Only ever towed light aeroplanes. The heaviest being a Wessex. We used anything from ordinary cars, land rovers, ordinary manual tractors, panel vans, and even once a proper tractor full of cement and no suspension, manual of course.
Never used an auto tow vehicle.
It all comes down to the driver. Gentle and careful is what it is about.
Having said that, at a recent local air show, i did see several people pulling and pushing a light plane out of and into the hangar by the prop. Made me cringe.