Anyone towing a 24’ boat with a MB ML350 or GL350 or GLE350 or bigger engine?

[2kwik4u]

We tow with an Audi SQ5. No issues. Only local backroads. If we were going further we would get a truck.

I REALLY REALLY wanted to get an SQ5 for the wife. She like the Nissan better, which seems odd to me, but that's what we ended with. She might have been worried that I was wanting to drive the Audi more than she was. I haven't driven the Nissan 20 miles in 2 years. It's a "toaster" of a driving appliance, the SQ5 had some spirit to it at least.

I was going to hop in and recommend the Durango, but it appears someone beat me to it. The R/T's with the "Tow and Go" package gets you some good equipment (Notably the Brembo brake setup of the SRT) on an already capable equipment.

 

[jgourlie]

Gas version is a little under powered and might not be ideal, but it should tow a 19' ok.

Diesel version would tow any Yamaha. It weighs as much as a 1/2 ton truck and the diesel has 455ft-lbs of torque.

I would definitely be looking at the diesel only. It would be for towing my 19 foot which wouldn't be a problem, but you always want to make sure you have enough vehicle in case I decide to get the bigger boat. The reliability seems to be good on the Mercedes diesels and they are super cheap to buy as they don't seem to hold value here in Canada.

 

[Betik]

I think we might be bashing the MB and Audi a bit to much here. A Q5 or GLE will TOW a 240. Especially in and around town it can be done safely. In my opinion there are 3 things to consider.
1: If you are buying a vehicle to just tow the boat ( like I did) nothing really bits a F150 or equivalent. If you need a vehicle for the family that also tows then you can start considering the Q5 and the suburbans.
2: do you really want to put this kind of stress on SQ transmission ?? If my f150 tramision goes it is a $5,000 job, but the Audi you might as well total the car.
3: can this SUVs handle the unexpected? We had a member here that whole towing through Mississippi his truck and trailer caught air on all 8 wheels. I am sure he is glad he was an full size truck vs a GLE. I had myself to abruptly move from one lane to another on I10 and at 70mph. The boat just followed. On a cute SUV, I am not so sure it will would have been a happy ending.

As a bonus feature, we never worry where we parked the truck. A door ding here or there, no problem. Worring someone might to steal our vehicle, not really. Wife want so dirt for the flowerbed , no problem......

As a final though, I want to say this. If you indeed go with an SUV ( or truck for that matter). Please do consider electric over hydrolic brakes with disks on both axles. $2,000 on parts is not cheap, but my trailer now stopes the truck. You do not what you are missing until you try it. And for suv I would say this is a safety feature is the highest importance.

 

[malibu Dan]

Just so we understand the definition of cute SUV my wife’s 2017 450 GLE is right on pace with those Full size trucks when it weights nearly 5,000lbs... FYI... a lot of metal in regards to safety.. and AWD....

 

[Liveto99]

I had 2 and tow a lot. A 2010 gl350 towed great and I mean great had about a 32 gal Diesal tank, awesome I could go from NY to Fl with just 1 fill up When not towing.
I used a remote trailer brake system that plugged in the cigarette lighter. The air ride system would level out the ride. It felt very stable like a tank. I did baby this not drive hard like i do on my Jap trucks.
Back then you could get a 100,000 mile 7 year warranty for about $4,400 A must have. Why?
2010 def got filled once every 10k at the service with the oil change not to bad. Things that went wrong That I remember on that one.
Def tank pump went, suspension air bag went, 3 at different times, they would change both front when 1 went or both rear when 1 went. The plastic wood grain inside cracked, they replaced it twice, air bag safety system had a problem also. oil leak inside motor. Def tank cracked.
Got 25 mpg most of the time and 30 plus on trips to Fl. 18 mpg towing easy Down there with about 2,000 in a enclosed trailer. Pulled out tractor when my Tundra would not so plenty of low end power. Towed 6,7k plenty of times.
But after 100k repairs cost so much I got new one in 2014,at 110k they gave me a quote of 9k of crap to fix. I bought a new one they had there for 65k it worked the same but used more def fluid and got less mileage about 22 normal and 16 towing. The first one was loaded up and was 83k so I was happy with the price of the second one. 2014 did not have as many problems. On the 2010 I had the appearance package, crap that had 20” rims and run flat tires. The tires were wide and would last 25k at most, they were GoodYear but made in Germany for that car. Yup $800 each first set had to get from dealer no one else had them $2,400 for tires. They have copy’s now and the price is down.

If cost is a factor buy a Tundra, probably lowest cost to own for 200k miles. About 35,000 for a stripped truck.
if cost is not a big deal a land Cruiser is great a 20 year old Land cruise is still 20k a 20 year old Mercedes is 3,500 the difference is cost to maintain them. If going used a Nissan Armada works great for towing and is reasonable to maintain. It is on a Titan chassis and towed great. I towed the 35’ Fountain back from Fl this year with one, it was fine. It was out of its weight class I know but in the beginning of April no one was pulling over someone with NY plates.

 

[Betik]

Just so we understand the definition of cute SUV my wife’s 2017 450 GLE is right on pace with those Full size trucks when it weights nearly 5,000lbs... FYI... a lot of metal in regards to safety.. and AWD....

I did not mean “cute” in a demeaning way although the new GLE is is cute ( rounded and reminds me our old Audi TT).

pleas don’t miss understand me. I believe they can do the job, but buying it as exclusive tow vehicle it does not make sense ( in my book).

 

[MrMoose]

So I'm chiming in bc @Betik tagged me. My 2012 Durango R/T towed my 2015 AR 240 no problem, with 2 round trips from Houston to Fort Lauderdale.
My 2017 Armada tows beautifully, mind you that I am getting older and enjoy "floating" down the road. Both the Armada and the Durango tow effortlessly.
The Durango has a Mercedes base. I sold my 2012 Durango R/T in 2017, with well over 80k miles on it, with the original brakes. The only reason that I didn't buy another Durango was because I wanted a much larger vehicle to do a 100 hour road trip, which the Armada did beautifully.

 

[2kwik4u]

@Liveto99 I'm really impressed the Armada handled that well. The disproportional look there is borderline absurd.

Any idea what the weight is as compared to the tow rating?

 

[Liveto99]

9k rating I think On the Armada
About 12,500 with motors and trailer, not smart but towed well.
I would not do it unless there was something major like a pandemic going on because I got caught it would’ve been absolutely not worth it.
but with New York plates on the car and the trailer we were like lepers no one was talking to us or going near us, it is all timing.?

 

[2kwik4u]

@Liveto99 yea that's quite a bit over.

What was the occasion and what normally drags that beast around?

 

[Liveto99]

COVID-19 was the occasion. Drastic reduction in business the reason. World going to shit at the time. Better to have your assets* close and accessible during that time. This way you’re not paying a marina down in Florida to store it. The fountain is my best friends boat but we do all the poker runs and stuff together. He’s an attorney so I did all the driving, he does crap in court and I fix stuff. I made another trip down and pulled my boat out of Islamorada and brought that up here also.
Normaly he just pays about a boat mover to move it to Florida once a year and to move it back it’s 3 to 4 grand Each way. Also during all the chaos we just figured it would be fun to do I had towed it around Southampton with his Armada before and it wasn’t too bad. The mover has a Ram 550.
We had a great time.
*A boat you do not make money with his never really an asset.
We took a cooler and ate at pull offs. I looked but cannot find a picture of it I cooked Two steaks one at a time with garlic mushrooms and onions in that little frying pan, we split the first one that came off and I was cooking the second one and dropped it, so I threw some rice in the frying pan to get rid of the grease and soak up the rest of the onions and mushrooms and we’re going to eat that. Some guy got out of his truck came over and said are you gonna eat that steak. I said no. He picked it up and ate it and was happy as could be. He offered to marry me I said no but thanks For the offer. I will admit it smelled pretty damn good there with everything cooking I guess he was just hungry. We did stay in hotels Marriott they were clean.

 

[agannole93]

So I'm chiming in bc @Betik tagged me. My 2012 Durango R/T towed my 2015 AR 240 no problem, with 2 round trips from Houston to Fort Lauderdale.
My 2017 Armada tows beautifully, mind you that I am getting older and enjoy "floating" down the road. Both the Armada and the Durango tow effortlessly.
The Durango has a Mercedes base. I sold my 2012 Durango R/T in 2017, with well over 80k miles on it, with the original brakes. The only reason that I didn't buy another Durango was because I wanted a much larger vehicle to do a 100 hour road trip, which the Armada did beautifully.

Not to revive an old thread but are you still pleased with the Armada? We're looking at used 17's and 18's, not as a primary tow rig but something for my wife to drive around for a growing family that can also tow the boat and get 6 or 7 of us to the water in the same vehicle. I love the Sequoia's but think.uts a little too much "truck" for her, so thinking Armada instead.

 

[MrMoose]

Not to revive an old thread but are you still pleased with the Armada? We're looking at used 17's and 18's, not as a primary tow rig but something for my wife to drive around for a growing family that can also tow the boat and get 6 or 7 of us to the water in the same vehicle. I love the Sequoia's but think.uts a little too much "truck" for her, so thinking Armada instead.

I haven't had any problems with my Armada, knock on wood. It costs less to maintain than my '07 Jeep Wrangler did. Mileage is still pretty low on my Armada, probably less than 35K miles, still have the original tires. If you get the top model, one of the nice things is that it has sensors all around it, so the size is much easier to manage because it beeps at you if you're about to do something stupid.

 

[ZGhost]

Still in search of a family and tow vehicle but wanted to thank everyone for their valuable input and the great points you’ve all made. Certainly worth the consideration. The hunt continues......

 

[agannole93]

Still in search of a family and tow vehicle but wanted to thank everyone for their valuable input and the great points you’ve all made. Certainly worth the consideration. The hunt continues......

What have you looked at/considering?

 

[Rodder77]

What have you looked at/considering?

Can't go wrong with an Armada Platinum (Reserve)- I tow a 242x and you can't even tell its back there....gas milage on the other hand is a different story, as it has a very thirsty V8 - even without the boat.

 

[ZGhost]

What have you looked at/considering?

Looked at the Honda Pilot but tow capacity is only 5k. Looked at ML350, I like it for both family and tow car but wasn’t sure if it can withstand and pull my 242X. Love the X5 and I know it can tow and is a great family car but very expensive to maintain outside of warranty. Waiting to see the new 2022 MDX (coming out in a couple of months) if that has increased towing capacity. If it does, will get that in a heartbeat. I like the Sequoia but that beast is always thirsty. I am considering getting an X7 if perhaps I stumble on a deal I can’t refuse. Needs to be under warranty or I’m screwed. Great family and towing car.
still hunting though .....

 

[VitaminSea]

Since you mentioned the pilot/MDX, Have you looked at/considered the Genesis GV80, I believe it’s rated for 6k; the interior on it looks really nice.

 

[ZGhost]

Since you mentioned the pilot/MDX, Have you looked at/considered the Genesis GV80, I believe it’s rated for 6k; the interior on it looks really nice.

Absolutely but they want way too much money for that car.

 

[ks9mm]

I tow with 2019 BMW X5 with air suspension and factory hitch. No issues. going over 75 gets bit shaky, but anything below that is rock solid. Going to FL from NJ with this setup soon.