RES

Much Better!

speedbagger

why not? usually driving to the track or off-road spot is a longish (hour plus ) trip....i'd much rather roll a c55 than a beater.

thtguy

So I am reviving this thread, because I too am thinking of installing a hitch. Every car in Europe seems to have a hitch and just like a previous poster mentioned I have seen everything from a SL to a 911 towing things in Germany.

I have a 3 car garage, wife's SLK is in one bay, my C55 is in the second and the 3rd is where I keep all of my Shop equipment. One of our deed restrictions is that cars cannot not sit in our driveways for more than a 24 hr period, so they have to be garaged. So I have nowhere to put a little pickup, plus as little as I would use it I don't want to have to spend the money to insure and keep registered. was planning on getting a small 4x8 fold up trailer to use on the rare occasion when I need to haul larger items, such as furniture, or even dirty/chemical items like fertalizer, pool supplies, etc... Also have a small 15' Sea Doo Jet boat on the boat lift outback that I am sure I will need to pull out of the water at sometime and take into the shop. So how often will I use the trailer. probably less than 5 times a year (obviously not a reason to buy a pickup)

I found the Curt hitch for a 02-07 C's specifically did a search on C320.

I guess my question is does this look like the exhaust for the passenger side might get in the way where it crosses behind the differential?

I am sure I will have to cut the bumper too, but that could be done to look alright too.

Newzchspy

You could always do this!!! All you need is ONE horsepower!!!

As far as towing with a C Class, my concern is not the power needed, it would be the clearance from the hitch to the ground once the jet boat is placed on the hitch and the back-end of the C55 drops.

thtguy

Boat only weighs 1900 lbs, 200 lbs on the tongue. not really going to drop the rear-end much.

lkfoster

Last time I looked you could get the factory hitch for every w203 except the C55. Probably had something to do with pulling the thing off in 0-60 mph in 5.1 second starts.

thtguy

Well I am sure the boat would slow down the 0-60 by at least 4/10th

betrezra

Subscribing... I've been thinking of getting an e500 awd wagon to tow jetskiis.
Towing is not that hard on a car..... as some would think...... if you set it up right and don't over load anything.

lkfoster

The rest of the world does a lot of towing from Mercs. When we lived in Dublin you'd see E- and S-classes with tow hitches all the time. Even saw an SL towing a horse trailer on the autobahn, albeit at "normal" speed.

thtguy

The only reason MB's are not tow rated in the US is for insurance purposes. because they all are in Europe. The boat would hardly ever get pulled with it as it sits on a lift on a canal with Gulf access. more than likely it would be pool supplies (Salt, Acid, generally nastiness) or yard stuff, maybe some fertilizer, a few pieces of sod. and then seems like I am always buying something that too big to fit in the trunk where a nice little trailer would really come in handy.

Has anyone seen one of these Hitches up close? Looks like the back section bolts up behind the spare-tire well, I am just wondering if the exhaust gets in the way back there. Don't want to buy it and not be able to use it then have to pay the shipping to return it.

I am going to get the car up on jack stands and look under there tonight.

Newzchspy

The tongue should be at 10% of the total boat, motor and trailer as a general rule. Are you sure boat motor and trailer total 1900 lbs??? I know Jet Boats tend to be lighter because of the jet drive etc. If you do put the hitch on, stand on it and jump and bit and see what she does??

+1 on the ability to tow. Many times AM CARS are specd cars as underrated for towing due to liability issues. Plus, only 5 times a year isnt going to affect it. I find its usually those long hard hills that really affect towing ability (trans and engine temps etc). In the TB area you're not facing a LOT of hills at all. I think the biggest hill you have is the Sunshine Skyway!!

nladam12

I personally think you should clean up that 3rd bay and/or put the stuff on the beater pickup... main reasoning= the cost for a new trans,engine parts, or suspension on a c55... is going to be huge if anything goes wrong... not to mention (correct me if I am wrong) but if a car is not rated for towing... insurance will not cover anything that happens while towing with said vehicle...

thtguy

Hard to put a Shopsmith on a pickup, I guess it would make a nice mobile machine shop, but would degrade the usefulness of the truck. Also remember the part about not wanting to have to insure and register a vehicle that will get used 3-5 times per year.

Not like I am trying to pull a 10K lb trailer. I would probably be looking at <1k lb for most towing trips, mainly trips to the home improvement store. that is not much more than the total weight alot of people put in their seats for a night out with friends. 4 people x 200 lbs = 800 lbs

I believe it all depends on the state.

I saw a friggin Prius with a tow hitch pulling 2 large jet skis on my way into work this am