GEN4 towing a caravan review and MPG

well you're all brave and or patient, to pull even a light weight Eriba with a Jimny. We tow our 320 GT 1050 kg with our Suzuki s-cross 1.4 auto allgrip.

We went up to the Lake District via the M6 (traffic jam) so decided to travel home by cutting across and popping down the M1. I didn't notice the satnav directed us to the steepest, longest road in Cumbria. Pretty scary crazy stuff, but the s-cross was magnificent. Into 4 wheel drive and off she went. Only weighs about 1250 kg so well matched.

Another excellent Suzuki. I suspect there's few on the road since they're so ugly ... a hidden gem.

wrote:

well you're all brave and or patient, to pull even a light weight Eriba with a Jimny. We tow our 320 GT 1050 kg with our Suzuki s-cross 1.4 auto allgrip.

We went up to the Lake District via the M6 (traffic jam) so decided to travel home by cutting across and popping down the M1. I didn't notice the satnav directed us to the steepest, longest road in Cumbria. Pretty scary crazy stuff, but the s-cross was magnificent. Into 4 wheel drive and off she went. Only weighs about 1250 kg so well matched.

Another excellent Suzuki. I suspect there's few on the road since they're so ugly ... a hidden gem.

Yep patient is the right word, the Jimny would not be your first choice for a caravan  tow car, I have had a diesel Duster and Vitara (new shape) which were fantastic. However as I am back to a Jimny a very different type of driving technique  and expectations are required,  It can get very busy keeping the revs up to achieve the best out of it.
The GEN4 1500cc engine does have more power than the GEN3 1300cc which is noticeable when towing, the big test for it dragging the Eriba was the  big hill going North towards Huddersfield, the GEN3 was in 3rd year in the mid 40s where as the GEN4 can get up in 4th and in the mid 50s.

 

I haven't been on the forum for a while hence the late response.
Some years ago I did the NC500 in my 08 Jimny and Freedom caravan. Much of what you say applies to all Jimnys 
I'm not sure why you can't see trucks as you are supposed to be legally able to see straight down the side of the caravan when towing. Do you not have towing mirrors??
If you can't see straight back behind the caravan in the car mirrors  then you need towing mirrors.
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Here is mine on the North Coast near Durness
 

We've got a Basecamp 2 on order which is a small
adventure type caravan and weighs around 1,000kg loaded up.

We plan to use the Defender for towing but will be interested to see how the Jimny copes with it. We'll give it a try, it's got the Suzuki OE tow bar fitted.

I like the Basecamp, nice sized van.
Your Jimny will be fine with it on the back. Stability is not an issue, it's simply lack of power. 50mph is no problem unless you get a gradient, then it's time to play with the gearbox. Hills can see you down in 3rd, but it will keep going and still has 2 gears left before you are rolling backwards down the hill.
This is the only issue, and it's other impatient road users that cause the problem. You need to keep an eye out for the idiots buzzing around you and be the better driver.
The Jimny would be perfect tow vehicle with 2ltr, your 1.5 may just make the difference, my 1.3 is just a little slow on the hills.
But I don't care, they can all wait