Have a curious question....

Would it be possible to tow another 300D home with my 300D?

I found my euro at a chop shop back in the town I came from in california and I want to pick it up....Was wondering if it would be easier for me to just drive down there and tow it back here vs having a car hauler pick it up...

I have a friend back in town, that I was hoping to handle this all for me and get it on the carrier.....but hes so wishy washy that I am just not certain...

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How much climbing is there between there and here? A car trailer might be the limit of a 300D's hitch capacity, not to mention the weight of the 300D. Getting your car setup to tow and renting(?) a trailer might cost more than shipping, though shipping a non runner isn't cheap.

Sixto
87 300D

I think the tow capacity on the Euro 300TD Turbos (better hitch mounting system than yours, more powerful motor than yours, SLS), is 3500 lbs. So I'd have to say no.

Have you tried getting a quote on UShip? Might not be too much, especially considering he copious amounts of diesel you will consume going back & forth (especially back). If you can get the tires to hold air and the motor to run, you could ship it as a runner.

Sweet that you found your old car! That was a 4-speed, right? Are you still able to drive that without too much pain?

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Okay I pretty much figured so, but you know curiosity killed the cat

I haven't tried uship yet....forget what site I used but the cheapest was 425$ for a non runner...

I sent my friend over there the key and the shop that has my car has the title...I am working with a member on BW to get a set of rims and decent tires for it....then I am hoping the battery is still in the trunk....if not the member has one....then we can start it again, and it will be running...

yep 4speed...per euro....taxi cab from berlin...well it maybe a while before I can start driving it again...but since we have no stop n go traffic in the middle of no where...should be easier on the knee

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Hmm... I certainly would not attempt to tow with a NA diesel... MAYBE if you had a towbar to mount on the front of it, and pull with all 4 wheels on the ground, it'd be possible, but I'd INSIST on pulling the driveshaft out of the car. even the manuals cannot be towed any great distance with the driveshaft engaged...
but the issue is WEIGHT and stopping. since you'd have no brakes on the towed vehicle, it's very unwise to tow anything more than 1/2 your vehicle's weight... very unwise. plus it'd fry your transmission to pull that.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Another curiosity....when I get the euro back....I would like to put a hitch on it and pull a small trailer for hauling or camping. Am I to assume that as long as I go with something half its weight or less I could safely tow it?

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I think Mercedes says 1500 lbs without trailer brakes.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I have flat towed stick Mercedes with tow bar mounted to the bumper shock bolts many times without incident. I have a tow bar and special adapters to fit the 123 body. I use all three bolts to attach on each side and am cautious about turning too sharply.

I have not towed one with another Mercedes car though. I would only to that in a pinch and for only short distance and at very modest speeds due to the problem of stopping. You will be taxing the brakes with double the load but more dangerous is the prospect of it jackknifing on you. I don't recommend it. I have never unhooked the driveshaft towing a benz but if its an automatic I keep the motor running. If a stick I just put it in neutral.

I towed the 240 from central florida this way and the 300Td from the dallas area this way. Actually I left part of my tow apparatus home and towed the wagon with a tow dolly.

With this setup I ran up to 75 mph towing with my big dodge.....getting about 19 mpg at that speed with the flat tow. the tow dolly is good for only about 16.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

X2....find a tow bar to mount to the front bumper, disconnect the drive shaft and flat tow it. That's doable with a good running NA. but what will fuel and a tow bar cost????? what, $450 you said to have it shipped? or,, $300-350 to do it yourself? sounds like $100 for no stress cheap Insurance, granted, if you only have $300 or so and are on a mission, I say good luck, as long as your tow rig is in tip top cond. you should be fine.
P.S. (add a trans. additive called "Lube Guard" its only THE best stuff on the market, plus its under $10, and you can find it at most all auto part stores, do some research, look it up!!!!)
but I get it, Some times its not about the $$$$$, sometimes its about the trip, I cant say its not something I wouldn't have tried at one time in my life.
Once again I cant stress enough how good of a product that Trans additive is ( I have NO affiliation with them other than a very satisfied customer ) weather you tow or not that stuff can usually double the life you have left of your trans. I use it in everything I own. I added it to a 180K Mercedes 190e 5 years ago and its now up to 300K with no signs of slowing down. I'm sold on it.

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Live simply so others can simply live



07 E350 sport Wife's Daily
01 E320 sport My Daily
00 C230 Kompressor Our back up (new Arrival)

87 300D Turbo my Daily for 8 yrs. Selling to neighbor

82 GMC Jimmy (K5) 6.2 Diesel (my Wheeler)
73 Roadrunner 340ci My very first car, still own it

Towing an SEC with and SDL

My tow vehicle weighed maybe 15% more than the towed.

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Greg
2012 S350 BlueTEC 4Matic
2007 ML 320 CDI
2007 Leisure Travel Serenity
2006 Sprinter 432k
2005 E320 CDI
1998 SLK230 (teal)
1998 SLK230 (silver)
1996 E300D 99k, 30k on WVO
Previous:
1983 240D, on WVO
1982 300D, on WVO
1983 300CD, on WVO
1986 300SDL 237k, 25k on WVO (Deerslayer)
1991 350SDL 249k, 56k on WVO - Retired to a car spa in Phoenix
1983 380 SEC w/603 diesel, 8k on WVO
1996 E300D 351k, 177k on WVO

I was doing some more looking last night....I can drive to the next town over 150miles....rent a truck from enterprise and a flat bed type trailer from uhaul for about 200$ for two days....not sure what the mpg would be on the truck but this is another option I am considering....

I would like to just have it shipped to me, but I am not positive if my friend in town could take the time to switch four good tires on the car and add a battery....then turn it over....to get my shipping quote cheaper since it will be running....

Plus as you said...its the trip....I was thinking if I had the money I could hit junkyards up on the way home and see what I can find....plus I would like to visit a member from benzworld and some of my other friends..

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your tow vehicle was also turbocharged... could it do it? sure... would I try it? nope...
as for towing a manual in neutral, it's specifically frowned upon in the owner's manual... something about the output shaft not receiving lubrication if the input shaft is not turning... burns up the bearings in the gearbox...

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

U haul will rent a pickup truck for about 85 day base rate that includes 100 miles and a good per mile after that, this is the business rate so you will have to ask for it and claim business. U haul adds lots of fees to the base rate so go to their website and get a quote. ( Take the extra insurance, if you don't and the truck is damaged, you have to pay for repairs _and_ lost rental while it is being fixed. )

The truck got ~ 16 MPG loaded / unloaded for a 400 mile round trip. A box van will be worse.

I usually use my old 1 ton Chevy for towing but it would have been a long slow noisy ride with lots of gas stops. Renting a truck was worth it.

I didn't notice the N/A '78 until now. I wouldn't do a long haul with it.

If you have the time, see if putting the cost of delivery into getting it driveable would work.

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Greg
2012 S350 BlueTEC 4Matic
2007 ML 320 CDI
2007 Leisure Travel Serenity
2006 Sprinter 432k
2005 E320 CDI
1998 SLK230 (teal)
1998 SLK230 (silver)
1996 E300D 99k, 30k on WVO
Previous:
1983 240D, on WVO
1982 300D, on WVO
1983 300CD, on WVO
1986 300SDL 237k, 25k on WVO (Deerslayer)
1991 350SDL 249k, 56k on WVO - Retired to a car spa in Phoenix
1983 380 SEC w/603 diesel, 8k on WVO
1996 E300D 351k, 177k on WVO

How much to fly out, get it running then drive it home?

Sixto
87 300D