Diesel towing

[CanadianMike]

Airatreamists.
Any thoughts on diesel towing!
Looking at a 10 year old Mercedes Benz diesel for my 19ft cb.
CM.

[Daquenzer]

Not really enough information to tell you one way or the other. Your vehicle should have 2 numbers; Payload and towing capacity. So tell us what your towing capacity and payload is on your vehicle. Then tell us what your tongue weight and trailer weight is. I have an F150. Not all F150’s are equipped the same. Not all diesels are created equal.

[BikeCamper]

Yeah, more info about the TV (tow vehicle) is required to offer informed opinions/advice. Generally speaking, though, diesel engines are superior power plants for TVs. But other vehicle specs are equally important.

The 19CB will weigh in around 4000-4500 lbs. And will have a tongue weight of approximately 550 lbs. The TV needs to be rated to at minimum a bit over those weights.

And then your TV also needs to have sufficient payload rating to haul passengers and gear. Realize that tongue weight of the trailer is part of the payload carried by the TV. So if the TV has a 1500 lbs payload rating, after subtracting tongue weight there’d be 950 lbs remaining capacity for passengers and other gear.

The vehicle’s specific payload number is shown on a decal located in the driver’s door jam. It’s the same decal that shows the recommended tire pressure inflation values.

Congrats on the 19CB. We love ours.

[CanadianMike]

Folks.
Thanks for the great thoughts. This is such a complicated subject. Learning as I go, thanks to you.

[jcl]

Since you are in Ontario, just contact Andy at CanAm RV. He has written on diesel SUV tow vehicles, and has set up a lot of them.

https://www.canamrv.ca/blog/post/hit...esel-suvs-414/

[CanadianMike]

Will do just that.

[Redbarron55]

I tow with a 2012 VW Touareg 3.0 TDI and it does a great job.
We towed a 16' Scamp all over the country and just moved to a 1985 25' twin Sovereign.
The Sovereign book empty weight is 4900 lbs with a tongue weight of a whopping 755 lbs!
That last number is the big problem with towing with the VW. The max weight is 6900 lbs for the trailer but the car is rated to tow 7700 lbs. That tongue is the problem, but I did make some modifications to the trailer to reduce the tongue weight to within the 616 lbs limit for is. I removed the (single) battery in the frot nand the old power converter. Both pretty heavy. I think that this trailer had only the single battery to keep the tongue weight from being even higher!
I installed three LiFePO4 100 Ah batteries in the rear under the street side bed and a Progressive dynamics PD4060 power distribution / converter in the bottom of the night stand between the beds. There is also a 2 KW inverter under the bed at the rear and all of this was installed there to reduce the tongue weight.
Since the previous year rear bath was about the same overall weight and the tongue weight was 550 I assume that the handling would be similar for my trailer. I have read that the center bath 1985 had the high tongue weight due to the shift of the bath and holding tanks moved forward with no difference in the center forward construction and the axles being in the same location as the previous model.
All of that said I would think that the Merc should do as good of a job towing as the VW as long as you can keep the tongue weight within limits.
I second the suggestion to contact CAN-AM RV, by the way.

[field & stream]

While there are lots of pros and cons to diesels, and even more opinions, here are two thoughts I can offer with confidence: you will LOVE it towing uphill for the power, and you will love it towing downhill for the engine braking.

[jcl]

Originally Posted by field & stream

While there are lots of pros and cons to diesels, and even more opinions, here are two thoughts I can offer with confidence: you will LOVE it towing uphill for the power, and you will love it towing downhill for the engine braking.

Diesels don’t have much engine braking by design, which is why many diesel pickups have exhaust brakes. Exhaust brakes aren’t common on small diesel SUVs.

[F250]

Originally Posted by CanadianMike

Airatreamists.
Any thoughts on diesel towing!
Looking at a 10 year old Mercedes Benz diesel for my 19ft cb.
CM.

I love my F250 Diesel. It was an upgrade from a 2016 Ford Expedition, which had a V6 Ecoboost engine producing around 350 horsepower.

The tow rating of the Expedition was 9,200 lbs, well within the max weight of my 27FB trailer, which is around 7,500 lbs when fully loaded.

When I filled the fresh water tank all the way with the Expedition, the trailer would fishtail. It would also be pushed by wind and passing semi trucks on the freeway. I never had a problem towing up and down hills, just with stability. The Expedition also didn’t do well at higher speeds—it felt like the trailer was controlling the vehicle, rather than the other way around.

My MPG while towing with the Expedition was around 10 mpg.

Now, with my F250 Diesel, I’m getting around 16 mpg while towing. The towing capacity is 23,000 lbs. While that may seem like overkill, what I’ve learned is that the towing specs on vehicles are typically minimums.

The F250 Diesel has nearly 500 horsepower and 1,000 lbs of torque. It’s also big and heavy. We were towing across Nevada in September, where the speed limit was 80 mph, and neither the truck nor the trailer blinked (we kept it slightly below that).

Big and heavy really is a lot more comfortable and safer when you’re towing. While you can get by with a smaller vehicle, I have found there will be trade-offs in stability.

So if you can go bigger, I would. Just my 2 cents.

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by CanadianMike

Airatreamists.
Any thoughts on diesel towing!
Looking at a 10 year old Mercedes Benz diesel for my 19ft cb.
CM.

Be specific on what Mercedes. Nobody can reply with any relevant information without knowing what vehicle and year and options it has. Just because its a DSL does not mean its a good towing vehicle.

[jcl]

Here is an article on a Mercedes GLK250 diesel. This is the four cylinder, not the 3 litre diesel usually seen, and is a smaller model. The trailer is an AS27 Safari.

Full article here.

I don't think it would struggle much with a 19 foot Airstream trailer.

[Belegedhel]

I tow a 21' Globetrotter with my 2008 GL320. It has worked fine for several trips between Houston and Colorado. I get ~25 mpg on the highway unhitched, and ~16 mpg towing. I don't think I would consider a smaller diesel (ie., GLK250), as you just won't have adequate load capacity.

Some points of caution:

Any MB diesel made since 2009 will have the DEF injection systems for emissions. This typically means you will have no spare tire. Rumors are that this emissions system is the Achille's heal of the platform and result in routine breakdowns. It is also rumored that this is why MB no longer sells diesels in the US.

Another thing to consider is the age of the vehicle. Mine has relatively low mileage, but is 16 years old. As a result, seals are starting to ooze fluids and the cost of repairs threaten to exceed the value of the vehicle.

I think there is a fairly exhaustive thread on these Forums that talks about MB diesel as a tow vehicle. I would also suggest looking at the MB forums (Benzworld or MBworld) to see the pain points of the various models. The air suspension on models like mine (GL class and M class) tends to be constant issue.

good luck!

[CanadianMike]

These thoughts prompted me to explore diesel. While more expensive to fuel and change the oil the mileage on these is phenomenal and would deliver, from what I understand wonderful power going up and down hills.
Some of you suggested reaching out to Andy. Have called him several times and he's been wonderful.
Was warned off the Benz because of the high repair cost but now looking at a 2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen Highline TDI.
Still searching. Thanks to one and all.
Canadian Mike

[BikeCamper]

Originally Posted by CanadianMike

These thoughts prompted me to explore diesel. While more expensive to fuel and change the oil the mileage on these is phenomenal and would deliver, from what I understand wonderful power going up and down hills.
Some of you suggested reaching out to Andy. Have called him several times and he's been wonderful.
Was warned off the Benz because of the high repair cost but now looking at a 2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen Highline TDI.
Still searching. Thanks to one and all.
Canadian Mike

We have a 2017 AWD Golf Alltrack Wagon in the family, with the 1.8L Turbo gas engine. Even if it had the diesel engine, I would never use it to tow our 19’ Flying Cloud Airstream. This vehicle is not adequate to the task and does not have anywhere near sufficient tow ratings.

We tow with a Honda Ridgeline rated for 5K lbs of trailer, 600 lbs of tongue weight (with no weight distribution), and 1500 lbs of payload. I would not tow with anything smaller or less capable. When/if we ever get another tow vehicle we will go larger/more capable.

[Belegedhel]

I'll do you the favor of warning you off of VW then as well. The Tiguan I have had for 100k miles is the most failure prone, fragile vehicle I have ever owned. I check the oil weekly, as I can never be sure whether I am burning it, or it is just leaking out. If I had to pay a mechanic for all the repairs I have done to this car, I would be bankrupt. I can't imagine subjecting one to the additional torture of towing a trailer.

Audi shares a lot of DNA with VW, but perhaps a Q7 might be a good Diesel. That said, whether you are paying MB repair prices, or Audi, it is probably a wash.

Jeep used to make a diesel version of the Grand Cherokee...but those share a lot of DNA with MB. Let's face it, repair costs are outrageous no matter what brand of vehicle you have. If you are looking to minimize those costs, get something with an engine that has hardly changed in the last couple of decades...Toyota 4Runner?

good luck!

[Peter417]

You guys are bringing up a good point. Let reality be your guide. When you look at the cars around you that are 10-20 years old, are any of the them VW, or Mercedes? Some brands are known for being reliable and long lasting. Also, when searching used sort by highest mileage then go find one with a couple hundred thousand less and you should be good for a long while.

[Redbarron55]

Our 2012 Touareg TDI has been mostly trouble free, except for an EGR flex pipe that cracked and cost $1400 to have replaced.
We get around 17 MPG towing out 1985 25' Sovereign airstream and it tows it quite well.
Our previous trailer was a 16' Scamp and it towed like it was not back there and got around 20 MPG towing it.
Previously we towed that Scamp with a 2013 Jetta Sportwagen 2.0 TDI and it towed OK, but the limitation is mostly the lack of a weight distributing hitch and the 200 lb tongue limit for that vehicle. As to power the TDI had sufficient power to tow, but the front wheel drive on gravel or a wet road was a limiting factor. The 25 MPG was nice!
After the Dieselgate buy back we sold our Sportwagen TDIs back to VW and replaced the TDI tow vehicle with a Town and Country and it made a much better tow vehicle, mostly because it would take a better hitch and had more space and rode better,
We got about 16 MPG towing with the 2016 3.6 L gas minivan and traveled all over the country with that setup.
Old age and stiff necks brought about a trade of our 2015 VW Passat due to low doors and those stiff necks. We traded it for a 2012 VW Touareg TDI Executive and started towing with that. Tows like a dream and got 20 MPG towing the Scamp. Mountains, gravel, no worries.
We recently bought the 1985 25' Sovereign and the Touareg tows it just fine with plenty of power and very stable. We tow at 65 mph and get around 17.5 mpg and are happy with it.

[JeffKim]

As a member of the SUV club, I can attest that our 2017 Audi Q7 has been very good for 140k miles. It's gas, and was set up by CanAm to pull our 2023 Globetrotter 25FBT. We haven't had any significant repair issues - replaced a spring and an exhaust pipe. It pulls well in all terrains with the WD and anti-sway. We get about 12MPG on average. We had a 16' Bambi before and towed without any WD, no issues.

[CanadianMike]

Air streamers. Thanks for all these great thoughts. I had toyed with Tuorag )whatever but he hunt continues.