Towing with the 1er

[JM98]

In case anyone was apprehensive about towing with a 135i, it's a beast and can handle 2000lbs without issue.

I installed a Curt Hitch 111843 with a Tekonsha Harness 119147. Install was a breeze, took about two hours and had no dash lights from the wiring. Only gripe is that the harness did not include a fused power wire, so I had to grab that from AutoZone.

I am FBO with about 85k miles on my N54, and have been running an E40 tune daily for two years. I needed to tow this 1000k miles, so to be safe I flashed MHD Stage 2+ 91 Octane. I managed to average 16.5mpg for the duration of the trip and had absolutely no issues - my oil temps never got higher than 238 degrees either.

Definitely got some interesting looks but this was definitely a great alternative to renting a truck.

[JimD]

My e88 is n52 and I haven't tried anything that heavy yet but I agree, it is easily possible to tow with a 1 series. I think BMW may delete the information on towing that they apparently provide in Europe trying to push people to larger vehicles. They don't offer tow packages for X1s or X2s either but you can get an aftermarket class 3 for them.

I towed with a small SUV which was only rated 185hp and 185 ft lbs before it got old and I got rid of it. So I knew the e88 would have the power. But it is lighter and I would not want to tow a 8x12 U-haul trailer like I did with my Zuk. But maybe it could do that too, is that the size you illustrate? That one has a surge brake so it would help from that standpoint. But you also need enough mass to control the trailer. When the trailer gets too close to the towing vehicle mass, it can cause issues. But bimmers are heavy for their size.

I would especially not worry about power with the turbo motors, they like resistance, they spin up and deliver. With a 2000 lb load I would be especially sure to not be tongue light - if the trailer gets to wagging the vehicle will have more trouble controlling it. If you load it right, it should work but I would not get agressive with it. The drive train is not overly beefy.

I also now have a warning light for an exterior bulb. I cannot find a bulb out so I am concerned it might be the trailer wiring. It did not happen right away. But my bimmer is almost 10 years old now so I have learned to not be overly sensitive to it's warnings.

[JM98]

This was an 5x5x8 trailer with no surge brake. I loaded it heavy in front and had no issues with it swaying. This experience has definitely opened me up to doing more with the car, I may buy an open one axle utility trailer to do some projects, vs my initial thought of buying a small used pickup truck.

[Gangplank]

I've thought about it but since you can rent a truck from Home Depot for $25 I just do that instead.

[olds350]

I did the same thing so I can use my 4x8 utility trailer and the hitch mounted bike rack. It tows fine...

[JimD]

The only thing I have towed so far is my 4x8 trailer from Harbor Freight. I think the heaviest load on this ~300lb trailer was when I brought my SawStop home, it weighed about 500 lbs. So a total less than 1,000 lbs. That did not seem to affect the car much at all. The HF trailer is a great buy, it is listed now at $349 and it is easy to find a 20% off coupon. You also have to buy a sheet of plywood but it's hard to beat that deal. I've had mine for over 10 years and done nothing other than replace the sides.

[blue135]

A Sawstop, eh? Tried cutting hot dogs yet? (of course that can be expensive).

[JimD]

No. I have used a table saw several decades without touching the blade but I have noticed it is easier to be accurate with it than with my previous less expensive saws. Fortunately it is a good saw that also has the extra safety feature. But I am not interested in buying a new cartridge and blade just to see it work.

[blue135]

Yeah, cool to see it work, but only if the Mfgr is paying for the replacement cartridge. But the safety associated with the concept is good.

[niceast]

I need help with wiring harness?
do you have a guide or reference info with wires can I tap to hook up signals wires.

Originally Posted by JM98

In case anyone was apprehensive about towing with a 135i, it's a beast and can handle 2000lbs without issue.

I installed a Curt Hitch 111843 with a Tekonsha Harness 119147. Install was a breeze, took about two hours and had no dash lights from the wiring. Only gripe is that the harness did not include a fused power wire, so I had to grab that from AutoZone.

I am FBO with about 85k miles on my N54, and have been running an E40 tune daily for two years. I needed to tow this 1000k miles, so to be safe I flashed MHD Stage 2+ 91 Octane. I managed to average 16.5mpg for the duration of the trip and had absolutely no issues - my oil temps never got higher than 238 degrees either.

Definitely got some interesting looks but this was definitely a great alternative to renting a truck.

[JimD]

It's been several years now since I wired mine but I think what I did was to strip a little insulation off the wires going to the tail lights and used an electrical meter to determine what did what. It took a few minutes but was not very difficult. I did get it to work without any warning lights on the dash. I had to use a harness that isolated the car signals with a separate power supply for the trailer lights. The signals to the cars lights are just used to trigger the trailer lights.

[ptpending]

the bmw has genuine tow hitch module which has separate outputs for lights and send disable PDC signal when trailer is attached

[Freewheeling]

Impressive! Never realized our cars could tow