Do this:

Get a .38 caliber pistol.  Get one bullet.  Go out in the country somewhere.
Load the gun.  Put it to your temple.  Pull the trigger until things go
black.

That way, you will achieve the same result as what you are considering in
the RV realm, but you won't hurt anyone else in the process.

You need to talk to a salesman who doesn't want to sell you the trailer so
bad that he will endanger the lives of innocents to get his commission.

That combination might pull down the road, but just don't hit anything
slippery, go round curves too fast, hit the brakes, drive in windy
conditions, get near the slip stream of a semi, or anything else that would
blow this feather off the road.

Buy a real vehicle that will handle a lot more than you will be towing.  Or
keep your Beemer and rent hotel rooms.  And if you do tow this bad dream,
let me know where so I can be on the lookout.

Steve

Paul, I suggest you look at http://www.tab-rv.com/ for something
you can pull safely.  (Don't do the gun thing, its as unsafe as
pulling a 19' trailer with the short wheelbase no-chassis BMW SUV!)

I see where pgmacdonald@gmail.com contributed:

PLEASE don't do it.   I have no doubt your Beemer Jeep is wonderful
and can tow 6,000 lbs.   It can also leap tall buildings with a single
bound, etc.  What it CANNOT do is safely _control_ anything much
bigger than a snowmobile trailer.  Regardless of what RV salespeople
tell you.

Safe towing is NOT about power.  You can quite literally tow any known
TT with a garden tractor.

Here is some free advice from the perspective of a half-century of
towing experience:

====================

It is my firmly-held opinion that  - on average - manufacturers'
maximum tow ratings are optimistic and presume near-ideal
conditions and a fair amount of operator skill. I continue to
recommend that people buying equipment to tow (or be towed) try
to stay well *under* the maximum. I like a 75% target, on the
basis that it provides a safety/reliability/comfort cushion for
steep grades, bad roads, and emergency maneuvers.  In recent
years as the bulk of traffic has moved over to the interstate
system, I've become increasingly concerned with the number of
people who sincerely believe it is OK to drag their long long
tri-axle trailer (at 125% of tow rating) at 75 mph with their
leetl pick-em-up.

    [There is even the Hensley hitch character going about    
    like a side show barker with his video showing an    
    Intrepid hauling a 9,600 lb trailer! This is FIVE TIMES
    the tow rating, ladies & gents! The product is good but
    the marketing is near-fraudulent.]

Bottom line:  there's a great deal more to tow ratings than
power.  To get some perspective on that, consider the average
over-the-road truck. Typically 400 horsepower or less to haul
80,000 pounds.  Do your own math.

And consider this reasoning for a 75% recomendtion:

There is pretty general agreement that it is unwise and possibly
dangerous to EXCEED maximum ratings, but many of us with long
trailering experience have found that tow rating information is
often misleading - or at least not applicable to everyone.

1. The tow rating is ALWAYS a maximum figure, and is as large as the
manufacturer dares make it. They hope you will buy their stuff for
towing.  Their rating may or may not be right for you.  Every maker
has his own methods of setting tow ratings. Some are conservative
and some are ludicrously over-stated (many Jeep Cherokees were rated
at 5,000 lbs, and IMO are hopelessly overloaded at that figure).

2. MOST tow ratings (nothing personal or specific vs your brand)
do not allow for long steep grades - up or (especially) down.

3. Most tow ratings make no allowance for bad road conditions.

4. Most tow ratings are accompanied by asterisks that call attention
to special equipment "required". Your rig may not have those features.

5. Most tow ratings make no allowance whatever for emergency
maneuvers.  I assure you your vehicle WILL NOT turn or stop as
fast or as safely with the maximum load as it will with a lot less.
The difference can be dramatic. Don't believe me?  Try a few tactics
in a large parking lot.

6. Vehicle tow ratings make no allowance for the DRIVER'S "tow
rating".  No insult intended, but if you have to ask how much your
rig will tow, you have neither the experience or the knowledge to
handle the maximum load safely.  IMO.

7. One of the most-overlooked factors in safe towing is a COMBINED
maximum (GCWR = Gross Combined Weight Rating, often only found in
a towing guide) that dictates a much lighter-than-maximum TOWED load.
Most of the weight of cargo & passengers in the tow vehicle must be
deducted from the permissible towed load to find the true rating.
Some towing guides appear to gloss over this issue because the
marketing types want to put the best possible face on their product.

8. What is reasonably safe and comfortable at 45 mph may well be a
lethal weapon at 75.  Tow ratings, IMO, do NOT reflect any respect for
this hazard.  

9. An internal combustion engine loses about 2 1/2 to 3% efficiency
per thousand feet.  You can easily lose 15-18% in the mountains
unless you have a turbocharger or supercharger.

10.  Regardless of weight ratings, SUV's and "1/2'-ton" pickups are
mostly useless for serious towing.  They will handle pop-ups and even
some of the short "lite" trailers - and will haul yer big one out to
the lake if you are careful.  But competent handling of a large TT
requires a long wheelbase & short overhang.  

Someone once wrote: "You can tow anything with anything - the question
is how far, how safely?"

BOTTOM LINE:  IF you trust the experienced trailerists who have been
there and done that and don't want to go back, you will not exceed
about 75% of the rated maximum.  The number is of course not writ by
the finger of God on a stone tablet - it is merely an indication that
you should stay well below the manufacturer's maximum allowance if you
want a safe, comfortable trip.  Some say the figure ought to be as low
as 50 or 60%.  But except for a few macho braggarts, most experienced
folks agree in principle if not detail with these concerns. For
example, go to http://www.popuptimes.com/archives/75rule.asp
   
==================

Will Sill
"A great many people think they are thinking when they
are merely rearranging their prejudices."
William James

For what you are planning to spend on a small TT you can purchase a used
small Class C in great condition and tow the Beamer behind it. I drive a
Suzuki Grand Vitara which is a Small frame under SUV with not as much
power as a Beamer, but I would not think of towing anything with it even
if it had the power. This is the combination we use and find it totally
adequate in all instances.

Well Paul I suppose you have drawn an opinion of our group
here to be a slight bit hostile with inexperienced RVer.
But I would like to say, they give advice the way a vast
amount of experience dictates. They are not trying to sell
you any thing, they are not trying to make a buck. Your
vehicle that you identified as a prospective tow vehicle is
not an rv tow vehicle. Yes you could pull things around town
and parking lits. Because it might have the power to do so.
But out on the high way things are just a little different.
It takes a great deal of brawn in a vehicle to be the boss
in a towing team and the BMW X5 does not have it. As have
already been said, the salesmen is interested in a profit
for their pocket. Desperate people will do desperate things,
and along now any used car salesman and all RV salesmen are
trying to make ends meet just like you. They would like to
be honest but as you said it is just not in the cards. You
do not need an F-250 diesel to pull what you want either,
but that is at the other end of the spectrum, the BMW is not
even in the spectrum.

Have you considered purchasing a class C or A motorhome and tow your BMW.
This would be much safer for you and those around you.

Ed

This post is a little late, but here's my experience towing an 18' Terry
Resort travel trailer with a '91 S-10 4-door Blazer 4x4. I was able to
tow the trailer safely, and took a trip to Alaska. Big trucks affected
the trailer, but I had no trouble correcting. However driving in
mountains wasn't much fun due to lack of power. I don't like to hold up
other motorists and pull over to let them pass. By the time I got up to
speed, I had another line of cars behind me. Should you decide to take
the gamble, I would suggest the following: Weigh the trailer before
making a purchase, estimate wet weigh, and allow a comfortable margin
between actual weights and 6000 lbs. Install a transmission temperature
gage. Get a digital gage; analog gages have poor resolution at higher
temperatures where you would be concerned. If your trailer brake
controller has a manual means of applying brakes, try to mount it where
it is easily accessible while driving. In my experience, electric brake
controllers don't work very well and you can apply extra braking on
emergency stops. Also, should the trailer start swinging, you can apply
trailer breaks and accelerate gently to regain control.

Good luck, Jim (If you use my email, delete a J. It won't work otherwise)