Towing a caravan

See the web link below, you enter your car and the caravan that you would like to pull, it will then calculate all the variables to advise you if the outfit you have chosen is compatible and safe to tow.
I drag a small Eriba Puck caravan with no problems which has MTPLM weight of 650kg.
www.towcar.info/index.php

Suzuki website technical info says up to 1300kg but to be honest from experiance anything past 900kg and it will feel uncomfortable, slow on take off at junctions and going uphills.

Kerb weight kg 1,090
Gross vehicle weight kg 1,420
Max. towing weight braked kg 1,300
Max. towing weight un-braked kg 350

the old rule of thumb was that the loaded caravan shouldn't weigh more that 80% of the car weight for stabillity

I used to tow an unbraked trailer and Gold Wing with no problems. In fact it settled the suspension and it pulled well.
I suspect the main problem with the Jimny is the short wheelbase/width/height and yes it is 1300kgs.
Suzuki uk quote this figure. The lower weights quoted from the handbook only apply to certain markets and if you read on it says so.
I haven't tried it yet but I have a small Freedom Microlite 750kgs max and I don't expect problems.

the bhp/tonne and torque on the wing will be way better compared to that on a jimny. i do run slightly larger tyres (195's) which do alter my gearing so i wouldn't pull anything with mine . i am not too fond of petrol stations.
the weight of 2 friends and a bit of fishing gear in mine don't do anything for the fuel consumption and performance let alone trying to drag upwards of 3/4 tonne up hills. wouldn't fancy the clutch either. and yes i have a touring caravan.

Well all I can say is I've been all over Scotland towing my caravan with a Suzuki Swift (42mpg solo 36mpg towing )and it was absolutely no problem so I can't see the Jimny with it's lower gearing being worse pulling wise.
There again I wouldn't think of trying to tow a car trailer or anything like that.
When I did pick up my Yamaha dragster trike for the first time I made the mistake of loading it too far forward and the swift didn;t like it at all downhill but it did pull it ok. A bit more thought on weight distribution cured it though.
I do have a friction damper on the caravan.
Bearing in mind the Jimny is standard(no suspension mods) and the caravan is 450kgs(750 max) it is probably around 50% of the official towing weight and I drive the Jimny like a Jimny not a sports car.I'm in the 36/38mpg camp.
I've looked up the Gl1200 weight it;s 330kgs dry and say 200kgs for my trailer. It's a converted 3 bike trailer plated in chequerplate and widened at the rear to take the width of a trike. It's heavy. I never had any problems with my old 1998 sohc Jimny..
I agree the Jimny becomes a bit more unstable if you load up the back with people etc. especially if you quicly swerve or change lanes but the weight is higher up.
I'll report back when I've had a chance to try it out :lol: