RMCLK55

After spending over $900.00 to get a brake controller installed so that I can pull a trailer weighing 6,200 lbs (well under the 7,500 lbs towing capcity that Mercedes Benz claims the GL will tow and is rated for), I'm quite dissapointed. Although the power is there and the braking is fine, the weight of the trailer makes the GL feel totally unstable. The trailer pushes, pulls and sways the GL in all directions and make you feel like the trailer is in control of the GL. I hooked up the trailer for a test drive before leaving for a 1,000 mile trip and quickly realized that I was not going to be driving the GL on this trip. The ability to tow 7,500lbs was a deciding factor in our decision to purchase the GL. Also the fact that they are not prewired for a brake controller is a joke. Advertising a 7,500 lbs towing capacity, sooner or later someone is going to hook up a large trailer with no brake controller installed and end up in a terrific accident. If you are thinking of buying a GL and have in mind towing a 5,000 lbs or heavier trailer, I would suggest you try it first.

Jack450

This disappoints me because I'm planning to tow my boat that weighs about 6,500. It sounds like you may have over 600lbs. of tongue weight. If so, there are accessory hitches that solve this problem. Some are made by Draw-Tite.

RMCLK55

This is a snowmobile trailer with a 350LBS tounge weight and the vehicle I pulled it with prior to the GL was a Ford Excursion. When pulling it with the Excursion you could barely tell you were pulling a trailer. I would ask your dealer to let you test pull your boat with one before you buy.

Jack450

Too late. Got it in Jan. Haven't towed yet. Did the suspension air up when you hooked up. My Denali did. You left out the 70k sticker!

RMCLK55

Yes, the rear suspension did rise a little. Looking at the GL hooked up to the trailer, it looks fine. Just going down the road feels very unstable. Please let me know how yours does pulling the boat. (What kind of boat do you have?)Have you had a brake controller installed yet? If not, be prepared, the dealers don't know what your talking about when you ask for a brake controller and running the wiring is expensive!

Jack450

Got a Sea Ray 240 Sundeck. The trailer doesn't require a brake controller because it has surge brakes. It's a hydraulic system that applies hydraulic brakes according to tongue pressure. I like them lots more than electric. You may be familiar. If so, disregard explanation. Anyway, boat is in dry storage now but was thinking about taking it to some other lakes. If it won't tow it safely I will come unglued on MB Dealer. It should tow it safely as I was assured by the sales guy. I have kids that will be going. What are you doing for tow mirrors. The factory GL's are half the size of the Yukon's.

harkgar

Sorry to hear about your GL450. There are very few European trucks that have the same towing capacity as the US manufacturers. The Suburban and the now discontinued Ford Excursion with the Powerstroke diesel V-8 just cannot be matched by anything from across the ponds, Europe or Japan.

The three quarter ton Suburban comes with a full hydroformed ladder frame, rear leaf springs, engine oil cooler, transmission cooler, extra large radiator, all the electrics ready to be plugged into your trailer and "tow" button for use uphill. The Ford has a diesel engine with the pulling power of a locomotive and neither cost an arm and a leg.

MB makes great cars. They have to learn to make good heavy duty towing trucks.

Jack450

I thought MB was the largest builder of commercial trucks in the world? I have a 2005 F350 that tows a trailer for my business and have spent over 6k and 36 days in the shop. Having said that, I just thought that the GL would be the best of both worlds. My wife would trade it off right now for a plain Jane Tahoe that she can junk up!!

harkgar

You are right to a point. MB, Volvo and Saab make good commercial trucks - 16 wheelers - but they do not make anything along the same lines as the North American "light-duty trucks". There is no import equivalent of the Suburban and the Excursion in terms of size and towing capacity that you can buy off the shelf.

harkgar

My wife is onto her 4th Suburban. Quality control is not a strong point though the latest one is the most reliable (nearly 7 years old and well over a hundred thousand kilometers) and good on fuel for a 5,300 lb truck, 13 mpg City and 16 mpg Highway fully loaded and a/c running.

I only have experience with MB passenger cars but have no intention buying their trucks.

AsianML

What's the tongue weight with your setup?

RMCLK55

You are exactly right about the towing abilities of the Suburban and Excursion. My problem with the whole thing is that MB advertises the GL Towing Capacity at 7500 lbs and we bought it based on being able to tow that much. The Excursion that we traded in on the GL was incredily stable even towing more weight than it was rated for. Like I said, you would often forget you were towing a trailer. I'm wondering if the problem with the GL is that there is no frame rails and it's unibody construction. Also the idependant suspension could have something to do with it. I love MB, but this is a huge problem. Fortunately I have other vehicles that can do my towing, but that means not driving the GL when I want to. I just feel like I was mislead and I wish I had tried towing with it before I bought it.
Jack450, I can tell you have good taste by the vehicle and boat you own. I have a '05 Sea Ray Sundancer 340. Awesome boat and just like MB, quality all the way. BTW, I occasionally pull my boat out for storage and service and although the 340 and trailer weigh over 17,000 lbs, my Dodge 3500 Dually pulls it easily and I feel in complete control. I have a construction business and we are very familiar with towing all sorts of trailers with different vehicles, but I have never felt as insecure towing as I did on that test drive.
My whole thing is, I think that potential GL buyers need to be aware the towing issues with the GL, obviously the dealerships and salepeople are unaware of the problem.

RMCLK55

What's the tongue weight with your setup?

The trailer I was pulling is a snowmobile trailer that weighs 6,200 lbs with a tongue weight of approximately 350 lbs. We also have a horse trailer that my wife was planning to pull with the GL that weighs approx. 8,000 lbs loaded. Guess that won't be happening.

RMCLK55

Jack450, sorry I didn't answer your question about the tow mirrors. That's another problem. I could not see anything behind me during the towing test. The side mirrors are very small. That became a non-issue, only because I will not be towing with the GL anymore. (Nice, after spending $900.00 getting a brake controller installed by the MB dealership.) I have yet to try it pulling our Sea Doo's (total weight probably 2,000 lbs.) Should be fine with that.

I have had trailers with surge brakes and they do work well, but check them often, the cylinders are prone to corrosion and can stop working.

harkgar

Sorry. What you posted is all Greek to me. I have the full tow package but like many Suburban owners do not tow. I bought the package for the 3.42 (or is it more?) axle for acceleration. Americans want big cars and the Feds penalised drivers (via CAFE) and drove them to drive trucks. The axle ratio choice is a roundabout way to get better acceleration and lower mileage in those SUVs.

My son used to attend Dukes, NC and I drove down often loaded with TV, furniture and stuff for him. I went as far as Florida one year and love the experience. The US of A is one vast country. I wish GM and Ford would continue to build these fine vehicles.

MB should take heed too if they want to tap into the horse-boat towing market. They need to build high dollar trucks strong the way they built the W126 series. I was not overly impressed with my friend's GL320 CDi. Tinny.

Build them on a ladder frame. Hydroformed. Strong. 10,000 pound towing capacity. Build them and they will come.

AsianML

http://www.uhaul.com/hitches/glossary/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towing

Best I could find.

Jack450

RMCLK55, I'm fortunate to have a Duramax that will "Jerk a Knot" in the boat and trailer. But the image of the commercial with the GL pullling a boat bigger than mine is what first attracted me. I just wanted something refined that the whole family could enjoy. Plus, my wife doesn't like parking a Suburban (Land Yacht) every day at the shopping mall. I don't know what the tongue weight is on my boat. I imagine it's around 450lbs. Maybe MB was counting on novice towers not knowing how vehicles are supposed to behave. I had hoped that this was the "Total Package".

RMCLK55

I feel the same way and really quite disappointed. Please let me know how it goes once you hook up to your boat.

Jack450

Will Do.

harkgar

I have been waiting for GM to do a Duramax Suburban for a few years now. I think the price of the Izuzu or Suzuki engine-Allison 5 or 6 speed automatic option is too expensive and not that popular so GM never put the package in the Suburban. They had the 6.2 liter old V-8 though with less power and torque many years back.

With the new emission rules coming into being GM and Ford are putting new equipment into their diesel trucks too. The last time I read that the latest Powerstroke engines were blowing out FLAMES due to a malfunction in the latest emission lowering attempt!

What ever happened to good old black smoke diesel engines??

sprink49

I feel your pain. When I first looked at the GL I crawled under the rear to see where the guts were. This is not a tow vehicle. You just cant beat a straight axle, leaf spring long wheel base Suburban for that job unless you go with a Duramax C-3500 w/the Allison tranny. I think the weakness is in the independent rear with the air suspension.

I used to tow a 27' Formula on a tripple axle float on with a 3/4 ton Suburban witha big Block 454. I was pulling 7500 lbs with 650 lb tounge weight. No problem running 70~75 down to the Keys and with 4 wheel drive it was a "champ at the ramp"....the good ole' days.

oknish

Thank you all for the info here. I don't tow yet but do plan on doing so in a couple of years. I see myself as a "weekend warrior" mainly towing boats/seadoos. Maximum drive will be 150 miles, one way. In your expert opinions, will GL fit the bill? Won't hurt my feelings with truth

Danno4x4

I actually intend to tow with my GL320 as well... a 5000 Lb Jeep on a 2000lb trailer. So at 7K it is within 500 lbs of the maximum...

I did a test pull with my Jeep and Trailer setup on a friend's GL450... with 650 lbs on the tongue and I thought it pulled just fine???!!

In addition to the Prodigy Trailer Brake Controller (working both axles on a tandem trailer) we also had dual sway controls installed.... Maybe that made the difference.

Jack450

oknish, I think you'll be fine. I'll be able to say for sure when I hook to the boat in a few weeks. A 3/4 or 1 ton truck with a diesel and a transmission cooler would do a better job with less strain. But they are not what I would want to be stuck with everyday. I'm wondering if RMCLK55 checked the tire pressure in the rear wheels, my 19's recommend 38psi in the rear. They had 30 psi when I checked and the monitor had not come on. I will probably go to 45psi before towing.

AsianML

Aw, you'll be fine with seadoos. We used to pull ours every weekend with a minivan. Heck, even a friend of ours pulled his seadoo with his late 80's early 90's Camry!