D5 Touring Towbar Fitment

[Marc 76]

Today i finally fitted a towbar to my F11 D5 Touring.
I went for a detachable Westfalia on the basis that my previous E61 was factory fitted with a Westfalia, and i had previously fitted one to my old E46 and was impressed with the quality. The kit was purchased from PF Jones and i went for the vehicle specific wiring kit which as it turned out was a Brinks kit. The install didnt go entirely without issue (regards the wiring kit) but i'm pleased with the results. You wouldnt even know it was there!

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First job was to remove the bumper. I found a very handy guide here: https://www.bimmerfest.com/attachments/ ... df.592989/

The trickiest part is removing the trim either side of the rear lights to access the two fixing screws:
(i managed carefully with a screwdriver as opposed to the prescribed special tool)

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There are more fixing screws under each rear wheelarch (3x each side) and the diffuser has to be removed from the underside (2x screws and 6x push in panel grommets) The grommets can be pulled out carefully with sidecutters if you dont have the correct tool.

Once the bumper was removed it was fairly easy to fit the main towbar and route the wiring into the offside fusebox compartment. A 40mm hole had to be drilled for this, although there was no mention in the manual.

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Note damaged towbar bracket on the right, that had to be straightened...

So whilst the bumper was removed i took the opportunity to clean the area behind the bumper, tailpipes and inspect the wiring. The PDC wiring was found to be rubbing on the offside exhaust heat shield so a repair was made to keep moisture out, some silicone hose secured on the loom to prevent more abrasion and the offending heat shield re aligned (bent) slightly to provide more space for the wiring.

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At this point its worth noting the exhaust hanger arrangement. I had a slight concern that there would only be provision for one exhaust hanger as the towbar kit was not Alpina specific; i was half expecting to have to fabricate something.
To my surprise a hanger fixing point has been provised at both sides and installation could not have been easier:

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So bumper back on using classic Haynes logic: Refitting is the reversal of removal and i was very surprised to find i did not have to make any modifications to the bumper. Even the diffuser fixes back in place with the detachable tow hitch removed.

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The connection of the wiring however, was not so straightforward...
The Brinks instructions were extremely poor and hard to follow, and despite my purchase of a vehicle specific wiring kit it was in some respects not specific to my vehicle despite assurances from PF Jones that it was. Unfortunately i stopped taking photos at this critical point too, such was my concentration on the task in hand (read frustration and annoyance!)

1. It takes ages to find the correct cores, and although the colours were correct in the manual, the locations of the required cable cores were incorrect. Something of a wild goose chase.

2. The lengths of the premade loom are incorrect, and whilst never too short, i didnt want coils of excess cable in the boot storage pocket. Luckily i had some felt tape to modify the vehicle specific loom to actually fit the vehicle.

3. The two cores that have to take a supply from the fuseboard- the fuse numbers advised in the Brinks manual are microfuses yet the connectors on the pre made loom are for standard size fuses. A lot of prodding about with a multimeter was required to find a suitable location to fit these supplies to in the fuse board.

But, once i'd got over these hurdles the trailer was hitched up and all electrics worked fine...

So, a long day, but happy with the results and just to work out a way of making the diffuser more easily removable so it can be fitted when the towbar is not in use (i.e 99.5 % of the time!)

[Paul0568]

Hi Marc, thanks for taking the time to post this. I am also planning on fitting a tow bar to my F11 D5. How long did it take you?

[Marc 76]

Hi Marc, thanks for taking the time to post this. I am also planning on fitting a tow bar to my F11 D5. How long did it take you?

No probs Paul, took about 7 hours in total being very cautious not to damage the bumper and clips etc but that also included cleaning the tailpipes with Autosol and making the PDC wiring repair.
I'll post some pictures of the wiring connections too when i get chance, and where i connected the new supplies in the fuseboard.
With hindsight and the learning from doing this one i'd say its achievable in 3-4 hours.

Its great that the diffuser fixes back over it when not in use, so unless you need to tow very frequently it could be kept like that only requiring an extra couple of minutes on your back with an 8mm socket and pry tool.

Appreciate that's no match for the convenience of an electric towbar but hey ho, it is very stealth!
Interestingly (after i'd bought my kit) there was a used F11 electric towbar on ebay. Not sure how plug and play it would be but could be an option...

Incidentally PF Jones mobile fitting offer was £275 iirc, but i wanted to do the job myself and take my time. After all a mobile fitter wouldnt have done the wiring repair (or even noticed it) and he certainly wouldnt have polished my tailpipes!

[Frosty]

Marc,

This is great news for F11 owners. Whilst I could manage with the hardware fitting etc, the electrics issues you needed to resolve with the multimeter etc would have been out of my comfort zone!

Top job, especially as you can re-fit the diffuser.

[Marc 76]

Marc,

This is great news for F11 owners. Whilst I could manage with the hardware fitting etc, the electrics issues you needed to resolve with the multimeter etc would have been out of my comfort zone!

Top job, especially as you can re-fit the diffuser.

Thanks mate, overall i'm very happy with it!

Just the frustrations of the very poor and misleading comic book style instructions with the Brinks wiring kit!

[Yad3100]

Looks good M8, knew it would be easy for you.

Could you use Dzus fixings to replace the plastic rivets? If memory serves they come in different sizes and would make a neat quick removal solution for your diffuser.

[Marc 76]

Looks good M8, knew it would be easy for you.

Could you use Dzus fixings to replace the plastic rivets? If memory serves they come in different sizes and would make a neat quick removal solution for your diffuser.

I was thinking something like that. I'd like to keep the two 8mm screws in for security but the push in plastic rivets could probably be replaced with something quick release 1/4 turn a bit like this:

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