I hope that that some of those who have "done it" can share their opinions and real experiences of towing a car by A-frame. I have a Hymer 2001 B544 2.8jtd with Alco chassis (3500kg) and want to tow a manual Toyota RAV4 (1200kg) with an a-frame. Weights are within limits (<5000kg) and in theory all should be ok. But I do find the Fiat alone struggles a bit on steep hills and the brakes, though in good condition, aren't particularly impressive.

So my question is how have other people found the actual performance of their vans in similar circumstances? Is the power good enough, I'd rather avoid the expense of chipping, and are the brakes reliable with this much load? Hill climbing (and descending) is my biggest concern, (I'm in NZ where some consider our hills to be mountains), not too worried about mpg.

Any thoughts appreciated

Is that 5000kg the Gross Train Weight of the motorhome or the basic chassis?

Peter

I have towed with our 2000 Hobby tag axle 4,500kg van with the 2.8i DTD and it was hard work.
Maybe because we always had 400hp RVs before and never noticed the toad. It was OK to take the van somewhere and park up for the odd week and use the toad. But touring all the time was a struggle.

Ray.

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Gross train weight Peter

Gross train weight for a 3.5t is 5500kg, if using a 4 wheel braked trailer, which is how I would tow a Rav 4.

As for going and stopping, you would of course need to use the gearbox properly, do not rely on its torque to stay in top gear, 3rd may be needed at times even 2nd to keep within the torque band, as for brakes, they are good enough for the job intended but do need to be kept well maintained, I'd recommend new all round including the fluid changed & upgraded to dot5 if this is going to be a regular exercise.

I used to tow my race bike trailer, a big 2 wheel box unit, with my 2003 2.8jtd and it was fine once moving. It averaged 23mpg all this time and was therefore the equal of my car doing the same, with the added convenience of being able to live in it as well. Yes, back into 4th gear on slight hills, but you could consider changing 5th gear ratio with the alternative lower ones that are available through Fiat. It is a diy fix and doesn't require garage services to do. Also go to 2.7ltr fully synthetic oil at the same time for better lubrication, do the oil regardless if you don't change the gears.

I used my 2.8 fiat 2005 jti to tow my race car everywhere,now in France would I have any issues towing a 2000kg boat at 6 mt long on a good trailer?