Hello

I've just joined this forum and I'm thinking of purchasing an Eriba

As per the title of this post I am wondering if there is anyone on here with any experience of towing any of the current models of Eriba with a Jimny

Not being rude or anything to anyone on here but please don't reply telling me to change to another car. We want to tow with our Jimny and do not want to change to another car. There are various good reasons for this, which I don't intend to bore anyone with. Also we wish to purchase a new Eriba, with a bathroom, not a secondhand one

I was originally looking at the Familia 320, but having seen one today, at the Motorhome show, I can't comfortably lie in the bed as it is crossways across the layout, as I'm too tall at 6' 3". The sales guy pointed me towards the Triton 420 (as it had a lengthways bed), but that is a bit heavier at 885kg vs 770kg for the 320.

The sales guy said I'd be ok with either of these Eribas as the max towing capacity of my Jimny is 1300kg (braked). He even said I'd be ok with the Troll 540 at 1025 kg.

Wifey of course likes the 540 (as you might have guessed!!), but I'm concerned at such weight behind the Jimny, which itself only has a Kerb Weight of 1040kgs and a Gross Vehicle Weight of 1420kgs (inc fuel, luggage, and your granny etc)

I also realise that the weights I've quoted for the Eribas are before I've adding any payload. Not sure what the minimum payload I can get away with is... Any suggestions?... We are prepared to travel light... Wifey and I have been overseas, for 2 weeks, on many occasions with just 10kg hand luggage each

I'm also unsure it the 85% guidelines for towing refers to the Jimny's 1300kg towing weight, it's 1040kg Kerb Weight or it's 1420kg Gross Vehicle Weight

So... am I trying to do something that is possible? or... should I just be going down some totally different route and forgetting an Eriba completely, which is a shame

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and for any useful guidance that anyone can give me

I bought a Troll 552 GT and was intending to pull it with a (petrol) Golf but found that the car's kerb weight was insufficient for the towing weight of the caravan, so bought a RAV4. Having now towed the Troll several hundred miles I reckon the Golf could have coped but the fuel consumption would have been horrendous. Also we've since acquired a few heavy add-ons such as a blow up awning, a microwave, TV, extra gas bottle, etc that've added probably 100kg. I reckon my Troll now weighs about 1350kg as it has a Reich Mover which is essential but adds to the quoted weight.
So if you want to keep the Jimny I'd suggest a mid-sized Eriba.

Try this site, it looks a reasonable match as long as you don't overload it

https://towcar.info/GB/

Dave

Hi pjj, i can see your a big fan like me of Jimnys,
The Jimny is very heavy for its small size due to its ladder frame construction and it also has a generous nose weight of 75Kg and it is this that gives the salesman a false indication of what you can pair it with, however it is the BHP and torque which lets it down, don't even consider a Triton.
Here is my real life experience, when I upgraded to a Familia 320 from my Puck, what tow car suggested that my Suzuki Jimny with its 84 bhp 110 Nm engine and towing van to car ratio @ 79% should be ok. In the real world when towing it became obvious very quickly that I had to sit behind slow moving traffic on the motorway and constantly change gears, I also had to wait for very big gaps before pulling out of junctions and roundabouts. I was in no rush to get to my destination however I found that the journeys became tedious and very fraught. At one point I had to put it in 2nd gear on the M62 going up the big hill to Huddersfield from Manchester, I thought all the pistons were going to come through the bonnet.
The Caravan club car to van match is much more accurate than the what tow car. The match for Familia and Suzuki Jimny was cautious with the paragraph below which is bang on what I experienced:
"The car's engine power is quite low to tow this caravan. It may be sluggish and uncomfortable on hills or at junctions."

The Jimny was a great match for the Puck, however with the Familia 320 the engine felt under powered, if you do go for it you will have to be patient and sit behind slow traffic, be prepared to change the gears very frequently and keep the revs high, When it is going and on a flat it is fine, gradients will require more effort ,if your happy with those scenarios then it is doable.
I had to trade in my Jimny which I was disappointed to do as it was my fourth one, so I fully understand your fondness for it. I got a diesel Dacia duster with 260 Nm of torque which made it a doddle to tow, I now have a 2016 Vitara diesel with 320 Nm and this pulls it like a train. I miss my Jimny as a daily transport but i dont miss it for dragging my 2015 Famila 320.

The new Jimny will have more power with a 1500cc engine @ 101BHP and 130Nm, the MK4 will deliver its torque in lower revs than the Mk3 which will assist with towing., if i thought it could drag my Familia ok I would buy one in a heart beat, although I would still think 130Nm may be a bit on the low side.

When checking out car suitability there are a number of things you need to know.

Firstly, the 85% ratio was invented decades ago and is a suggestion that first time towers should use as a guideline. Some argue that advances in car and van design mean the ratio is outdated. My own personal view is that the elements of physics haven't altered, so I continue to think it's valid. Especially as I prefer to err on the side of caution and safety in such matters.

Secondly, the ratio is between the kerbweight of the towcar and the MTPLM of the van. So forget the car's loaded weight and forget the van's MIRO, they're not relevant to the ratio.

Thirdly, the term 'Kerbweight' has no legal definition, so as Pete infers different car makers use different definitions and some use different terms instead. What is legally defined is the Mass in Service definition that has to be provided to the DVLA for inclusion on the V5C. The other problem is that even MiS won't give you the actual weight of your car because it's a figure taken from the weighing of a couple of examples of the base model of a vehicle and often takes no notice of the different levels of trim, or any factory fit options. However for the purposes of the 85% ratio the MiS figure will suffice, as any extra weight will only serve to reduce, rather than increase the ratio. The other point on this is that cars are made up from thousands of parts and each part has a slightly different weight to the next one off the production line. Thousandth of a mm plus or minus on steel panels etc can mean a complete car weighs a little bit more or less than it's identical twin the preceded it off the line. Tolerances can make a substantial difference.

Fourthly the important weights are the 'plated' weights, usually shown on a sticker on a doorframe on the car. These 'plated' weights are legal limits that must not be exceeded and these should alway, always be checked as websites and manufacturers brochures transpose them incorrectly. Use the Mk 1 eyeball, not another source cos that's what the traffic cop will use. The highest plated weight is the Gross Train Weight (GTW) which is the most that the car and caravan can weigh when added together. The next weight down is the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), the most the car is legally allowed to weigh. Usually the difference between those two figures is the Towing Limit. However some manufacturers specify a higher Towing Limit but in all cases you have to ensure neither of the plated weights are exceeded. The other two weights on the plate are the limits for the front and the rear axles of the car and don't forget the rear axle will bear the weight of the caravan hitch.

One thing you also need to be aware of with Eriba vans is that their MIRO's are based on their bare spec. as per the manufacturers list. Virtually all Tourings brought into the UK have a substantial number of cost options added at the factory. This means that what looks on paper like a massive available payload is not anything like what is actually available.

There's also a rule of thumb that says it will be hard work if the total rig (train weight) works out at less than 40bhp/tonne.

Armed with the above you don't need a third party website to tell you whether a car can legally tow a particular van, you can work it out for yourself .

Sorry, I fell asleep, but the 40bhp/tonne sounds about right.

Hello pjj and to Eribafolk. Can't help with tow car question, bought myself a Landrover Defender so that I wouldn't have to bother about such things, but I can thoroughly recommend the Triton 420 especially if you need the longer bed. Good luck in your search.

Thank you for all the replies... They've given me a lot of information to think about

Sorry - I am a bit late to this thread. I have a Jimny, and we tow a Familia 320GT without any issues. It isn't the fastest rig on the road, but , you know, we are on holiday...!