Westfalia Detachable Tow Bar / Hitch - E39 540i Motorsport

[hybrid 1044]

So this has been in the wings for a number of years. I was very lucky to get a tow hitch carrier of Ray @ HellBM and installed it with him a few years a go with the intention of buying the tow ball attachment.

I searched in vein to find one second hand but after many failed attempts I forgot all about it.

Recently I have started cycling after running was doing me mild injury. The need srpung back up to get the tow situation sorted out.

I remembered that Jason ( Flow ) had completed a Westfalia install on his 540. Jason was very kind to lend me his tow hitch for me to check fitment.

After phoning the New Zealand Westfalia agents, it unforunately confirmed my suspicions, they want $900 for just the tow hitch

So off to Schmiedmann to try and order just the tow hitch which they didnt have on catalog, only the whole carrier kit.

I dealt with Andrew at Schmiedmann and after some back and forth we managed to find the right number and a much better 300 euro + shipping was quoted.

I also ordered the Mtech2 rear valance with tow flap for my motorsport bumper.

Below is some of the efforts.

[hybrid 1044]

.

[hybrid 1044]

Forgot to add, Im still waiting on getting the chain attachment installed, need to get a high tensile bolt and also was very lucky the car came pre-wired being a NZ New vehicle so still to wire in the NZ/Aus trailer plug.

[jeffbebe 1560]

Female donkeys all over the country are getting aroused.

[Jamez 2147483647]

Most expensive sex toy I have ever seen.

[hybrid 1044]

You should of seen the expressions on peoples faces when I opened it at work .. lol

[Nobimmer 694]

For just incase the bike ride isn't fun enough.

[westy 614]

Andrews all over the country are getting aroused.

Fixed.

[jeffbebe 1560]

For just incase the bike ride isn't fun enough.

Gives new meaning to the expression 'saddle sore'.

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[westy 614]

How long can we run innuendo on this?

PS, nice cock Josh! Did you decide whether to have it turned down?

[Driftit 2093]

Mines slightly bigger and silver. Has a detachable Knob too.

[Jamez 2147483647]

Mines slightly bigger and silver. Has a detachable Knob too.

All this talk is making me wanting to do something about my situation. What's something cheap that gives heaps of pull and doesn't drink to much?

[hybrid 1044]

How long can we run innuendo on this?

PS, nice cock Josh! Did you decide whether to have it turned down?

For ages ... my work place is still

Yeah need to do a bit more research on how many 50mm trailer rental places there are.

If its too hard will get the engineering outfit to cnc mill it to 1 7/8ths (47.5mm)

[westy 614]

All this talk is making me wanting to do something about my situation. What's something cheap that gives heaps of pull and doesn't drink to much?

Not a wife.

[Driftit 2093]

Quite a few trailers are switchable.

Get a Diesel BMW James. Towed from Wellington - Masterton - Auckland with a full weight E30 and still got 10.1kms/L.

They are getting cheaper.

http://fastestlaps.com/comparisons/bmw_530d-vs-bmw_540i.html

[Nobimmer 694]

your mum.

[Driftit 2093]

Is getting cheaper.

[Palazzo 479]

For ages ... my work place is still

Yeah need to do a bit more research on how many 50mm trailer rental places there are.

If its too hard will get the engineering outfit to cnc mill it to 1 7/8ths (47.5mm)

I think you'll find it quite hard if my experience with the Falcon is anything to go by. Rule Shell out for a start. Edited March 25, 2014 by Palazzo

[jeffbebe 1560]

I think you'll find it quite hard

Said the bishop to the nun.

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[yng_750 247]

Chuck some trucknutz under it.

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[Palazzo 479]

Said the bishop to the nun.

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Well said Finbarr Saunders.

[westy 614]

The Falcon musta been a bit of orright...

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2963]

Most trailer places these days have the switchable tow coupling, so suit both sizes - so you should be OK with the 50mm

And anyway the size doesn't matter apparently...

[yng_750 247]

Most trailer places dont know the difference. Sad but true for alot of them. Especially servos

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[hybrid 1044]

Okies ...

Managed to get this trailer marlarky sorted out.

Wiring:

There are three ways to to do trailer wiring on the 5 series. Two of them done right. The other one would be how you would of done it back in the day but certainly not a good idea with out a good electrical understanding of the LCM.

Options are: OEM Trailer module, Aftermarket wiring module and relays, tap straight into the existing tail light wires.

I choose obviously the first one, OEM trailer module after a trip up to HellBM.

With reseach done on the module and how it works. Module A6 (Trailer Module) is wired into the LKM (Light Control Module) and voltage supply, fuse  and ground lines around the car.  The rest of the lines are for the 13pin round euro trailer plug. The photo below was me opening it up after towing to finish it off. I resoldered the wires to stop any fraying or breakages

I decided to wiring in my own 7 pin New Zealand/Australian standard plug.
After I figured out what was what I came up with the below wiring which at first when I tested with a volt meter .. gave me some very strange results.
I found out that it wasnt until I put load on the trailer module did it work correctly. Basically I plugged the trailer into the connector and all lights worked perfectly. A big thanks to Ray @ HellBM for working with me through all of this with parts supply and allowing me to try a few things out with spare parts.

There is no coding thats needed of the LKM(LCM). However people from overseas have complained that their LKM hasnt worked with the trailer module and needed to get a new one. I suspect that is more the case that their LCM didnt have the correct flash loaded into it and bought a new one thinking that was the problem, when they could load the latest flash into the LCM to solve the communication issue. In usual 540 fashion, you dont even notice you have something on the back. What its designed for

For those of you interested, I found a place that hires out 50mm coupling trailers on closer inspection it turn out that some crowd in Cambridge actually make the multifit 50mm & 1 7/8ths coupling. It was awesome so have emailed them for a price Much better than the clunky pieces of s**t you normally see on hire trailers. http://www.hautapu.co.nz/Services/Jobbing/Trailer+Parts.html







 

A6 (AHM) 20Pin	German Abbr.	Colour	EURO 13 PIN	NZ 7 Pin Flat	Desc.
1	SW/WS	BLACK/WHITE	6	6	Stop Lights
2	GE/BL	YELLOW/BLUE	8	2	Reverse Signal
3	GE/RT	YELLOW/RED	2	NULL	Fogs
4	GR/SW	GRAY/BLACK	7	7	Rear lamps
5	BL/GE	BLUE/YELLOW	4	4	Right Turn
6	GE/RT	YELLOW/RED	5	7	Rear Lamps
7	BL/RT	BLUE/RED	1	1	Left Turn
15	BR	BROWN	GR	3	Ground