[RxVol]

I thought some folks might be interested in my experiences using the Rola 59502 Cargo Carrier with our 2019 M40i, which is equipped with the (US spec) factory hitch option.

The Rola has good reviews online and we have used other Rola products in the past. To my eye, it is also the best looking hitch mount cargo carrier.

Construction: The carrier is made of steel and is listed as weighing 76 pounds. It was easy to put together out of the box, but several online reviews mention that Rola should include washers to use with the bolts. I bought some just in case and would definitely agree that they should be included to prevent the bolt heads from putting too much stress on the rails when tightened down. Some reviews mention getting mis-threaded bolts, but this was not my experience.

I also purchased the optional LED light kit. Installation of the lights was quick with the included zip ties, although you might want to have a few extra 14" zip ties around to assist with routing of the connection cables underneath the basket.

Dimensions and spacing: The exterior of the basket is 60.5" wide by 24: deep. The M40i is listed as 63.6" wide between the center of the rear wheels, so the carrier "fills up" the rear of the vehicle, but doesn't look out of place. I think the styling helps here.

The interior of the assembled basket is 59" long x 22" wide x 4-3/4" deep. The left and right sides flare out a bit at the top, while the front & back sides are nearly vertical. The LED lights do intrude into the space about an inch, reducing the width on each side to about 21". The shank has a 2" risk in the middle to get some additional ground clearance.

When installed on the M40i's factory hitch mount (US spec), there is appx 10.25" of clearance between the rear bumper and the basket. This was enough for me to fit between the basket & the car when loading the rear. Vertical clearance to the ground was 16.75" at the front of the basket & 17.75" at the rear. There is a bit of upward slope on the underside, which leads to this difference.

One of my initial concerns with using a unit like this was the possibility of hot exhaust damaging whatever is carried on the basket. Most sites recommend at least 12" of clearance unless the exhaust is routed downwards. Obviously, the M40i's exhaust pipes go straight out, so this has to be taken into account. The edge of the carrier is 13.5" horizontally and 3.5" vertically from the tip of the exhaust. High school math (a squared + b squared = c squared ) gives a linear distance from the tip of the exhaust to the bottom of the basket to be 13.94". This turned out to be plenty of room and nothing we carried showed signs of damage from the hot exhaust.

Mounting: As noted before, the basket weighs about 76 pounds, so I would use 2 people to install if possible. The only tricky part here is getting the hitch pin holes to line up with the receiver holes. The 59502 comes with an anti-rattle screw-type hitch pin. I assume there was some paint in the threads initially, because getting the pin fully seated took quite a bit of time with the included wrench the first time. After that, I was able to thread it in or out by hand, only needing the wrench for the final tightening. A retaining clip is included for added safety. The 4-point connection for the LED lights plugs in easily, giving you brake lights & turn signals on the basket.

Use: We drove about 7 hours to the beach and back using the Rola 59502 and it performed beautifully. I didn't notice any rattle from the connection and we had no problems with ground clearance. The design of the basket allows plenty of areas for cargo straps or bungee cords to be installed. Our cargo load was about 14-15" high and the rear hatch was able to open and close without hitting anything. I did learn that if a trailer connection is identified by the car that the rear hatch cannot be opened remotely, either using the key fob or via the interior switch. It must be opened directly at the rear hatch.

The listed capacity is 600 lbs - Our load was nowhere near that; it was maybe 150 pounds. I have no doubt that a near capacity load would be OK, though.

I hope this was helpful for anyone considering using a cargo carrier with their G01.

[thatguy09]

What is the tongue weight on the factory hitch? I just got the stealth hitch and they list the tongue weight as 350 lbs

[chrisnack]

This is great, just ordered one yesterday for my M40i as I need to haul some tires and I’m full of other cargo at the moment. Nice to see another BMW and that it looks good. Thanks for posting the pics.