Suitable engines for towing trailer + car

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wemorgan

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A205 C220d
A friend is looking for a cheap (<£2k) estate car for towing a trailer (~200kg) and a car (~900kg).

There are lots of 1990s Mercedes that fit the bill, but was wondering what is the minimum or recommended engines that are suitable for the job.

He'll be doing maybe 3k/year of towing so engine longevity is important.

Fuel costs are also of consideration, so V8 are off the list :)

Many thanks.

eg. JumboBeef's W124 E220 looks nice, but wonder if the engine is too small for the job?

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/classifieds-cars-sale/85654-w124-1994-e220-estate-auto-sale.html
 
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I tow a pretty heavy caravan with my E300D (more heavy than your car and trailer) i suspect a E220 is about the same(?), power wise as the E300D is SLLLLOOOOOOW!

its fine for the amount of time we are towing. it probably depends on how often the car will be used for towing duties.

the self levelling suspension on the W124 estates make them ideal IMO.
 
I was going to say anything between a w203 c270cdi -> w211 c320cdi should do nicely shouldn't it? But you say 1990s - so a w202 c250td or a w210 300td?
 
I'd make sure the trailer weights/load being carried and the towing weight of the car is suitable first. Even if the trailer weighs the 200kg, if it is plated at 500kg then that is the weight the authorities will use.

Lots of people round here have had bother with plant trailers for this reason and if the trailer looks homemade you might as well forget it :(.

Nonetheless I'd look at a 300D/TD for towing purposes if it's to be an MB. A BMW 525TDS Touring could be good though.
 
its fine for the amount of time we are towing. it probably depends on how often the car will be used for towing duties.

the self levelling suspension on the W124 estates make them ideal IMO.

He'll use it once a fortnight during the summer to tow his race car to various meets.

Thanks for the reminder on SLS, a nice feature to have with all the kit he'll also have in the boot.

I was going to say anything between a w203 c270cdi -> w211 c320cdi should do nicely shouldn't it? But you say 1990s - so a w202 c250td or a w210 300td?

He'd like something new, but the budget forces him down the the 1990s route.

I'd make sure the trailer weights/load being carried and the towing weight of the car is suitable first. Even if the trailer weighs the 200kg, if it is plated at 500kg then that is the weight the authorities will use.

Lots of people round here have had bother with plant trailers for this reason and if the trailer looks homemade you might as well forget it :(.

Nonetheless I'd look at a 300D/TD for towing purposes if it's to be an MB. A BMW 525TDS Touring could be good though.

He already has the car and trailer (Brian James) looks very nice and quite well made. The 200kg is only a guess. I imagine he has +100kg of kit in the boot too.

There are a lot more petrol engines than diesels in budget. How do they fair for longevity when towing?
 
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If it's intended for motorsport - if you're not guaranteed a hard standinging and/or garage then I'd go for a diesel 4x4. Being stranded in mud is not ideal with 1 tonne of trailer behind you!!
 
If it's intended for motorsport - if you're not guaranteed a hard standinging and/or garage then I'd go for a diesel 4x4. Being stranded in mud is not ideal with 1 tonne of trailer behind you!!

Fortunately last season the race series was allocated hard standing at all the meets. Also the car and empty trailer can be positioned on to nice level ground, then the race car driven on to it. :)
 
I would suggest if its a standard car trailer its more likely to weigh 4-600kg. SLS a must unless its a big 4x4
 
My W202 C220 tows a 1 1/4 ton trailer fine, but then i used to tow it with an Astra 1.6 before
 
Looking further afield I've seen quite a few cars and 4x4 with LPG conversions.
Are LPG conversions suitable for high loads?
 
Looking further afield I've seen quite a few cars and 4x4 with LPG conversions.
Are LPG conversions suitable for high loads?

Yes i think its fine - quite a few caravanners on the caravan forums run theirs on LPG.
 
An E300 Diesel is good up to about 1500Kg. Above that it struggles and it's sometimes impossible to accelerate above 50 mph

An E220 has about the same power & torque as an E300 Diesel so I'd rate it the same way

An E280 or E320 would be ideal. The extra you pay for fuel won't be too great. My E300 Diesel dropped from 32 mpg to about 27 mpg when towing so I'd expect an E280 to be a better bet in every respect

You'll have at least 100 Kg on board the tow car, I'm sure, and as others have pointed out the trailer will be 500+ Kg

Buy an E280
 
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Looking further afield I've seen quite a few cars and 4x4 with LPG conversions.
Are LPG conversions suitable for high loads?

My father-in-law tows with an LPG converted Range Rover - total train weight must be closer to 4t than 3.5t - and it does so with ease.
 
I towed large caravans and car trailers with both my W123 280TE and my W124 300TE , both of which had plenty of power plus the standard fitment SLS . Also had the 300TE-24 but never towed anything big with it .

W124 estates weigh in at around 1500Kg , give or take a little depending on spec , so will tow up to around this weight safely ( I know the handbook says they can tow up to 2100 Kg but I wouldn't ! ) .

I know you said V8's were out on grounds of economy , but do remember that W126's are cheap as chips these days , weigh in a couple of hundred Kg heavier than a 124 estate , and my 500 is only marginally thirstier than my six cylinder 124's were and about the same as my W123 gave ( 20 mpg average ) . Just get one with SLS , which was an option on the 500 but standard on the 560 .
 

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