Ron

I believe this was previously dicussed but I couldn't find it.

Looking for feedback from those with experience towing with ML or some other SUV weighing about 4700 lbs. and towing car and trailer with combined weight of about 4000 lbs to 4500 lbs.

Greg Fishman

Do you have the V-8?

I towed about ~40k miles to tracks all over the east side of the US with my previous 99 ML430. It towed great and could maintain speed on all but the steepest inclines. I regularly traveled at 75 to 80mph.

Wife's new truck is a Yukon Denali. It tows as well as the ML430 but gets less MPG and is probably not as stable as the ML, but it is much more comfortable and roomy.

Ron

Greg, Mine is a 99 ML 320. Did you tow a featherlite, trailex or another brand? Those are the two I'm looking at, Trailex 7541 and Featherlite 3110.

Greg Fishman

I towed a Trailerworld aluminum trailer with it. Very similar to the Featherlite. I have also used a friends Trailex and while it is lighter and smaller, I don't think it tows better. 1) It had a tire rack and that added a lot of wind resistance. 2) it has leaf springs vs. torsion axles and seemed to be less compliant.

I also towed a friends heavy steel open trailer. Believe it or not that trailer towed better than the other two. Rarely did the truck downshift, I got better gas mileage and the overall rig was more stable. Go figure...

Tom W

Ron, I'm in a similar position to you. I'm about to buy a trailer for my track car and will be towing with an ML 430. I've talked to two others that I've met at autox or DE events and they echo Greg's comments - you can tow a trailer of <2000 lb without issue. One guy used his 320 to tow a modified 911 on a steel open trailer (don't remember the brand) and another used his 320 to pull a steel open (Texas Bragg 16') with his 996.

The only comment I had that I wonered about was the use of a load-leveling hitch due to the relatively short wheelbase. With the steel trailers the tongue weight is almost 300 lb when empty and I'm told that load distribution can become an issue. (The guy with the 996 used this hitch.)

Greg, do you use a load distributing hitch or just go with a standard hitch? Is your ball height a bit "high" when unloaded to account for some drop once the trailer is attached?

Ron

Greg,

Did the Trailex have the leaf springs? And did it have 13" wheels? The Featherlite I've been looking at has 15" wheels and that may make it tow better, really don't know.

I've not been able to get on the trailerworld.com website it seems to be down.

Edited: I saw on the trailex website they have leaf spring suspension. I was surprised. I was under the impression, maybe mistakenly that the torsion type were superior.

Tom,

The owner's manual says maximum tongue weight is 500 lbs. Check out page 97 of the manual it talks about tongue weight and relationship to the gross trailer weight and how all this relates to gross vehicle weight and the gross axle weight for the rear axle. Definately check this out.

Torags

Buy a Pepper, you need the sleep..........

Ron

Torags,

Buy a Pepper. If you mean a Dr. Pepper, sure. If you mean a Cayenne not hardly.

I waiting for the Touareg diesel V-10 TDI with something like 550 ft. lbs of torque. The Cayenne turbo only has 457 ft. lbs of torque and the S has something like 310 ft. lbs. of torque, and I suspect they both need to be at a higher rpm to produce their maximum torque than the Touareg.

David K.

I tow my 2650lbs RSA on a Trailex with a ML500. It tows great with tons of power and great brakes. Its very stable in the wind and when trucks pass, I mean when I blow by the 18 wheeler at 80mph.

Greg Fishman

Yes I did use a load leveling hitch. That helped a lot. The way I had my trailer set up I backed the car onto the trailer. I probably had too much tongue weight but it was a much better option than the severe sway I encountered loading it the other way. The trailer ball was set on the next to highest setting to help keep it level under weight. I usually set the bars before I loaded the car or used the jack to help lift it so I could put a far bit of load on the bars.

Short answer: Get the load dist. hitch.

Ron,
The trailex I used had the 13" tires ( I think). My trailerworld trailer had 15" ones.

Just try their website at another time. I know I have looked at it in the last few weeks.

viperbob

I have given up the world of a dual duty (street and towing) SUV. I have torn up my truck towing too much (true it is not an ML). Today I just bought a 1 ton Chevy Crew Cab dually. Now I am in an overkill situation for my little car on an 18' trailer, so maybe a 30' enclosed is the next stop on the Spending Express......

Good luck...