Uhm....

http://www.rvlifemag.com/component/k...lk-250-bluetec

 

RIP GLK250 Transmission

 

Oh, crap. These seriously exceeds the recommended towing capacity. It may work for a long time but if you accidentally "buy the farm" you will find that: A) The insurance company will leave you on your own and not pay you and B) if the drive line decides to upchuck on you there is unlikely to be any warranty support. The Class II hitch and your GLK has a maximum recommended towing capacity of 3500 lbs. Doesn't Airstream have a 3500 lb trailer? You need either that or an ML.

 

I have seen photographs of what seems to be MB GLK Class vehicle pulling a trailer , not sure it was a MB GLK 350 or a MB GLK 250BT , whether USA or EU but it would be quite a haul with a Factory Stock hitch set-up .
As the previous writer said : A larger Class MB would be necessary to pull an AIRSTREAM.

 

The part numbers for a 2010 trailer wiring harness are 204-540-05-33 & 204-540-34-13, two harnesses all plug & play. The numbers are only good through the 2012 model year but they may be helpful to you in the search. Initially these numbers were not available unless in kit but became available after a year so. The tear down to do the OEM hitch install is not difficult & there are good write-ups out there. Easily done in an afternoon.

 

The ML250Bluetec has the same transmission & engine as the GLK yet is rated up to 6,600 lbs. It's more to do with the weight, Wheelbase of the tow vehicle than it has to do with the engine & transmission. All the GL's, ML's & G's already have extra capacity engine/transmission cooling systems. The biggest issue is trailer stability with the short wheel base & lighter GLK.

 

I've yet to install the electrical. Has anyone made attempts on this? I called Curt Mfg and got a model number of 56146. Was told that this splicing converter is for the 2014 and 2015 GLK 250's. This differs from the 56190 previously listed. Not sure why it has to be this difficult.

 

Not sure why you would even want to dig into the highly complex and interlinked electrical system that is a modern car. It's just not worth it to save a few bucks. I would recommend that you just have an experienced shop install the wiring.

 

I just placlled an order for the 56190 and i hope it works, both are a 3 to 2 converter so it seems, cant see giving MB $1200-$1300 to install something the sales guy deffered me from getting in the first place. Live and learn wont make the same mistake twice.

 

Did you order the wiring harness too from them?


What ever you do "DO NOT CUT" into the OEM harness! The one they supply makes it all plug and play into the OEM plugs that avoid the drama.


If you start splicing wires you're in deep crap!


Neighbor did it this weekend to his 2015 as he did not want to dig out the connectors from behind the trunk liner. Before he even did it the deed I said point blank to his face whatever you do "DO NO CUT" any of the OEM wiring. He did and guess what?


He came running over after and said his lights don't work. He took it to the trailer shop and they told him the same thing! Fuses are not blown. You're screwed! Next time listen to your neighbor.


He wanted to know how I knew. See what's between my ears. I know and told you and you did just the opposite you
'Big dummy"!


I suspect he blew the SAM?


He has an appointment with Mercedes on Wednesday!

 

Stupid is as stupid does is what the article says. No way will that GLK pull safely that airstream! Way over the weight limit! CANADA might have different regulations but I can tell you in the US you're just plainly asking for trouble doing as suggested in the article. You might get away with a ML or a GL. Again the transmission will fail real fast!

 

Cbr what harness? Do you have a product code? I ordered 56190

 

It's the same transmission in all the MB SUV's that use the 4 pot diesel. The whole line is tow ready and as such are equipped with trans coolers. It has to do with tow vehicle weight, Wheelbase.

 

Just looked up the part number. The one the neighbor had at the plugs on it to avoid the splicing. I don't know the brand he had. He ordered he said and from whom I don't know.


He cut the ends off and just spliced his wires.


If etrailer sold you the correct one and one I saw was the part number. It should work.


I would follow the instructions to the "T" or have a professional trailer shop do it for piece of mind.


As far are pulling that Airstream. Many manufactures use the same type of transmission. All Automatic transmissions have coolers. Otherwise they would burn up. Some are built into the radiator some sit in front of the radiator, some to the side or at the bottom. Some have additional fans. Some are built bigger to accommodate the trailing package.


Every trailer package I've seen has some extra equipment to handle the extra weight. Bigger radiator, larger rotors, heavy duty springs, larger trans cooler, larger alternator, bigger battery.


Some have a hitch and harness and have no extra anything to support the added weight. Those are the ones to worry about. For the occasional tow OK, but not for the long distance tow and over and under to grandmas house! You'll never make it to grandmas. Well perhaps on the back of a flatbed!

 

This pdf off of Curt lists the 2014 and 2015 as #56146, which matches what the gentleman told me over the phone. It lists the 2013 as #56190.

http://www.curtmfg.com/masterlibrary..._App_Guide.pdf

Also available in excel format under trailer hitches and T connections

http://www.curtmfg.com/page/application_guides

 

Anyone try anything?

 

I own a 2014 MB GLK250 BT & did not include the trailer hitch option in my original purchase.After a few months after my purchase ,I investigated the installation of a Curt trailer Hitch . I spoke to installer ,who stated that a installation was not simple but possible . Wiring retrofit (clip with jumpers) would be necessary as well as the exhaust system would need to lifted to allow installation .The installer stated that the wiring could effect my MB Warranty ( The OEM was a not a Hitch Three (2 inch receiver. ) Though there are advertisement of a MB GLK Class pulling a trailer ,there are considerations for maximum tongue limits.Suspension/shocks
I do not know if the MB GLK was a 350 (gasoline)or a GLK250 BT (diesel).
I did not precede with the installation because of the wiring for towing,trailer brake connection/ & the possible damage to my diesel exhaust system.
Further research & additional input feedback would be suggested.

 

Hondo250. When I was looking to install the Curt hitch. I asked my MB dealer about it. They said that it was fine. Remember, the MB hitch is a dealer installed option. So even the dealer would have to "lower" the exhaust. Which is done by simply unhooking the rubber mounts and letting it sag a couple of inches. I think we have been hoodwinked into very much over thinking the hitch issue. The tongue weight is a bit confusing. The manual states on page 213 that the tongue weight be between 8-12% of the gross trailer weight. Or 280-420Lbs yet on page 377 it says max is 280lbs. I might call curt and ask about a distribution hitch and see if that's even possible. The curt web page states that the load distribution works on all class 3-4-5 hitches. But I'm not so sure about that. I'll post their response. The Curt part numbers are the same for a 2014 & 2015.

 

The key issue is following the specifications of vehicle,capacity ,matching vehicle to what is being towed , yet not damaging the vehicle or invalidating the MB Warranty by retrofitting the electrical system by clipping wires.I never received an answer from the after-market hitch installer or Mercedes-Benz Dealer whether a "Plug & Play" tow harness existed as some other vehicle manufacturers have such a wire harness . The Connection Plug Assemblies can vary ,& in some cases there is the inclusion of trailer brake plug/besides safety lighting.turn signals as mandated during the safety inspection process.

If I ordered my 2014 MB GLK 250 BT from the factory ,the proper hitch & electrical harness would have been part of the assembly process.To my knowledge that portion of the assembly process is completed in Germany.An OK from the local MB Dealer is an opinion but if a problem with found in the electrical system & computer readings , I believe (opinion ) ,the MB dealer would not stand by the owner.After market decisions ,installations have their risks....yet , the owner will make changes that satisfy the pleasure of the vehicle owner.There are many fine aftermarket products that match the specific vehicle.
The key is the safe attaching of a trailer,or roof rack accessory... to prevent items from detaching or a trailer coming loose.

 

The key to this entire process is following the limits set by the manufacture, in black and white in the owners manual, not an article or the dummy down the street!


HONDO250 is 100% correct! I've seen too many people make stupid decisions and regret it later. Forums are good and not good. You should always follow what the manufacture states, period!


Also European and USA Benz's have different specs. Depending on where you plan to pull, you should follow what's in the glove box like I've stated above. Now is not the time to prove your made of testosterone and hose it up. Use the head on your shoulders.


Here is another one. I have a 2012 GL550. 100% stock OEM hitch that was installed at the factory or port. Along with the wiring harness. My trailers are both 100% LED. A few weeks ago I hooked up the trailer and decided to use my skis. Never made it out of the storage facility. The GL did not like the LED trailer at all. I got the hyper flashing lights and the idiot bulb out on the dash.


A trip to Mercedes was in order. I got nowhere with them. I called the selling dealer who knew of the problem, but did not nor would order the part to fix it. It was 100% aftermarket.


A trip to the trailer shop resulted in even better results but not solved yet! They claimed that they sold many trailers to Benz customers. Never had a problem. The trailer checked out as 100% functional without a problem. A call to Tow Ready an out fit that deals with trailer parts and wiring harness' yielded an adapter which had to be ordered. The part arrived. The hyper flash was cured but the bulb out remains. Another call to Tow Ready yielded another adapter as they though the one shipped might be faulty. This weekend will seal the fait of that one.


The trailer shop could place a resister in the Benz harness, but that would void the Benz warranty and any damage that resulted would be all mine to deal with. Adding the resister to the trailer itself might present problems for my other vehicles that tow the LED trailers and never had an issue.


The adapter that was purchased for 13.99 has a built in resister to combat the bulb out issues in VW, Benz, Audi and Porsche so says the manufacture.


I've had two other Benz and neither one presented this issue. Suggest before you hit the open road that you thoroughly check out the lights before you leave the lot.


The saga continues!

 

And Benz says that all GLK's no matter the engine can haul a 3,500 Lb trailer and states so in the manual. I'm not sure why anyone would think it some great cosmic mystery about the trailer one uses and whether said trailer meets MB spec. It's also supremely easy to wire in a second wire with a resister and leave the original wire alone. My hitch installer (as well as any other competent installer) should run a dummy load to test the system. When I ordered my GLK, The dealer absolutely stated that the hitch was a "dealer" installed option not factory installed. And of course I say all of this with all due respect and no animus is meant nor intended. The load I intend on pulling with my 250BT is fairly light. The Caterham is 1200Lbs and the aluminum twin axle trailer is 500-600Lbs.

 

CBR Dude. I'll tell you a little story about different markets having differing specs on towing. It's mostly BS. Before I moved back to the USA from Germany last year. I was looking at buying a VW Passat TDI sport wagon to tow my Caterham. In the EU the VW Golf, Jetta & Passat TDI's are rated to tow 3,300 Lbs. The Golf TDI was voted by a UK caravan magazine as tow vehicle of the year several times. But I found that VW USA said that the Golf was only rated to tow 1,000Lbs. I called VW North America to ask why. As both the USA and EU market VW Golf cars come out of the same factory in Mexico. I was told that it was technical. I told them that I had studied with a friend at AAI years ago and that I have worked for a few years on Nuclear missile electronics. So I could probably understand a bit of tech. It was silent. I then asked why VW would sell a "de-engineered" car with a flimsy chassis to Americans and make a better one for the EU. My trap had sprung. But bless the heart of the VW rep I was talking to. They came out and said that they were the same car & chassis. The lessor tow rating for the US car was 100% marketing. They wanted to induce the large car loving Americans into buying a large car. In VW's case a Touareg. Which is of course $20k more than the Golf or 4x4 Tiguan. (the Tiguan SUV 4X4 is only rated at 2,200Lbs towing.)

I picked up my GLK in Sindelfingen. I watched the S-Class build line. They were building cars for all markets (left & right hand drive, EU, USA, Japan, China, Korea) all at the same time on the same line. I saw this with my own eyes. So no! Nothing is different in the basic chassis structure. The build differences from market to market are mostly pollution related.

 

The "hitch system" seems quite different between the U.S. and European (rest of the world?) GLK. Could that be a factor?

 

MBKLUE,
I very highly doubt that in the litigation happy USA that several hitch companies would market a hitch system that could not handle the load that the OEM says that their vehicle can handle.

The issue with the computer seeing an "odd" load is the same for the factory tow wiring or an aftermarket. Electron are electrons, Resistance is resistance. No such thing as MB specific electrical theory. MB simply has already added the electrical components to "fool" the computer in the wiring that they splice in.

As an aside, My dealer has stated that they can indeed install the MB hitch kit (wiring included) on an already built GLK. They priced it out for me and it was ridiculous at $3,300. Gee now, I wonder how it is that they "add" that wiring.

 

Fair point regarding litigation. I wasn't paying attention to or commenting on any electrical differences/complications. I was just referring to the very different hitch mechanisms.

I ordered my hitch with the original order. One of these days I'll figure out how to connect my U.S. GLK trailer electrical outlet to my German trailer (Anhaenger). Actually it's more likely I'll just re-wire the trailer and convert the lights to LED.

The problem in the "old days" was using a German (or other) trailer with "proper" dedicated turn signal and brake lamps versus a U.S. spec. vehicle that used the same lamp for turn signal and brake light. A dumb idea - just like using the same color for indicating braking and turning....