheelbase is and how heavy the car is. I’m guessing it’s lack of frame/chassis and construction material that’s the limiting factor.

[Bimmerfun82]

Originally Posted by brettl

Tow ratings aren’t really about the power of the vehicle, it’s more about the weight, drivetrain, wheelbase, and the weight distribution, brake capability of the trailer.
you see these pictures from UK of these tiny SUV’s towing these giant camping trailers, there it’s how they distribute the weight on the trailers. In the U.S., we tend to have higher tongue weights so our tow ratings tend to be lower, but I think safer.
For example, in pickup trucks or body on frame SUV’s, 2wd versions can tow more then 4 or AWD.
I’m surprised the iX (no matter trim) is rated to tow so little in EU for how long the wheelbase is and how heavy the car is. I’m guessing it’s lack of frame/chassis and construction material that’s the limiting factor.

Makes sense. If the M60 is already 33% less efficient due to higher power, then towing would likely match the ratio offset by higher low end torque perhaps. I didn’t even know these vehicles were rated for towing. With carbon fiber incorporated into the frame, if that cracks or is damaged that would be hugely expensive to fix.

[G30 B58]

Originally Posted by Fugly M3

I'd recommend against it as you have a single axle and a very top heavy vehicle. Trailer sway would be very real with that thing. Having towed both single and double axle it's insanely different.

100%

Losing a tire on a single axle vs. a double axle is a world of difference. Especially at 80+mph.

[Fugly M3]

Originally Posted by G30 B58

100%

Losing a tire on a single axle vs. a double axle is a world of difference. Especially at 80+mph.

Towing anything with a single axle is sketch as all hell. Even a double axle trailer like OPs I'd take easy because regardless of weight it's just the big boxy shape. Our boat is low and sleek and "sits down" way more than a box ever would. Nevertheless, the point was my Land Rover diesel dropped only about 20% in fuel economy towing at 80. That's remarkable. I expect the new Cayenne gas car to have more an EV like drop. We'll see next summer.

[frank70]

Originally Posted by Bimmerfun82

Thanks for the range numbers, my estimates were spot on. What I don’t understand is why I only get 2.3 mi/kWh in my iXM60 while everyone else seems to achieve 3.5. I have the big wheels and might utilize sport mode a bit too much, allegedly.

You have the 50? Maybe the M60 would fare much worse but tow more weight

Your 2,3 mi/kWh is completely normal. I have my iX M60 a little over 1 year and drove around 15000 miles until now and my average consumption after 1 year is 2,4 mi/kWh.

In the BMW app they normally also show the average consumption of the entire iX M60 fleet and i am always pretty close to the average. So your 2,3 mi/kWh is quite normal.

3,5 miles/KWh is maybe only archievable on a warm day without winds driving in Eco mode very very slowly.

The extra consumption when towing depends ofcourse mainly on what you are towing. And i think the volume of your trailer may be a even more important factor than the weight of it.

But as a general rule of thumb a doubling of the consumption seems to be about right with most trailers.

Does a M60 use 33% more than the iX 50 ? Surely not. It will use a bit more but more in line of 5 - 10 % max.

When towing or under heavy load i think the M60 may actually be more economic than the iX 50. I saw some youtube video a year ago that compared the both in different circumstances, and when the cars are really pushed and a lot of power is demanded, the iX M60 had a lower consumption than the iX 50 in the same situation.

When driving normally / slower the iX 50 is more economical than the M60