How rare is it to have an off road package for a 2007-2012 GL? It looks like not a lot of them have them. Any idea on how to find this out from BMUSA? The locking gears is a big plus in my mind.

 

I think that depends on what country you're in. I could be wrong. I wasn't really ever interested in one but I think I recall reading that it wasn't offered in the US.

 

I stumbled across this GL that had it and tried contacting the owner. Apparently she sold it yesterday! I told her I would give her some cash if she can see if the new owners want to flip it to me. We shall see. I searched all the other listings and found one dealer that had one with this option. They both do not seam to be European spec.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...96950131&Log=0

 

Only available in USA on 450s.

 

We have a 2007 GL500 here in Australia.
All of the W164 GL's in Australia have the offroad pro pack.
It is unreal as an offroad vehicle.
We do recovery for the Australian Offroad Championship in it. So we tow AU$300K offroad buggies out of the scrub with it. Most have wheels missing so we are skull dragging them. Just concerns me on tight tracks with Lantana scratching the paint.
Our GL500 also has 19" wheels with large front rotors so we cant get an 18" rim over the calipers to put offroad tyres on it with stronger sidewalls. Painfull to be offroad on street tyres and put a stick through the side of a AU $440 Pirelli Scorpion then have to put a spacesaver on.

 

My 2012 GL350CDI has the off road package and it is great. We do a lot of off roading and the GL is one of the most capable (luxury) Off Roaders I have driven.


See my photo album of our Botswana Overland Trip. I have managed to source off road tyres which work well and give me great mileage.


All I need is a snorkel for the odd water crossing. The air intake vents are very well placed to suck maximum cool air AND water. Any feedback on a snorkel would be appreciated.

 

WOW! I love your set up! Looks like you really use it extensively off road. What brand and size are your tires? I was looking around and couldn't find anything that may work. Good luck on the trail!

 

Thanks for the comments. I had to look quite hard for tyres but eventually found a set of Cooper Tyres. They are all terrain tyres and work very well. the mileage out of them is excellent as well.


the standard tyre size is 275/55/20 and I could not find an all terrain to fit.


I then changed to 285/55/20 with the Coppers and they do not touch the wheel arch anywhere even under the most extreme suspension travel.


It not factory standard size but the difference is marginal and the tyre really looks good and works well.

 

I recently purchased a 2006 GL500 (in NSW) and have a few questions. You seem reasonably qualified to answer if you're doing recovery for the AOC

My GL is fitted with the standard Pirelli Scorpion 275/55 R19 M&S tyres. I've been off-road a few times but the relatively low profile and air suspension makes for a very bumpy ride in off road mode, and I'm nervous about puncturing the sidewalls. I've been airing down to 27 psi on rocky sections, which helps, but I don't know how low I can safely go with this size tyre. Do you know if the 275/55 R19s can be safely aired down to around 20 psi?

I've tried to find some more serious all-terrain tyres to fit, but haven't been able to find any all-terrain tyres in Australia in 275/55/ R19. Are you aware of any all-terrain tyres that fit this size? I note that all-terrain's are available for the GL320 if it's riding on 18" wheels, but 18" wheels won't fit on my GL500 because the brake rotors are larger.

I've also been considering fitting a larger tyre size (e.g. 285/55/ R19) but I can't find any all-terrains in this size either. On the plus side, I have managed to source some snow-rated tyres in 275/55 R19 (Nokian WR SUV4, from snowtyres.com.au).

I also want to fit some rated recovery points front and rear. Do you know if there are any available in Australia to fit the GL500?

I also want to fit a Rhino mesh rack to the roof so I can carry a full-sized spare wheel and tyre, as there's not much room in the boot when it's fully loaded with gear for the family. My owners manual states that the roof is rated for 90kg load, so a single wheel and tyre should be ok. I understand that carrying a spare on the roof isn't great for wind noise, handling, fuel consumption, etc, but it seems like the best option if the boot is full.

Thanks, much appreciated
Mark

 

Most, I think, would just mount a hitch receiver recovery shackle for the rear.

The bumper (not the body colored bumper cover, but the aluminum box section behind the cover) has a nut welded or otherwise fastened to it for the transportation tie-down. Unfortunately, MB only puts this nut on one side. I bet MB simply flips the bumper over for right-hand-drive models. I don't think it would take much to mirror with another nut on the opposite side. I'm pretty sure the tie-down goes into a nut that is only on one face of the box; I would add a nut on the other side, so the recovery eye bolt goes all the way through the bumper and pulls on the far side, applying the tension to the whole bumper and not just the welds.

You could epoxy the nuts in place (using the eye bolt to hold them in the right position while the epoxy hardens!) so the eye bolts could be removed without the nuts falling off.

I built a giant basket rack from the widely available modular steel basket racks. They are offered in a front and rear piece, with center extensions, of which I used two. It fits perfectly; I posted a thread here bragging about my MOABR, Mother Of All Basket Racks.The downside is the steel is not well protected from rust, so the rack should not be exposed to rain if possible.

The weight limit is nonsense; the rails and cross bars seem like they could hold way more than 90 kg. You don't want to be putting a bunch of heavy stuff up top because of the effort involved and the extent to which it compromises handling, but I put up top the rack along with a full size spare, camping gear, and a suitcase, I'd guess all weighing around 200 kg.

 

Thanks, that's all very useful info. I'll have a look to see whether I can add an extra nut to the bumper. Your MOABR looks impressive

 

Here it is in use:



It's funny, but while it looks enormous on the garage floor, it really doesn't hold all that much up top.