Can I buy Mitsubishi Pajero Sport for heavy towing?
QUESTION
Hi John,
I am one of those dreaming of visiting Dingo Piss Creek one day. We (wife & two daughters) have done a lap of Australia and Tasmania, been through the centre and loved every minute of it. So much so, we are thinking of doing it again.
Previous trip involved a Pajero Exceed towing a camper trailer weighing about 1500kg fully load. This time around, we are considering towing a 4 berth caravan as the in-laws are coming with us. We are interested in the Mars 16, which has a tare weight of 2400kg, ATM of 2800kg and a tow ball weight of 230kg.
We have had our Pajero since new, which we purchased in 2010. It now has over 318,000km and still going strong. I have always thought the Pajero had a 250kg tow ball download weight, however, some forums suggested for anything over 2500kg, the tow ball weight drops to 180kg. if this is true, The Pajero would not be a suitable tow vehicle for this particular caravan. As a result, we are considering a Pajero Sport or a Triton GLS as they both advertise 3100kg towing and 310kg tow ball weight.
However, the payload for both vehicle vary considerably, being 650kg for Pajero Sport and 900kg for the Triton. I would prefer the Pajero Sport (being a wagon), but when you add 300kg (4 adults), 230kg tow ball weight and 40kg for a towbar, there is only 80kg left, which would equate to luggage for 4 adults and nothing else. There would be no room for any accessories for the vehicle. The Triton however, 900kg payload minus 300kg (adults), 230kg (tow ball), 40kg (towbar), 80kg (luggage) and 80kg (canopy), leaving 170kg for accessories.
Am I calculating this correctly or have I missed something. Alternatively, is there another vehicle more suitable for this task under $100k?
Regards,
Dan.
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ANSWER
Daniel,
There are two things to consider:
LEGALITY
You’re not allowed to exceed:
Caravan ATM
Vehicle axle loads
Vehicle GVM
Vehicle GCM
Towball download limit
Check out my Complete Heavy Towing Guide for walk-through help.
SAFETY
It’s nuts to tow a caravan heavier than the vehicle towing it. (Legal, but nuts.) Pig-type trailers (with centralised axle groups, such as caravans, are intrinsically unstable in pitch and yaw. The only thing keeping pig trailers stable is the inertia of the tow vehicle. (The weight of the tow vehicle.) The heavier the van, the less stable the combination.
Towing more than two tonnes with any of these conventional 4WDs or utes is a bad idea. 2.5, maybe, for a Patrol or LandCruiser. Towing 2.8 tonnes with a vehicle weighing 2000kg (ish) - for 20,000km - is nuts, in my view. I’d suggest that your calculations are telling you that you are trying to tow too big a vehicle. (Triton’s not a great heavy tow platform, owing to the rear axle geometry in relation to the towball.) I wouldn’t tow more than 2T with mine.
As for the download reduction in the Pajero: if it’s not in the manual, go to a dealership with the VIN code and get them to look it up. (I don’t know, off the bat - and it could vary with the MY of the vehicle.)
Hope this helps (but I know - not what you were hoping to hear).
Sincerely,
JC
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