How to tow a Benz with another Benz? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Rashakor · #1 05-09-2009, 07:27 PM

Well my friends, the time has arrived for me to leave Texas and set sails to the North East USA. I will be settling most probably around Fort Lee NJ.

Now i need to transport 2 of my beloved benzes across 1500 miles. The 300TD is not running ( ihave not found yet a suitable engine for it

), so i will be towing it after removing the blown engine and the trans.
I would like to tow it with the 300SD, which is very good on the highway and pulls like a freight train.

What are my options?
I remember seiing Roy Hunter towing back a W126 from Dallas to Detroit last year with a Magnum, but i did not pay attention to the attelage he had to do so: both the rear bumper of the the tower car and the front bumper of the towee was removed and a solid bar was running between the two with what looks like a triangular rig bolted to both cars.

Somebody knows what am i talking about? Where do you find those? what are they called?

strelnik · #2 05-09-2009, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rashakor

Well my friends, the time has arrived for me to leave Texas and set sails to the North East USA. I will be settling most probably around Fort Lee NJ.

Now i need to transport 2 of my beloved benzes across 1500 miles. The 300TD is not running ( ihave not found yet a suitable engine for it

), so i will be towing it after removing the blown engine and the trans.
I would like to tow it with the 300SD, which is very good on the highway and pulls like a freight train.

What are my options?
I remember seiing Roy Hunter towing back a W126 from Dallas to Detroit last year with a Magnum, but i did not pay attention to the attelage he had to do so: both the rear bumper of the the tower car and the front bumper of the towee was removed and a solid bar was running between the two with what looks like a triangular rig bolted to both cars.

Somebody knows what am i talking about? Where do you find those? what are they called?

They are called "tow bars." No kidding.
Roy may have his own, PM him, he may have a source for what you need.

cmbdiesel · #3 05-09-2009, 08:01 PM

I would be very leery of towing a long distance like that. The SD does not have adequate brakes to stop that much weight in an emergency situation. If you were moving to Kansas, I might be inclined to think you could avoid the traffic enough to be safe, but Jersey is always a traffic nightmare.

However, I think there is a thread here about a receiver hitch design for the 126, not sure if there is a prototype, but possibly there is enough info to fabricate something safe.

I would find a driver for the SD, and tow the wagon behind a truck.

winmutt · #4 05-09-2009, 08:52 PM

Without the trans and engine he will be pretty close to non braked towing limits. It can't be good for your transmission whatever you do.

Skid Row Joe · #5 05-09-2009, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rashakor

Well my friends, the time has arrived for me to leave Texas and set sails to the North East USA. I will be settling most probably around Fort Lee NJ.

Now i need to transport 2 of my beloved benzes across 1500 miles. The 300TD is not running ( ihave not found yet a suitable engine for it

), so i will be towing it after removing the blown engine and the trans.
I would like to tow it with the 300SD, which is very good on the highway and pulls like a freight train.

What are my options?
I remember seiing Roy Hunter towing back a W126 from Dallas to Detroit last year with a Magnum, but i did not pay attention to the attelage he had to do so: both the rear bumper of the the tower car and the front bumper of the towee was removed and a solid bar was running between the two with what looks like a triangular rig bolted to both cars.

Somebody knows what am i talking about? Where do you find those? what are they called?

Ship them via specialized carrier......geeesh!

Shawn T. W. · #6 05-09-2009, 09:33 PM

If your useing a haul your own stuff truck like U-haul, Budget . . . for an extra $400 or so you can get a 4 wheel trailer (which has brakes) to haul it on, all 4 wheels off the ground, just get a come along and winch it up . . . most shippers would charge you $800 - $1000 IF they woud take a non-runner . . .

What you are talking about is sometimes called a "stiff hitch" and would not be fun traveling that far . . . what you would pay for extra fuel, wear and tear might not be worth it . . .

NJ will be a bit different for you . . .

turbobenz · #7 05-09-2009, 09:44 PM

you can get a carrier to take it for a few hundred

Gene Horr · #8 05-09-2009, 09:59 PM

I'm in the process of designed and fabricating a hitch for the 300SD. From my work I would not recommend this vehicle for towing anywhere near that weight with a good solid frame hitch. Towing with something mounted to the bumper is a death wish. With a brand new car and proper modifications for towing the car could maybe handle 1 ton safely. 25 years ago. Now? My personal rating would be 1/4 ton on average. 1/2 ton if the vehicle has been completely inspected and is in perfect working condition. And this is with a body attached hitch.

If you are determined to do it yourself one method I've seen done is to rent either a flat bed or a larger box truck, put one care on one of the trucks and pull a trailer with the other. Note that unless you disconnect the driveshaft you'll need a four wheel trailer for your towed car adding 1 ton to the weight.

The cheapest method is to rent a pickup round trip (preferable not from UHaul - they are the most expensive) and a UHaul car trailer for one way. Load the pickup with your personal items and pull the inop car up there and return the pickup. Then drive your working vehicle up there.

Gene Horr · #9 05-09-2009, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbobenz

you can get a carrier to take it for a few hundred

Maybe. When I checked about a year ago a 700+ mile trip was a little over $1/mile though fuel has dropped since then. He's going over 1400 miles.

cmbdiesel · #10 05-09-2009, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmbdiesel

However, I think there is a thread here about a receiver hitch design for the 126, not sure if there is a prototype, but possibly there is enough info to fabricate something safe.

Howdy Gene. After reading your update, I figured you would find this thread.

Skid Row Joe · #11 05-09-2009, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene Horr

Maybe. When I checked about a year ago a 700+ mile trip was a little over $1/mile though fuel has dropped since then. He's going over 1400 miles.

So?

cmbdiesel · #12 05-09-2009, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe

So?

$1/mile. 1400 miles. $1400. Not exactly 'a few hundred'

Rashakor, how is all your stuff going to move? Will it fit in the two cars?

pawoSD · #13 05-10-2009, 12:04 AM

We tow all the time with bumper style hitches on our two 300SD's....and have never had any issues. As long as you don't exceed their rating (200ish on the hitch and 2000 towing)....problems are unlikely. I've pulled as much as 1300lbs with no problem. The brakes on a 300SD are more powerful than they're given credit for. I had no trouble bringing my heavy trailer + car to a quick stop a few times from 55-60mph. I have cross drilled rotors + ceramic pads so I get essentially no brake fade even on tough stops.

Skid Row Joe · #14 05-10-2009, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmbdiesel

$1/mile. 1400 miles. $1400. Not exactly 'a few hundred'

What's your point?

Skid Row Joe · #15 05-10-2009, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

We tow all the time with bumper style hitches on our two 300SD's....and have never had any issues. As long as you don't exceed their rating (200ish on the hitch and 2000 towing)....problems are unlikely. I've pulled as much as 1300lbs with no problem. The brakes on a 300SD are more powerful than they're given credit for. I had no trouble bringing my heavy trailer + car to a quick stop a few times from 55-60mph. I have cross drilled rotors + ceramic pads so I get essentially no brake fade even on tough stops.

My 300SD had a permanent to-the-unibody Class IV hitch I had installed to haul similiarly. Hauled a U-Haul with a very heavy Cub Cadet tractor with ALL implements halfway across the country. No sweat.

Anyone who doesn't know that SDs can tow up to 1 1/2 tons doesn't seem to know much about their capabilities........

Some of the so called "experts" have never towed anything with their SDs.