Towing a camping trailer over the max towing capacity
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 77
Likes: 1
From: Montana
2018 GLS550
Towing a camping trailer over the max towing capacity
Hi guys. We want to get an Outdoors RV camping trailer, and it's dry weight is below the max 7,500# for GLS 550, but maximum weight is over that number. Maybe around 1000#, and I'm not sure exactly what maximum weight includes. Do any of you have any experience or any input on this? It seems to me there won't be a problem, but... What do you think?
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 350
Likes: 106
From: Palo Alto, CA
2011 GL 350, P1 Package, HID headlamps, Blind spot assist, Parktronic, Wood steering wheel
You are virtually certain to be far far over your GLs maximum tongue weight / hitch weight with a trailer of that size. You need to check this too not just gross trailer weight.
Your GLS has a rated hitch receiver capacity of 600 pounds. A 10,000 pound trailer would typically be set up for 1,500 pounds of tongue weight - 15% of trailer weight is the norm.
It might work fine, until you get into a critical situation - like you need to make an escape move on the freeway to avoid an accident. And then you might have very limited margin for error.
In the old days of the x164, there were plenty of stories of guys tearing the hitch off of their GL when towing big loads. Many of us welded in extra reinforcement just to be sure. Mercedes reinforced the hitch receivers over the years, but you are potentially far over that limit with this size of a rig.
Net is that I would not risk it if you know you will be substantially exceeding both GVWR and hitch weight capacities of your truck. It's not safe.
My airstream approaches 7,000 pounds fully loaded and about 600 pounds of hitch weight when unloaded. So I make sure to always load the trailer over or behind the rear axles to not increase the hitch weight. I also never carry anything in the back of the GL when towing. This strategy is all about not exceeding the weight carrying capacity of either the hitch or the GL's axles.
Your GLS has a rated hitch receiver capacity of 600 pounds. A 10,000 pound trailer would typically be set up for 1,500 pounds of tongue weight - 15% of trailer weight is the norm.
It might work fine, until you get into a critical situation - like you need to make an escape move on the freeway to avoid an accident. And then you might have very limited margin for error.
In the old days of the x164, there were plenty of stories of guys tearing the hitch off of their GL when towing big loads. Many of us welded in extra reinforcement just to be sure. Mercedes reinforced the hitch receivers over the years, but you are potentially far over that limit with this size of a rig.
Net is that I would not risk it if you know you will be substantially exceeding both GVWR and hitch weight capacities of your truck. It's not safe.
My airstream approaches 7,000 pounds fully loaded and about 600 pounds of hitch weight when unloaded. So I make sure to always load the trailer over or behind the rear axles to not increase the hitch weight. I also never carry anything in the back of the GL when towing. This strategy is all about not exceeding the weight carrying capacity of either the hitch or the GL's axles.
Last edited by ddruker; Mar 9, 2020 at 04:07 PM.
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Sep 2018
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From: unbegrenzt
2017 GLE350 4MATIC
My policy is to operate the vehicle according to the manufacturer's specifications and ratings. It sounds like you are contemplating operating outside the manufacturer's recommendation. If that were to be the case, you would be on your own, exposing yourself and others to risk.
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Joined: Aug 2020
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LX570
I had the same situation and I didn't want to take that risk and to tow a camping trailer over the max towing capacity. In fact I am afraid to tow cars and trailers too. I think I don't have enough experience to do this. Recently I thought to buy trailer instead of our tents. I wanted to travel on my own time with no worries. I wanted to eliminate the worries when you arrive to campsite at night and struggle to set up tents in the dark. Also in a RV we have full size sleep space, kitchen and bathroom. In the RV I can even afford to buy some decor stuff, like blankets, beautiful pillows, lanterns or candles from amazon.
So, after a long thoughts I took the decision to buy RV.
Last edited by FaithMartin; Aug 9, 2020 at 04:09 PM.
