First time RV buyer with ?'s, experienced in towing and Motorhome rentals

[WhereItsAt]

Hi All,

I stumbled across this forum as I began my search for a travel trailer spurred by a few life points intersecting. After searching and inspecting trailers, my criteria evolved and a ranking began. unladen weight and it's tongue weight are the independent variables. My wife's 2020 BMW X5 will be our tow vehicle. I understand that this is not the ideal TV, but I've had my share of trucks and vans from 1/2 ton to 1 ton and don't want that vehicle any longer. I've towed a 40 foot enclosed trailer loaded with Jeeps and supplies around the country for exploring, and know that a travel trailer will tow differently, especially given the X5. However, the X5 does have a great engine with power and torque, fantastic transmission and a reasonable max tow rating of 7200 along with the air bags for leveling.

Curb Weight 4,900
GVWR 6,691
Max Payload 1,791
Max Tow (tow PKG) 7,200
Max Tongue Weight 720

Passengers (2 adults, teen, small pup - ~430
Fuel ~140
Misc ~75

My questions are would the 23BHE or 21BHE be too much for it. On paper, both are within the numbers. I don't expect it to climb a 6% grade like my F350 did, but I'm betting it would do as well as the E350 and the v10 did. Is the curb weight insufficient? Power wise, the turbo 6 with 350ish HP and torque should be enough, but as I've never towed with anything other than 1/2 ton or greater, I can't say for certain. I'm hoping people here have experience to share that will provide insight. Many thanks.

[WhittleBurner]

Hi and welcome to the forum!
Shorter wheel base vehicles are not the best or safest for towing travel trailers, but that is just my opinion. I'm sure some others will chime in with other thoughts.

[WhereItsAt]

Definitely agree that the shorter wheelbase (28"-40" less than a PU) makes towing different and lessens the capacity, unsure on the safety aspect. Thank you for adding insight.

[traveldawg]

My initial thinking was no way should you tow anything over 20'. So I looked around.

I found this....

And this...

and then this....

With your 117" wheelbase I don't think you will like towing what you are asking about.

I had a full size van base in the late 80" and pulled a 24' travel trailer (with equalizing hitch and sway control). It didn't take me long to move up to a motor home. When I sent back to a 26' travel trailer I got a Ford F250. Much better handling but still had trailer sway.

[WhereItsAt]

Thank you for the links and taking the time do post them

[Ynot4me2]

My initial thinking was no way should you tow anything over 20'. So I looked around.

I found this....

And this...

and then this....

With your 117" wheelbase I don't think you will like towing what you are asking about.

I had a full size van base in the late 80" and pulled a 24' travel trailer (with equalizing hitch and sway control). It didn't take me long to move up to a fifth wheel. When I sent back to a 26' travel trailer I got a for F250. Much better handling but still had trailer sway.

That article is real good

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

[smrdc1974]

I will be picking up our 2020 XLS 21BHE tomorrow to be towed behind our 2011 BMX X5D with air bags. We purchased a BlueOx DH and Curt Bluetooth trailer brakes.... Will do a short trip down the highway to see how it handles.

Will follow up tomorrow.....Fingers crossed.....

[WhereItsAt]

Looking forward to the results. Thank you.

I will be picking up our 2020 XLS 21BHE tomorrow to be towed behind our 2011 BMX X5D with air bags. We purchased a BlueOx DH and Curt Bluetooth trailer brakes.... Will do a short trip down the highway to see how it handles.

Will follow up tomorrow.....Fingers crossed.....

[AnAngryVet]

I will be picking up our 2020 XLS 21BHE tomorrow to be towed behind our 2011 BMX X5D with air bags. We purchased a BlueOx DH and Curt Bluetooth trailer brakes.... Will do a short trip down the highway to see how it handles.

Will follow up tomorrow.....Fingers crossed.....

Hope he's doing ok............he never replied.

[smrdc1974]

Hope he's doing ok............he never replied.

Doing fine... Sorry for the delayed response. When we were getting our trailer the dealership would NOT install the Blue Ox WDH because of the unibody construction. So we left with the camper in tow with a new ball and hitch. We have done two trips so far (backroads) no hightway driving due to sway. So, I went ahead and purchased the Blue Ox from etrailer and will be testing the system this week before we leave on our next camping trip. The WDH leveled out the SUV in our driveway so there is 1/2 in diffence from the front of the car to the back tires. There really was not much sag in the rear of the SUV becasue of the factory air bags on my BMW X5D with third row seats. Looks very level and I am looking forward to the test ride.