[levinborn]

I need to install a towbar on my E46 sedan here in the USA. Has anyone done this in the NYC area, and if so who did it for you? Seems like the kits and the habit are a European thing, is there perhaps a rating limitation in the US of which I am not aware?

Thanks!

 

[inline.6ix]

bump

 

[TobyB]

I didn't think the E46 could be towed with the driving wheels down...

t

 

[GhostFlame]

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/BMW/3+Series/2001/C11174.html?vehicleid=2001301578

You have to drill into the spare wheel compartment, which is why this isn't too popular:

 

[HayWagon]

Oh wow, that looks like a super duper sketchy way to mount a hitch.

Sent from my XT1563 using E46Fanatics mobile app

 

[GhostFlame]

Oh wow, that looks like a super duper sketchy way to mount a hitch.

Sent from my XT1563 using E46Fanatics mobile app

Well i definitely wouldn't try towing 2000lbs with it, but for a bike rack or something small, its probably fine.

Rust / corrosion would be my main long term concern.

 

[sweet jones]

My touring towed it's complete M3 swap from Texas to Washington and did so just fine with no hiccups. There was a moment when i was scared after visiting Shoshone Falls in Idaho as i drove down a steep curved road to get to the water falls where i thought i would be stuck down there. It was a 5 speed car at the time and i was beginning to think i might need to ask for help from a large truck to get my trailer up the hill. I ended up just giving it a go and laughed at my anxieties because the car did so well making it out of there and completing the 2,200 mile trip.

I had my trailer hitch installed at a U-Haul, you could check them out for a quote as it wasn't that expensive if i remember correctly.

 

[inline.6ix]

i was wondering about an actual towbar (not a hitch)because I want to tow my e46 330xi (driveshaft pulled). I can't find any info on how to mount the tow bar to tow MY car. (the 330xi).
I didn't want to start drilling and welding things that I don't need to if there's a better way.
For example

 

[TobyB]

You'd have to pull the front driveshaft, too.

A friend tows his e36m3, and he had a local welding company weld the
'ears' that the towbar attaches to to the underside of his front bumper support tubes, behind
the bumper accordion. He then modified his bumper. I thought it was a bit sketchy, but 2500
miles later, he says the e36 'is still back there'. The E46 is very similar in construction-
you might find a local trailer/rv place that could do it. Mann's or Torklift, up this way...

t

 

[paraklas]

This?

http://etk.bmwsar.ru/eba_docs/345en.pdf

 

[apseagle]

Perfect thread. I am an avid RV'er and currently tow my Mercedes ML430 SUV. But I am thinking about creating the mount points to tow my 325Xi as well when a SUV is not needed. 2000 pounds lighter will be nice.

If you have a manual transmission car, there is no reason to pull drive shafts. If you have an auto, then pulling them is required unless you can configure a lube pump like I have in my Mercedes. They are made by Remco. But I guarantee they would not list one for the BMW. You would have to do some homework. The same GM transmission used in the E46 is used in a ton of other cars. Find this list, then start looking at that list for one that a lube pump is offered for. You will have to get a bit creative, but it is doable.

As far as the mounts on the front of the car, I have not begun to look at this yet. I would like to mount hidden mounting points that my Stow away tow bar will attach to. Plug in the mounts, hook up the bar, go. Then when all the mounts are removed the car looks unmolested. This will take some creative fabrication. I have a lift and a full fab/machine shop, so it will just take me time, when I find it. I was thinking about hiding the mounts behind the lower grille in the factory bumper. Pull the grill off to expose the mounting points. They are basically 1.5" square tubing that the mounts slide into and use a pin to secure. The wiring plug could be hidden there as well.

I think an E46 would make a great tow car. Or a Toad as they are called in the RV world, they go where they are towed....