I want a Jimny!

But I need help and advice. I used to have great fun in my SJ410 and would really like a Jimny to play with. But, the Jimny needs to double up as a towed car for trips away in our motor home. I can't house a trailer so need to use a braked A Frame but the motor home forums are full of conflicting information so I've come here for some quality technical help. Which Jimny model or models, new or old, off-roading ready or soft road only can be flat towed (ie using an A Frame)?

Others tell me that I will need to go for a Panda 4x4 or a Daihatsu Terios but I'm not prepared to give up on a Jimny yet!

Any suggestions, comments or ideas will be welcome.

Thanks in advance.

As far as i understand to tow a jimny on an a frame you would have to remove the rear propshaft to prevent transmission damage, but will stand to be corrected. lol

Thanks for your thoughts wombat. I've certainly seen that removing the propshaft is a possibility but I've seen other possible solutions on the motor home forums I just don't know if I want to rely on what might be well meaning but uninformed opinions.

I like your thinking MysticRich but I'm not sure I'd be able to do that without help and, most importantly, somewhere other than my drive to do the work

Can you point me towards a website that might detail the work required just in case I have no other options?

Aside from the physical issues of towing a Jimny the biggest obstacles are legal. Once you connect a Jimny to another vehicle with an A frame it becomes a trailer in the eyes of the law. This means that it will need as a minimum a trailer lighting board in order to have the correct reflectors. Next issue is that because it has a maximum authorised mass over 750kg it is obliged to have working brakes. What that means is not just that the car brakes are applied mechanically by the overun of the trailer but that they are able to provide a minimum of 50% efficiency that is half the weight of the car in towed trim. This requires a lot of time because the existing system is not designed to be able to perform in that manner. Essentially the braking efficiency kills off flat towing anything bigger than a nasty little city micro car. Unfortunately at the moment it is not illegal to sell a braked A frame but as far as I am aware none of them are actually legal to use. I know it's not what you want to hear but the only way to get the Jimny and motor home in the same place at the same time legally is a proper separate transporter trailer.

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationTowing a small car trailer makes a lot more sense than trying to turn a small car into a trailer. It will be easier to manoeuvre, not require specialist equipment, removes the chance of damaging the transmission and is suitable for any small car. It's also completely legal, rather than being in some grey area where you'd never know for sure. You'd also have a useful trailer for the 45 or so weeks a year when you're not on holiday.

A quick ebay search brings up this, which would seem ideal. I'm sure there are many others available.