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      08-12-2022, 12:44 PM   #1
Retta
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towing questions

I have ordered a 2023 X5 xdrive45e. It comes with the air suspension feature, as you may know.

When I tow our RV what do I need to know about how the air suspension works? Will it raise and lower the hitch height? I guess I can check when I buy it, but...

Last edited by Retta; 08-13-2022 at 11:02 AM..
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      08-19-2022, 04:07 PM   #2
nordring
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You can manually raise and lower the suspension from the car.

i.e if you have someone spotting, you could theoretically lower the vehicle, back into place, then raise the vehicle to couple the ball into the receiver. Not sure many people get use this technique, but I have heard of it being done.

The most useful, everyday feature is the self-leveling feature. After you attach the trailer, the rear air bags will self level to offset the tongue weight of the trailer.

Self-leveling is one of the features that helps (an air suspension equipped) X5 punch above it's weight class, when it comes to towing.
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Retta19.00
      08-21-2022, 09:44 PM   #3
ixm3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Retta View Post
I have ordered a 2023 X5 xdrive45e. It comes with the air suspension feature, as you may know.

When I tow our RV what do I need to know about how the air suspension works? Will it raise and lower the hitch height? I guess I can check when I buy it, but...
While you don't need to know much about the self leveling, the one thing you will want to do once you have the vehicle is to check the height of the receiver (at running height) vs the height of your trailer tongue. My relative Featherlite trailer required a 3-4 drop hitch ball mount vs the previous tow vehicle.

Congrats on the new X5!
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Retta19.00
      08-21-2022, 11:35 PM   #4
Celos
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ixm3 View Post
While you don't need to know much about the self leveling, the one thing you will want to do once you have the vehicle is to check the height of the receiver (at running height) vs the height of your trailer tongue.
This is good advice. I have a 45e arriving in the next couple of weeks and will be using it to tow my tent trailer. I'm not sure how long it takes to auto-level to determine the right trailer ball height.

I cross-shopped Jeep Grand Cherokees with air suspension and the recommendation for that vehicle was to hitch it up and then drive a short distance to see where it ended up, and then set the ball height accordingly.

One question I have is how much impact the loading of the vehicle has on the height when towing. We usually have the same basic gear in the tow vehicle, with the most weight likely being in the cooler and in how much drinking water we're carrying in the car. The weight of those changes during the trip. I don't expect it would vary enough to impact the towing, but it's something I'll be watching as I use the car.
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      08-28-2022, 12:37 AM   #5
Retta
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ixm3 View Post
While you don't need to know much about the self leveling, the one thing you will want to do once you have the vehicle is to check the height of the receiver (at running height) vs the height of your trailer tongue. My relative Featherlite trailer required a 3-4 drop hitch ball mount vs the previous tow vehicle.

Congrats on the new X5!
Thank you. I found out it entered the production queue today.
This is exactly why I am asking. I will check and see. I may be a little too excited about getting this new rig. My trailer is under 2000 lbs, so I may have the same result as you.
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