330i pulling small trailer?

There are plenty who have (some here, but mainly overseas). Saw a setup where the gentleman bought a smaller sized trailer from Harbor Frieght and hauled his shifter kart to events.

The place to start is finding the hitch you plan to use and then buying a trailer that'd work along with that hitch (as the hitches available for these car's are somewhat unique in the sense of a small ball and no ability to swap it out for a different size...atleast the manufactored ones I've seen).

If memory serves me well, Curt Hitches is a company that makes some.

I recall seeing a homemade one in the past...let me see what I can dig up.

Some examples and random posting about E46s and hitches/trailers:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=492629&highlight=tow+hitch

https://www.bageco.com/hitchlistscurt/hitchlistcu_bmw.htm

http://www.bavauto.com/shop.asp?HC1...ecode=froogle&hdept_id=360&HCY=2006&HCM=325Ci

http://www.hitchweb.com/product/88/11174/Class-1-Hitch-300-Series-CAP2K-SIZE1.25-0.8

^ Those hitches look like they could handle different size receiver balls (insert joke here...) unlike the one I recall seeing that was more of a one peice design.

Here is a thread about wiring for the trailer:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=603663

(note picture of the E46 hauling a nice small sized trailer)

I have a hitch on both my E30 and my E46. I have a 4'x8' folding utility trailer from harbor freight that weights about 325 lbs empty, and use mainly for short distance trips.

I wouldn't try to haul 3700 lbs with the hitches available in this country. Also, the tongue weight max is probably pretty low - european trailers run with a much smaller tongue weight than American trailers - look at their travel trailers in comparison to ours.

Fwiw, I just installed a curt hitch on my car. Everything I found is a class 1 hitch, so you're limited to 2k pounds and a 200lb tongue weight. It's a pretty flimsy mounting method; all the weight is supported by the trunk pan. That said, I've pulled my 1700# boat a few times now without a problem (only 1/2 mile at 20 mph). Rwd + 228hp makes getting it out of the water no problem...

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Excellent information, this helps me alot. Thank you! It sounds like getting the right hitch setup is key. Thank you for the links.

I would be very surprised if an e46 can tow more than 1000 lbs, there is no frame as such. Actually just contacted my local BMW dealer, they quoted 1000 lbs max, just an fyi.

Well, it can. I promise.

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vintagez said:

I would be very surprised if an e46 can tow more than 1000 lbs, there is no frame as such. Actually just contacted my local BMW dealer, they quoted 1000 lbs max, just an fyi.

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Just another example of a dealer making up information instead of researching for the right answer.

I have the information for coupes, so I'll assuming its the same for sedans:

A 330ci is rated to tow 730kg (1600 lbs) without trailer brakes, and 1700kg (3740 lbs) with trailer brakes. In most places, trailer brakes are required when the trailer is past 1500 lbs, regardless of the tow vehicle.

The tonque weight has a maximum of 75kg (165 lbs), so be careful with the typically nose-heavy american trailers.

Source: 2004 BMW E46 coupe brochure (in German - its not listed in the American brochure) that I downloaded back in 2004. The bottom three rows are "trailer weight w/o brakes", "trailer weight w/brakes", and "tongue weight". Also, I found a Dutch site that google translated for me.

Of course, don't go beyond what the hitch manufacturer says. The european hitch is a bit better integrated into the car.

cwsqbm said:

Just another example of a dealer making up information instead of researching for the right answer.

Source: 2004 BMW E46 coupe brochure (in German - its not listed in the American brochure) that I downloaded back in 2004.

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Another good example of a dealer not knowing what they are talking about indeed... Your brochure must be Dutch by the way - even though it is not my native language I am currently quite familiar with it

Just out of curiousity, would I be able to tow with a 325Ci convertible? And if so how much?

I plan to keep my truck on the road for towing purposes, but its a thought to put a hitch on if i was able to.

I added a Curt 111741-59146 hitch to my 2002 330i (it's a manual with the M package). I used it and a foldable Harbor Freight utility trailer to pull a portable cement mixer and other construction tools from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe and then again to pick up a bunch of lumber (about 800lbs worth). In both cases the car pulled the trailer and load effortlessly (twisty mountain roads and on the freeway).

The hitch was $200 on ebay (with wiring for lighting) and bolts directly to sheet metal under the spare tire, but seems extremely solid
The trailer was $300 shipped at Harbor freight (the 1,200 capacity model)

For $500, the setup is pretty great value and gives the car vastly improved utility.

Not sure why the link keeps getting converted to asterisks... paste the 4 parts below
https://
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mms16 said:

I added a Curt 111741-59146 hitch to my 2002 330i (it's a manual with the M package). I used it and a foldable Harbor Freight utility trailer to pull a portable cement mixer and other construction tools from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe and then again to pick up a bunch of lumber (about 800lbs worth). In both cases the car pulled the trailer and load effortlessly (twisty mountain roads and on the freeway).

The hitch was $200 on ebay (with wiring for lighting) and bolts directly to sheet metal under the spare tire, but seems extremely solid
The trailer was $300 shipped at Harbor freight (the 1,200 capacity model)

For $500, the setup is pretty great value and gives the car vastly improved utility.

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Welcome to Bimmerfest. Awesome first post and really nice looking car too!
Towing with these cars is SOP in rest of world, so kudos for using the E46 as a tow vehicle. I've towed on that route, with the X5 though... Not sure if you're North or South Tahoe but I'm doing the SF East Bay to Reno and back trek several times a month. I always take an extra close look when I see an E46 and will look for a hitch on all the blue Sport package sedans from now on. :thumbup:

I tow my 1000 pound Teardrop trailer with my 325i wagon. That 6 cylinder BMW engine with a Manual transmission makes a pretty strong tow vehicle. Very torquey. The mounting of the hitch in the trunk floor pan is the weak link. So keep your loads and tongue weights as low as possible so as not to damage the sheet metal mounting area. I have been up and over the Yosemite and Carson passes with no problem. I have the Curt Hitch kit mentioned by a previous poster which I bought from Ebay.

jbleeg said:

I tow my 1000 pound Teardrop trailer with my 325i wagon. That 6 cylinder BMW engine with a Manual transmission makes a pretty strong tow vehicle. Very torquey. The mounting of the hitch in the trunk floor pan is the weak link. So keep your loads and tongue weights as low as possible so as not to damage the sheet metal mounting area. I have been up and over the Yosemite and Carson passes with no problem. I have the Curt Hitch kit mentioned by a previous poster which I bought from Ebay.

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I agree 100%. The bumper bolt mount kits are available elsewhere. I've read that BMW doesn't offer them in the US for litigious reasons. I also read that they didn't want to offer them on SAV's but decided it would hurt sales.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...2001_E46_BMW_330xi&diagId=71_0180#71606767756

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=349258

X3's (which are almost identical mechanically to the E46) are rated at 3,500 lbs. I tow our boat with mine and it pulls it with ease.

I think the way the trailer hitch is mounted is the most important factor. Most BMWs should have enough power and torque to make decent tow vehicles. This guy tows a 34' trailer with a Jaguar XJ.

Hauled an old broken hot tub to the dump, not an issue...

Nola mike said:

Well, it can. I promise.

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Have you personally towed anything with a 325ci
I want to with mine the cheapest route would be a 4x8 uhaul trailer empty weight is 850 lbs all im putting in the trailer is my empty toolbox that is just shy of 300lbs would this hurt my clutch or anything for that matter? I will be driving from illinois to florida total miles is 948 miles

Basebah1 said:

Have you personally towed anything with a 325ci
I want to with mine the cheapest route would be a 4x8 uhaul trailer empty weight is 850 lbs all im putting in the trailer is my empty toolbox that is just shy of 300lbs would this hurt my clutch or anything for that matter? I will be driving from illinois to florida total miles is 948 miles

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How many miles on that car/clutch ? What kind of stick driver are you ? You don`t want to be heading out on any long road trips with any marginal equipment (this means EVERYTHING....cooling system, brakes, tires, clutch, windshield wipers, you name it)

I was in Belgium last week, there are hitches on everything over there, Mini's BMW's, Audi A3's etc.