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Can I tow I tow a lightweight Caravan with a Jimny

  • Ruby2
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09 Jan 2014 07:38 #99747 by Ruby2
Cheers for that :-)
Yes I'm sure the speed is just mentioned to show how 'practical' the Jimny tows.
Thanks
The Caravan is known to have owners who drive Mini 1000cc Micra and Corsa owners and the odd Trike so I'm probably worrying about nothing as Gilburton suggests.
I'll not be taking a bread deal of heavy gear and the roof rack is only there so I can pack light items ie clothing without filling up the back of the car where the dogs are.
Richard

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09 Jan 2014 09:23 #99757 by gilburton
The only thing I'll say about speed is that the Jimny is perfectly stable in a straight line with a stabilizer.
Where you have to be careful on a motorway is when you are bowling along quite happily and something happens suddenly in your lane ahead causing you to switch lanes quickly.
I know we should all drive to the conditions and allow for the unexpected but you'll find the Jimny,especially with a caravan, can be pushed a bit because of the narrow width so it's best to try and drive smoothly with plenty of anticipation.
Just remember you won't have the power of a larger car so overtaking and joining a motorway/dual carriageway has to be considered as you can't speed up to merge in to the traffic :)
I should imagine with your dogs and other gear and the caravan you'll need to increase your tyre pressures?
I never bothered with mine but the car wasn't loaded in the back.
Depending on your length of stays on sites you'll need a tyre pump so that you can drop the pressures back to normal if you don't want the suspension to feel as if someone has removed it :lol:

I started off high and worked my way down ever since :-)

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09 Jan 2014 11:18 #99772 by Ruby2
Thanks for the sound advise Gilburton :-)
Cheers for the tip with the mirrors too. I didn't know that they were actually a requirement but thought that you just purchased them if your car view was restricted.
Ta
Richard

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09 Jan 2014 11:39 - 09 Jan 2014 12:32 #99775 by gilburton
Well that is true but you will find as the Jimny is narrow your view will be restricted,even on a small caravan
I also have a motorcycle trailer which is around the same footprint as the Freedom and I can see the mudguards sticking out each side but ,because it has no height, I don't need the towing mirrors,even with the trike on it.
You need to see down the side of the caravan not just a 3/4 view of the lane next to you.
Next time you are at the dealers ask if you can hitch up to the caravan and just check out how little you can actually see ;)
If the dealer has some mirrors you can try do so and if possible try some different types as although universal some fit better than others.

www.caravanwise.co.uk/caravan-tips/towing-mirrors.html

The Jimny is 1600 mm wide your caravan is 2080 wide so you will need mirrors!!
If you look at the diagram the o/s of the car has an extra mirror whereas the n/s doesn't so you can't see down the side of the caravan for 20 mtrs.
If you imagine that the o/s didn't have a mirror and flip the diagram over you can see the difference. :)

I started off high and worked my way down ever since :-)
Last edit: 09 Jan 2014 12:32 by gilburton.

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09 Jan 2014 15:32 #99793 by Ruby2
Cheers Gilburton that is very informative, being a motorcyclist it hits home even more :-0
Ta
Richard

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09 Jan 2014 16:23 #99806 by gilburton
I'm a retired class one HGV as well as a motorcyclist so I know how important mirrors are as well as being the 2 most popular things to hate by car drivers :laugh:

I started off high and worked my way down ever since :-)

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