New tow car

[David404]

Starting to think about swapping car, need to tow caravan so need heavy car for stability, GLE obvious answer but that's £30k s/h - hang on could get W222 for that. Bigger nobody seems to make a tow bar for that. Gutted going to be pauper spec E Or GLE...

 

[219]

PF Jones have a tow bar for the W222 , see link .

Just check the vehicle is homologated for towing .

Mercedes S Class Towbars

 

[Mactech]

Whilst the weight of the car is important for towing, so are the aerodynamics. If you have a vehicle with a large frontal area, the less impact towing it will have on stability and economy. The Vito van was the best tow car I've used, with the ML a very close second. I never towed with my 221 S class, but have towed with similar cars and they are were never as good as a van or large SUV.
My current GLE is as nice a place to travel in as my S Class from a decade ago, but has no tow bar as I have a Defender with one. But I know which I'd choose
Just my 2p's worth!

 

[David404]

PF Jones have a tow bar for the W222 , see link .

Just check the vehicle is homologated for towing .

Mercedes S Class Towbars

Well spotted, many thanks. Thought if checked their site but missed that.

Only looked at one S Class do far but did check chassis plate & they are played to tow, handbook concured. MB also list factory fit tow bar as option but I suspect it's not on most buyers wish list...

 

[David404]

Whilst the weight of the car is important for towing, so are the aerodynamics. If you have a vehicle with a large frontal area, the less impact towing it will have on stability and economy. The Vito van was the best tow car I've used, with the ML a very close second. I never towed with my 221 S class, but have towed with similar cars and they are were never as good as a van or large SUV.
My current GLE is as nice a place to travel in as my S Class from a decade ago, but has no tow bar as I have a Defender with one. But I know which I'd choose
Just my 2p's worth!

Vito is out but GLE is on the list. How do you rate engine/road noise at motorway speed compared to something like E Class?

 

[Mactech]

My GLE on Avon tyres is the quietest car I have ever measured at 70mph, just 63.5 dBa.
That includes my 221 S class, various E class, Range Rover Vogue, Bentley Flying Spur and Continental GT.
....but it wasn't towing during these measurements

 

[David404]

My GLE on Avon tyres is the quietest car I have ever measured at 70mph, just 63.5 dBa.
That includes my 221 S class, various E class, Range Rover Vogue, Bentley Flying Spur and Continental GT.
....but it wasn't towing during these measurements

Thanks, interesting stuff. Whilst I caravan often towing still only represents a small percentage of miles/time in the car so as long as it's stable and completely legal I'm more interested in solo performance.

 

[219]

For what it’s worth , my W126 500SEL was an excellent towcar , as were all my W123 and W124 estates .

A towbar will be going onto my W140 if the car is to be kept , and I’ll report back in due course .

I have an Oris detachable bar for an S 124 ; if by some miracle the distance between chassis rails is the same and it fits then it will go on ; otherwise there are plenty of W140 ones on eBay.de .

If you want to search for one on there the German word is anhangerkupplung.

 

[David404]

[QUOTE="Pontoneer Ifyou want to search for one on there the German word is anhangerkupplung.[/QUOTE]

Many thanks.

 

[219]

anhangerkupplung mercedes w222 | eBay

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

The GLE (W166) is a great tow car, and not shabby towing either. Engine and road noise will vary based upon the engine and tyre size, so it’s difficult to do anything other than generalise. However I don’t imagine that you will find much difference in engine, wind or road noise.

My wife tells me that ours could do with a bit more power though.

 

[219]

The GLE (W166) is a great tow car, and not shabby towing either. Engine and road noise will vary based upon the engine and tyre size, so it’s difficult to do anything other than generalise. However I don’t imagine that you will find much difference in engine, wind or road noise.

My wife tells me that ours could do with a bit more power though.

I started towing with my dad’s W115 220/8 which had something a little north of 100 bho , towing a Thomson Gleneagle , which was a sizeable 6 berth caravan .

While I had to go down the gearbox to ascend the steepest of hills , and with a family of five aboard , it managed fine and would keep up with other traffic on the open road , not that we were in a hurry whilst on holiday .

 

[Mactech]

I can remember early childhood holidays in a rented Bailey caravan towed by my fathers company 100E Anglia. (3 speed, side valve and about 34bhp)
Progress was fairly pedestrian with some monster gaps between ratios, and a hill up to Exmoor which the simple laws of physics proved insurmountable.
It's a long way from almost 10 times the power and 3 times the number of ratios in todays GLE!

 

[David404]

[QUOTE="100E Anglia. (3 speed, side valve and about 34bhp)![/QUOTE]

My very first car. Second (very) hand off a pal cost £25, lasted 18 months before it gave out. Vaccum operated wipers that stopped when climbing hills. 34bhp sounds rather excessive