MacGregorSailors.com

mastreb wrote:

Crikey wrote:Mercedes-Benz GL350 is a little out of my price bracket these days - sigh!

It wasn't much more than a full-sized tow-beast. I think we paid $62K?

Looks like the 2013's sell for about $66k. Diesel? That's good and bad. More solid vehicle, more expensive fuel.
Probably a very nice SUV. But I don't drive that much. If I towed a lot, I'd go for it. But then again, the second axle only cost me $1000 bucks.

--Russ

Matts MB beast visited us for an evening of cheer in NY - typical MB stuff - overengineered up the whazoo. Very nice ride. Diesel is perfect for towing.

When my 2002 finally gives up, Ill eyeball one of those nice Tauregs from VW with that 6 cylinder TDI...

Catigale wrote:Matts MB beast visited us for an evening of cheer in NY - typical MB stuff - overengineered up the whazoo. Very nice ride. Diesel is perfect for towing.

When my 2002 finally gives up, Ill eyeball one of those nice Tauregs from VW with that 6 cylinder TDI...

'Tis true, 'tis true--it does all sorts of crazy stuff we don't need. How many owners will ever actually tow with a GL? Maybe 5%.

We were 4-wheeling with it in Moab, and it was awesome. Went places only Jeeps dared to go. Has "Synthetic Articulation" where it uses the air-shocks to push down opposite the the amount of up push it gets from the most compressed wheel. Brakes any wheel that spins, so you can "three wheel" over rocks no problem. I've got a photo of us crawling over a rock with one wheel in the air.

This photo shows both the synthetic articulation and the artificial wheel lock. the front passenger is being pushed down in opposition to the compression on the driver front, and you can see that the driver rear is entirely off the ground.



Same situation from the rear:



Also has "downhill speed regulation"--you set the speed, push the button, and it will individually brake every wheel to keep the speed going down a steep 4WD descent below the speed you specify, from 4mph to 10mph. More features 95% of owners will never use.

Push a button, and you've got 3" more clearance. Automatically lowers at 40mph. Also automatically "squats" above 55mph by 2" to improve aerodynamics (unless you're towing), and then re-raises when you slow down. Often times we'll pull off an off ramp, and then notice that the truck is sneakily "raising" from the squat position at the intersection. It can be disconcerting because it looks like you're rolling towards the car in front of you.

Gratuitous photo of the GL + MacGregor parked legally on the street in downtown Philadelphia on a one-lane one-way road, just to prove it can be done:



As for fuel costs, Diesel usually hovers around the cost of premium (which all MBs require) and her previous truck was the gas version of the same truck, the GL450. Gas got 14 around town vs. the 18 the diesel gets, and 18 on the FWY vs. the 21 that the diesel gets. Never towed with the gas version, but we just got 15MPH average over 7000 miles towing the boat. I estimate about $5000 lifetime fuel savings over gas for the truck.

Not trying to be an advertisement for it, but of the 20-odd vehicles I've owned in my lifetime, this is BY FAR the most useful vehicle I've ever owned. Having just done this tow with it, I doubt I'd ever tow with anything else. It was just completely hassle free.

BUT: Problems we've run into:

1. No spare. The Diesel emissions fluid (BlueTec) system REPLACES THE SPARE TIRE. So they put HUGELY expensive 20" SUV run-flats on it. By expensive, I'm talking $500 per each. Not kidding. Price them. Ridiculous. Also, nobody carries them anywhere, they're made by only two MFRs, and it's a two-week lead time to get them. We literally had the truck at the dealer for a week waiting for them. It's so bad that we kept all the worn tires from our last replacement to use as spares, and used the worn spare as a mast crutch on the boat for this tow so we would have one with us.

2. Jeeps are cheap to fix. MBs aren't. Because it has serious off-roading capability, you think you can off-road with it. You really shouldn't. Case in point: Running down a wash in Joshua Tree 4WD doing 65MPH. Yes, that's right, 65MPH in sand. Having a blast, truck tracked like it was on rails. Hit the passenger side mirror on a tree, took it off. Price to replace on a Jeep: $110. Price to replace on the GL: $900. Turns out that the integrated blinker, electric positioning, and LCD auto-dimming, and anti-fog heater all came off with the mirror too.

3. MB's DEF (diesel emissions fluid) dealer service is a total scam. Their price to re-fill DEF: $600, including system flush. Price of a gallon of DEF at gas station in Southern UT: $10. Nuff said. Oh, and when it says you're running low on "ad-blue" (DEF), the truck will disable starting when you completely run out. Apparently this is to avoid damaged to the catalytic converters. And by the way, DEF smells exactly like the Philadelphia subway downtown transit station.

So it's good and bad. If I were just buying a tow-beast, I'd get an F-150. But as an all-purpose vehicle, this is the most all purpose I've ever seen any vehicle actually be.

bahama bound wrote:

mastreb wrote:

K9Kampers wrote:fwiw... I keep reading accounts on RV.net about how Carlisle tires fail the mission...
Glad you had a good trip!... any pics??!

I'm blaming myself for the failure of the Carlisle bias plys I had on, but the new radials are also carlisle. We'll have to see how they last. I'll post a bunch of pics when I get home.

after buying a new set of carsiles in north carolina i had 4 tires explode on the interstate in 500 miles @65 mph ..i cant imagine anything more frightening than changing tires on the side of the interstate with the wife and kids in the truck ...who ever was responsible for the quality control at carslile should be in prison ,,they are playing with peoples lives .....they never questioned anything about the tires ,they sent me new ones which would blow out ,,,thousands of dollars in damage to BOTH sides of my camper .....spent a fortune having axle alignment ,brakes hubs all checked ,it wasnt until i googled carslile tires that i saw how deadly they were ,,,,funny thing after i put new maxxis tires on i never had another problem ........

Whoa! Thanks for the sleeplessness! Frankly, I'd drag the trailer off the freeway wheels or not to a safe place for changing. I WILL NOT change a tire on a freeway or anywhere unsafe. I'll ride rims if necessary. Doesn't need to be safe for the vehicle or the road, it only needs to be safe for me.

mastreb wrote:If I were just buying a tow-beast, I'd get an F-150. But as an all-purpose vehicle, this is the most all purpose I've ever seen any vehicle actually be.

Thanks Matt! I feel a lot better now.
(p.s. going to get one of those Spinrites.)
R.

and used the worn spare as a mast crutch on the boat for this tow so we would have one with us.

A 9 USD tire bracket from Harbor Freight, pop riveted onto the hood, and it will look just like a Land Rover in Africa....spare tire problem solved....

What OTHER vehicles have "Trailer Stability Assist"

The new Dodge Durango, which in many ways is a knockoff of the GL350
http://www.mideast.dodge.com/12durango/ ... index.html

Matt! When you comin' home??

Where do i put the WD 40 to stop the 'thud' that happens when i pull away from a dead stop? I just figured it is what it is but if you got wd 40 to help it I would sure like to try it too.

mastreb wrote:1. No spare. The Diesel emissions fluid (BlueTec) system REPLACES THE SPARE TIRE. So they put HUGELY expensive 20" SUV run-flats on it. By expensive, I'm talking $500 per each. Not kidding. Price them. Ridiculous. Also, nobody carries them anywhere, they're made by only two MFRs, and it's a two-week lead time to get them. We literally had the truck at the dealer for a week waiting for them. It's so bad that we kept all the worn tires from our last replacement to use as spares, and used the worn spare as a mast crutch on the boat for this tow so we would have one with us.

Yes, those run flats are obscenely expensive. Our Toyota had them and in addition to being expensive, they were made of some weird rubber that did not last very long. I guess it has to be harder so the sidewall stays ridged without tire pressure. Toyota got enough complaints that they "recalled them" which translated into us getting 4 new tires to replace the originals. These lasted about 20k miles before they too were worn out again. So instead of buying four $500 tires, I bought 4 good quality tires and a AAA membership and 2 cans of fix a flat. The added benefit is that the ride was softer as well.
And yes, I've heard nobody stocks those run flats, so if you have a catastrophic flat, you have to wait a week for a replacement.

Sounds like that is an awesome truck. I just bought 2 new vehicles, but next time around I may have to consider the Benz.

--Russ

Mike did put a spare tire on the boat trailer – that was the only option he pretty much insisted on.
Had 4 dodge trucks, and 3 fords. To replace my e150 Econoline Van: Sportsmobile recommended the MB Diesel Sprinter – 5 CYL seemed too small to me – but back in 2004 when I got it I was not towing anything so I figured the 25MPG would be nice. It's been great. Its way quieter and much smoother than any of my previous trucks, it does not have the horsepower but has good acceleration because of the turbo. For towing ‘boat’ it does great – pulls up the launch ramp real good even with full ballast. Tows great up to 80mph but we only cruse about 70 – (top speed on the Sprinter is only 85).

The Sprinter has reefer/freezer, hot & cold running water – shower – head, full galley, heater and full ac and dc A/C, everything you need to live on the road. When the boat hooks up with about 370 on the hitch the Van deflects about ½ inch. Very stiff, no sway.

The tires are incredible – it came from the factory with Michelin LTX light Truck tires and at over 50 thousand miles are still looking great! I want to get the same exact tires again – they are the best tires ever! And there is a full size spare tire under the Van! Our range on the 26 gal tank is 600 miles (12 hours of non-stop driving), yes, you can do 12 hours cuz of the head and full galley on board. Wife and I change driving every 4 hours or so. We have been to Florida twice, New York, and pretty much every inch of the Southwest – been all the way to the east coast on 5 separate trips all in the same Sprinter Van. Our big deal lately has been to explore the South - New Orleans, Plantations, Nashville, Everglades, we like it - and are headed to Smokey Mountains next (further north) - lots to see out there!!
I’m hoping to do it all over again with the boat in tow. So far we have only been towing the boat within California. I too would not desire dual axle - I'm not a real good trailer guy and backing up is not my talent so I need the extra maneuverability - I'm a bad power boater too.

You would not believe what happened to me Saturday in little tiny CROWDED Oceanside Harbor! We were motoring out in the narrow 5MPH channel, rocks on both sides and lot's of other boats all over and I accidentally knocked the ignition key. The motor stopped - my wife looked at me and said "What are you DOING??!" (There were boats all around and we were only 30 feet from the rocks)

"I have no clue" I said, I must have knocked the key and stopped the motor?" - So I turn the key to start it - 'nothing' - I'm thinking - what the hull is this?? - My wife is getting real concerned because we are drifting into the rocks and the motor will not start - this is all happening in a matter of about 20 seconds and we have maybe about 20 seconds more before we hit the rocks - I looked at my wife and she was totally panicked staring at the rocks - mortified - I realized I had just switched my mind into dingy mode and I forgot to mention it to her, about 10 seconds before we were to hit rocks I quickly untied the jib furling line and pulled out the genoa on the wrong side to the wind (on purpose) - by pulling out the genoa to the wrong side it VERY QUICKLY like with a snap pushed our bow in a fast turn away from the rocks and spun us around - then I let the sail go to the other side and with the genoa sheet in my hand I never even cleated it down - gently guided the boat to a bait barge about 1000 feet away and parked the boat perfectly even slowing down and stopping at the side of the dock without touching the dock within 2 inches, and I just hopped over the side and tied off just like I have done probably a thousand times as a kid in my dingy. I have docked 'boat' probably 30 times since I got it all with a motor and I just realized that was the most perfect docking I had ever done since we got 'boat' !

Yup, I can sail, but I can't powerboat worth beans. Under power I take out docks and scare people - under sail is a sight to behold - people watching were impressed until the bait barge guy walked up and said :

"Hey! Did you know that your outboard is still in gear!!??" "That's why your outboard won't start!! It's still in gear!" "You gotta put it in neutral to start it!!"

Oh well, looking great only lasted a few minutes.
I put the lever in neutral, turned the key, started the motor and left the bait barge.

Backing up and docking under power - Yup, I am not a trailer guy nor a power boat guy. I better stick with one axle. Sorry for the side trip, I figured you guys would appreciate another opportunity to make fun of me.

BOAT wrote:Matt! When you comin' home??

Where do i put the WD 40 to stop the 'thud' that happens when i pull away from a dead stop? I just figured it is what it is but if you got wd 40 to help it I would sure like to try it too.

Does not fix the pull-away thud, only fixes the "on/off" brakes. Still thuds.

Sea Wind wrote:

What OTHER vehicles have "Trailer Stability Assist"

The new Dodge Durango, which in many ways is a knockoff of the GL350
http://www.mideast.dodge.com/12durango/ ... index.html

The Durango is a "platform share" with the GL. Chrysler motor, Benz suspension and uni-body.

Catigale wrote:

and used the worn spare as a mast crutch on the boat for this tow so we would have one with us.

A 9 USD tire bracket from Harbor Freight, pop riveted onto the hood, and it will look just like a Land Rover in Africa....spare tire problem solved....

Asked the Admiral. Guess what she said?

RussMT wrote:2 cans of fix a flat.

Father-in-law put some fix-a-flat in my last car. Wrecked the tire-pressure monitor system. Can't use it on the GL.

The Sprinter vans are the exact same powertrain as the GL. Great tow vehicles as well.