[cgroppi]

I've had several people ask about the custom hitch I had made for my Z4MC. I took several pictures today so you can see how it was done. You should be able to get a good custom hitch place to copy this design.

The hitch was made by B&M Bumper and Hitch in Phoenix, AZ. I brought the car to them and left it for 5 days for them to design, fabricate and install the hitch and the wiring harness. The cost was $600 plus tax.

I use the hitch to tow everyone's favorite Harbor Freight trailer mounted with a storage tub for tools and a platform for my Hoosier A6s.

The hitch attaches at the rear to the tension rod mounting bolts (the rear jacking point), and at the front to the bumper beam. Two holes are drilled in the bumper beam, but otherwise there are no modifications to the car structure. I cut a hole in the plastic cover between the mufflers to access the hitch pin and the safety chain loops. The hitch receiver is located behind the lower slot in the rear bumper cover, with a small square hole cut through the plastic mesh. When the hitch is not installed in the receiver, the setup is almost invisible. People usually have to search for a while after I tell them I have a hitch.

The wiring harness is spliced into the right rear taillight wiring in the trunk. When using the trailer, I attach the harness to the trailer, and close the trunk onto the cable.

The attached pictures should do a pretty good job at showing how the setup looks.