Trailer Hitch Installation - 2001 BMW X5

Installation of a Trailer Hitch on a 2001 BMW X5

Today on this 2001 BMW X5 we are going to install part number 75492 from Draw-Tite. This will also apply to part number 87405 from Hidden Hitch. This is what the hitch looks like on the vehicle. We will also give you a couple measurements that will help you out in ing some accessories such as a ball mount, bicycle rack, or cargo carrier. From the top of the receiver tube opening to the ground is 19-1/4 inches. From the center of the hitch pin hole out to the edge of the bumper is 5 inches. :31

Next we will go ahead and show you how it gets installed. The first thing we need to do is remove the bumper itself to get access to the bumper structure. Right now there are two bolts that need to be removed that are hidden behind the bumper. They are both going to be above the exhaust. We will take out the trim ring so you can see them. This is going to be identical on both sides. This is the bolt that we removed from the bumper. You can tell it is a torx bit, it is a little bit odd sized too, just to let you know it is a torx bit T55. 1:00

Next we will move on to the fender well, we will remove these two screws. This will be repeated for both sides of the vehicle. We will take off this removable panel as well, this is where the hitch will come out of. This panel will stay off. This edge of the bumper here pushes on, there are four snaps. We will loosen it a little bit, the four snaps can be pried out with a screw driver. Pull away the inside of the fender well a little bit and the bumper should come loose. Now that we have it loosened, the bumper is pretty heavy so you may want an extra set of hands to help remove it. The hitch will mount up to these 6 points right here and also to a cross member just right behind the rear differential. First we need to remove the Torx head bolts. Next we will mark on our cross member. We will make a line from left to right and measure from this edge here, forward. In this particular case it is going to be 1-1/8 inches. Next we will install the hitch temporarily. We are going to install a bolt here, and one on the other side to hold the hitch up while we find the exact spots to drill our cross beams. We will put a bushing right here and a bushing right there. We will install this hitch by those two bolts. We will hold our hitch up, the line we made should be somewhere within the oval slot of the hitch. Go ahead and drill out right there. We are drilling a pilot hole first, than upgrade to a 1/2 inch. 2:41

Now we will take the hitch back down and continue drilling on the cross member. We are putting the hitch up, with the remaining hardware at the end of the bumper structure here. Next we are going to install the rivet nut. There are a few steps to this to properly install it. Push it inside the cross member. Pull it down, and it is going to expand on the inside of the cross member and keep it steady. We are going to push the rivet in, below it we are going to put a flat washer, lock washer, and then we will run through with the bolt and a conical tooth washer. We will torque the bolts up as specified in the instructions. Now we will take it back apart and seat the rivet. We need to remove the flat washer, and the lock washer. Then we will reinstall the same bolt. With all the hardware installed, we will snug it all down and then torque them down as specified in the instructions. Before we put the bumper cover back on we do have to make a notch for it, because the bumper cover came down to this edge right here. We are going to measure from the edge of the catch to the outside edge past the hitch, leave about a 1/2 inch or so to leave some working room. Then we will make our notch on the bumper cover and then install it. We can go ahead then and make any alterations after that. You can see where we have a pattern laid out on the bottom of the bumper. We will take some tin snips and cut that out. Now lets reinstall the bumper cover and test it out. It fits good underneath there, so snap everything back together and reinstall the bolts. With our bumper cover reinstalled, that will finish it for our installation of part number 75492 from Draw-Tite.