Installing the etrailer Trailer Hitch Receiver on your 2016 BMW X5

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Full transcript: www.etrailer.c...
Hi, John, with etrailer. Hey, today we're taking a look at etrailer's class three receiver hitch on our 2016 BMW X5. So up close on our hitch you can see it is a two inch by two inch reinforced collar receiver tube. This is one of the most popular sizes out there on the market. It has a matte black powder coat finish on it. It also has a hidden cross tube.
This is the only part of the hitch you're gonna see is just the receiver part. The rest of it is tucked up back behind the bumper. I kind of like that and it has a nice factory appearance on this BMW. You don't have all this bulky stuff down below. As far as the two inch size here, this is gonna be the most popular size out there for if you're shopping for bike racks, cargo carriers, or even if you're towing, you're gonna have a ton of accessories for this class of hitch.
Now as far as the chain hangers here, it'll accept even a large size clevis or some standard S hook. Now this hitch does not include a pin and clip so if you're gonna be towing and you're new to towing, you need one of these. This is a 5/8 inch diameter pin and clip. We have these available here at etrailer. We also have some that lock, if you'd like that for a little bit more security.
If you are in the market for cargo racks and bike racks, keep in mind that those accessories typically come with the pin and clip. So speaking of accessories, let's get some dimensions here and measurements. So that'll help you when you're choosing your accessories. So off the ground to the top of the inside of the collar here, it's 14.25 inches. And then from the center of the pinhole to the edge of our fascia here it's five inches.
Now those numbers are important. If you're looking to tow or have cargo carriers and stuff like that you would need to know whether or not, when you're towing, if you're gonna need a ball mount that has a rise to it to match up with your trailer or with accessories that fold up, like some of the cargo carriers and bike racks that we offer here, they fold up and you want to know if they're gonna impact the back of your bumper here. Some more numbers to talk about when you're gonna be choosing accessories or when you are towing. How about some weight capacities We got 600, 6000. That's 600 pounds that you can load up on the tongue weight, that's gonna be the pressure putting down on the hitch. And then 6000 pounds of gross trailer weight ratio. That's gonna be the weight of your trailer, any cargo that you have in it or on it. Now of course, check with your BMW's owner's manual to find out how much you can actually tow. Final thoughts on this hitch, I do like the hitch. I like the way that it looks on our vehicle. I like the hidden cross tube and like I said, the class three, the two inch receivers, those are the most popular out there on the market. You have just such a wide variety of accessories that you can choose for this. Now as far as installation goes, this is a, I'm gonna say, a very involved installation. There are some special tools that you need. You're gonna be drilling out plastic rivets. I think not everything came in the kit. I think that they could have improved on the kit to install it but if you're wondering what it takes to install our trailer hitch on your BMW, stick around, we'll show you. So let's begin the hitch install. First thing we're gonna do is we're going to be removing the rear taillights here. So we need to open the hatch and come inside the cargo compartment. Now once inside you're gonna have two panels on either side. Just pop one panel off and if you take a look inside you're gonna have two eight millimeter screws and nuts. And so we're gonna take the two eight millimeter nuts off and then disconnect the electrical harness. You're gonna press right there on the center tab. Slide out like that. Now the easiest way that I found to get these out is to use a plastic hammer and just keep your hand on the outside, make sure that you're, again, that we're disconnected and just kind of tap on these studs. It's not a whole lot of room here But, like that. And the entire assembly will come out. And just set this off to the side. It's the exact same process on the passenger side. Now let's move around over here to the driver's side. And we're gonna be removing and drilling out some plastic rivets along this section right here. We have to pull this trim back. There's gonna be an eight millimeter bolt here that we have to unbolt. Inside the wheel well are the plastic rivets. And these get drilled out. Something I want to say is that the kit comes with replacement plastic clip

[@christianreyna7321]

Excellent video and explanation pal, you guys were great. Thanks much

[@etrailer]

Glad you enjoyed it!
www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/etrailer/e84AR.html