small diesel

[Juggernaut]

i have a 1983 mercedes 300 D turbo diesel. it has 120 horsepower, and 170 ft lbs of torque. i was curious as to what your opinion was on wether it could tow a chckmate mx15 with a 1500 inline 6. fully rigged.
i saw a subaru towing a 28 foot cuddy cabin on the highway the other day, and i dont wanna be that guy.. generally, should this car be capable of towing the boat? i know tranee differential gearing and wheels have a lot to do with it, but im jus looking for an opinion as to if i should even try it or not.

[Ted Stryker]

I would think if the drivetrain is in sound condition amd maintained then it would be fine, I'm assuming that your not speaking of more than 2,000 lbs... Just don't try to muscle it around, rather just get to where your going at the car's own pace and keep an eye on your guages..

[Juggernaut]

well, the boat alone weight 495 lbs dry. then u got seats battery trim pump fuel and the engine. not quite sure how much a '73 1500 I6 weighs.. or a trailer either.. i got oil pressure, an water temperature gauges. and im installing boost and exhaust gas temperature gauges.
thanx 4 the input!

[NicePackage]

My Jetta is a 100hp 177tq diesel and I tow 2000 lb with it regularly. It's a new car though so it's in the best of shape. I've had it fully loaded going up hills with ease, A/C on, and 110 degrees out and the temp guage never moved from where it normally is.

[Liquid Force]

You will be fine those old 300D were built like sherman tanks... your not exactly pulling a massive load with it.

[Juggernaut]

the car weighs 4575 lbs dry. it really is built like a tank. i love it!
it weighs more than my friends pickup's and it gets nearly twice the fuel mileage

[RedAllison]

I agree with LF, those old Mercedes oil burners are among THE most durable cars in the world. I remember for along time they held mileage records (total vehicle mileage/life) and several of them had over 1.5MILLION miles with one going nearly 2MILLION!!!

Your rig should weigh in the 2K-2.5K range when wet. Shouldn't be that much trouble for the Merc. Just don't get in a hurry and don't tow in OD and you should be good to go.

Good luck,
RA

[Juggernaut]

it doesnt have overdrive.. 4 speed automatic. but yes, the mercedes diesels are known for going for up to, and over a million miles.
my car has 228,600 miles on it. jiffy lube did an oil change when it had 110,000, and forgot to put oil in it. they ended up replacing the engine, so the current engine in it only has 118,600 miles on it.. just broken in!!
its turbocharged, and im installing a exhaust dump pipe right behind the header which should hopefully free up some power. its mechanical, so i can open and close it w/o getting out of the car.

[Juggernaut]

got that dump pipe installed. sounds like a big rig!!