Touring in an slk

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Gaz777

New Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2017
Messages
1
Car
Mercedes Benz SLK 200
Hi Guys,

We are travelling down through France and Spain for about three weeks in our newly acquired SLK.

The boot if obviously not that big so what packing tips can you suggest please?

Gaz
 
You can buy luggage designed to fit the exact model of SLK.
 
Take little - wear it - chuck it - buy again - repeat til home - lol haha !
Or use hotel laundry service ??
SLK not really a grand tourer is it now ?
Only having fun - have a great trip :)
 
Leave the golf clubs at home

It isn't a problem if you take soft bags and practice packing in advance.

I've done lots of 3 week tours in small convertibles (MX5, Boxster, SL and (cough) Spitfire). Just experiment with soft bags and rehearse packing in advance.

Don't bother with the tailored bags - they don't add any value and they look stupid when you use them away from the car, or with the next car.

Importantly, don't leave bags on display inside the car overnight in Europe. Especially in Southern Europe, there are lots of unemployed people who will be tempted.
 
My wife and I have done a number of two- and three-week trips in her SLK's (first an R171, now an R172) and there's plenty of room to pack the boot and still have room for the top down :D

I agree that soft luggage is the way to go. We do have a genuine Mercedes SLK boot bag that I bought when we first had the R171, and with due deference to MikeInWimbledon, it's excellent both in and away from the car. It has a hard base panel with skids on it and wheels at one end, but the rest of it is soft so it's basically a long, narrow, hold-all that fits cross-wise in the boot and can carry an enormous amount on it's own. We also tend to pack a medium size ruck-sack (useful for carrying things when you're away from the car too) and another smaller hold-all that squeezes in. Lay coats over the top and you're done :thumb:

Rohan make some great travel clothing that packs up incredibly small and makes it easy to not look like Worzel Gummidge. If you're staying in hotels then plan to use their laundry if you want to minimise what you need to carry, and if you're planning to stay just one night in a place then pack so that what you need for that night and the next day is at the top so you don't have to unpack everything and repack it the next morning. Sounds obvious, but it takes a bit of thought and prior planning to get right. Also, never leave any voids in anything when you pack: push socks and underwear into shoes, roll t-shirts rather than folding them, and so forth.

BTW, do you have an R171 or an R172? If the latter then there's a huge amount of room under the false boot floor so don't forget to use that too.

One final tip: Wear plenty of sun block and a hat when you're in the car with the top down. It's incredibly easy to get burnt to very uncomfortable frazzle when you have the benefit of aircon keeping you cool from the sun overhead.
 
We've done some touring in an SLK (R171), including Le Mans twice on our own (with tent, walking boots, camera gear, clothes for a week etc, all in the boot with the roof folded) and a trip (in convoy with two other SLKs) to the Dolomites via Germany and France with clothes for 10-days, walking gear, camera gear etc. Again, could get the roof down if wanted.

So, definately doable but it does need a bit of practice. Coats were hung on the back of the seats BTW. Enjoy!
 
Space behind seats will take tall thin soft bags in R172
 
Boot rack ?

Used to be quite popular and allowed a decent sized suitcase to be carried on top of the bootlid of things like MG Midgets , Spitfires and other cars of similar size to SLK .
 
Boot rack ?

Used to be quite popular and allowed a decent sized suitcase to be carried on top of the bootlid of things like MG Midgets , Spitfires and other cars of similar size to SLK .

Would unsettle the vario roof.
 
Practise well before going with any and all soft bags you have, not just in the boot but also behind the front seats. Also look at any spaces left when the best of the bags are in place, and figure what you can shoehorn into those spaces. We did this 18 months ago for a 19 day 2600 mile trip in the 968 cab to Northern Spain, across the top to Santiago then back, through the Alps to Lourdes and up through France to Calais, my wife does not know the meaning of "packing light", but we managed. OK, we started trying the bags etc a month before departure, and that is the trick.
 
Soft bags, filled to 80-90% capacity. Why? There's enough flex for the bag to fit the space available. Fill it. More than that and you end up with voids between bags, as the bags effectively become rigid when full to capacity.

Use small packing bags or cubes inside your luggage. Why? Un-packing and re-packing takes seconds as you remove from your luggage and drops into your drawer. Plus, all your underwear is together, t-shirts are together, etc. In the later stages of your trip you can then separate clean from dirty.

Take no more than half of what you'll think you might need. Why? You'll over estimate, and if you cut it too fine, ask the hotel to launder your clothes.

Buy some smart shorts. Why? Assuming you're going to somewhere without sub-zero temperatures, smart shorts will be accepted even in nice restaurants, and they take up less space than trousers, and you don't need socks.

Get shoe bags. Why? If you end up with voids, fill them with shoes.
 
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Saving best tips until last:

Have separate bag for overnighters. Why? Assuming your luggage is not visible, and can safely be left in the car overnight, have a bag with just what you need for single night stays for everyone in your party. No need to unpack or repack the car, making it much quicker and easier.

Single toiletry and make up bag. Why? Everyone in the group needs fundamentally the same stuff, so why double up (ore more) when space is precious? Grab it with the overnighter bag, and you have everything you need for stop overs en-route, or freshening up along the way. Also, minimise the risk of leaks ruining your clothes.
 
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Some great advice above:D
My advice? Use a motorcycle as transport for a few years prior to taking the SLK on holiday. It makes the space available under the folded roof seem massive;)

I also hate waiting for hold baggage on flights so have practiced the art of hand baggage only for trips of up to a week. That comes in handy too!

My wife and friend went away for a week touring in the SLK when we had one. She normally finds it difficult to just go to work without at least four different bags, but both seemed to manage a great 'wind in hair' week away without resorting to a roof rack, boot rack or trailer:devil:
You'll be fine:cool:
 
My advice? Use a motorcycle as transport for a few years prior to taking the SLK on holiday. It makes the space available under the folded roof seem massive;)
Completely agree.

I've toured two-up on motorcycles for 25+ years and now have the ability to pack all the clothes we need for a two week trip in a teapot ;)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Completely agree.

I've toured two-up on motorcycles for 25+ years and now have the ability to pack all the clothes we need for a two week trip in a teapot ;)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Excellent! I tend to use Tupperware containers;) I found that Aprilia V2's, teapots and intel processors are not best of friends...:eek:
The VFR1200 is creamy smooth:thumb:
 

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