07_R & G 320's

I have a 320cdi with brake controller.

My car hauler trailer is 1,950 pounds. All steel.

I put my R320cdi (for sale by the way) on the trailer and towed it for about 150 miles.

No issues, no drama. Got 22.5 mpg at an even speed of 55-60 without a/c.

Hills were no issue at all, the diesel having massive reserves of torque. I would never buy a GL450, 500, or any gas engine again. This 320cdi pulls just fine.

I also took the trailer with 3 quads on it (all 4x4 heavy quads) up the mountains on a dirt track. This old road was originally a switch back train track with rails removed, originally built by Chinese labor in the 1890's. It's not for the weak, if you are towing a trailer. It is 28 miles each way, elevation changes from 1400 to 6,500 in that 28 miles of dirt.

I got 18.5 mpg up and down. I averaged 18 miles per hour. I used A/C for half of the trip, the lower half up and down. VEEERRRYY glad I had trailer brakes. Anyone that tows without them deserves the inevitable wreck they are going to have.

Tows a boat without issue, even in wind. 21 mpg, 65 mph, A/C, 4 adults, 1 dog, lots of beer. Not one fish btw.

REMEMBER: You get what you pay for in a brake controller. UHAUL has a great unit that is digital. However, most 'installers' at UHAUL are not the highest paid engineers in the lot. Buy the unit at UHAUL, and have Mercedes install it. This unit compensates for sway.

SO IN SUMMARY: If towing is in your future, I would get a GL320cdi with a proper digital brake controller. I have a standing order for a GL420cdi V-8 when they come out next year in the US, this one with distronic and keyless go.

This is not the boat I towed, but very similar in weight and size.

oknish

Thanks, Dave, for the extremely informative post. After reading for a while about the Diesel, I am beginning to consider that too. So now adding 420 to the mix of my toying with 550

Danno4x4

That road sounds familiar.... Bumble Bee to Crown King? Lots of fun to drive in a Subaru WRX as well.

AutoSaurus

See your email about the TracVision Satellite dish on the GL in the photo. I'd like more info on it please.

07_R & G 320's

u, yup - Crown King, The oldest Bar & Brothel still in use in Arizona. A fine family weekend.

Yes, that's Direct TV dish. Works half arsed. Needs to have a tivo function, or at least a standby battery that keeps it going for 10 minutes. If you shut off your car at the rest area, it takes 10 more minutes to get video back. Really a poor design.

oknish

Dave - Does the DirecTV feed into your headrest monitors? Or you have an aftermarket RSE? Thanks.

07_R & G 320's

Let me start a new thread on the Direct TV

schvetkaaks

Interesting thread, and I'm glad to find it. I am considering a tow vehicle, and my top choices are the Porsche Cayenne S, GMC Yukon Denali, GL450 (can only get the 320CDI here in CA used), and pre-owned VW Touareg V10 TDI. All are capable, but it sounds like on paper they are equal, but in the real world that's not quite the case. Of course a Suburban or Denali XL would be better with the increased wheelbase, but that won't fit in my garage, and in my gated community you can't park on the street overnight.

Those with experience with any number of these vehicles, please give me your thoughts...

BeanCounter

If the primary purpose of the vehicle is for towing then I would go with the Yukon of all of the choices you listed. With all due respect to the others you have mentioned, the American made trucks/SUV's are by far better towing vehicles. They are built are rigid truck chasis and are designed with towing in mind. It comes at a price (mainly ride quality). I had a Yukon Denali for a couple of years that that would tow my boat (which was about 4,000 pounds with boat, motor, trailer, gas, etc.) like there was nothing behind it. Just my opinion as I have not towed with my GL yet but I don't think it would come close in terms of towing. The European designed SUV's are designed to be a lot sportier/handle better but my feeling is that they are giving up a lot in terms of towing.

schvetkaaks

Excellent point, and I didn't make that clear. Mine will be to tow a Porsche Boxster race car, and I will still have my '05 Boxster S to drive around town. This vehicle will be my substitute family car (when my wife's it taken) and primarily my freeway car, for my trips to LA. It sees about 10k of miles a year, almost entirely freeway, so it is dual use to some degree. I will be doing 12-15 track events a year, most likely, so while it is not towing every day, or every week, it will be at least every 2 months.

BeanCounter

I don't know the weight of that race car of yours, trailer, and any related equipment, but in your situation I still recommend the Yukon. There are very good highway cars as well. Very stable even while towing heavy stuff.

schvetkaaks

My car and trailer will likely be about 4500lbs with some equipment - 5000lbs max.

Jack450

The Denali will tow with no problem. Big mirrors, rear suspension airs up and you're off to the races. Also, has a trans. temp guage which is important and tow/haul mode takes all the work out of it. Hauled a 6,800lb boat with my previous Denali.

LDH

no towing problems here with my 27' 5000# rv trailer, I also use a prodigy controller, sway control and weight dist. hitch though.

2thfixr

No problems towing here but then again all I have is a 8x10 utility trailer. Joking aside, I was wondering about the towing capacity on the GL. I saw a GL the other day towing a boat and it looked like the rear end was sagging quite a bit. Don't these have self-leveling suspension?

Jack450

Yes. Haven't towed yet but RMCLK55 said it did rise a little.

theweis

you want to tow with a luxury SUV, ie not american, get a touareg.

I currently own the V8, have towed multiple times trailers 4-6Klbs, thing is like a tank. If you want even more juice, the V10 diesel is like a panzer division - extreme torque. Depends where you live re availability of ULS diesel, that's a key consideration.

Very disappointing to hear about GL lack of ability...

AsianML

Well, take into consideration that it's still a unibody chassis, one that can tow quite a bit for one.

Jack450

Hey LDH, does the weight dist. hitch just lessen the tongue weight. Also, have you tried towing without it? I'll probably be hooking up the boat this weekend and was wondering if I should get this and the sway control? It's about 6K lbs. Problem is I don't know the tongue weight.

StevethePilot

The biggest difference between the US vehicles and at least the GL which might make for some stability differences is that the US vehicles tend to use live axles for the rear suspension, versus independent rear suspension on the GL. That'll make for a smoother highway ride, but might allow for less stability when towing heavy loads.

In a review of the upcoming Lexus LX570, AutoWeek (or Car & Driver?) mentioned the continued use of a live axle on the Lexus versus the GL, which is supposedly no slouch (their words) in the towing department with the IRS.

Two cents.

cjh.

Don't quite understand that. I towed my 6,000 lb boat, and didn't have any issues. It was amazing towing, I could hardly even feel it. I am not exaggerating, I was amazed.

kbeltran

Greetings all,

I'm new to this forum but I fully agree with a previous reply in having no issues pulling my 24' Stingray (fully loaded and gassed up) on a double tandem trailer -tongue weght approx 5-600 lbs and approximately 5000+lbs towed weight with my GL450 (gas) over 200 miles.

Notes of interest:
1) I have electronic surge brakes which I believe are standard on most boat / trailer combos of this size... again, no issues whatsoever.
2) Before taking off, I "limited" the transmission to 5th gear (to prevent excess shifting going up moderate grades). If my memory serves me correctly, I was traveling mainly 65 mph highway at just under 3000 rpm.
3) I used to have a Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 5.4L and although I was nervous at first, the MB trailered my boat comparably from a handling perspective. It is true that the MB is not quite as powerful as my previous Ford, but as I will only be using the MB to trailer maybe 4-5 X a year for boat outings, I see this as no real issue.
4) Lastly, in addition to limiting the transmission, you may want to check the drop height on the hitch to ensure parallel-ness of the trailer.

boxboss

The current 5.4L Expi has 300hp/365 torque, the gas GL has 335hp/339torque - an even match IMO, and percentange wise, the GL is a touch ahead of the Expedition.

oknish

Great to hear about your positive experience, kbeltran. How did you "limit" the transmission?

AsianML

The GLs max torque also comes in at 3,000rpm compared to the 3,750 of the Eddie Bauer. Much more usable range. He also mentioned at 65 mph, with the gears he was in, it was at a little under 3,000 keeping him in the powerband, which is good.