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That Overland near me has got me tempted. I like my GL550, but miss having something I can go in ditches and over curbs without worrying. The GL550 can be a little girlie at times.
That Overland near me has got me tempted. I like my GL550, but miss having something I can go in ditches and over curbs without worrying. The GL550 can be a little girlie at times.
I showed him what I wanted him to do, just using his gloved arm. Turned my back for 10 seconds...
Finally got around to completing the wiring with mounting the switch. I had the rest of the wiring done previously, but ended up yanking it out and re-routing it. I pulled some power from the fusebox by the passenger door hinges, and ran the switch wiring under the dash all the way to the headlight panel. Pulled the cabin airfilter box, and drill a 1/2" hole through the firewall there. I still want to find a switched circuit to run it off of, as it worries me that it could get flicked on inadvertently and run the battery down. Anyway, I'm happy with the install, and hope it continues to work out great for me!
A/T tires are coming... I have some 18" rims, and am going to put on some Falken Wildpeaks, probably sometime this spring. Maybe sooner!
Looks good, I may need to hard wire mine. I got the wiring for it, but the will need to get a better switch. Thanks for the post!
Looks good, I may need to hard wire mine. I got the wiring for it, but the will need to get a better switch. Thanks for the post!
It's pretty easy and intuitive. Just pull the air filter cover in the engine bay, and the trim panel below the dash on both sides. Pop off the center console, and there you go! Takes a bit of commitment to drill a hole in a dash panel though!!! I cleaned most of the sticky gunk off of it, but in that close up it looks worse than IRL.
Originally Posted by not2fast
I am sure they feel awful.
Yeah, he does... his brain just wasn't clicked in. :-/
I've always wondered this as well, thanks for confirming. Did the US market X166 or the W class ever have this option? My next truck is probably going to be a Lexus GX470 or maybe 460, but I like having a MB, and would love to have a fully competent off-road capable model. If I could find the right GL or ML that had transfer, lockers, etc, I would probably stay in the family.
I really like 4Runners, but no V8 option in the newer models. The GX460 and GX470 would be great, but I worry about towing my boat with them, but the biggest issue is my wife hates them.
cool to see other gl owners getting interested in off roading and overlanding. i don't do anything too crazy, but i do enjoy taking my gl450 out to the desert and on trails. i go out to the anza borrgego desert area east of san diego a lot, but recently been checking out different areas to go explore and camp. a couple weeks ago i camped up in the alabama hills area that are just below mount whitney (near lone pine, ca).
so far i got some 18 inch GL450 wheels since tire options in the 19 inch wheels are limited. i put some bf goodrich all terrain ko2's on the 18's, and have been pretty happy. they have worked well in the sand, mud, and rain so far. my main goal is to be able to go camp in less traveled areas, but not where rock crawling is needed to get out to the spots. hopefully in the upcoming year i'll make or have a skid plate made for the front and center of the gl. i have a $100 rhino rack roof basket and it works good for throwing my traction boards up top along with a shovel mounted with some quick fist mounts onto the roof basket. a couple months ago i got a smittybilt roof awning and i love it. it's so nice to have the awning for shade or protection from rain without taking up a lot of room on the inside to carry it. the awning is also pretty quick to set up and take down, so i could see it being nice if you stop for a little break for lunch, but don't want to spend a long time in one spot. it came in very handy this last weekend up in idyllwild with the rain.
are any of you guys on overland bound? i also love watching the trailrecon videos on youtube to get ideas of places to go.
cool to see other gl owners getting interested in off roading and overlanding. i don't do anything too crazy, but i do enjoy taking my gl450 out to the desert and on trails. i go out to the anza borrgego desert area east of san diego a lot, but recently been checking out different areas to go explore and camp. a couple weeks ago i camped up in the alabama hills area that are just below mount whitney (near lone pine, ca).
so far i got some 18 inch GL450 wheels since tire options in the 19 inch wheels are limited. i put some bf goodrich all terrain ko2's on the 18's, and have been pretty happy. they have worked well in the sand, mud, and rain so far. my main goal is to be able to go camp in less traveled areas, but not where rock crawling is needed to get out to the spots. hopefully in the upcoming year i'll make or have a skid plate made for the front and center of the gl. i have a $100 rhino rack roof basket and it works good for throwing my traction boards up top along with a shovel mounted with some quick fist mounts onto the roof basket. a couple months ago i got a smittybilt roof awning and i love it. it's so nice to have the awning for shade or protection from rain without taking up a lot of room on the inside to carry it. the awning is also pretty quick to set up and take down, so i could see it being nice if you stop for a little break for lunch, but don't want to spend a long time in one spot. it came in very handy this last weekend up in idyllwild with the rain.
are any of you guys on overland bound? i also love watching the trailrecon videos on youtube to get ideas of places to go.
Can you take pictures of your set up? Especially interested in the 18's with KO2's. I had KO2s on my 2013 f150 and loved them. I have 21 AMGs on my GL that are almost impossible to find good all terrain tires for. Thanks!
Can you take pictures of your set up? Especially interested in the 18's with KO2's. I had KO2s on my 2013 f150 and loved them. I have 21 AMGs on my GL that are almost impossible to find good all terrain tires for. Thanks!
here's a basic side view picture with the 18's and all terrain ko2's. i went to get some in the oem size of 265/60R18, but bfg was on national back order for that size. i found that bfg offered the ko2 in a 265/65R18 and seemed close enough for me to give them a try and they were in stock. here's some comparisons between oem 18 and oem 19 tire sizes to the 265/65R18's.
so far i've had the tires on for about 5000 miles and they work well. they do make the most noise around 45-60 mph, but quiet down a bit around 70mph. they track pretty well on the freeway, do nice in the rain on pavement, and have done really well for me off road.
Thanks to all for their knowledge on this thread. It helped me a lot.
I ended up going with Toyo 305/60's and 18x9" rims.
A little bit of frame cutting and a 2" lift.
Still a work in progress with a winch and bumper next.
Thanks to all for their knowledge on this thread. It helped me a lot.
I ended up going with Toyo 305/60's and 18x9" rims.
A little bit of frame cutting and a 2" lift.
Still a work in progress with a winch and bumper next.
Wow that’s best looking setup I’ve seen yet. Great job!
What wheels are those? Maybe with a little less tire can get away with no cutting.
Thanks to all for their knowledge on this thread. It helped me a lot.
I ended up going with Toyo 305/60's and 18x9" rims.
A little bit of frame cutting and a 2" lift.
Still a work in progress with a winch and bumper next.
you gl looks great. have you had the chance to take it out on any trails? also, did you keep the benz air suspension with the lift or did you use a different suspension to get the lift?
Hey @derekmcdonald what lift did you use? i just bought a super low mile 2010 gl350 diesel and am dying to lift it and love those wheels too! what are they?
Thanks to all for their knowledge on this thread. It helped me a lot.
I ended up going with Toyo 305/60's and 18x9" rims.
A little bit of frame cutting and a 2" lift.
Still a work in progress with a winch and bumper next.
did you have any brake clearance issues running a smaller wheel?
That would depend on the ET of those wheels, but in general 18s will fit on all 450s radius wise, except for a couple of weird Australian versions that had bigger brakes.
this is coming straight off the top of my dome so just feel free to correct me if this is wrong.
I’ve been bird ******* in this thread for years, always wanted to do this to my GL now that it’s nearing the end of its daily life - but what keeps me from doing this is the water intrusion issues that I know I’ll have if I ever had to ford a body of water.
Which there are a couple of here in Washington state. For dry state over landing, probably not an issue, go ahead and make the investment in tires and racks, etc..
Last edited by Max Blast; Jul 3, 2025 at 05:06 PM.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
