Tim's Mystic Blue ZHP Coupe

[sillieidiot]

+1. Did you already register the car in CA ? Here in TX they said there's a long waiting time due to Covid. We are talking months before you can grab an appt with the DMV.

Here, the appt are months out too. But it's faster to just show up early and just wait an hour for walk in.

[RUS_ZHP]

I love to see all those updates! I wonder what people reaction was when you towed that trailer with your coupe. Default towing car in the states is a big V8 pick up truck. Which is certainly doing the job excellent and easy. I've seen so many times when people are using something like VW golf to tow campers across the Europe.
I was trying to buy a proper hitch bar from Europe couple of years ago. But had no luck since nobody from Ebay.de wanted to deal with shipping to US.
Your paint looks very good after detailing!



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[t.er]

I love to see all those updates! I wonder what people reaction was when you towed that trailer with your coupe. Default towing car in the states is a big V8 pick up truck. Which is certainly doing the job excellent and easy. I've seen so many times when people are using something like VW golf to tow campers across the Europe.
I was trying to buy a proper hitch bar from Europe couple of years ago. But had no luck since nobody from Ebay.de wanted to deal with shipping to US.
Your paint looks very good after detailing!



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Hahaha yeah, the car is like 2/3 the height of the trailer so the proportions are quite comical compared to with a truck. I'm actually in @Galapolis's backyard right now and there are quite a few hatchbacks and sedans driving around with the little receiver ball on the back. I also told the story to our German colleagues over dinner and they immediately knew it was from Westfalia.

Guess I got lucky with the eBay seller! He did take some time to get it to the post office, I suppose he had to find such a big box.

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[Galapolis]

I hope we'll see some pics!

Default towing car in the states is a big V8 pick up truck. Which is certainly doing the job excellent and easy. I've seen so many times when people are using something like VW golf to tow campers across the Europe.

I've looked into that. Part of it is overestimating what you need to tow, but most of it is because European trailers support their own weight and don't put weight on the rear axle. This requires brakes on the trailer. The 330i towing capacity with brakes is rated at 1700kg or 3747lbs: http://www.treffseiten.de/bmw/info/d...touring_03.pdf

So yeah, carrying massive trailers with a 90hp diesel Golf is possible with this setup.

[RUS_ZHP]

Hahaha yeah, the car is like 2/3 the height of the trailer so the proportions are quite comical compared to with a truck. I'm actually in @Galapolis's backyard right now and there are quite a few hatchbacks and sedans driving around with the little receiver ball on the back. I also told the story to our German colleagues over dinner and they immediately knew it was from Westfalia.

Guess I got lucky with the eBay seller! He did take some time to get it to the post office, I suppose he had to find such a big box.

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Nice!
If you will be in Charlotte area, let me know. I would be glad to meet another BMW nerd in person and get a coffee together.

I hope we'll see some pics!



I've looked into that. Part of it is overestimating what you need to tow, but most of it is because European trailers support their own weight and don't put weight on the rear axle. This requires brakes on the trailer. The 330i towing capacity with brakes is rated at 1700kg or 3747lbs: http://www.treffseiten.de/bmw/info/d...touring_03.pdf

So yeah, carrying massive trailers with a 90hp diesel Golf is possible with this setup.

I grow up in western part of Russia. I saw so much crazy stuff that people are towing with cars under 100 hp that is crazy to see in other parts of the world.
I still want to get a proper towing rig for my touring. Maybe this year I will resume my hunt for towing bar form EU.

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[t.er]

Ah, by backyard I meant his home... currently touring Germany from Stuttgart to up close to Dusseldorf, then over to Berlin and into Poland... would have been a good opportunity to pick up some rare car parts, but the "anhangerkupplung" (word stuck in my head from hours of scouring over eBay.de) was really the only thing I needed!

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[RUS_ZHP]

Ah, by backyard I meant his home... currently touring Germany from Stuttgart to up close to Dusseldorf, then over to Berlin and into Poland... would have been a good opportunity to pick up some rare car parts, but the "anhangerkupplung" (word stuck in my head from hours of scouring over eBay.de) was really the only thing I needed!

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Ah, got you. That area is nice to travel. Enjoy it! I haven't been in EU for 3 years and miss that place.

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[t.er]

September 30^th, 2021 – with the car freshly detailed and paint protected with multiple layers of sealant and wax, it was now time to move to the SF Bay.

Some of my crap starting to stage in the garage. Hauling my big-ass toolbox down was a big factor in why I decided to tow everything down.



Loaded up the trailer. Had to repack it 3 times as the euro hitch can’t handle more than something like 75 kg of tongue weight. Used a bathroom scale and floor jack to measure:





First stop for lunch, about 3 hours in. Trailer fenders make a good table:



Before long, hit my first stop, Indianapolis:



Then stopped at Kansas City, then to Santa Rosa, NM (right outside Albuquerque):



On the way to Vegas:



POV pics courtesy of my mom:



Found a scenic spot to pull over. Unfortunately, I failed to realize the drop from the road to the shoulder was a ~3-4” drop, so I scrapped the frame rails (just the undercoating and paint, which I later fixed). I guess it was worth it?





It was at this point the engine started running a bit rough. Higher RPM and cruising were no problem, but just off-idle and throttle tip-in made it stutter just a bit. Just nursed it into Vegas:



Filled with gas not from a sketchy small town, poured in some octane booster, and all was well:



Pro-tip: Miracle mile shops has free, secure parking (behind a locked gate) for oversized vehicles – so our little convoy here qualified. Was quite the pleasant surprise to have free parking in the heart of Vegas!





Next stop was Irvine, where I met up with a friend. Stuffed the trailer in his garage for the day:



It was imperative to me that we visit the Ontario, CA sign – given I’m from Ontario, CA hahaha.



Next was what was supposed to be a fun drive on Angeles Crest Highway. It was myself with my friend in his BRZ, and another friend in a… Toyota Highlander lol.



Unfortunately, we all ran over some rocks in the road since it rained heavily the night before. We all took a bit of damage and my pristine rear bumper had a couple diffuser mounting tabs broken off:



The Highlander suffered the worst damage, and got a punctured coolant line. So our fun drive was cut short trying to get a tow truck up there:



Had dinner with @sillieidiot and @ItsRichieRich, then back to the hotel for the night:



A few hours later, made it to my place in the SF Bay:



Then immediately to Ikea, since the trailer rental was going to end:



And thus concluded my move to the west coast. I have such massive respect for this car – I’d estimate the trailer was ~2000 lbs gross weight, and I had to floor it for minutes at a time going up hills to maintain speed. Oil temp got up to 135C which is higher than I’m comfortable with (also my fault for not keeping an eye on it, I let off after) but it just took whatever I threw at it without issue – even with the bad gas.

I made sure the place I was moving into had a private garage – my car deserves it!

[fredo]

This is a GREAT summary of your trip adventures, thanks for sharing. And I think those scenic pics were worth the trouble.

[t.er]

This is a GREAT summary of your trip adventures, thanks for sharing. And I think those scenic pics were worth the trouble.

It really was! I don't think I'll be doing many long trips anymore in this car, unless I move somewhere else... then trailer time again?

On another note...

https://youtube.com/shorts/oeNX_WPDVhQ?feature=share

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