MITSUBISHI TRITON AUTO 2018 TOWING

new vaner · Newbie

MITSUBISHI TRITON AUTO 2018 TOWING

outlaw40 · Guru

If the previous model is any indication i would look elsewhere. Had a 2013 mn with the 2.5 manual and it struggled with 2500kg van

yobarr · Guru

new vaner wrote:
I want to know how a Triton with a 3100 kg will do at towing a caravan,the van im looking at is a off roader with a atm of 2700 .I know vw /ford/toyota /isuzu have good reviews but i do like the triton,some reviews have been good some not ,can you help me .Thankyou

Whilst I am no fan of Mitsubishi products,the Triton you are looking at has a 133kw engine,so only slightly behind the other lightweights.With a 2700kg ATM van,your GTM,assuming 10% ball weight,is 2430kg.IF your car is loaded to its GVM of 2900kg,the weight on your cars wheels would be nearly 20% more than the GTM (weight on your vans wheels) and very safe.Your GCM would be only 5330kg.For us older folk,133kw translates to around 175hp.....how much power do you need? In the early 70s I used to drive a 44 ton truck and dog that was only 185hp! Cheers

P.S The older 2.5 litre Triton diesel engine was only 100kw at 3800rpm......no wonder it struggles!

-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 27th of March 2019 09:35:12 AM

Nevd · Senior Member

Have a look at this - hot off the presses today. The link is specifically about the towing part of a dual cab ute 10 car comparison. There's a link in the story to other parts of the comparison. Well written explaining the performance and limitations of all popular dual cabs in Australia.

www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/2019-best-dual-cab-4wd-ute-towing-117657/

Nev

outlaw40 · Guru

Maybe double check facts if you are going to quote them . The MN Triton was 2.5 litres Maximum torque: 400Nm
Maximum power: 131kW

Your welcome .

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

An interesting read ... I am sure their conclusions will be challenged by those who own and use variants other than the "best pick" by these journos.

However, it does raise alarm bells that "...........so to keep us both legal and consistent the only payload was the caravan's towball mass (265kg) and two occupants with combined mass of 184kg."

Yep ... now that's damned representative of how one of these vehicles would be used when towing a van to live in for a few months or longer.

Somewhat negates buying a ute, irrespective of the manufacturer's glossy brochure claims, to tow anything over 2,200>2,500Kg - no matter which ute ya love.

Perhaps one day the manufacturers will be brought to heel and it will be mandated that they have to provide accurate, applicable specification data for the ability of their vehicles.

There are surely going to be lots of embarrassed, and somewhat poorer, owners of utes towing vans at or over 2,500Kg when weighing gains momentum. All quite probably ignorant as they have either not weighed a thing ... or believed the 'bare unqualified' numbers from that glossy brochure and exciting TV ad.

They might be lucky and be within their van's ATM but that goddam GVM (GCM) is gonna bite. cry Quite apart from axle ratings. hmm

Cheers - John

yobarr · Guru

outlaw40 wrote:
Maybe double check facts if you are going to quote them . The MN Triton was 2.5 litres Maximum torque: 400Nm
Maximum power: 131kW

Your welcome .

Hi Steve...as I said in my original post,I am no fan of Mitsubishi products,but I simply was trying to help the OP. Depending on which of three sites you look at,your engine has 94kwm,100kw or 131kw,but they all agree that torque is 300nm. The 2018 Triton has 133kw and 430nm torque at 2500rpm,so would surely be a better proposition for towing?Either way,I dont really care,but I was just trying to help the OP.Personally,I wouldnt take a Triton if it was donated,but others seem happy enough with theirs.Cheers.

-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 27th of March 2019 11:11:41 AM

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

Some specifications - http://www.ahg.com.au/docs/librariesprovider43/default-document-library/4x4_triton_brochure.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Triton 01.JPG

Cheers - John

yobarr · Guru

rockylizard wrote:
Somewhat negates buying a ute, irrespective of the manufacturer's glossy brochure claims, to tow anything over 2,200>2,500Kg - no matter which ute ya love.
There are surely going to be lots of embarrassed, and somewhat poorer, owners of utes towing vans at or over 2,500Kg when weighing gains momentum......
Cheers - John

Hi John....once again,what you say is absolutely true.And dont the owners of these lightweights get defensive when challenged about their weights? Unfortunately,we cannot educate those who refuse to learn.Ignorance is bliss.Cheers

yobarr · Guru

rockylizard wrote:
Gday...
Some specifications - http://www.ahg.com.au/docs/librariesprovider43/default-document-library/4x4_triton_brochure.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Cheers - John

Hi John....I have indeed seen those figures,but,as I said in a previous post,I also have found two other sets completely different sets of figures for that same engine.At least the OP now has something to work with.Cheers

rockylizard · Guru

yobarr wrote:
Hi John....I have indeed seen those figures,but,as I said in a previous post, I also have found two other sets completely different sets of figures for that same engine. At least the OP now has something to work with.Cheers

Gday...

Fully understand Yobarr ... would help to see the source/links to your info.

All sources I have found show the figures I provided above.

Cheers - John

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Most these trucks or utes are too light . Ok to pull a few klrs to local camping ground . Unfortunately you have to buy an import or convert a REAL truck ? Fuso, Isuzu , Mitsubishi etc Which btw is not that much work . May require an LR or MR licence ? We dont have the larger utes / trucks like we used to . F150 etc . Even though they are the TOP selling vehicle in U.S . 6 -7 litre turbo diesels do so much easier . Weight, towing and power wise .,

denmonkey · Senior Member

Rather than debating the figures on websites, how bout some actual real world experience biggrin

A mate has an older model MQ and tows a jayco expanda outback with tares at around the 1900kg mark.

It is a manual and fully loaded, he struggles BIG time to get the thing moving on anything but a flat surface.

Think clutch smells :) . Options for heavier duty clutch are being considered but not an easy find it seems/

He is always blowing up about the manual and wishes it was auto.

He often needs to stick it into low range to move it to a flat spot where he an get moving.

A new tug is on his wishlist as soon as his lease runs out on the triton.

I can't quote specs for you but unless they have altered considerably compared to the MQ, I'd be considering something else.

On personal experience I have a 3.2 diesel pajero towing a small 17ft Van at around say 1300.

The pajero is a little odd with its limits, but lets just say I'm well under either way.

When I got into vans and asked people about how much they tow, I'd often hear, no problems, its like the van isn't even there or I don't even notice it back there.

I call bull**** to that. On flat surface with no wind and at speed, this might be the case, but add in a hill, wind or some other variation and you will quickly notice the vehicle begin to struggle.

I guess my point is, don't buy a vehicle to tow a van that will be at it's limit, go bigger than you need in the tug department. I think you will appreciate it down the road.

Would be nice to be able to do a test drive with the vehicle and van at once. ....yeah yeah, i know I'm dreaming.

Let us know which way you go.

good luck.

cheers Brett

Knight · Senior Member

Regarding Triton 2.5 Litre Diesel, there are a number of them with faulty casting that has resulted in coolant loss.

My son has one that was providing good service as a work vehicle up to 60,000 Kilometres and when he dropped it in for a service, well qualified workshop but not a dealer, they phoned to say that the coolant level was extremely low. He was surprised as he had checked coolant level before driving about 300 Kilometres before the service appointment. As there were no obvious leaks the workshop contacted Mitsubishi and the faulty casting problem was advised as being the most likely reason.

Apparently a Mitsubishi Dealer did the repair under warranty which we believe involved a flush of the cooling system, a higher ratio coolant mix and a higher pressure radiator cap. My son suspects that the engine was slightly detuned (computer adjustment). There has been no coolant loss since the rectification work was done.

Another owner I know with the same model had an engine replacement done under warranty.

Recently I read a road test of the latest 2.4 Litre Triton Diesel which has the same power and torque as the 2.5 Litre, the road test report noted that the vehicle handles loads well but the engine works very hard when well loaded. Which reminded me of advice I received from a diesel engine reconditioning business owner, that the trend towards highly stressed diesel engines of low capacity, meaning for example an Isuzu has a 3.0 Litre Diesel Engine producing much the same power/torque as the 2.4 Litre Triton, are struggling when worked hard as work vehicle and/or tow vehicle to achieve 150-200,000 Kilometres without needing repairs.

I have had three Mitsubishi Pajero 4WDs in past years and no problems, and my son purchased his Triton expecting to obtain trouble free service from it. And since being repaired it continues to perform well.

Second hand buyers need to ask about the coolant history.

Whenarewethere · Guru

I don't tow, but there are still a whole list of issues like rear axle load & rear axle leaverage, say a factor of X of the tow bar, & all those tiny little things with next to no weight add up to a frightening amount of your payload. You will find 50kg of items under 1kg. 500kg is my limit & I am battling to stay under.

Roads are a lot busier these days & have much larger vehicles including 53 metre 98 wheel road trains, it's nice to have a bit of power up your sleeve to get you out of less than an idea situation.

6 road tyres replaced with 6 all terrain tyres, another 18kg of my payload used up!

new vaner · Newbie

Thankyou for your advice,while it might tow on flat ground it looks like it will struggle up hills and heads winds,going on the response also no one with a 2018 triton auto has responded at the moment so that alone is telling me something.I was hoping triton owners for towing vans would have replied but not one at the moment , I think if triton did well they would have let me know so to date it doesn't look good,looks like everybodys advice is similar. With all the figures on the car I don't think it matters, but towing vans on the road ,reviews would have helped a lot.Thankyou

new vaner · Newbie

Thankyou

EJP · Senior Member

I have 2015 Mitsubishi Challenger, 2.5 ltr diesel Triton engine, and tow a 17' poptop, approximately 1500 gvm. The car tows well at that weight but I would be reluctant to tow anything in excess of 2000 kgs. I feel the car would struggle too much. I use the sports mode on the auto, but not 5th gear, and change gear appropriate to the terrain. On steep climbs and switchbacks etc I find the car responds well. I generally sit on 90 kph and return 15 - 17 ltrs/100 kms. With only my wife and myself I am well under my weights
Regards EJP

Ger08 · Senior Member

We have a Pajero Sport - same engine but 8 speed gearbox and love it. We tow at about 2.5t and its a great set up. Would i tow 3.1t, no.

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

Hi new vaner,

From the above, I would suggest a rethink about the van - do you need a van that has an ATM of 2.7T? There are a lot of caravans that are made to be towed by the likes of Prados - vans weighing a max of 2.5T. I know it's not that big but you need to be comfortable & safe with the choice of both the van & the car.

The last thing you want to do is to over stress the car (engine, transmission) - especially out in remote areas where break downs can be expensive. And don't take as gospel anything from the dealers - they are after a sale, not your issues after (bin there, done that). And consider with what ever you buy, if it is an automatic - to fit a transmission cooler.

Ron-D · Guru

I owned a2016 pb challenger and it towed my 2.3 ton van well but on the really steep stuff it would struggle and on some occasions go into limp mode but you can live with it as its only on rare occasions ,they are a preety good car , I traded it for an Isuzu mux,there made to tow they Have a lot more power on the steep stuff,but the challenger did the job ...

The Belmont Bear · Guru

New vanner if you are looking at the current Triton it has the newer Mvtec 2.4ltr motor with 133kw and 430Nm torque @2500rpm. I was just reading that Mitsubishi are now developing a new concept Triton which is supposed to be a more beefed up version unfortunately they haven't said what power train they intend to use. I pulled a 2.7t van with the Triton's stable mate the Pajero Sport and although it was capable as a tow vehicle it wasn't brilliant - the Sport was also helped out a lot by an excellent 8 speed transmission and the air bags that I had fitted in the rear coils to stop it from bouncing. As far as I know the new Triton is leaf sprung and doesn't come with that same 8 speed transmission..I ended up biting the bullet and replacing my Pajero Sport with something that had a bit more grunt (a Jeep GC) and after a number of trips I'm pretty happy that I made the right decision.

Cheers

BB

-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Thursday 28th of March 2019 10:00:55 AM

Hylife · Guru

Nice looking ute with lots of bling/tech included, although personally I prefer the Pajero Sport which is in fact simply the Triton with a wagon body, and then spend a couple of grand $$ getting the ridiculously soft suspension fixed at Pedders.

BUT, nice and cheap as they are, they're not a Toyota.