Yes, I tow my boat with my 5er.

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

I tow my boat with my E60 530.

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/attachments/testing-area/48819d1288961302-pic-size-test-carboat.jpg

Although the car is only backed up to the boat in this pic, I really do tow it with the E60. It's a stick and does just great pulling the boat. I do get all sort of looks while doing so, especially from other BMW drivers.

Fuel economy while not towing boat, 30mpg highway
doing 60 mph with boat, 20 mpg
doing 65 with boat, 15 mpg
Kinda weird that it drops so fast going justa little faster. It's got to be the additional wind resistance.

[Ross]

"Fuel economy while not towing boat, 30mpg highway
doing 60 mph with boat, 20 mpg
doing 65 with boat, 15 mpg
Kinda weird that it drops so fast going justa little faster. It's got to be the additional wind resistance. "
That is dramatic. I'd be curious to see what improvement a cover over the boat would make. If you are pulling it any distance the cover may quickly pay for itself.

[Tiger]

I am pretty sure a cover will do a major improvement in MPG if cover is tight and not flapping.

[Dave M]

Hey Ed,

Nice rig. We pull our 16' aluminum bowrider, loaded with camping/fishing gear with a 2002 CR-V. For a 2.4L four banger, it does a great job and gets great mileage. With AWD, we can access some remote walleye lakes and launch at some knarly spots.

Nice to see someone else here that enjoys small aluminums :D

Dave

Oh, and yes, that is a wooden chair anchored to the floor. It has since been replaced with a 'proper' seat, but I was waiting for the right one.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/dave_macisaac/Boat/Dog_Lake_Aug_2009.jpg

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

What kinda mileage?

Mine is a 16 footer as well. 40hp envinrude on the back. Looks like we may have the same engines!


Hey Ed,

Nice rig. We pull our 16' aluminum bowrider, loaded with camping/fishing gear with a 2002 CR-V. For a 2.4L four banger, it does a great job and gets great mileage. With AWD, we can access some remote walleye lakes and launch at some knarly spots.

Nice to see someone else here that enjoys small aluminums :D

Dave

Oh, and yes, that is a wooden chair anchored to the floor. It has since been replaced with a 'proper' seat, but I was waiting for the right one.

[Dave M]

Without boat, its ~30mpg. With boat at 100 km/h, its ~ 20-22mpg. We almost always tow it uncovered. Oh, its a 1989 70hp with a 4hp kicker (I love that thing).

Dave

[ryan roopnarine]

Sounds about right, but I don't own your car. What rpms are you running at at 65? IIRC the peak torque is around 3krpm in the 530? your rear end just might puts you in a weird place fuelwise. is this with the cruise on? does the vacuum gauge in the dash do any funky jumps between 60 and 65? I drove a ranger for a little while that would do awfully queer things consumption wise once you put any weight in it besides a passenger. Almost anything in the bed, regardless of how heavy it was, would kill the mileage (worse than the already mediocre mileage than it got unloaded. Perhaps the cover would be the cheapest, quickest way to fix it.




PS....have you greased the wheelbearings on the trailer lately?