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      07-01-2020, 01:54 AM   #45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KayWhy View Post
Down here in New Zealand X530i towing an Australian built Bailey caravan.

Van weighs 2,500kg (5,500lbs) fully loaded, fuel usage around 15.5 litres per 100km (15.2mpg)

X5 tows well but the factory tow hitch maximum load of 190kg (420lbs) is not enough as sway can set in. NZ speed limit when towing is 90kph (56mph) so can't get into too much trouble.
Here no problems with sway. Heavy stuff (drinks, bikes, chairs, sup boards) stowed in low places in the caravan.
Caravan loaded weight 2200kg, hitch load 80kg
Maximum speed in some European countries with a caravan is 130km/h what the combination is doing fine, even with wind and overtaking trucks.
Fuel usage with 130km/h so most times I drive around 100-110km/h with a fuel usage around 16,5 liters per 100km.
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      07-01-2020, 08:26 AM   #46
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I do not recommend towing a boat this big with your X5. I only had to move it a few hundred yards from the ramp to the mechanic shop, and even that far was a harrowing experience.
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      07-01-2020, 09:03 AM   #47
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Originally Posted by Captain Gumbo View Post
I do not recommend towing a boat this big with your X5. I only had to move it a few hundred yards from the ramp to the mechanic shop, and even that far was a harrowing experience.
Were you able to steer with your front wheels not touching the road? 😜
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      07-01-2020, 10:32 AM   #48
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Originally Posted by Captain Gumbo View Post
I do not recommend towing a boat this big with your X5. I only had to move it a few hundred yards from the ramp to the mechanic shop, and even that far was a harrowing experience.
That is arguably...... the most epic picture I've seen on this forum... lol.

You're almost popping a wheelie
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      07-01-2020, 12:03 PM   #49
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Originally Posted by Ninefourteener View Post
That is arguably...... the most epic picture I've seen on this forum... lol.

You're almost popping a wheelie
It was close
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      07-01-2020, 08:36 PM   #50
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That looks like a great way to bend your unibody forever in order to move a boat for five minutes. Not sure I would have made that trade.
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      07-02-2020, 12:21 PM   #51
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Tows my small Airstream perfectly
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      07-04-2020, 02:57 AM   #52
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In which European countries you can tow 130 km/h?


Quote:
Originally Posted by Herr View Post
Here no problems with sway. Heavy stuff (drinks, bikes, chairs, sup boards) stowed in low places in the caravan.
Caravan loaded weight 2200kg, hitch load 80kg
Maximum speed in some European countries with a caravan is 130km/h what the combination is doing fine, even with wind and overtaking trucks.
Fuel usage with 130km/h so most times I drive around 100-110km/h with a fuel usage around 16,5 liters per 100km.
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      07-04-2020, 03:06 AM   #53
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Good to hear that G05 tows good. This will be my next tow vehicle. It's a shame that we do not get diesel in the US. E70 35d tows great!

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      07-04-2020, 10:41 AM   #54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bono View Post
In which European countries you can tow 130 km/h?
In France max 130km/h, Belgium max 120km/h. Both maximum combination weight 3500kg, this is a bit of a problem with the 45e
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      07-04-2020, 02:31 PM   #55
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I would buy a diesel truck for towing

Tough to tow with x5 unless its a jet ski
Here is a good thread on mb board about gls towing
Quote:
Originally Posted by marchgroupinc View Post
I towed a 25 foot Airstream 7000 lbs. loaded for years with my 2014 ML350 Bluetec without any issues and have recently upgraded to a 2020 GLS580 but have not used it yet to tow. You will need a weight distribution WD hitch and I recommend anti sway bars. The WD hitch is needed to distribute the trailer load evenly to the front and rear axles of the tow vehicle. You need to ensure the gross carrying capacity of the GLE and none of the axle load maximums are exceeded. Keep in mind when determining your load that the tongue weight is added to the GLE and you also have passengers and cargo to consider. Your axle load capacity and gross carrying capacity is on the sticker in the door and my guess is that you are gross is just under 1200lbs. So if your tongue weight is 600 and the passengers and cargo are 600 lbs too you have already maxed out and you still need to be sure each axle is not exceeding its individual maximum too. To check all that you need to weigh the combination at a truck scale by the recommended methods you can find on the internet to check each axle. The biggest drawback with MB tow specs is the limited tongue weight. To tow safely you need 10-15 % of the trailer weight on the tongue to prevent sway and at maximum load the MB is only rated to handle only 616 lbs and can be susceptible to sway unless you keep it over 10%. I had my factory hitch reinforced to allow a higher tongue weight to tow safely. You should purchase a scale or find a way to check your tongue weight loaded as this is critical for safe towing. Also you need a trailer brake controller and if your GLE is equipped with the factory hitch there is a plug under the driver side dash for the trailer brake controller to connect to. I use a Tekonsh Prodigy P2 mounted under the dash away from the knee airbag panel so it can deploy. If you go wireless brake control MB are hard to set up and usually require set up on another vehicle and moved later to the MB. Plus you need to plug in the the lighter for power and if you want other equipment like a back up camera and a trailer TPMS monitor you will have 3 things to power from one outlet. There is lots of information on towing on the Airstream forum for the MB as tow vehicles and real experiences. You can also contact Andy Thompson at CANAM RV in London Ontario who is recognized as one of the leading experts on towing and he has set up thousands of tow vehicles is especially good at GLE and European SUV setups. Customers travel thousands of miles from all over North America to get their tow set up done by CANAM. The Canada / US border is closed for non essential travel and could be for some time so it won't be possible for you to bring your setup to him this year. He also offers great advice for those who can't make the trip so contact him.
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      07-04-2020, 10:18 PM   #56
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"I would buy a diesel truck for towing" - go ahead... Unless you tow 5th wheel or take a lot of stuff to campground (many in the US are taking their homes to campgrounds) and need a lot of payload, there are much better options than trucks. German SUV have better brakes, lower center of gravity, shorter rear overhang, independent suspension. This all matters for towing.

My trailer is 7,200 lbs ready for camping, 800-900 lbs tongue weight, 33 ft long. Tows like a dream - basically one hand driving even with semis running faster. Half ton trucks would be struggling with this trailer. 3/4 ton truck would be more appropriate, but I do not want to drive a vehicle in which I can lose my teeth fillings and cannot park in the city.
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      07-06-2020, 05:54 PM   #57
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Tow my bike to trackday!
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      07-06-2020, 08:56 PM   #58
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      07-07-2020, 06:56 PM   #59
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Tows great. Anyone who says different has never done it.
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      07-08-2020, 07:31 AM   #60
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Tows great. Anyone who says different has never done it.
Love Airstreams. Happy trails!
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      07-12-2020, 10:54 PM   #61
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I've got a towing question... So I'm looking at the X5 45e hybrid. (I miss my old BMW Z3 that I owned for many years!) I see that the ICE in the hybrid is dialed down a bit and produces less hp than the ICE in the 40i. But the combined ICE + electric motor generates more torque and hp than the 40i.

Most of the year, it will be plugged in overnight and used for commuting and short trips around town. Perfect.

But in summer, I want to use the hybrid to tow our 3500 lb travel trailer + mountain bikes + fuel + family + Great Dane + water + gear + supplies. I've seen the total weight of everything approach 7,000 lbs. Currently, I tow this trailer with my 4.6l 8-cylinder 2007 Ford Explorer. The 45e actually has combined torque and power that is slightly greater than my old Ford.

But here is my thinking... I live in mountainous British Columbia. When towing, it's typical to encounter 1/2-hour-long climbs up mountain passes, followed by a plateau or summit, followed by more steep mountain climbing, followed by downhills stretches. It's a real mixed bag. But every so often, then are long, steep climbs.

So it seems to me that I'd want to tell the 45e to preserve battery power and use it only during the steep climbs while towing. And after the steep climb, I'd want to tell the 45e to recharge the battery in preparation for the next steep climb.

How do I do this? I believe there is a button to tell the vehicle to not use battery power. What button is that and where is it? When climbing, do I put it in sport mode to get maximum combined power? After a climb, how do I tell the vehicle to work hard to quickly recharge the battery to 100% using the ICE while cruising on the level. And finally, how long does it take for the ICE to fully recharge a depleted battery?

Answers to these questions will help me to decide whether the 45e is right for me.
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      07-13-2020, 12:24 AM   #62
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Welfarebum View Post
I've got a towing question... So I'm looking at the X5 45e hybrid. (I miss my old BMW Z3 that I owned for many years!) I see that the ICE in the hybrid is dialed down a bit and produces less hp than the ICE in the 40i. But the combined ICE + electric motor generates more torque and hp than the 40i.

Most of the year, it will be plugged in overnight and used for commuting and short trips around town. Perfect.

But in summer, I want to use the hybrid to tow our 3500 lb travel trailer + mountain bikes + fuel + family + Great Dane + water + gear + supplies. I've seen the total weight of everything approach 7,000 lbs. Currently, I tow this trailer with my 4.6l 8-cylinder 2007 Ford Explorer. The 45e actually has combined torque and power that is slightly greater than my old Ford.

But here is my thinking... I live in mountainous British Columbia. When towing, it's typical to encounter 1/2-hour-long climbs up mountain passes, followed by a plateau or summit, followed by more steep mountain climbing, followed by downhills stretches. It's a real mixed bag. But every so often, then are long, steep climbs.

So it seems to me that I'd want to tell the 45e to preserve battery power and use it only during the steep climbs while towing. And after the steep climb, I'd want to tell the 45e to recharge the battery in preparation for the next steep climb.

How do I do this? I believe there is a button to tell the vehicle to not use battery power. What button is that and where is it? When climbing, do I put it in sport mode to get maximum combined power? After a climb, how do I tell the vehicle to work hard to quickly recharge the battery to 100% using the ICE while cruising on the level. And finally, how long does it take for the ICE to fully recharge a depleted battery?

Answers to these questions will help me to decide whether the 45e is right for me.
I answered your question in the other thread as well.

I don't have experience towing.

Going up hill would be in sport mode. Down hill sport or safe battery.

You will have to try what works best for you sport mode vs safe battery mode. I don't think you need 100 battery charge all the time to do what you describe. But you can put it in charge battery when you go down hill and it will charge faster. I might even charge a lot when you are braking on the engine going down hill in sport mode.
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      07-13-2020, 01:27 PM   #63
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Quote:
Originally Posted by X5 45e View Post
I answered your question in the other thread as well.

I don't have experience towing.

Going up hill would be in sport mode. Down hill sport or safe battery.

You will have to try what works best for you sport mode vs safe battery mode. I don't think you need 100 battery charge all the time to do what you describe. But you can put it in charge battery when you go down hill and it will charge faster. I might even charge a lot when you are braking on the engine going down hill in sport mode.
This is all good information. I can see where the "sport mode" button is beside the driver. But where is the button for preserving the battery charge? And I assume there is a screen where I can set the percentage of charge I want when the ICE is recharging? Is that right?

Is there anyone who here who has towed a heavy load (6000+ lbs) up a steep hill with the 45e in sport mode? My old-school 4.6 liter 2007 Ford Explorer can tow 7,200 lbs just like the 45e. But on grades that are unusually steep, I've got to drop it into 3rd gear with high RPM and run below the speed limit to make it up. How does the 45e perform with a heavy trailer on a steep grade?
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      07-13-2020, 02:19 PM   #64
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Welfarebum View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by X5 45e View Post
I answered your question in the other thread as well.

I don't have experience towing.

Going up hill would be in sport mode. Down hill sport or safe battery.

You will have to try what works best for you sport mode vs safe battery mode. I don't think you need 100 battery charge all the time to do what you describe. But you can put it in charge battery when you go down hill and it will charge faster. I might even charge a lot when you are braking on the engine going down hill in sport mode.
This is all good information. I can see where the "sport mode" button is beside the driver. But where is the button for preserving the battery charge? And I assume there is a screen where I can set the percentage of charge I want when the ICE is recharging? Is that right?

Is there anyone who here who has towed a heavy load (6000+ lbs) up a steep hill with the 45e in sport mode? My old-school 4.6 liter 2007 Ford Explorer can tow 7,200 lbs just like the 45e. But on grades that are unusually steep, I've got to drop it into 3rd gear with high RPM and run below the speed limit to make it up. How does the 45e perform with a heavy trailer on a steep grade?
The preserve battery is a bit higher in the cluster with camera and parkingbuttons.

It is one of the mode selections. So it is hybrid/eco pro, electric/electric individual, adaptive, sport or charge battery.

I idrive you can chose the charge level between 10 and 100%. In the 40e it was max 50%
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      07-14-2020, 07:48 AM   #65
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To be honest, I wouldnt put it in charge battery as it will charge also when adding a bit of ICE power on the flat bits. Only a continuous descent could be done in save battery mode.

In any case, light to moderate braking is the generator, only harder braking are the discs, so you will be charging quite a bit on a downhill stretch in any operating mode, and in the uphill stretches, the battery will assist in case needed so no need for sport mode per se.

I would assume there is no need to mess around with the settings to achieve your goal. But like "X5 45e" i have no exprience towing.
If however your battery is used on the way to the first hill, you might want to use the charge battery to stay at 80% or so.
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      07-14-2020, 01:10 PM   #66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PeterPuitG View Post
To be honest, I wouldnt put it in charge battery as it will charge also when adding a bit of ICE power on the flat bits. Only a continuous descent could be done in save battery mode.

In any case, light to moderate braking is the generator, only harder braking are the discs, so you will be charging quite a bit on a downhill stretch in any operating mode, and in the uphill stretches, the battery will assist in case needed so no need for sport mode per se.
Good information. I'd need to experiment. Take the scenario where the battery was almost fully depleted at the summit and I began a 31 mile steep stretch down the mountain pulling a trailer. If the 45e were just in hybrid mode and I were lightly to moderately braking the whole way down the mountain pass for 1/2 hour, I wonder how much charge I'd put on the battery?
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