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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 DIY Install of InvisiHitch |
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03-11-2016, 03:31 PM | #1 |
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DIY Install of InvisiHitch
One of my stipulations for owing a car is that it has to have the capability to pull a small aluminum trailer and a motorcycle. I race dirt bikes and often haul my street bike up to the Mountains to go carve some turns for a weekend.
The biggest gripe I have about putting a hitch on a car is the fact that you can see the tow bar hanging in the back. IMO it ruins the rear end of a car; its an unpleasant sight. I found a company out of Atlanta, GA called Invisihitch http://www.invisihitch.com that provides exactly what I was looking for. I worked with Linsey and Steve, they were able to answer all my questions and give me 100% confidence in their product. I figured there might be some others that were interested in a product like this and were intrigued on what it takes to install. ***DISCLAIMER*** I skipped some steps simply because the forums are already full of threads on how to accomplish certain tasks. No need to create another one. And of course, I accept no responsibility for others performing this DIY.**** First you start out by removing your rear bumper, brake lights, and pulling free the inner carpet of the trunk. Remove the 13mm nuts that hold the exhaust brackets to the support beam (2 total, 1 on each side). Remove the 18mm nuts from the bumper support beam (4 total, 2 on each side). Remove the 3x13mm bolts that hold on the debris guard on the rear of the body. Assemble the receiver to the hitch beam. Torque to appropriate specs. Install the mount for the trailer lights plug. Install hitch in place of the bumper support, reinstalling the 18mm nuts. With the supplied nuts and bolts, re-attach the exhaust hangers. Next is the wiring harness. I ran the harness through a body plug on the drivers side. I cut a small hole and pulled the wiring harness through making sure it was a tight fit to keep moisture out. Mount the wiring harness computer with provided double sided sticky tape. I also mounted the relay to a existing mount point that another device was mounted on and used double sided sticky tape to mount the fuse connection to the car as well, didn't want to hear anything bounding around as I drove. (No picture. Sorry) Attach the positive wire to a positive terminal at the battery. Now here is where it took some figuring out on my part. The wiring color scheme that Invisihitch provided was different on my car (13' f10 m-sport) so I had to figure out what wires did what. Passenger side: - Blue/Brown = Right Blinker - Grey/Yellow = Tail Light - Green/Grey = Brake Light Driver Side: - Blue/Green = Left Blinker - Purple/Light Purple = Tail Light - Green/Blue = Brake Light Given that information I was able to attach InvisiHitch wiring harness and use the provided wire taps and connect the wiring harness to the vehicle. I then found a appropriate ground and attached the negative of the wiring harness to it. I used a test light and tested each light output at the output end of the harness. I found that one of the wires on the harness was switched. Yellow on the harness input which is supposed to be the left blinker, resulted in yellow being the right blinker at the output of the harness. Same went for the green wire of the harness; which was supposed to be the right blinker on the input. It ended up as the left blinker of the output of the harness. With that in mind, I was able to make the appropriate corrections connecting the flat 4 connector for the trailer lights plug. Now with the wiring completed and tucked away appropriately, I reinstalled the trunk carpet, tail lights and bumper. ****Notice you cannot see the hitch at all?!**** Here is were you have to do some cutting: In order to access the hitch, you need to cut a hole in the debris guard. I figured out exactly where I needed to have access in order to access the lights plug, locking mechanism and the release mechanism. Once you're finished trimming it appropriately, reinstall. Here is a picture of the hitch receiver installed. It is very stable and has very little play and it doesn't touch any part of the bumper trim. I am very impressed with this setup. Ease of installation? I'd give it a 2 on a 1-10 scale. Fit is a 10. Ease of use is a 9; Being that the release mechanism is up in the bumper, its a little difficult to get to, but I could cut the debris guard hole larger to make it easier. I also ordered a 1 1/4" square tube receiver so that that I could use my Thule bike mount as well with the system. The system cost is $548. Shipping for me was about $70 and I received it the very next day. Like I said, Steve and Linsey were a pleasure to deal with so if you're interested give them a call at 678-400-0121 Any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to ask! |
03-31-2016, 09:47 PM | #3 |
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And dirt bikes!
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05-17-2016, 05:06 PM | #7 | |
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EL Jeffe 5 They are AXE Wheels 20" |
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08-05-2016, 10:32 PM | #8 | |
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Their website has been trash for a few weeks now, I suppose I will call and make sure they are still around... Matt |
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08-05-2016, 10:45 PM | #9 | ||
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08-08-2016, 07:41 AM | #10 |
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Very useful DIY. I was looking into getting an invisible hitch as well, this might do the trick. However, seems like you remove the bumper support beam and replace it with the hitch beam. I am not sure about that. I saw some other hitch kits (not invisible) that sandwich between the OEM beam and the car frame.
What do you think about the fitment and safety aspects of this? Would removing the OEM beam be a safety issue (or cause more damage) in the unfortunate case of being rear ended? Thanks!
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Current: 2019 G05 x5 50i M-Sport
Past: 2016 F10 550i M-Sport ~ 2015 F83 M4 Convertible ~ 2013 F30 335i M-Sport ~ 2006 E85 Z4 30i |
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04-13-2017, 09:42 PM | #11 |
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Tasansal, you're exactly right. I installed this hitch on my 2014 328d xDrive, and I replaced the metal bumper over the hitch before torquing down the four nuts. I would not advocate just tossing the internal bumper.
Invisihitch is really a fantastic product. Last year, I towed a 2500 lb double axle U Haul trailer coast to coast with the Invisihitch -- 9000 miles in all including side trips. I had no trouble with the hitch itself. I did hit an ice block during a snowstorm which tore out the trailer wire, but fortunately it was U Haul's part that needed replacement. The hitch got me from Seattle to Cape Hatteras to Boston and back to Seattle. I wouldn't use any other hitch on a BMW. |
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08-09-2018, 01:09 PM | #12 |
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herrbrahms, I just received my stealth hitch this week for installing on my 2015 535i m-sport. I had an invisihitch (which seems identical in design except for the receiver box not being stainless steel) on my 2011 335d which worked great although I couldn't transfer it to the new car. I plan a DIY but can you confirm sandwiching the hitch beam between the body and the OEM bumper beam is correct (body frame bolts long enough to handle the sandwich)? My instructions say to discard the OEM bumper beam. The recommended installer that did my 335d invisihitch did not use the sandwich method. As a side note, the stealthhitch instructions mention trimming required for the gravel guard and bumper facia but doesn't provide a template/specifics.
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Chauncey.Bishop125.00 |
10-24-2018, 04:08 AM | #13 |
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Vegarg, I haven't been on for some time and apologize for the delay in my response.
I can confirm that I used the sandwich method on my vehicle with the stock bolts. The hitch goes on first, then the metal bumper. Had I run into an issue where the bolts weren't long enough to fit both the hitch and bumper, only then would I have set aside the bumper. I'm not too concerned about the additional weight, particularly as it's added behind the rear axle where it actually improves the car's balance. One of the reasons I picked Invisihitch was the lack of body trimming. The plastic bumper cover looks just the same now as it did before the hitch was installed. The only way you can tell that the car has a hitch is if you get on your knees and peer under the bumper, where the two steel loops that take the safety chains are visible. Also, in the past couple years I have found that those loops make a great rear jacking point. I simply cushion the steel with a piece of wood and lift the whole rear of the car there. Once lifted, I set the car down on jackstands using the two reinforced jacking points just forward of the rear wheels. If you're around, I'd like to hear whether your project went off without a hitch. (so to speak) |
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