Towing a car...

[johngalt]

My plan was to semi-retire my 97 Tahoe to northern Wisconsin. It turns out to not have been a good plan, so I want to bring it back home. My new vehicle is a 2015 Mercedes GLK.

An option is to drive up in the GLK, rent an auto trailer from UHaul, load the GLK onto the trailer, and tow it back with the Tahoe. The trip is about 450 miles.

The GLK weighs 4100#. The UHaul guy says the trailer weighs 750# for a total of 4850#.

The Tahoe has a max tow capacity of 6500#. It has the factory tow package with heavy duty oil cooler, transmission cooler, 3.73 rear axle, and G80 locking differential.

The class 3 hitch says max 5000#, max tongue weight of 500#. This is a concern because the UHaul booklet says the trailer has a tongue weight of 750#.

Other info: the Tahoe hasn't been the most reliable car in the world recently, is 19 years old, and is currently in the shop waiting for a new fuel pump.

So would you use it for a tow vehicle? I've never towed anything before. Would this be too big a job?

 

[Big Cholla]

IMHO, your Mercedes is too light of a vehicle to be used to tow the Tahoe. It would prove to be a dangerous tow. You Tahoe is much the better tow vehicle. Have the service people do a good check on the Tahoe for condition of brakes, tires, transmission, etc. Again, IMHO, I would forget a trailer and go for the Tow Dolly to put the Mercedes on. I just used such a Tow Dolly from UHaul to tow a VW Passat from LV to Michigan without any problems. By using the Tow Dolly you eliminate the tongue weight problem. BTW, the TD worked perfectly, it is just a little noisy with the metal ramps banging around in the holder wells.

But, I have to ask; Why don't you fly up to No. Wis. and just drive the Tahoe back?

 

[johngalt]

IMHO, your Mercedes is too light of a vehicle to be used to tow the Tahoe. It would prove to be a dangerous tow. You Tahoe is much the better tow vehicle. Have the service people do a good check on the Tahoe for condition of brakes, tires, transmission, etc. Again, IMHO, I would forget a trailer and go for the Tow Dolly to put the Mercedes on. I just used such a Tow Dolly from UHaul to tow a VW Passat from LV to Michigan without any problems. By using the Tow Dolly you eliminate the tongue weight problem. BTW, the TD worked perfectly, it is just a little noisy with the metal ramps banging around in the holder wells.

But, I have to ask; Why don't you fly up to No. Wis. and just drive the Tahoe back?

I'm in N. Wisconsin now, and have both vehicles here. I'm thinking of towing the GLK with the Tahoe. The GLK doesn't have anywhere close to enough capacity to tow the Tahoe.

The GLK is all wheel drive, so a dolly won't work - it will damage the transfer case.

One issue is brakes. I would prefer a trailer with its own brakes because the Tahoe never had very good brakes even when new. I am hesitant to trust it to stop both itself and a 5000# trailer. I don't know if the Tahoe has the wiring to do it. The Chevy dealers don't know either.

 

[Arik]

How much is the gas and rental if you were to drive? If you want to, give me the zip codes to and from and I'll give you a general idea of how much it cost to ship

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[rick1085]

If your tahoe has a factory tow packge, it comes with a 7 blade wired receptacle. The trailer will come most likely with a 5 wire flat male plug. Uhall will sell you the adapter needed. The fifth wire is on with the backup lights. This releases the surge brakes so you can back the trailer. The tahoe should pull the glk fine. Just take it easy and give yourself extra room to stop. Same as pulling any trailer just heavier than some.

Yes, the trailer will come with surge brakes that activate when the trailer tounge gets compressed. Surge brakes are not the smoothest, but they work.

Don't worry you'll be fine!

Hope this helps

 

[SAFireman]

I have used the U-Haul vehicle trailer previously. If you load the Mercedes to distribute the load properly (don't over load the tongue) You will be fine.

Take your time, drive with caution, and take lots of breaks - check the trailer tires and bearings, truck's tires, and keep your speed down to prevent over heating the engine and most importantly the truck's transmission.

Your old 'burb might be better to drive by itself than with a trailer, but it can be done safely.

Good luck in your journey.

 

[cndrdk]

Why not fly a friend up and drive both back? One way ticket might be cheaper than trailer rental, gas, etc.

 

[Grayfox]

I'd just take someone with me and have them drive one of the vehicles back. Cheapest solution with the least headaches.

 

[Tom S.]

I'd just take someone with me and have them drive one of the vehicles back. Cheapest solution with the least headaches.

Winner winner, chicken dinner!

 

[EugeneNine]

I saw sell the Mercedes and buy a newer Tahoe, problem solved.

 

[Alk8944]

You are worrying too much. For the most part "rated" loads are "continuous service" ratings. You can typically and safely operate a vehicle at twice the rated capacity without concern. You simply have to pay attention to what you are doing and make sure your tires are in good condition and properly inflated. And you are correct. Any trailer rated for more than 2000# needs its' own brakes.

 

[Cpo1944]

I towed my old MB CLK back from the mountains with my Tundra on a uhaul trailer. The weather was very bad poured down all the way home , but It was no problem at all I barley knew it was behind me. I agree with ALK8944 your thinking too much, just hook be careful and get that old puppy home.

 

[allthumbs]

Too bad your already in Wis. , if you were on your way you could have picked me up in IL and I would have gladly driven one back for you. Well then I'd need a ride home lol I would have met you in Indiana and helped you out, anyway if you figure a way I could help let me know.