Towing with ML 300

[evansaj23]

Hi 2nd post since joining.
After picking up my new Ml last week, I managed to have a quick chat with one of the mechanics walking through the carpark.
I asked him if there was anything I needed to know about fitting a towbar and towing with the vehicle?
He said he had Ml and towed a caravan, he recommended a westfalia detachable and a designated electrical kit, which would then needed to be coded to the vehicle, ie tell the car it has a towbar fitted,
He also said that some vehicle need an upgraded cooling fan if the one fitted has less than 850w output???.
This is my question to anyone out there with any advice, how do I know if my vehicle needs a new fan???
Thanks in advance for any help received.
Andy.

 

[davidjpowell]

If you are towing a conventional caravan in the uk I personally wound not bother with the fan, the car is rated to tow far higher weights....

In terms of fitting I use a mobile guy. Far cheaper than the dealers, and half of them call him out anyway... Most of these have tools to do the coding.

 

[evansaj23]

Hi cheers for that, I plan on fitting my own tow bar & electrics, we have a chap that that comes into work that has all the software to code it, its the cooling fan that is just preying on my mind tbh.
Does anyone know if you can buy genuine rear mud flaps for my vehicle as Dealer said they don't do them for sport model??

 

[Merc Owner 2B]

delete please mods. thanks

 

[Merc Owner 2B]

Not sure which model you have (W164?) but the W166 Blue Efficiency has radiator louvres which have to be removed and the actuator/servo needs to be deleted by STAR. There is a fan upgrade that is also completed for a factory/dealer fit original install. This makes a dealer install for the whole towbar/electrics etc close to £4K

 

[evansaj23]

Hi Its a W164 model, yes I believe its a £4k job for them to do, have researched on caravan forums and cant find anyone who has changed the fan, my caravan is less than 50% of the 3500kgs that its suppost to be able to tow?
So thinking I will give it a go as is?
Thoughts anyone.