X3 Towing Capacity
 

Anyone here pulling their V with a BMW X3?

Towing capacity is rated at 3500lbs and it's got 4 wheel drive.

I think that would be pushing it. My v20 weighs over 4000 lbs including the trailer and 3/4 fuel. Will the x3 pull it, yes. Will the x3 do it happily, no. For a short run I would do it, but I wouldn't make a habit of it. Stopping the combination wouldn't be fun (unless you have good trailer brakes) and BMW transmissions aren't cheap (just a guess).

From what I've been told your towing ability is rated by your braking power. The X3 has enough power to pull a V20 + gear all day long but when it comes time to stop, that's where you are going to have a problem.

I have an '03 GMC p-up that is rated for 6900 lbs. I set it up for electric trailer brakes. I have towed a F350 that was around 10K plus a 2K trailer and the truck had no problem towing it for about 10 miles. What I was worried about was stopping. Even with E-brakes it was still a little hairy.

Like dbetterred said, short runs only. As long as your launch in close and you don't have to "stop and go" too much your X3 would be fine.

Almost forgot. You can add an external tranny cooler to help with heat.

Short hauls, flat land you should be OK if you don't push it...haul out in 4-wheel low so no strain...X3 probably doesn't have a transmission cooler, so add one.

If you plan any serious towing, get something else to do it with...JMHO...

Thanks for all the info.

I would be configuring it in Manual Tranny and not Auto. Sounds like stopping is the issue in which case my trailer without brakes is a problem.

Flat land around here and marina is about 10 miles away.

If you decide to add brakes to your trailer, take it from me and don't buy any Tie Down brakes...I went that route as have many others on The Hull Truth and been very disappointed...Kodiak, on the other hand makes brakes that are up to the task...

I thought you already have the X3. I definitely would not buy one planning to pull a V20, there are a bunch of much more capable suv's out there. I don't think the X3 has a low range transfer case to help pull the boat up the ramp and that will be really hard on the clutch. The X3 doesn't have a ton of low end torque and you will have to ride the clutch to get the power to get the boat out of the water. The X3 does probably have the power to pull it, just not the right torque curve.
If you have your mind set on an X3 get the auto not the manual transmission. You will start sticking clutches in the thing and they will NOT be covered under warranty.

I have a 3/4 ton Dodge diesel truck and I can tell I have a load even with that hauss of a truck. I would be more worried of my transmission wearing out prematurely. If you can afford a BMW then you can afford a used 3/4 ton truck. It would be cheaper than fixing the beamer. When I picked mine up my friend and I thought the trailer axles were locked up when we started to pull out for the first time. The V is a very heavy boat for its size.

^^^^^

He right about that. A buddy of mine had an M3 and he was always complaining about how much it cost to repair the common replacement items (ie. worn suspension and driveline components that come with higher milage).

I hear ya, but they come with 4 year everything but tires covered.

Just trying to consider staying in the same line so I can do European Delivery again at the end of current lease. X5 is out of the $$$ question.

Sounds like the X3 is out of the question too.

Prob. gonna consider the Tacoma 4X4 then with 6K capacity. Had a 2500 Ram before, but a bit too large for city driving. It would be nice if they made a 1500 diesel.

Yeah, the dodges start at the 2500 classification level and go to the one ton 3500. The physicaly smallest diesel truck is probably the duramax by chevy. it doesnt look much bigger than a regular 1500 series truck. My buddy has the tacoma and if you are pulling a regular bass boat it would be fine but the v 20 is outragously heavy for a 20 foot boat. His tacoma actualy stops fine but scares the hell out of you on curves. the lateral push left and right on turns forces the driver to oversteer horribly. You always feel that the boat is in control because of the short wheel base of the tacomas.

I've towed too many boats to count with my old CHEROKEES I have, and towed some boats I had no business towing(WELLCRAT 248 with twin 225's on a bracket and 200 gallons of fuel on board). My current tow vehicle doesn't hardly notice my HYDRA-SPORTS back there, and it weighs in more than a V-20 does. For towing a V-20 short distances most any V-6 pick-up or medium size SUV could do it. I would strongly suggest an auto for taking off and pulling up ramps as I can attest that a stick is a real pain on slick ramps. A 3/4 ton truck is beyond overkill for towing a V-20 IMHO, an extended cab DAKOTA or TOYOTA TACOMA would work nicely so long as it is at least a V-6. Figure out what you need the vehicle for for MOST of the time, then make a list of vehicles that fill it. Then figure out which ones will do the odd jobs and go from there. I know several members here haul there V's with HONDA PILOT's and say they do fine, it's all in what you want out of it, and how you handle it.

And if you want a diesel pick-up, MAHINDRA is supposed to be selling one of there trucks here within the next year that is a mid size with a diesel in it.

What I really like about my truck is it's easy to drive around everyday, has full back seat and plenty of power to pull the V...a fairly tight suspension keeps things going straight down the road, too...I'm an hour and a half to the nearest striper lake, 3 hours from Charleston and 5 hours to NC coast...11 hours to FL Gulf coast, so there's no light towing around here...it has the 5.4 litre V-8 and factory tow pckge and w/230,000 miles on it, she's ready to go anytime...

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y90.../IMGP04222.jpg

And now w/cross-drilled and slotted rotors on the truck, I'm not messin' w/any dang trailer brakes...:sun: