Would my car be able to handle the towing chores of a trailer say this size and weight? Trailer is 1070 lbs empty and would have a race Kart and accessories totaling anywhere from 200 to 350 lbs.

Here's the trailer....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4522777640

Here's the "tow vehicle". 1990 420SEL / 151K
http://benzworld.org/gallery/pics/10193750173200495003AM.jpg

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1990 420 SEL / 151K mi.

Check the data plate on the driver door jamb, the tow capacity and axle capacity should be on there.

hmmm.......all I see is

GVWR ( Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, I presume ) = 4970 lbs
GAWR ( Gross Axle Weight Rating? ) = frt/rear 2360/2610

nothing about tow capacity.

Thanks for the reply, nonetheless.

Anybody else?

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1990 420 SEL / 151K mi.

Being from europe,I remember germans pulling triple axles 28ft luxury camper all over europe with 450 sel and 300d etc.Don't thing you will have any problem pulling less than 1500pds.

ive seen all kindsa crazy things being towed by cars that had no business towing that stuff. of course being from africa, you dont always have the luxury of having a car in the first place, so you make do with what you have.

to "stay on the legal" side you could make sure that the tongue weight of the trailer you pull doesnt exceed the weight rating for the rear axle.

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'O=00=O'
bmw 2002.
long live the legend

Explain how i'd determine the tongue weight if you would.

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1990 420 SEL / 151K mi.

Is your car already equipped with a trailer hitch? If not, and I presume it isn't since the hitch itself is plated with the capacity, perhaps you could look into the 'approved' unit for your model/year and get the data from them. I once had a hitch from an older 116 that I sold here on this forum. It was made in Germany for the car, but the name escapes me. Anyway, perhaps this might help http://www.etrailer.com/productdetail.asp?partno=24558&vehicleid=1770&yearfrom=1990&h=e

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1986 560SL
2002 Toyota Camry
1993 Lexus

Your first hurdle would be finding a hitch, doubt if you could pick one up at the local UHaul place. Then I would worry about hitch weight and you also will need to consider the frontal area of the trailer, the amount of wind resistance is a major factor. A tranny cooler would be a necessity!

Here's a fella in Canada who sets up Dodge Intrepids to pull 34' triaxle Airstreams. I am sure he could hook ya up.

http://www.can-am-rv.com/content.asp?id=17&uid=

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Chas

Had a 380SL, 450SL, 380SEL, 420SEL, 500SEL

Got a Euro 500SEC right now.

I put a hitch on my '82 300SD. Cost about $250 - they're hard to find. Took about an hour or so to install - a bit of a pain as there is some light cutting to do. I used a Dremel.

Hauled a 1000 lb U-haul with about 500 lbs of stuff from Florida to Maryland (800 miles). I also had four people in the car and a trunk full of mostly lightweight stuff.

I would have preferred air shocks as the rear had a lot of sag - the tongue weight was probably 100 lbs.
Otherwise, no problems at all running 60 mph (no steep hills). My fuel mileage dropped from 29 to 17 (turbodiesel).

Braking was no problem and the trailer tracked well.

I also pulled 2500 lbs over about 4 miles (firewood). Wouldn't want to do that long distance.

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1984 300Sd 210k

Former cars:
1984 300D 445k (!!) (Strider) Original (and not rebuilt) engine and transmission. Currently running on V80 ( 80% vegetable oil, 20% petroleum products). Actually not, taking a WVO break.
1993 300d 2.5 275k. Current 120/day commuter
1981 300SD 188k (Hans) Killed by a deer

I've pulled a 15 foot glass outboard ski-boat on a trailer many a mile with a 300SDL.

I'd like to know the rated towing capacity of the 420SEL, as I have one of 3 fiberglass Yellow Jacket runabouts that exist..

Trailer hitches for the S-class aren't hard to find. = I bought mine NOS off craigslist for 100.oo cash. = Took about 1.5 hours to install.
(YES, U-haul can special order them for >200.oo.)

yours, tex

according to my Dec 1988 Mercedes data book, total trailer weight for any 126 chassis is 750 kgs without trailer brakes and 1500 kgs with trailer brakes. Max roof load and max trunk load 100 kgs each. How slow do you want to go?

On my w126 300SE I had a trailer hitch certified for 2200kg (48500 lb, when do you guys go metric, it is no longer the middle ages).

It was fitted to a heavy crossbar that was attached to equally heavy bars extending to the rear axle.

I once got rear ended by a someone who didn't notice I stopped for a red light. He had a hole in his sump and I had only minimal damage.

With a good trailer with properly adjusted brakes towing is no problem, but I kept my speed always under 90mls/h

Rob