I need to get a car from MI to CO and am considering towing it with Merc. It would be done with a dolly, not a trailer. I have never towed anything with a car so am not sure if this would be a good or bad idea. Any thoughts?

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95 E300 Diesel 200K

What hitch?

Be careful....

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=225168

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

How much will the Passat/dolly weigh? How much will the tongue weight of the Passat/dolly be? What are MB's maximum recommended weights in this regard? Bear in mind that MB's recommendations presume that the entire car is in excellent condition. What kind of hills/mountains will you be climbing? How healthy is the transmission? How fresh is the trans fluid? Are your brakes in good shape?

Let's face it, asking any 15-year-old car to tow a 3,000+ lb. sedan almost halfway across the U.S. is akin to requesting that your grandmother move your barbell set from the basement to the attic. Pretend that it's be kind to w124's week, and beg, borrow or steal a 3/4 ton or better pickup for the job.

Initial thought is YIKES

Unless you're familiar with towing something that big and heavy relative to your tow vehicle, have it shipped.

A popular auto shipping service I checked on-line wants $870 to ship from 43615 (Toledo, OH, closest depot to 49242) to 80010 (Aurora, CO). $328 more for door-to-door service, $150 for top rack, $342 for enclosed, ...

Sixto
87 300D

do it. I towed a VW with a dolly 1200 miles with a 81 240 once, and use a dolly all the time with other vehicles. Once you are up and rolling, the car will have no problem pulling that weight right along.

You won't be towing over any crazy mountain ranges, so the MB should be fine. Dollys in general are a little scary compared to a full trailer, and forget easily reversing ever, but pulling straight on a highway, it will follow easily around curves, and you just have to watch for the added width of the dolly itself for lane position. Also a dolly will not bear down on a hitch. I rented and towed another car with a 150lb tongue weight rear bumper rating by MB. The weight is mostly pulling weight.

I would also grab a set of those magnetic lights for the tow vehicle. Stick em to the roof, some states have regulations on how much car can extend beyond the rear lights. I have gotten a ticket for a vehicle on a dolly without extra lights on the vehicle itself.

Also, when you pull the car up on a dolly, jiggle the steering wheel after you pull the key out and get the wheel locked before you go around a curve pulling the load and the pivot function of the dolly turns until the wheel locks itself and the front tires of the car are all cocked oddly between the dolly wheels.

Also, I make a practice of driving like 5 miles, letting it settle and bump, then jumping out and cranking down on the straps again. Its amazing how loose it can suddenly be after actually being towed. Good luck!

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Given that you dont have any experience with doing it, you would be on a very steep learning curve !!

Your car would need to be in perfect mechanical condition.

If there are hills on the way, expect trouble.

Most inexperienced people who try towing a long distance find them self developing a false sense of security when they get on the open road & put their foot down. Then when things go wrong, it happens in a big way.
If I was attempting it, 45 mph max even on nice flat straight roads.

Never go down a hill faster than you could go up it.
Let others pass you, dont hold up traffic.

Better still, take sixto's advice !!!!!

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Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

OK, first make sure your brakes are fresh and in perfect condition.
next verify your hitch is well constructed and mounted, then get the trailer light adapter so your lights work properly.
follow all advice above, and I'd keep all tools in the trunk, not in the towed vehicle. you want weight in the front of your vehicle, and on the dolly. the engine of the towed vehicle provides the weight for the dolly, so be sure you have plenty of weight behind the driver's seat in the Towing vehicle.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
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My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

What year the Passat? The VW might not weigh that much less then the Merc. Might make for some interesting driving in crosswinds!

-J

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1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

That's what I was thinking, Comp. My Jetta weighs over 3000 lbs. I'm sure that the Passat isn't any lighter.

For example, my dad's 04 Passat has a specified curb weight of 3,300 lbs. The Merc is 3,640. That's not much of a difference!!!

-J

And the dolly is at least 600.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

I wonder if there are laws against towing more weight than the manufacturer's limit? I've heard that it's common to tow trailers in Europe that are approximately the same weight as the tow vehicle.

I wonder what year the passat is? I think the early ones were a little under 3000 lbs. Some tow dollies are fairly heavy, at least it seemed heavy to me when I inquired at a U-haul. IIRC seems like they said the dolly weighed around 450lbs.

Edit: I swear, Babymog's post wasn't there when I was writing mine

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1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!

It really doesn't matter if they were brand spankin new...........

The brakes were never designed to stop 7,000 lb. If any emergency occurs that requires stopping in any distance less than forever...........there's going to be a bad outcome.

I towed a 7,500 lb. horse trailer (with three horses aboard) with the B-250 (318, 3 speed auto) for 600 miles. The trailer had sufficient brakes...........but, I'll never do that again.

The situation with the W124 is far worse.

It's not just about the brakes, it's also about handling. Once the tail wags the dog, you're just along for the ride and it won't be a good one. I do remember bringing an Austin Healy 3000 home in a trailer, behind a Volvo 164, ... lets just say we all lived to tell the story.

Although the car should be able to pull it, and maintain highway speeds, I highly recommend against it unless it is a local pull at low speeds.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff