hunt_ak

New GL550 owner. I will be picking up our new (to us) GL 550 in Seattle early next month. My plan is to tow a trailer back home to Alaska and had a few questions.

Has anyone done a significant amount of towing with their GL class SUV? The trailer I am hoping to bring back weighs 4,000 pounds. I know the tow rating is 7,500 on these with a max tongue weight of 600 pounds. I will be utilizing a load distribution hitch along with a trailer brake controller but wanted to hear experience with how the automatic suspension handles a load like this for a few thousand miles. Obviously, we will be driving it as carefully as possible, but is this a task that the GL550 is up for?

DennisG01

4,000lbs is a light load. You'll be fine.

ddruker

There are many great threads here on towing with a GL, including towing heavy loads. Suggest you use the search tool, find the threads, and then post there. Many of us tow boats, race cars, airstreams, etc.

hunt_ak

Yeah, I've done a fair bit of searching and didn't see anything regarding the specifics of someone having personal experience with a heavier load with decent tongue weight on it.

Moreover, the trailer salesman had some concerns about the tongue weight and the airbag suspension for that long of a trip. I'm thinking it was going to be fine since this whole shebang falls within the stated specs of the GL 550, but was searching for more insight from someone on here.

lkchris

ddruker

I would start here...

https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...ory-hitch.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...g-your-gl.html

hunt_ak

Awesome, that is good info! Just to clarify, the GL 550 doesn't come with a trailer brake controller from the factory, correct?

hunt_ak

This is great. Of course, I was using the wrong search terms...grr. I appreciate it!

hunt_ak

After reading those threads, its quite apparent that this load should be a breeze with the GL 550...all the way up to Alaska! I will be sending down a weight distribution hitch to put on the trailer which will help with steering during the trip, so other than adding an electronic brake controller, we should be set! I have much less concern after reading about the guy pulling the 30' travel trailer with his GL 320! WOW!

DennisG01

As I mentioned, it's not a heavy load! It may be heavy for you (not used to it), but it's not an issue for the truck. I pull close to twice that on a regular basis. Very happy. I've also purposefully engaged the anti-sway control that is built-in (by making aggressive "avoidance" maneuvers) to see how well it works. Yes, it doesn't have a controller for electric brakes, but I believe the wires are right under the dash.

It can't hurt to have a WD hitch, but honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. 4K is really nothing. But again, it can't "hurt".

hunt_ak

Yeah I'm used to towing some decent loads with the Duramax, but always just assumed these smaller SUV's were pretty puny in the towing department (and looking at many other SUV's in the same category, I'm not entirely wrong). I'm impressed with what this rig is capable of!

DennisG01

Absolutely. I would never compare this to a full size truck, especially one with a diesel. I have plenty of experience with those, too (aside from being a life long boater, I work at a boat dealership, as well). There's no comparison and anyone that tells you there is... hasn't actually used one. But I have to say, I have been VERY pleasantly surprised at just how well this mid-size SUV trailers. I have the diesel, but I don't doubt the engine in that 550 has plenty of guts. But what I'm really referring to when I talk about "pleasantly surprised" is how stable it is for it's size. One of the first tows I did with it was a boat that weighed in around 6,500. The first thing I did was find a long stretch of road with no one around. I got up to about 45/50mph and did some VERY aggressive lane change/emergency avoidance type maneuvers. I like to do this with any "new" vehicle to me to "feel it out". I got progressively more and more aggressive - very aggressive, in fact. I finally got it to the point where the stability control kicked in and kept the car tracking straight. I actually remember thinking "Wow, that's pretty cool".

mrmotoguzzi00

I have a 2012 ML63, I routinely tow a Hurricane SD2400 boat on an aluminum trailer, boat is just over 5k dry and the trailer is just over 1k. Frankly I was shocked how stable it is.... The ML is a little shorter than the GL but the chassis is similar... it came with the factory hitch so it is aware when i plug in the trailer... shifts point change and it deactivates blind spot detection...

hunt_ak

But I assume you don't have a trailer brake controller? I'm having a hard time nailing someone down that I can get to install one...

mrmotoguzzi00

Its a new Continental trailer, disc on each of the 4 wheels... I think they are surge breaks with a breakaway cable....