What are your real world experiences with towing? What are the biggest loads you have pulled with your MB diesel? I'm not looking for "owner's manual" ratings or such.

Can the engines and transmissions handle #3000+, assuming you have a good solid hitch. 60 mph is certainly acceptable to me.

I have towed about #1500-2000 with my 1982 300TD. Custom made frame mounted hitch. The load was a 5x8 utility trailer and motorcycle.

I suppose I could hook up my Lesharo and try pulling it. That's about #4000. I had to tow it home with my Jeep once at about 45mph. Jeep is only rated for #1500.

__________________
1987 300TDT
1981 VW MKI Caddy 1.6 diesel, waiting on engine swap
1983 D-50 Power Ram 4x4 "Mitsubishi" 2.3 turbo diesel
assorted gas powered crap and motorcycles

RIP: 1984 300TDT, 1982 300TDT, 1984 190D 2.2, 1992 300D 2.5, 1987 300TDT, 1982 Maxima LD28, 1983 Maxima LD28, Isuzu C223 P'ups X3, 1983 Holiday Rambler 6.2 Banks turbo diesel, 1984 Winnebago LeSharo 2.1 TD, 1985 Allegro 6.5

I wouldn't try towing anything over a snowmobile or motorcycle. 1000 lb or so tops. If it were to start swaying bad going down a hill you would be Fd. Even if the load pulled ok, stopping it would be another thing. The jeep would probably do ok if you put a trans cooler on it but short wheel bases aren't the greatest for towing.
my .02

__________________
1959 Gravely LI, 1963 Gravely L8, 1973 Gravely C12
1982 380SL
1978 450 SEL 6.9 euro restoration at 63% and climbing
1987 300 D
2005 CDI European Delivery
2006 CDI Handed down to daughter
2007 GL CDI. Wifes

Buy a truck you will beat the crap out of the driveline towing 3k pounds.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Last fall, I pulled one of my parts cars about 200 miles. 240D (3600lbs) + tow dolly (350lbs) = 4thousandsomething lbs.

Marlene the wonder wagon handled it in grand style...no wobbles with the towed car, tracked great at 65mph, the superior Benz brakes dealt with everything just fine. Of course, you must drive defensively and plan waaay ahead and I took great care to make sure that I didn't lug the engine. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again either...

Read all about it here: Tow job

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

I pulled a 1000 lb uhaul with about 700 lbs of stuff in it from Florida to DC in a 1982 300SD. We drove 60 all the way and it did beautifully. Averaged about 17 mpg if I remember. There was reasonable power and the brakes are awesome. The temp gauge was up by about 7 degrees (this was in the winter). The biggest problem was the rear-end sag. Maybe air shocks are in order.
I've also pulled about 2500 lbs (firewood) for about 3 miles. That's too much in my opinion.

FWIW, our car had a new MB rebuilt trans put in it before we bought it.

__________________
1984 300Sd 210k

Former cars:
1984 300D 445k (!!) (Strider) Original (and not rebuilt) engine and transmission. Currently running on V80 ( 80% vegetable oil, 20% petroleum products). Actually not, taking a WVO break.
1993 300d 2.5 275k. Current 120/day commuter
1981 300SD 188k (Hans) Killed by a deer

Speaking of towing...

Odie, have you thought any more about offering your hitch as a kit, or even a set of drawings? I'm interested in a hitch for my wagon, I don't have 400$, and I've got a machinist friend who owes me a favor and would be happy to help with welding, but I'm not sure what the mount points are, and would hate to spend a lot of time duplicating someone elses good work.

Let me know if you had any ideas. Heck, I'd probably be willing to pay you a few bucks for a set of drawings. We could even do them up in autocad and make them available on ebay. Or just make them available to the forum.

Anyway, think about it and let me know, like I said, there's no sense in me duplicating your fine work if you've got a good way to share it.

peace,
sam

__________________
"That f***in' biodiesel is makin' me hungry."

1982 300TD Astral Silver w/ 250k (BIO BNZ)
2001 Aprilia SR50 Corsa Red w/ 5.5k (>100 MPG)

Proper tongue weight is critical for towing...

example...The Jeep ain't too good for towing. Short wheel base has a big negative impact. The jeep tows my #2000 motorcycle & trailer just fine. But it had swaying problems with my 22ft sailboat of the same weight. But the sailboat had almost no tongue weight. When I pulled the #4000 Lesharo it had swayed above 45mph. but I used a tow bar so there was no tongue weight there either.

I could tow my porshce 914 and Geo Metro at high speeds with the short wheel base Jeep with no tongue weight either. But I think it the load being much lighter than the tow vehicle helped out with the lack of tongue weight.

Consider all the commercials for trucks towing twice their weight...but those loads have the correct tongue weight ratio.

Thus, I would think the Benz chassis is capable of towing loads at least equal to it's own weight safely provided you maintain 10% tongue weight and use a solid hitch. The issue of the engine and trans being overloaded is a seperate issue, but no less important factor.

My hitch has made 2 high speed runs to New Orleans and back with the #2000 rig. If I have a chance this weekend I'm going to try flat towing the #4000 RV with a tow bar. No tongue weight so it's more a test of pulling ability of the Benz and strength of the hitch and not a speed check.


I keep thinking about producing my wagon hitch. Probably as a kit for shipping and production ease. The real issue is time to do it. Plus I'm going to Iraq in a couple months. Too many other projects and such to wrap up before I go. I really wish I made templates and all the first time around.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
1987 300TDT
1981 VW MKI Caddy 1.6 diesel, waiting on engine swap
1983 D-50 Power Ram 4x4 "Mitsubishi" 2.3 turbo diesel
assorted gas powered crap and motorcycles

RIP: 1984 300TDT, 1982 300TDT, 1984 190D 2.2, 1992 300D 2.5, 1987 300TDT, 1982 Maxima LD28, 1983 Maxima LD28, Isuzu C223 P'ups X3, 1983 Holiday Rambler 6.2 Banks turbo diesel, 1984 Winnebago LeSharo 2.1 TD, 1985 Allegro 6.5

I have lots of time towing with pickups but not MB's. Judging by how solidly they are made I would think 2K wouldn't be a problem with the correct tongue weight. Short trailers tend to sway more than long ones that are the same weight. Trailer attitude has a lot to do with how the trailer tracks. the trailer/tongue should be level when hitched. If the tongue is sloping up or down it may track strangely and it will give you trouble when you start braking really hard like in panic situations. If you needed to tow heavy on a fairly regular basis some simple mods would be in order. Air shocks might not be a bad idea but the wagons probably would be the best to tow with since the self-leveling suspension will compensate for the tongue load. A bigger transmission cooler would be a good idea. Since the 4spd MB auto trans has no lockup torque converter it will generate lots of heat when towing. An auxilliary cooler mounted inline would keep the trans alive. If you had to tow 3K+ a brake controller and a trailer with brakes would be the best option. MB brakes will seem plenty until you have to do a loaded panic stop. RT

__________________
When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

I have pulled our 83SD home from where its alternator died (seized it), was about 7 miles or so, did it at night and I did between 15-20mph or so, I did it in "L" gear Sounded like a tractor.... Worst mileage I have ever gotten......20mph at 2800ish rpm is not very efficient.....I think I got 7-8mpg, but it hauled it no problem, even up a real steep hill, which I had to start off on from a standstill....it hauled it like nothing I haven't pulled a trailer however, if I ever use this one to pull a trailer its going to be no bigger than a small boat or Jet-Ski type trailer.....

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I've had some pulling experience with 3 different diesels. Granted it wasn't very far, about a mile each time, and only using a heavy duty tow strap on the tow hooks at the front and rear of the vehicles, but it is uphill half of the way and it is VERY steep, the angle increases the closer you get to the top. The first time was with my 240D, my friends '80 240D wouldnt start so we pulled it to my house to fix it. I wasnt sure if it was going to make it up the hill, but it slowed to about 10-15mph and steadily pulled it up without any sign of stopping. Granted the car had about a month old new trans in it but the engine had about 200K on it at the time. 2nd time was with the 82 300CD, with a newly rebuilt trans, pulling the same car, the same distance. 3rd time was with the 124 300D, same car, same distance, but only after my friend had run his car into a telephone pole so it was getting its engine pulled this time. The 124 was the most effortless of the three, it was almost as if it wasn't pulling anything, no struggle at all.

Also I was impressed with the 124 603 another time last year, a group of three mechanics including myself were transferring from one dealership to another and we had to get our toolboxes out of the shop, one level down- another steep incline. Mine and my friend's small boxes were no sweat for it, but the third guy, had one of those large as-tall-as-i-am toolboxes that weights 1600lbs when empty! the 603 handled that no problem. definitly impressed with its short term towing capabilities.

__________________


1980 500SE/AMG Euro
1981 500SEL Euro
1982 380SEL
1983 300TD
1983 500SEC/AMG Euro
1984 500SEC
1984 300TD Euro
1986 190E 2.3-16
1986 190E 2.3
1987 300D
1997 C36 AMG
2003 C320T 4matic

past: 1969 280SE 4.5 | 1978 240D | 1978 300D | 1981 300SD | 1981 300SD | 1982 300CD | 1983 300CD | 1983 300SD | 1983 380SEC | 1984 300D | 1984 300D | 1984 300TD | 1984 500SEL | 1984 300SD | 1985 300D | 1986 300E | 1986 560SEL | 1986 560SEL/Carat | 1987 560SEC | 1991 300D 2.5 | 2006 R350

no lock up torque converter? are you sure? i thought 4th was over drive on the automatics with a locking converter.

__________________
1987 300TDT
1981 VW MKI Caddy 1.6 diesel, waiting on engine swap
1983 D-50 Power Ram 4x4 "Mitsubishi" 2.3 turbo diesel
assorted gas powered crap and motorcycles

RIP: 1984 300TDT, 1982 300TDT, 1984 190D 2.2, 1992 300D 2.5, 1987 300TDT, 1982 Maxima LD28, 1983 Maxima LD28, Isuzu C223 P'ups X3, 1983 Holiday Rambler 6.2 Banks turbo diesel, 1984 Winnebago LeSharo 2.1 TD, 1985 Allegro 6.5

You would have to be a certified nut case to tow 3,000 lbs with a 300TD. Mercedes published max towing limits for a reason!! Anyone will thinks that the thin non-vented brakes on a W123 will safely stop 7,000 lbs is delusional. Some posters may have gotten away with it but think of the legal ramifications if your overloaded rig rearends a minivan filled with kids.....no thanks. Uhaul or Ryder will rent you a truck and trailer for heavy loads.

__________________
Bill Reimels
Now down to one:
1972 300SE 3.5 W109 (Euro delivery)

There is no locking clutch. But the torque converter can be up to 98% efficient in that respect, anyway(E-Class Owner's Bible).

__________________
1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

Yes I am certifiable (I can't speak for Odie); I still have scars from the shock therapy to prove it too.

Anyway, this is Texas. Around these parts you're expected to overload your vehicle's towing capacity, exceed the speed limit and tail-gate minivans full of pre-teen soccer players. Jeez, life any other way would be dull and uninteresting. And, you better start clearing the streets up there because I'm contemplating a W126 parts car in Goshenville and I'll definitely be towing it home with my wagon. BTW-I really hope your house isn't at the bottom of a steep hill.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

I'm nucking futs

__________________
1987 300TDT
1981 VW MKI Caddy 1.6 diesel, waiting on engine swap
1983 D-50 Power Ram 4x4 "Mitsubishi" 2.3 turbo diesel
assorted gas powered crap and motorcycles

RIP: 1984 300TDT, 1982 300TDT, 1984 190D 2.2, 1992 300D 2.5, 1987 300TDT, 1982 Maxima LD28, 1983 Maxima LD28, Isuzu C223 P'ups X3, 1983 Holiday Rambler 6.2 Banks turbo diesel, 1984 Winnebago LeSharo 2.1 TD, 1985 Allegro 6.5