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Old 05-18-2017, 01:00 PM   #81
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1979 31' Excella 500
Charlevoix , Michigan
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Just an update for those following this thread.

When we bought the car at the end of 2015 we knew it needed a new transmission. Car had 140,000 miles on the odometer at the time. Other than the transmission it was in showroom condition (very well cared-for).

Replaced #1 transmission with a used one (#2) that had 90,000 miles on it.

Transmission #2 just died with about 205,000 on the engine odometer (about 150,000 on the transmission).

So, now we are on transmission #3; this one is rebuilt, not used, all new parts.

Of the roughly 60,000 miles we put on the #2 transmission most of it was towing our 31' Excella 500. Sucks to replace a transmission, twice, but since we're full timers we're just taking it in stride. We absolutely love the vehicle and it tows like a dream, so not too upset about having to replace the trans given what we've gotten out of it.

1st Mercedes I've owned; not sure I'll own anything else now that I've had this one. But, I have to admit, they are expensive to maintain/repair. We've probably spent twice as much on repairs/maintenance as we did on the original purchase ($6k). I guess that's what happens when you have a lifestyle like ours!
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Old 11-07-2017, 06:54 AM   #82
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1979 31' Excella 500
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Some updated photos of our R320 towing in the last year

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Old 11-07-2017, 06:56 AM   #83
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1979 31' Excella 500
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Continued from the last post... more R320 pictures.

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Old 11-07-2017, 09:35 AM   #84
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Great photos, great memories. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 12-01-2019, 03:24 PM   #85
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Fairfield , Connecticut
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Quote:
Originally Posted by trekerboy View Post
My family and I, we're... well, nontraditional. I work from "home", my wife is a musician, we get a high when we get rid of stuff, we're downsizing from a 6 bedroom house to a 31' Airstream. By my parent's accounts, we've got it all wrong, but that hasn't deterred us from living more simply, intentionally and adventurously.

This mentality extends to our tow-vehicle selection for our resto'modded '79 Excella. We knew that our Tow Vehicle would be our only vehicle and that whatever we got it'd be towing about 1/4 of the time and driving our family around without the AS 3/4 of the time. We wanted a vehicle that was optimized for family, but could also tow if properly equipped.

Turns out there's a vehicle out that fits the bill perfectly... The Mercedes R320 CDI!

On the family considerations side, it's a 3-row 6 passenger vehicle. Lots of room for the kiddos and dog.

On the towing side, it's an turbo diesel V6 that makes 400 ft-lb of torque! For reference, that's more than some 3/4 ton trucks out there. It's all-wheel drive, 7 speed manually shift-able (tap up/down) transmission, has a looooooong wheel base, looooooow center of gravity, wide stance, short rear overhang, built on a truck chasis, big brakes and stiff frame.

We're going to Andy at CanAm to get a weight distribution system installed and any other modifications needed.

We found a R320 for sale used near us (turns out they're pretty ratre, only 32 listed in the whole USA for sale on autotrader). It needed a little TLC (even a little TLC in the Mercedes world equates to big $$$) but we haven't looked back.

I plan to update this thread with our experience with this vehicle since I only found one other post that even mentions this model as a tow vehicle.

Oh, and some eye-candy of a R320 pulling a 34'' AS through Vermont (courtesy of Andy at CanAm)!

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Is that a Ford Taurus rowing a 27’ in the middle picture?
Would love an update on how the R class is working out?
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Old 12-01-2019, 03:28 PM   #86
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Sorry just saw the rest of this thread. Looks great! I have a GL 350 and just wondering what I can tow and what modifications it might need. Thanks so much!
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Old 12-02-2019, 07:23 AM   #87
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1979 31' Excella 500
Charlevoix , Michigan
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An update...

After 3 years full-timing on road, we decided to settle down in Nashville TN. I'm sure we'll still travel but for now the airstream is parked.

Regarding the previous posts on transmissions... Over the course of towing 160,000 is 3 years, we ended up having to replace the transmission 4 times. Each time there seemed to be a legitimate reason unrelated to towing that the thing failed, however it's hard to ignore this string of failures and the potential correlation to towing. We rationalized it as still being less expensive than buying a new tow vehicle, but man I got really tired of replacing transmissions!

Wanted to add a few more pictures I took over the years of our R-Class Towing our 31' Excella 500.

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Old 12-02-2019, 07:26 AM   #88
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1979 31' Excella 500
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Old 12-02-2019, 07:27 AM   #89
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1979 31' Excella 500
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Old 12-02-2019, 12:04 PM   #90
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Hi Trekkerboy,
I did not have the same transmission experience with my 2008 Jeep Diesel which has the same running gear and engine as the Mercedes due to common ownership at the time. It towed a 25 and then a 30 for about 500,000 k. The Jeep, at 500,000k, is semi retired in Florida but still going strong as a grocery getter and kid hauler. Another 2008 family Jeep with the same drive train is on its 3rd motor with 160,000 k. It hauls a 3000 lb GC. Go figure. No transmission issues on either. No excessive ware on brakes, axels, shocks. Luck of the draw I think.
Looks like a great adventure that you are having. Jim
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Old 01-04-2021, 02:57 PM   #91
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1979 31' Excella 500
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Just to put a bow on this thread, we sold our 2007 Mercedes Benz R320 and got a 2013 Mercedes Benz GL550. My hope when I started this thread more than 6 years ago was that it would help someone out there considering an R-class as their tow vehicle to see how it held up over the life of the vehicle (from beginning to end). Now that our R-class is sold, and we drove it 160,000 miles (started with 140,000 miles) my mission is complete!

Some final thoughts on the R320 as a tow-vehicle:
  • Mercedes are expensive to fix, and when you are full-time on the road it ads up. I bet we spent more than $40k on repairs over the 6 years... some highlights include: replacing 3 transmissions; replacing turbo; replacing rear air suspension; replacing drive shaft; replacing differential; replacing steering column, and many many more.
  • It was a good tow vehicle overall, though we definitely pushed it to it's limits. I mean, we even broke the welds on that hitch that CanAm installed; it takes some doing to do that! If I were to do it again, even though our R-class 'could' do it, I would probably have just gotten a truck that was built for towing given the amount of on-the-road time we did. If we were only do weekends or holidays a couple times of years, the R320 would have been 100% sufficient.
  • Given what we did with the car, I am impressed with how well it held up. That might seem like a strange thing to say considering bullet #1 above, but I'm not kidding when I say that we really, really pushed it to it's limits. Many of you would not believe some of the places we went, the terrain we went through, and the abuse that car endured. Mercedes are high-quality builds, which is part of the reason we got another one this time around (even though we aren't in the road full time anymore).
  • There is no perfect tow vehicle. Tow with what you have and make the journey the adventure to attain instead of the gear to get you there.
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Old 01-04-2021, 06:07 PM   #92
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[*]Mercedes are expensive to fix, and when you are full-time on the road it ads up. I bet we spent more than $40k on repairs over the 6 years... some highlights include: replacing 3 transmissions; replacing turbo; replacing rear air suspension; replacing drive shaft; replacing differential; replacing steering column, and many many more.

You just never know what lurks under the skin. My old 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee which has the same or similar underpinnings as the Mercedes, had none of the listed issues, and travelled about 300,000 k pulling a 25 and then a 30 before it was retired to Florida where a son uses it as a kid hauler and grocery getter. On its retirement, it had a total of about 450,000 k, and now has 500,000 k. On the other hand, another son has a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 160,000 k on it and it tows a 20 ' GC and is on its 3rd diesel, and spends most of it's time in the shop where it is today having a ball joint and front drive shaft replaced. Both Jeeps had hitch reinforcement by Can Am with with no issues. One Jeep is a Lemmon, and the other just normal. Go figure.
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Old 01-20-2024, 08:59 PM   #93
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This post came to mind today, and as the OP I thought I’d bump so others might get a kick out of seeing a thread come full circle after almost 10 years!
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