Bingo. A few weeks ago this almost happened to me trying to pull a Dodge Durango backwards with a 1-ton Ford church van. Even with the steering wheel was locked very tight, it was VERY unstable above 60MPG.

Think about the distance between the center of the vehicles' masses and the pivot point (the hitch). If this this distance is large enough, it may hit a resonant mode at highway speeds and will rotate (yaw) around the pivot. Tires (single, normal aspect ratio) have poor resistance to this yawing/rolling motion, which also lowers the frequency.

Robert
engineering student

That weight to front only works to a point. You can exceed the tongue weight of the towing vehicle and some point making the steering of the tow vehicle dangerous and then also get sway from that. You cannot simply state that it should go one way or another. In truth it should be balanced. In truth that Tow vehicle probably has a very low tongue weight rating and I bet lower than the Cars front on a tow dolly. I imagine that Van's rating is no greater than 100 pounds. And more likely 50. In truth, a situation that is out of spec, can always be dealt with better with a heavier tow vehicle. Or proper tow device. In this case a larger tow vehicle would have been able to deal with the situation better. And its always better to put almost ALL the towed cars weight on something else's axles.

Another rule of thumb is that any thing weighing more than 1500 pounds should probably have brakes on its tow devices axles. And for sure when that gets to 3000 pounds and above it must have brakes on those. Those brakes then are, and can be used, to bring a swaying trailer into line. Not just help stop the whole mass.

I just, ironically, got back from towing a VW thing on a flat bed car trailer. And because I have a Dually 1 ton truck I could put the thing on backwards. (Engine to front) and push it all the way back on the trailer too. This put too much on the tongue but I had the truck to do it, and I had Brakes on both axles of the trailer and a brake controller to deal with the issues. But, I wouldn't recommend it.

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1983 300D-Turbo - Deep Blue w Palomino MB Tex (total loss in fire 1/5/09 RIP)
1995 E320 W124 Polar White/Grey Mushroom MB Tex
2005 F150 Supercrew - Arizona Beige - Lear topper
1985 Piaggio Vespa T5 - Black and Chrome

www.cphilip.com

Any damage to the Mercedes?

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

This is why MB specifies that towing MUST be done via flatbed.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

I towed a VW bug ass-first with my 300D on a u-haul dolly. 600 miles roughly. No probs. even when I rode the dolly wheel up onto a concrete jersey barrier briefly. I kept it mostly around 70 mph, it had a constant propensity to pull to my pass side, which may or may not have negated any harmonic that was developing due to pivot lengths and force vectors that were not parallel to the vector of the towing vehicle. Definitely would have felt uncomfortable towing anything heavier, as much out of concern for the longevity of my transmission as anything else.

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1985 300D Gretchen (Astral Silver) 220k
1983 240D 4-speed Evelyn (Orient Red) 203k


TANSTAAFL

I had the same experience with mine a couple of years ago, and had to turn it around and unhook the drive shaft from the diff. It towed just fine then, even at highway speeds. I assumed it was because of play in the steering...

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'83 300D Turrrbo 295K miles

I towed a 1985 300TD with the rear wheels on the dolly without to much issues, I towed at a maximum speed of 45 mph, and slowed down if it ever began to fishtail. I towed it with my landcruiser, which weighs about 500lbs more than the mercedes.

I dont think its fair to make a blanket statment about never towing with the front wheels on the ground, if your cautious it can be done safely.

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1984 Euro 300SDC, (4spd standard)
1986 Toyota Landcruiser Diesel HJ60 5spd X2

Gone but not forgotten (some sold, some stripped)
1983 300 SD, 1985 300 SD, 1983 240D, 1986 300 SDL, 1985 300 SDL, 1983 300 D, 1984 300 D, 1985 300SD, 1987 300 SDL, 1983 300 SD, 1985 300 TD Euro, 1983 380SEC, 1990 300 D, 1987 300D, 1982 300D, 1982 300D, 1994 E420, 1987 300 TD, 1987 300 D, 1984 300 D

OK fair enough - let me refine my blanket statement.

Towing a car with the front wheels on the ground (and the engine all the way at the rear of the trailer) is an inherently unstable configuration. It WILL decrease the margin of safety in a situation where it is important to have as big a safety margin as possible.

Have you ever had to make a sudden or quick maneuver with a loaded car/trailer combination? I'm always very cautious when I'm towing but the actions of your fellow motorists are not under your control.

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98 Dodge-Cummins pickup (123k)
13 GLK250 (135k)
06 E320CDI (323K)
16 C300 (62K)
82 300GD Gelaendewagen (54K)

Wow...glad no one was injured! That equinox seems to have actually held up pretty well for a rollover....however, its a very poor vehicle for towing like that.....its probably the same weight as the MB (or less even!)....+ trailer = bad weight combination. Its also tall, so it will roll easily.

I agree on always flatbedding it....and use a BIG tow vehicle...(heavy!)

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-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)

That seems inherently unstable to me.

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For Sale: 1982 MB 300TD
1995 Chevrolet Suburban 6.5TD

Sold: 1980 IH Scout Traveler- Nissan SD33T Diesel

The Benz is fine and the shiny hubcaps too. Paul

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http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/5...andbenzqj3.jpg1979 W123 300D Silver with Blue interior

is the chevy totaled?

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1983 Euro 240D 277K
2016 Mazda 6
Coming Soon, 2013 Mercedes E350 Bluetec
Formers:
2012- Mazda 3
2007 Outlander- complete pile
1995 E300 Diesel 208K
2007 VW Passat 2.0T 63K SOLD
2003 Jaguar X-type 3.0 Sport Sold 04/11 w/88K
2009 Lexus RX350 9061 miles. Sold 04/09
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS:Totaled Sept.,09 @ 24,000
2003 Infiniti I35 58K Sold
1984 300 turbo diesel 222K

Ditto. 3 essentials

1) Towing with something heavier than the load
2) Locking the steering down
3) Keeping it under 45

Thankfully everyone came out of it OK. Any word from the insurance company yet?

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1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown

progun, I feel your pain, man.

I once tried to tow a '71 dart with a '72 Scout II, with the dart's front wheels on the ground. Unstable above 45 mph, unbelievably scary.. thought I was going to roll it on the Throg's Neck Bridge coming off Long Island. I had to stop and turn the car around after that.

Nothing beats a beefy tow vehicle. My 3/4 ton dodge diesel could drag a 2 ton tricycle up and down pike's peak without batting an eye.

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'82 300SD 351k

OMG, I just realized where this pic came from.


Someone forwarded me this pic because they know that I LOVE MBs and they remarked that the car looked just like mine (though they can't tell the diff between hubbies and 15 hole rims, or gray and green paint for that matter, ).

Attached Thumbnails

 

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.