GLK question
 

Are GLK's set up to tow? I have never seen one with a town hitch but I don't know if it is an option.

thanks
Fred Emmerich

I believe so. You could probably find the tow rating on M-B's website.

Yes. The rating for either engine is 3,500 pounds.

You may know this, but.... Be careful when towing with such a small truck. It is easy to lose it in a sweeping corner or when entering the freeway.

All it takes is a bit of caution. I know a guy that thought his Land Rover Discovery could tow a 2,200 pound trailer with a 911 strapped to it. It could pull it, but when he drove like a maniac a simple lane change led to a spin out.

Nice and easy does it every time.

I used to tow my 6.9 with at least a 1500lb steel trailer with and old Jeep Cherokee. Driving was fine, stopping was exciting until I got surge brakes installed.

I dunno. A small trailer with a pair of jet skis perhaps...or a Smart car. But nothing much larger.

Especially if you are trying to keep up with everyone else doing 75-80 mph on the expressway!

Towing is no big deal, even towing very heavy. The trick is to drive like you're towing heavy. A lot of people don't seem to get that. I used to run about 130,000 lbs on five axles* with only a 350 Cummins to pull it and non-spectacular air brakes to stop it. I had no problems** because I knew the vehicle's limits and stayed within them.

*Generally not legal in the U.S. I wasn't in the U.S.
** Ok, there was this one time I got bogged down in gravel and snapped the jackshaft trying to get out. I got pulled out by a D7 and replaced the jackshaft with a spare we kept for just such occasions.

Depends on what you are going to tow...

The factory received is of the (small) 1 1/4 inch variant. An aftermarket 2 inch receiver is going to allow a much wider variety of implements or trailers to be used.

As stated above the 3,500 pound rating is there for a reason. The GLK is a crossover, NOT a truck. The biggest limitation in towing is not engine power but frame design and braking capability as well as the towing vehicles own weight. When seeking my own trailer I looked for months until one that was 'just right' came along. (This one for example has shocks and tows perfectly level with my G-Class) Also even when fully lloaded it is still well within my towing capacity so I still have a good margin for error.

http://i.imgur.com/uXCzXH4.jpg?1

Hey Emmerich,

My dad bought a new GLK 250 around this time last year. It does have a factory two hitch option but its a small 1.5" receiver. I would have preferred bigger. Its towing capacity is 3500 lbs limited by the suspension. Torque is not a problem with the diesel engine.

We have towed a small UHaul Trailer to Sonoma Raceway from house in the bay area and it was fine. I also moved the race car and trailer weighing about 4200 lbs across the paddock at Thunderhill. (Needed to move pit stalls and the real tow vehicle was away getting parts) It worked but the suspension was near to bottomed out. Steering was exceptionally light as the tongue was way overloaded. Would not recommend but we got a few laughs as we trundled across the paddock.As as mentioned by previous posts the short wheelbase isn't as stable at speed as a longer truck. So on/off ramps need to be negotiated with caution if you are nearing towing capacity. Braking while towing was surprisingly good. Very few times was I acutely aware I was towing save for the couple of times I needed to really stand to avoid rear ending lane divers trying to make a late freeway exit.

Hope this helps,

Gregory

EDIT: Ceked the Splelling

How was that trailer able tow your 6.9????