You just like to argue.🤣
The world is not flat. Pickup trucks handle poorly.
It is what it is, despite your being in denial.
Shield your eyes from the information I referenced - there might be an embarrassing discovery.

Your mantras: "Always disparage somebody/something you don't agree with." "Never investigate anything that might make me have to eat my words." "Always revert to name-calling when your arguments fail."

Carry on.

 

Just keep on dying on that hill. Alone lol. Same as with the dealership stuff surrounded by people with terrible experiences.

Havent called you one name BTW. I’ve said you’re full of **** but that’s not name calling.

 

You're really fun to challenge. I should relent, since you're at a disadvantage.
Remember how aggravated you got when I mentioned that I had just used paste wax on my wife's car? You flipped out and carried on for weeks.
Then there's the argument you made over how much technicians spend on their tools, and what dealers invest in equipment.
And your claim that you work at dealerships until you let it slip that it was a false claim, when I mentioned your post. You chose, again, to argue with your own posts after I quoted them!
Don't understand mechanics, physics, business, or even Paste Wax.
I could go on. It's kind of fun to reminisce about your blowhard know-it-all posts.

At least try to understand when you're arguing with your own posts. (I know - asking a lot.)
You might research the Dunning-Kruger effect for insight. (Insight. Nope. Never. Not me. Can't be havin' that!)

At least I admit when I'm wrong. You- Nope. Never. Not me. Can't be havin' that!

 

LOL, I never claimed to work at dealerships. Again, full of ****. I disagreed with you that ceramic coatings weren’t any more beneficial than paste wax. I asked you to please show us what these tools you say cost huge amounts of money cost and you never could.

Because you’re full of ****. Everybody knows it lol. You are the prime example of everything that you are assigning to me. As somebody who PMed me about you said you are the absolute arbiter of the truth, and don’t allow anybody to disagree and you’re best ignored. They were right!

 

Please don't tow anything with your Mercedes.
The brakes will fail. it will fall off the road and burst into flames, taking the entire neighborhood with it.

 

I would never tow anything with my Mercedes. That would be stupid.

 

To quote Seinfeld, "all I said was I like the pen".
I just want a vehicle to occasionally tow my double jet ski trailer about 1o mile one way occasionally in the summer. I think it can.
And BTW I love my Ram 1500. At 61 years old, I have never put more miles on any vehicle in my life and had nothing happen to it. It rides great, has great power, the only reason I'm getting something new is it's time to. Dont want a 6 cylinder bi turbo Ram and don't want to wait a year for a new Hemi.

 

GLS/GLE is perfectly capable of going that. It’s just not a “better tow vehicle”

 

Such an appropriate reference!
Much ado about nothing.

BTW I have a Space Pen, but I use standard refills because the internal pressures eventually cause it to leak.

Thanks for getting back on topic.
You'll be fine towing that, and much more if needed.
Just make sure you have positive tongue weight, as is the case with your 1500.

 

Also activates trailer sway control.

I don't recommend towing with passengers on the skis!

 

At the risk of stating the obvious, the load rating of a pickup includes all weight. Passengers, luggage, anything you put in the bed, fuel, and anything you tow. Tow rating is somewhat different, but does not allow for the vehicle to be overloaded.
So, if you put 2 passengers at 300 pounds apiece, and a 300pound driver, in the bench seat of a conventional cab, and it’s a quarter ton rated, you are overloaded by 400 pounds already.
If it’s a club cab(and 1/2 ton rated), with 3 400pound passengers and a 400 pound driver, you are already 600pounds overweight.
If I am wrong about this, I will be happy to be corrected.

 

Since four, 400lb men routinely climb into pickups. Great, real world example that happens all the time!

Put all that in a GLE crossover and see how it does....

 

You're right that load capacity includes everything the tow vehicle hauls. The capacity is on the driver's door post, unrelated to half ton or 1 ton moniker.

The tongue weight and Weight Distribution Hitch are also part of the load. It's passengers, cargo, hitch and tongue weight combined.

In most cases, the ability to tow a given load is more limited by the cargo capacity of a tow vehicle, than it's advertised tow capacity, or even GCVWR.

Get ready for a long post; here goes:

Most GLE/GLS cargo capacities are in the neighborhood of 1,000 to 1,200#.
Half tons are typically 100 to 400 lbs higher - more with a HD load package.

It varies by the equipment on each vehicle, and it's posted on the Driver's door post. My 53:

My personal towing example:
(I cheat a bit and use the GAWR (Axles, on black label) verified by a trip to the scales.)
My empty weight is about 5,100 lb.
My tongue weight of my 6,000# RV and WDH weigh @720# combined.
My total cargo weight including hitch and tongue is right at 1250# (white label says 1,047), but my scaled weight still leaves @240# each axle, and it's surprisingly close to 50/50, with WDH engaged. I put most of my load in the RV.

On my steel-sprung MLs, the springs were compressed a couple of inches, nowhere near bottoming and right in the sweet spot for maximum control. Ride quality was supurb, even on horrible roads.

Working backwards from the tongue weight, an optimum tongue weight is 10 - 15% of trailer weight on the tongue. I aim for 12%, and 720# is perfect for a 6,000# trailer.

Note that Europeans assume 8%. (That's where they get the advertised hitch rating of 7716 & 616 tongue weight rating. The 7716# is chosen by all manufacturers of full sized SUVs because it's under the 3500kg that increases taxation as Commercial vehicles. 616# is 8% of that.

Also notice that the label on the hitch restricts the load a bit further. Always go by the lowest rated component.


So in my case, with my desired 12% tongue weight, I'm limited to a 6000 lb trailer. Yeah, I'm over on the hitch but I've measured hitch deflection and it's zero.
I've driven with 9% and the rig still feels stable, planted and responsive, although I haven't experienced any emergency situations with that loading.
So I load my RV to achieve 12%, and its stability in awkward conditions and emergency situations is amazing to me.

If I needed to pull more, I'd get a 1 Ton. Now I'd have a robust frame and brakes. But I'd still use a WDH.

 

All German SUVs are excellent tow platforms up to their rated limits. GLS has a 7,700lb tow rating.

Seems like you will be towing ~5,000 lbs or so. No problem. Air suspension in the GLS means you will have no sag.

I towed 3,500lbs + 4 passengers + luggage for thousands of miles with a Touareg TDI and W166 GLE 350 4MATIC. Both were solid, stable and safe towing machines.

I tow a travel trailer with a 9Y0 Cayenne S, it is the max tow rating for the vehicle. With electric brakes and a weight distributing hitch it is an impressive machine. Power, brakes and air suspension combined with confident steering and interior luxury deliver a great experience.

 

Correct, but the “1/2 ton” is just a general moniker assigned for a specific payload class. The payload is not exactly that. For example an F150 has up to 2,400 lbs of payload, GLS maxes out at just under 1,800 (450 slightly higher than 580)

 

In my quote, with the second example of the 4 400lb dudes in the club cab, I didn’t say 1/2 ton, but I meant to. I think it was assumed, and I was given credit for meaning it, but I should have actually stated it. I am going to edit the post for accuracy. Apologies for any confusion.

 

Me too.
26' RV with two ML350 diesels and Cayenne diesel. Colorado high mountain passes were easy, and descending steep grades with plenty of switchbacks was confidence inspiring.

I haven't towed anything bigger than a 6X12 U-Haul at 4,400 lbs with my 53. (RV no longer in fleet, eaten by hail.)

Electric brakes and WDH for the RV. Neither for the U-Haul.
As you say, they're impressive.

 

Editing is probably locked now, but we know what you meant.

 

Jesus, this thread turned into a shiite show.

Solid axles perform better for towing, WW I or no. This is why vehicles designed with towing in mind have solid rear axles. Physically stronger, lower roll point, better vertical load and torque stress management for heavy loads, better for even load distribution, and on and on. Most pick-up trucks and up fall into this "built with towing in mind" category. When's the last time you saw a semi tractor with a multilink or even independent rear axles? Ram has the quasi independent multilink coil spring suspension under their 1/2 ton and while it does help with the ride characteristics of the truck, is still doesn't perform as well as a solid axle when towing heavy, close to rating loads. The 1500 Ram is for those people who value their comfort over towing performance, because they don't tow heavy loads. Not saying it's a bad design, but it is more complicated and not as geared towards towing as is a solid axle design. Likewise, the GLS is a fine vehicle for ferrying people around, and even towing a trailer around, but I'd still take a proper pick-up truck over an SUV for towing duties, especially at close to max ratings. And let's face it, 7800 lbs is not really that much weight in the towing world nowadays.

Some keep referring to 1/2 ton pick-up trucks and how they wouldn't tow an 8,000 lb boat behind one.. There are some 1/2 ton trucks that are good for 13,500 lbs worth of weight behind them. Ford has a Max tow package on the F150 that is designed and engineered to tow that kind of weight. The GLS may have larger brake rotors than the F150, but designed for 13,500 lbs worth of a trailer it is not, and never will be. Why? Because even with bigger brakes and a more modern suspension (according to some), towing is not the primary role of a GLS. Simple as that. If we go by the "bigger, better brakes makes a better towing rig" mentality, the F150 Raptor R, a 1/2 ton truck, has larger brakes than the GLS, but it's not designed to tow 13,500 lbs. Different application and all that.

But in OPs case, his GLS will do just fine towing a couple of jet skis to the lake and back. The GLS probably won't even feel them back there.

 

I managed to edit it before I got locked out, thanks.

 

I did a lot of research before I bought my 164 ML350, because we tried to tow our 2000 lb Coleman pop-up trailer, with our Volkswagen Tiguan with 2400 lb. tow rating.
It had plenty of power for the mountains, but I never felt in control. Even though our model was based on the Volkswagen Golf - a great handling little car.

Which made the Tiguan a Crossover - a front wheel drive sedan with an SUV shape, with optional all-wheel drive. It was not a good tow vehicle.

The 167 chassis is a rear wheel drive platform, not a crossover.

We identified the next trailer - a Lance 2285, then spent a year researching tow vehicles for it. Subscribed to several magazines and visited countless RV shows. Talked to people in campgrounds.

I wanted one vehicle, that that I could put in the garage, and I wanted something more fun to drive than a pickup. (Which I equate to safety because I have control....)
I don't like the visibility out of a topper. I wanted my gear inside, not in the bed. God I hate crawling around on my knees inside a topper, wrestling gear.

I learned a lot from the Airstream forum. They have similar weight and suspension, and the members are very open-minded, experienced snd helpful. In short, they liked the Mercedes MLs.

Their Guru is Andy Thomson, Can-Am RV (Airsteam) in London, Ontario. I read a lot of his magazine columns, learned a lot from his website, and talked to him personally on a few occasions.
He highly recommended the ML but recommended reinforcing the hitch because it was a weak design in the 2010. Mercedes. (I had him do that right away by taking our first 3,000 mile trip to London Ontario.)

I took a leap of faith and bought the silver ML diesel in the photo above. Bought the trailer.
I took the hitch that Andy had recommended to the Lance dealer, who installed it, we set up the WDH and started home. Fingers crossed, because I didn't want anything near our lousy crossover experience.
It was an hour's drive on two lane blacktop, along a winding river, 2100 foot elevation change.

IT WAS THE BEST TOWING EXPERIENCE I HAD EVER HAD!
We've since been to 10 states and all over Colorado.

In the interim, I've towed a few other rigs with pickups. Friends have asked me to help set up their WDHs, which is always followed by a lengthy test drive on challenging roads.

My preference, for towing a 6 or 7,000 lb trailer, is my German SUV, instead of a pickup. It just has better control over the trailer. I feel confident it'll go where I want and do what I want.

I've been surprised at how nimble it was when other cars tried to wreck me in Denver and Chicago. The whole rig is actually fun to drive in the twisties, like those magnificent roads along the Mississippi River. Or Wolf Creek Pass. Or Forest service roads.

It's actually a surprise to me, because I had always thought pickups were the only thing that could tow a big trailer.

So my opinion is based on experience with several types of tow vehicles. Crossovers, SUVs, Half ton, 3/4 and 1 ton pickups and vans. Even tandem axle dump trucks for that matter.

The only other person who has posted, who has actual experience with full size trailers, likes his SUV as well.
I haven't seen any actual negative experience posted.

 

No argument there, crossovers are not towing vehicles.

The W167 is still a crossover. It's a uniboby construction. the very definition of a crossover is an SUV shaped, car based platform. FWD, RWD, AWD, NWD, doesn't matter.

Not sure what you mean by having control just because a vehicle is "more fun to drive".

I can appreciate that. Pick-up truck beds aren't exactly stellar at keeping stuff clean, or dry.

Hunter likes cocaine, doesn't mean it's the best, or even that it's good or good for you.

Probably because Mercedes engineers didn't spend a lot of time making the ML (in general) a towing vehicle.

I can respect you've done your research and homework. But you were focusing your research on "a vehicle more fun to drive than a pick-up truck". And while an ML / GLS can tow, they are not designed and engineered for towing.

I flew a crop duster once. It was an old Piper PA-24 Pawnee. Most. fun. ever. flying. an open air plane. Tight, nimble and very maneuverable, but wouldn't want to cross the country in one. Point is, I can appreciate it was the best towing experience you had. Still doesn't mean SUVs are better than pick-up trucks when it comes to towing comparable loads.

Again, if that's your preference, I can respect that. But VW is a German manufacturer as well, and you didn't like that SUV.

Yes, because everyone on the road is out to get you, right? Or, perhaps deep down, the drivers of those cars know on an instinctual level that towing with your "SUV" is somehow wrong?
I'm kidding, of course.

Yeah, till inertia inertia and weight of your trailer overpowers that independent suspension.

By today's standards, 7,000 lbs is not a "big" trailer. Sorry.

I can appreciate that and obviously won't argue against your experience based opinion. You like towing with SUV type vehicles, and I respect that. But it doesn't mean SUVs are the better choice for towing over say, a designed for towing pick-up truck, no matter how much you like towing with one.

A 28' 7,000 lb camper trailer is not a "full size" trailer, so please stop saying "full size trailer". At best, your 7,000 lb camper / trailer is medium sized. Hell, I have trailers that weigh more empty than does your fully loaded towing rig, trailer and all. Then again, my "toys" are much larger than yours... That came out wrong, didn't it...

You haven't seen any negative experience posted because you haven't been looking. Took me less than a minute to find several examples of crashed SUVs towing trailers. It's the Internet, you can find pretty much anything here, if you look hard enough.





[TLDR]
You like towing with your SUV and that's cool. But it doesn't mean SUVs are better at the job than are vehicles built with towing in mind, like most pick-up trucks.
[/TLDR]

 

Thank you for additional logic in the conversation.

and LOL at being a RWD platform making the GLS and GLE not crossovers. It’s a unibody car platform, that’s what makes it a crossover. Has nothing to do with RWD or FWD. It’s not a BOF truck.

 

I still like the pen. Too soon ?

 

😀
It's all pretty revealing.

It's called confirmation bias.