jjhplus9@me.com

Hi All,
I was unable to order the factory towbar on my new GL. (delivery now days away....)
I am trying to identify the exact match..
There are a number of suppliers, including witter and westfalia.

Could you post pictures of your towbar (if factory fitted) and of the installation - towbar on and towbar off.

I would be very grateful.

Regards,
--JohnH

Baron11

you not only need the trailer hitch assembly, the rear bumper needs to be trimmed and you need an electronic device/module to integrate the hitch with the stability control system. You can't just buy a hitch like you would for a pick-up truck and be done with it.

I, and a few other members here have went through the same issues.

Baron

jjhplus9@me.com

Yep, thanks for that.
I was aware of all of those issues and details.

I would like some visuals of the factory fit kit and mount.

StevethePilot

Aaaaactually, you probably could go get a U-Haul hitch put on, with no trailering module to boot. You'd end up with a four-pronged plug, I think, and a hitch that'd hang down pretty far, as well as probably interfere with future maintenance, but I bet it could be done.

Oh, and it'd be ugly. It's somewhere north of $1500 to get it done afterwards, about - what, $750 to order it from the factory, pre-installed? Gotta love it.

STP

jjhplus9@me.com

The cost of Factory Fit options are (in the market) quite reasonable.

The cost of those same options (parts only) is horrendous!
Typically 1.5 to 2.0 times the cost of factory fit!

I know the factory has economies of scale, but it still sticks in my throat.

After fifteen years of driving Audi's, I don't remember the disparity being quite so huge!!

I'm (almost :-)) regretting not configuring a car from scratch and waiting for a factory build slot...

cab4kw

my GL was supposed to have a trailer hitch on but the salesman misinformed me the exact options of the car. After multiple discussions with the manager, we settle at half the cost of the hitch. So I paid $800 and the dealer $800. It takes 3-4 hours to bolt it on the uni-body and if you have the stainless rear rocker panel, it needs to be cut. It is another $300 labor for the electronic brake control.

nkole

$300 labor for the brake controller install sounds very high. I installed mine myself in less than an hour.

CLK43002

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-O...Q5fAccessories

jjhplus9@me.com

For The Avoidance of Doubt:

I'm getting a hitch fitted and installed by certified professionals.

I am looking to get the best match product to the factory hitch.

There are at least two competing products on the market,
one from Westfalia and one from Witter.

I'm trying to work out which one (or even which other one) is fitted as standard by MB.

I could ID them from photos of the hitch assembly - before insertion into the frame/receptacle if shown, but I have never seen the OEM hitch for the GL.

For example, for my last car - an Audi - it was the Westfalia hitch that was OEM and I suspect the same might be true for the GL, but I'm trying to be definitive