W126 Trailer hitch
 

Trailer hitch for a W126. I had it custom made at a local shop to my drawing. It was 25 minutes from the photo of it freshly painted to the photo of it installed. So the install was less then 20 minutes.

What did it cost?

$250

The main concern of a hitch is the structural strength of the anchor points. A commercially available hitch shows a different location for anchor points: http://www.curtmfg.com/index.cfm?event=hitch

I'm not judging in any way as your photos don't show the anchor points you have selected. I'm just concerned that the major difference in your design might not be as strong in the attachment points. I have seen some homemade hitches here on the forum that use the commercial location with added reinforcements.

The link did not work for me.

Hmmm, not sure why the link isn't working. Try www.curtmfg.com and then selecting the vehicle. (Curt Hitch Manufacturing bought Da'Lan a few years ago.)

Mine was mounted directly into the rear well, and bumper of my 83 300SD. Worked great. Pulled an enclosed entry level single axle UHaul cross country with a 750 lb. Cub Cadet inside. Cost was about $175

That Curt hitch bolts to the bumper and the bottom of the trunk. When installed, the bumper shock absorbers would no longer function and any hit to the bumper would be transferred to the mounting point on the trunk floor. Their suggested retail price is $414.60

I designed mine similar to the one's for the W123 wagons. The 9" x 9" x 1/4" pads are held to the body with the 6 bumper mounting bolts. The bumper shocks are fully functional. The trailing strap (3/16") bolts to the bottom of the spare wheel well to help prevent rotation if the load can bend the two 9" wide 1/4" thick plate steel pads. It probably isn't necessary.

Image of the Curt Hitch below:

How much oil is your 350 using :eek:

-J

1 gallon / 26 - 28 miles.

I don't add any oil to the crankcase between changes.

I am a little surprised that you would tow something with your 126. My 1981 300SD does not seem to have enough power (at least from a standstill) to tow much; I think it would be very slow getting to speed. Thinking about 96 hp? Maybe yours has more hp?

That's some quality engineering, Greg. I like it. Would you be willing to share the drawing that you made?

I've done some hitches for Jeeps and other vehicles, and was looking at getting the Curt hitch. I don't like the mounting method of the Curt (clamping the bumper), and I don't like the "drill a 1" hole for access" bit.

Greg's design is solid and probably could be rated at more than a class 1. It's certainly got enough beef for anything that a W126 could tow.

The CAD freeware can be downloaded here: http://www.cadstd.com/

Once you have that program I can e-mail the file to you. Or, if you have a different program that will open a *.cad file, then you are all set.

One of the limitations of the "free" program is that you cannot save the drawings in a different format, like a PDF that anyone can open and view.

They're already slow.......just a little slower trailering.:D

I need a hitch so I can put a bike rack on that won't mess up shiny new paint IF I ever get shiny new paint.