Ive restored an old 95 E320 from all the great help online here and in other forums. And I was inspired to upgrade to an 04 E320 wagon and now setting it up to haul an enclosed trailer. Question one? Tow capacity is very limited according to the manual at 2000 lbs but the other forums suggest this is an American response to legal issues, that in Europe these cars tow much more. Not planning to tow a big RV but just curious what the real limits should be in engineerring numbers. I'll probably never exceed 2,000. And question two?? Do I REALLY NEED a $200 electronic module to link the trailer lights to the car electrical? Im more than able to find the leads and splice in a simple connector and the trailer has LED lights not going to pull high loads. I understand the system is control-module operated and sensitive to anything connected to it, but the light wiring systems offered for the W210 are very reasonably priced but then this W211 kit takes a huge price jump and if needed I will get it, but it wouldnt be the first time a product was priced to imply a big technical advance and its really the same thing with a different label. This forum is one place I can learn the real truth without going through all the trial and error myself..So thanks again..

I know many of you on here know all the details!

Funny I'm in the middle of installing Curt hitch on the back of my 04 E320 wagon. Picked it up on Amazon warehouse for $50.

In the UK the 211 wagon with an automatic transmission is rated to tow 1000kg unbraked and 2100 kg with trailer brakes. Curt in the US says their hitch is rated at 2000 lbs but you shouldn't exceed the car makers tow rating which MBUSA will tell is ZERO lbs. I'm going with 2000 lbs.

The hitches they sell in Europe for the 211 are a completely different design than what Curt is selling over here. The Curt relies on a couple of U bolts attached to the bumper supports. The Euro design replaces the bumper supports completely and attached direstly to the frame of the car.

Wiring up to this car is the same as the 210. Any powered trailer wiring kit will do the job.

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U bolts? Mine had a tang that went to the outside pair of the bumper bracket bolts, two bolts, one above the other. And there is a bolt that drops down through the crossbar on each side that provides two more anchors.. I saw sort of a U bolt arrangement on the Curt hitch for sedan but not the wagon. Anyway great deal at $50, hope it works.

You'll need to pull the bumper to install this one Im thinking. Mine was not an easy install but I did manage to get it on without pulling the plastic off. And I found the details on wiring on another forum And yes, you can use an adapter that is only $30 and a wiring kit to connect to the battery. Curt /E-trailer is selling a super high tech system with no splicing needed that senses the current and relays power to the trailer lights through its own module..Very nifty and nearly $200! No thanks. They won't recommend the cheaper version.

I also found bolting it all up that the tangs were mis-aligned for the bolt holes and it required bracing the hitch up and then inserting wonder bars and applying a lot of force to spread the tangs apart so the holes would fit the bolt spacing..then forcing it over with all that force in play was quite a maneuver..total wrestling match!

They told me the simple module wasn't available but I found it easily on Amazon.

Anyway we're on the same page about load capacity too. I did a bit of test towing with about 1200 Lb Im guessing and it all handled great. And the air suspension did a great job of accommodating the tongue weight and then back to level when the trailer came off.

I'm using the Curt 11701 kit. In the reviews it's been successfully installed on both sedans and wagons. It sits a bit higher than than the wagon specific kit so you have to notch the bumper cover for the receiver to clear. But on the other hand there's better ground clearance.

The problem I ran into is the previous owner welded on some generic class 3 hitch and made a mess of the bumper supports. It was unsafe to tow with and was scraping every driveway. So now I have to cut off and clean up the damage left by the hitch before installing the new one.
https://imgur.com/a/I9QgWAB

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Yes, thanks, that's what I thought was the hitch and I tried to get it for my wagon but Etrailer insisted it would not fit. Its rated a bit higher capacity. I would have chosen this option with the right information but E-trailer isnt into anything but making the most money as quickly as possible..their employees are frantic to please and get orders out very fast and talk like theye on speed arguing what a great product they have, when its obviously rush rush production and not checked for accuracy. Anyway you may need to replace the bumper support tubes, not a biggie..Good luck towing. My next challenge is the wide tow mirrors and I want to use a rear viewing camera instead of glass reflectors if possible. Seems like it will offer much better view and Im planning to use this in the Bay area/ San Jose and surrounding where traffic is crazy so it will be needed.

Good luck!

You're right, I gave up on trying to make make those welded up bumper supports work. I hit the Richmond PnP and picked up a pair of clean bumper supports off a 211 sedan for $14. They're identical to the wagon pieces.
https://imgur.com/a/GamiXcV
What kind of trailer do you have?

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Ah good for you!

I do construction and needed a tool trailer. Found an American Pace 6/10 foot enclosed cargo trailer that runs 900 lbs empty to haul tools and supplies. I wont be carrying more than 500 lb of stuff.

Ive seen some cool conversions of these trailers for camping and travel as well with beds and all the comforts installed. And yep, if these bumper supports are the same then the sedan hitch (rated at 2500) would surely also work on the wagon as well, just an issue of the capacity rating. I wish Id gotten the heavier rated hitch which Im sure would fit, but I understand that engineering ratings are generally well under twice the actual load capacity. Im guessing the wagon is rated less than the sedan because of the longer rear overhang causing more load on the suspension.