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Wakesetter VLX X5


newguy

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I have an 07 VLX and I'm thinking about getting the BMW X5 4.8. Does anyone tow a similar size boat with the X5? The towing capacity of the X5 is 6000 pnds. I've read threds that said it's fine and I've read threds that say it's pushing the limits. I live where there aren't any mountains and I keep the boat at a lift - so I'll just be towing a couple times a year and when we visit a different lake. Thoughts...

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Just a couple times a year? How far is the drive? As long as your not spending a lot of the time at highway speeds you should be fine. The X5 would have plenty of power but I would be a little concerned about the footprint on long hauls or at highway speeds where sudden stops or evasive manuevers may occur . Make sure your trailer brakes are working properly.

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Huge exaggeration.

Indeed, you'll be right at the limits of that vehicle. I keep telling people, the weights that Malibu lists are dry, no fluids, no tower, no trailer. That boat on the trailer with half a tank of gas & all of the gear that you'll stow will be very close to 6k lbs.

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Everyone has a different definition of what kind of tow vehicle is needed for trailering. Some people think a diesel is required to pull a sportster. Some would try to tow a 247 with an equinox. The question is whether you'll feel safe towing it. Personally, I tow our boat with a 4 cylinder jeep wrangler. Why? Because I only have to go 2 miles to the ramp one time a year. Would there be people who would say I shouldn't do that, probably. But it's a relative backroad, little traffic, and no lights. If your trailering needs were relatively "simple" then I would personally not see a problem so long as weight was not unlawful per the vehicle's ratings. What really matters is the GVWR. You don't want to max that out.

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Everyone has a different definition of what kind of tow vehicle is needed for trailering. Some people think a diesel is required to pull a sportster. Some would try to tow a 247 with an equinox. The question is whether you'll feel safe towing it. Personally, I tow our boat with a 4 cylinder jeep wrangler. Why? Because I only have to go 2 miles to the ramp one time a year. Would there be people who would say I shouldn't do that, probably. But it's a relative backroad, little traffic, and no lights. If your trailering needs were relatively "simple" then I would personally not see a problem so long as weight was not unlawful per the vehicle's ratings. What really matters is the GVWR. You don't want to max that out.

speaking of the law, what weight is everyone registering their tow vehicles at? Little did I know (a year ago) that your licensed/registered weight needs to include the weight of anything you're pulling :Doh: I don't think my tundra, trailer and boat is under 5k lbs!! Not sure how closely its enforced but I would bet many people overlook that.

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Everyone has a different definition of what kind of tow vehicle is needed for trailering. Some people think a diesel is required to pull a sportster. Some would try to tow a 247 with an equinox. The question is whether you'll feel safe towing it. Personally, I tow our boat with a 4 cylinder jeep wrangler. Why? Because I only have to go 2 miles to the ramp one time a year. Would there be people who would say I shouldn't do that, probably. But it's a relative backroad, little traffic, and no lights. If your trailering needs were relatively "simple" then I would personally not see a problem so long as weight was not unlawful per the vehicle's ratings. What really matters is the GVWR. You don't want to max that out.

And he would be by trying to tow that boat with that tow vehicle. My '06 VLX weighed 5900 lbs moderately loaded coming back from the lake (read: almost empty fuel tank). He'd really be at that vehicle's limits with that boat. Not a big deal if he's just going a couple of miles down the road, but I wouldn't consider taking any trips with it.

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speaking of the law, what weight is everyone registering their tow vehicles at? Little did I know (a year ago) that your licensed/registered weight needs to include the weight of anything you're pulling :Doh: I don't think my tundra, trailer and boat is under 5k lbs!! Not sure how closely its enforced but I would bet many people overlook that.

Maybe in your state but I don't think that's the case for every state.

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In that case I'd think that you need to register it with the GVWR rating rather than the actual vehicle weight. Seems a little odd though. In Oregon you don't have to list a weight AFAIK. It's been so long since I brought a vehicle in from out of state though that I could be wrong on that.

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In that case I'd think that you need to register it with the GVWR rating rather than the actual vehicle weight. Seems a little odd though. In Oregon you don't have to list a weight AFAIK. It's been so long since I brought a vehicle in from out of state though that I could be wrong on that.

I guess I was under the assumption that at least the lower 48 were that way. It is their way of measuring and charging for wear and tear on the roads. I know several of the states in the southeast are that way. GVWR is just a "suggested" weight from the manufacturer based on the specs of that particular vehicle. My tundra has a gvwr of 6900 but actual weight is probably close to 5K. So that would mean I could only haul 1900 lbs and that would be enough either. But you want to stay under 10,001 lbs to avoid being classified and fall under the commercial vehicle regulations.

I guess I shouldn't try and speak for all the states but I will upping mine to 10k, just something to look into maybe at renewal time.

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I guess I was under the assumption that at least the lower 48 were that way. It is their way of measuring and charging for wear and tear on the roads. I know several of the states in the southeast are that way. GVWR is just a "suggested" weight from the manufacturer based on the specs of that particular vehicle. My tundra has a gvwr of 6900 but actual weight is probably close to 5K. So that would mean I could only haul 1900 lbs and that would be enough either. But you want to stay under 10,001 lbs to avoid being classified and fall under the commercial vehicle regulations.

I guess I shouldn't try and speak for all the states but I will upping mine to 10k, just something to look into maybe at renewal time.

In the bed of your truck yes. GVWR has nothing to do with towing.

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Bah, I meant to type GCWR, not GVWR. Sorry for the confusion. Still not sure that I understand why a state would do it that way though.

The more you haul, the more the roads get tore up, the more they charge for your renewal/registration based on your registered/licensed weight.

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In the bed of your truck yes. GVWR has nothing to do with towing.

It does when its maxed out, ie full car load, tongue weight etc. I agree as to GCWR too but GVWR is also VERY important which is when many other components like suspension are to their max. In an independent rear suspension car like the X5, maxing out the GVWR would have a large impact on its ability to safely tow even smaller amounts. And in my experience, GVWR is amazingly low in independent rear supension vehicles.

In our state the trailer reg has the weight of the trailer but no weight for boat or GCWR for boat on trailer.

Edited by 85 Barefoot
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The more you haul, the more the roads get tore up, the more they charge for your renewal/registration based on your registered/licensed weight.

Right, but doesn't your state have a way of tracking the trailers on the road? In Oregon all trailers & boats have to be registered as well. I don't believe for a second that they haven't figured out how both of those impact the roads, not when money is at stake anyway. Biggrin.gif It's just a different (probably more accurate) way of going about it.

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I have an 07 VLX and I'm thinking about getting the BMW X5 4.8. Does anyone tow a similar size boat with the X5? The towing capacity of the X5 is 6000 pnds. I've read threds that said it's fine and I've read threds that say it's pushing the limits. I live where there aren't any mountains and I keep the boat at a lift - so I'll just be towing a couple times a year and when we visit a different lake. Thoughts...

You will know its back there for sure! I think you'll be surprised how large the boat becomes once attached to the X5. But I assume for only a couple times a year you will be ok if you take it really easy.

The problem comes if you change your mind and want to pull it more than a couple times a year, or decide to take the family with the vehicle packed full of luggage and boat full of gas and gear. I think at that point you will wish you had something else.

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If the OP is looking at an X5, maybe it would be good to look at a VW Touareg or Audi Q7. Not sure what the exact rating on the Q7 is at the moment, but the Egg has a bit more than that X5 does. Just food for thought.

EDIT: I just looked & the Q7 isn't quite as good as I thought at 6600 lbs. The Egg however, is rated at 7700 lbs (V8) & might be worth a look.

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It does when its maxed out, ie full car load, tongue weight etc. I agree as to GCWR too but GVWR is also VERY important which is when many other components like suspension are to their max. In an independent rear suspension car like the X5, maxing out the GVWR would have a large impact on its ability to safely tow even smaller amounts. And in my experience, GVWR is amazingly low in independent rear supension vehicles.

In our state the trailer reg has the weight of the trailer but no weight for boat or GCWR for boat on trailer.

No kidding that's probably why there's a CGVWR rating on vehicles.

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My neighbor has an 09 VLX and an 07 or 08 X5, I have never seen the boat hooked to the X5 only his 3/4ton, He does keep the boat at His warehouse so I don't always see the tow rig he might choose. I'll ask about it if I see Him this week.

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No kidding that's probably why there's a CGVWR rating on vehicles.

You're not understanding. I'm saying it is possible to breach GVWR WITHOUT maxing GCVWR, and that he should not only be paying attention to the weight of the trailer but ALSO what the functional weight of the vehicle itself (NOT combined) will be.

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You're not understanding. I'm saying it is possible to breach GVWR WITHOUT maxing GCVWR, and that he should not only be paying attention to the weight of the trailer but ALSO what the functional weight of the vehicle itself (NOT combined) will be.

No I do understand what I am saying is it doesn't have anything to do with towing because when you start talking about towing there are other factors that come into play. If you max your GVWR and max your towing capacity then you are over your CGVWR many times. If you add your max GVWR and your max towing capacity it is usually over the CGVWR for truck and trailer. For example 7000 lb GVWR truck with a stated 8000 lb towing capacity could have a max CGVWR of only 13000 lbs instead of the 15000 lbs the two numbers add up to. This is where the balanced load become really important.

Edited by 06vlx
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I think the op's question has been answered, the x5 is not going to make a great tow vehicle for a 6000 lb boat and trailer, period, its not as safe as a more capable vehivle. That does nt mean u cant tow a vlx with an x5, simply that its not recommended.

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Everyone has a different definition of what kind of tow vehicle is needed for trailering. Some people think a diesel is required to pull a sportster. Some would try to tow a 247 with an equinox. The question is whether you'll feel safe towing it. Personally, I tow our boat with a 4 cylinder jeep wrangler. Why? Because I only have to go 2 miles to the ramp one time a year. Would there be people who would say I shouldn't do that, probably. But it's a relative backroad, little traffic, and no lights. If your trailering needs were relatively "simple" then I would personally not see a problem so long as weight was not unlawful per the vehicle's ratings. What really matters is the GVWR. You don't want to max that out.

Actually its the CGVWR. (I would think...) However it has been pointed out several times that the weights that are shown in Malibu literature are not actual "real world" weights. (no fluids, no gas, no trailer, etc.) So if involved in a wreck and you are proven over the weight limit of your vehicle, you could be at fault or more at fault and risk insurance issues.

For pulling it 3x a year to the local ramp, I would not even think twice about it, but for safety's sake please do not come to California and drive in our foothills or passes. Thanks!

Patrick

Good luck...

P

Edited by Faceplant409
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