E70 X5 Overlanding Disscusion

[RL18]

Editing this thread into an Overland discussion thread since I don’t believe we have one on here…

Here we can discuss all things that would go into turning our e70 x5s into a capable offroad/overlanding rig. Roof racks, lighting, towing, solar power/off grid set ups, secondary batteries, lift kits, and armor.

Show off your setups if you’d like or share your mods!

[StradaRedlands]

They are on my radar for the X5, and are really nice. The Slimline attaches onto the factory roof rails. So it rides on top of the cross bars which are on top of the rails. Platform gets up there. That's not an awful thing, but I wish it was a little lower. If you have flush X5M style rails, it would be about perfect! I'd like to find a 95% as good knock off version for 20% of the cost!

Regular rails:

Flush style rails:

[RL18]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

IIRC for the X5, the Slimline attaches onto the factory roof rails. So it rides on top of the cross bars which are on top of the rails. Platform gets up there. That's not an awful thing, but I wish it was a little lower. If you have flush X5M style rails, it would be about perfect!

Regular rails:

Flush style rails:

Yes it mounts direct to roof rails which I like better. It might be just as high but look less goofy as others do with the cross rail bars and universal style roof basket since it’s just one piece. I’d still like to see how it looks though lol. X5m rails would probably be a perfect look, while hopefully still being able to vent the pano-moon roof.

What is nice about it is all the attachments available. A ton of add ons… light bar mounts, fuel can mounts, spare tire mounts, storage mounts, rail sides, solar panel mounts, etc.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by RL18

Yes it mounts direct to roof rails which I like better. It might be just as high but look less goofy as others do with the cross rail bars and universal style roof basket since it’s just one piece. I’d still like to see how it looks though lol. X5m rails would probably be a perfect look, while hopefully still being able to vent the pano-moon roof.

What is nice about it is all the attachments available. A ton of add ons… light bar mounts, fuel can mounts, spare tire mounts, storage mounts, rail sides, solar panel mounts, etc.

Agreed to all of the above!!! They are really nice. I have a older Yakima wire basket that gets the job done, but look to upgrade!

[RL18]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

Agreed to all of the above!!! They are really nice. I have a older Yakima wire basket that gets the job done, but look to upgrade!

I want it mainly to add some solar panels for a secondary battery project and have some room for storage or spare tire. They also have attachments for baja designs round lights in the front

[StradaRedlands]

LOVE IT! Do you know about the ECS skid plate? Check it out if you haven't alredy!
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-part.../008271la09kt/
I contemplated going for an overland-lite build on our X5, and still might, but for now it's in family hauler mode!

[RL18]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

LOVE IT! Do you know about the ECS skid plate? Check it out if you haven't alredy!
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-part.../008271la09kt/
I contemplated going for an overland-lite build on our X5, and still might, but for now it's in family hauler mode!

Yessir!

We’re starting to get an aftermarket for it and I just think these would make a great overlanding vehicle. The only downfall is no lsd options available that I’ve found.

Someone has even made a decent coilover lift kit for these!

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by RL18

Yessir!

We’re starting to get an aftermarket for it and I just think these would make a great overlanding vehicle. The only downfall is no lsd options available that I’ve found.

Someone has even made a decent coilover lift kit for these!

Ohhhh, I'm going to keep that filed away for future reference! I see they have a basic lift kit as well!
https://flatoutsuspension.net/produc...f6d4f63b&_ss=r


Also this great thread: https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1409971

You should start up an overland build thread combining all the info and your observations!

[RL18]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

Ohhhh, I'm going to keep that filed away for future reference! I see they have a basic lift kit as well!
https://flatoutsuspension.net/produc...f6d4f63b&_ss=r


Also this great thread: https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1409971

You should start up an overland build thread combining all the info and your observations!

I have some of the basic lift blocks, but I tend to stay away from those types of lift kits since they don’t add travel and usually stiffen the suspension in a bad way. Coilover is the best type in my opinion since ride quality is usually better and you get more travel as well As adjustability. Plus a lot of companies will use progressive springs.
Ceika makes a good “lift”” too but it’s only a .75” lift since they aren’t able to find a longer rear coil spring. I have spoken to them and they said if I found a company to make the longer coil spring they could make any size lift I wanted.
Anyways that flat out one would be perfect honestly. 2” of lift is about max for and suv like ours before you start running into issues. Ive also talked to someone overseas that is running the basic, he does some heavy offroading with his and says that at certain extreme angles he’s had the cv shaft almost pop out, nothing I would be doing though lol.

I can certainly start a thread for discussing overlanding set ups. Am I able to change this threads title?

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by RL18

I have some of the basic lift blocks, but I tend to stay away from those types of lift kits since they don’t add travel and usually stiffen the suspension in a bad way. Coilover is the best type in my opinion since ride quality is usually better and you get more travel as well As adjustability. Plus a lot of companies will use progressive springs.
Ceika makes a good “lift”” too but it’s only a .75” lift since they aren’t able to find a longer rear coil spring. I have spoken to them and they said if I found a company to make the longer coil spring they could make any size lift I wanted.
Anyways that flat out one would be perfect honestly. 2” of lift is about max for and suv like ours before you start running into issues. Ive also talked to someone overseas that is running the basic, he does some heavy offroading with his and says that at certain extreme angles he’s had the cv shaft almost pop out, nothing I would be doing though lol.

I can certainly start a thread for discussing overlanding set ups. Am I able to change this threads title?

This is GREAT info, thanks! I really appreciate it, so hope others can find it and chime in on their experiences and research. Where/how is best...

[RL18]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

This is GREAT info, thanks! I really appreciate it, so hope others can find it and chime in on their experiences and research. Where/how is best...

I’m taking your advice and I’ll make this thread into an overlanding discussion page. Hopefully others won’t be shy and chime in with their ideas/set ups!

I’ll put together a post tomorrow on my idea for a secondary battery set up, with solar power charging. I’ll also try to organize the post and keep mods in categories so topics are easy to find.

[StradaRedlands]

It's happening, it's really happening!!!

This is great though, a great repository for the info!!!

[jbash87]

Love this! I don't care about overlanding but I'll be following following because I like seeing the platform evolve.

As for LSD options the X5M rear is one. I'm not sure if the front diff is LSD, however.

[RL18]

So, let talk about secondary batteries…

I’ve seen a few threads on here touching on adding a secondary battery. Never seen anyone follow through however. If you’re powering aftermarket accessories, audio, dash cam, lights, winch, camper, etc. then a dual (or more) battery system just makes sense. Getting past the IBS system is probably the hardest part, but thankfully there are companies that have already worked these things out for us, also you can just unplug the IBS cable (I know “you can’t do that”). Either way companies like Victron and Redarc have products to be able to integrate regardless.

What kind of battery should I get?

The battery of choice for most overlanding set ups is a lithium battery (LiPo4). They’re lighter, have more lifespan, and technically have more capacity than agm since they’re able to discharge around 80% vs 50% on agm. Although agm batteries do have better below-zero performance. Both “smart” chargers will be able to safely charge either with whatever primary battery you’re using. Both can also integrate solar charging.

How do I wire in the secondary battery and what companies make products to integrate?

We have two popular companies, Victron and Redarc.

Victron:

Victron from what I can tell online is the superior company. More features available, more sophistication. But they are less user friendly I would say. More involved and don’t seem to have many wiring diagrams readily available, which if you contacted them I’m sure they’d be happy to help you build out your system. Basically though this is what you would need to get from them:

- Orion XS 12/12-50A DC-DC Battery Charger
- Victron Energy BMV 712 Smart Battery Monitor with Bluetooth
OR
- Victron Energy BMV 712 Smart Battery Monitor with Bluertooth
With solar:
- Victron Smartsolar MPPT 75/15 Solar Charge Controller
Optional accessories:
- Victron Smart BatteryProtect
- Victron Cerbo GX Touch Kit with Wall Mount

What’s nice about the Victron units is all the accessories and different modules will work together. They have a Bluetooth app that’ll connect and integrate all their modules/accessories. Also in the case that you are using solar panels with different specs, using one of the mppt controllers per solar panel will take care of the issue of mixing different solar panels together so you won’t lose any efficiency. They also offer inverters as well as campsite power hook ups, but I feel that that isn’t needed since with our x5s pulling a small offroad camper or regular camper makes more sense then using a rooftop tent. At that point the inverter and accessories to go with it can go on the camper and still be integrated with the rest of the system.
Redarc:

If you want a bit simpler more diy friendly choice with as many features and monitoring capabilities, then Redarc is the next best thing. From them you would need to get:

- Dual Input 25A In-Vehicle DC Battery Charger (BCDC1225D)
- Smart Battery Monitor (BSEN500)

*If using LiPo4 aux battery*
- Smart Start Load Disconnect Isolators (BI12-LLD)

Overall Redarc would probably be the simplest way to add a secondary battery with a solar panel. Basically one charger with the mppt controller built in. They have more options as well depending on budget. You can go simpler with a smart charger that just does alternator power and hooks up to an ignition source. They do make something called the manager30 which has quite a bit more sophistication and features with monitoring and such, but more money of course and bulky. They also have inverters available.

Adding solar panels

If you plan on adding solar, really the sky is the limit for you. I don’t want to go too deeply into this topic but you can go as big or small as you want. You can permanently mount or use a portable solar panel. An important thing to know is if you plan on using multiple solar panel in parallel (or series) you want to make sure you get panels with the same specs or else you’ll lose efficiency. One thing to note when comparing companies is if you do need some serious solar power and you’re not able to use the same solar panels, Victron is what you want since you can use as many mppt controllers as you want and they’ll all work together to charge the battery without losing efficiency. Redarc can’t do this since the mppt controller is built into the smart charger. Basically to use different solar panels together you need you use a mppt controller per solar panel. Also Victron will accept a wider range of input voltage from the solar panels than Redarc which has a tighter input voltage range. This means you could also wire more solar panels together in series or use higher voltage panels for quicker charging.

I’ll be tackling my own dual battery project sometime soon. Maybe this summer and I can make a detailed write up on wiring everything together. Hopefully this helps anyone wondering where to start though! what I will do is try to get some wiring diagram’s from Victron on their system. And I’ll also post a picture of Redarcs wiring diagram in their manual

[RL18]

A wiring diagram of the Redarc setup. Will look into finding a Victron wiring diagram.

A link to the Redarc manual for the BCDC1225D: https://cdn.intelligencebank.com/au/...ruction+Manual

[RL18]

Does anyone know if adding something like a 1”-2” subframe spacers would be possible on our E70s?

I’ve seen them available for subarus, volvos, and audi/vw/porsches. I figured it could be possible on the x5s too, to allow a larger lift kit to be installed without messing up the cv axle angles.