The 2024 Mitsubishi Triton is shaking up the dual-cab Ute segment. With its impressive towing capacity and power, it’s a compelling value proposition that’s hard to ignore. The Triton has always been a price-competitive alternative to the segment leaders. While it didn’t excel in any particular area, it was hard to beat on the value-for-money scale.
Now, the MY24 6th generation Triton is bringing the fight to the segment leaders. It now offers a 3.5 tonne braked towing capacity, up from 3,100kg. Boasting 150kw power and 470nm torque from a bi-turbo 2.4L diesel, the all-new Triton has grown in size. It’s rocking an all-new ladder frame chassis, claimed to be significantly stronger than its predecessors.
With the increased towing capacity of the new Triton, using an app like LoadMate can help ensure you’re making the most of this capability while staying within safe limits. Mitsubishi certainly has the right ingredients with the MY24 Triton, but how does it stack up in the realm of towing? Let’s dive in.
A Bit of History: Understanding the Triton’s Towing Capabilities
To fully appreciate the towing capabilities of the new Mitsubishi Triton, it’s essential to understand its historical limitations of its predecessors. Despite its competitive pricing, which won it many advocates, the Triton was not a class leader when it came to towing.
Compared to the segment leaders, the Triton had a shorter wheelbase and a longer rear overhang. Coupled with a relatively light kerb weight of 1,966kg, it wasn’t renowned for its stability and durability when towing.
Here are some key factors that matter when it comes to towing heavy trailers and the suitability of a tow vehicle:
- Wheelbase: The longer the wheelbase, the more stable the vehicle is when towing. This is particularly important when towing longer caravans and trailers, over 20’ in length.
- Tow Hitch Distance: The longer the tow hitch is from the rear axle, the greater the weight and stress forces applied to the rear axle. With the outgoing Triton, the tow hitch in some builds was 1,650mm from the rear axles, amplifying the tow ball download from the trailer by over 1.55x the weight. For a 300kg ball mass, that meant 465kg was hitting the axles!
- Trailer Yaw: The extended tow hitch plays a significant role when a trailer yaws or sways, i.e., the inertia of the trailer moving when towing, pushing the tow vehicle around. The shorter the distance from the rear axles to the trailer hitch, the more stable the rig. The further the distance, the more susceptible to unstable trailer sway.
- Mass: When towing, there is no substitute for a heavy tow vehicle. When a tow vehicle’s laden weight exceeds the weight of the laden trailer, it provides a substantially safer and more comfortable ride. Our outgoing Triton weighed under 2,000kg, in some instances over 300kg lighter than the segment leaders, leading to a concerning ratio of vehicle weight to trailer for some rigs.
Keen to know more about what makes for a great tow vehicle? Head to our blog on Braked Towing Capacity, why it's a guide and not a green light.
While difficult for some passionate owners to accept, these factors meant that the Triton, despite its undeniable value proposition, was never truly a suitable tow vehicle for heavier trailers.
But now, let’s take a look at the MY24 all-new Triton with a fresh perspective!
The Headliners: Triton’s Upgraded Specs
The all-new Triton now boasts a 3,500kg braked towing capacity, up from 3,100kg. The gross vehicle mass (GVM) has been increased to 3,200kg from 2,900kg, and the gross combination mass has also improved from 5,885kg to 6,250kg in the MY24 model.
What’s equally important is the kerb weight has jumped from 1,966kg to 2,115kg. While still a featherweight compared to the class leaders, it’s a significant improvement. Mitsubishi has also extended the wheelbase by 130mm, from 3,000mm to 3,130mm. This might not seem like a lot, but it makes a significant difference to many important dynamics when towing.
The fulcrum effect of the tow ball mass on the rear axles drops to 1.48x per kg, down from 1.55x per kg on the earlier models. Combined with Mitsubishi’s claim of an all-new and improved ladder-frame chassis, the MY24 Triton shows a lot more promise. Finally, the axle weight limits have also been bumped to 1,580kg for the front and 2,040kg for the rears, up from 1,260kg and 1,840kg respectively.
We haven't explained what these terms mean, but if you need a refresher head over to our introductory guide on Caravan Weights.
You’ve Lost Me: Making Sense of Towing with the Triton
While we understand these numbers and terms might sound irrelevant and overly complicated, they are critically important when it comes to understanding your towing limitations. Towing capacity is distinct to each individual’s intentions. For example, our recommendations would change dramatically if one was intending to fit a full built-in canopy on the tray, packed with tools and equipment, versus an owner who intended on carrying minimal gear in the tray. It’s all a balancing act that’s distinct to the individual.
For those seeking more personalised insights into their vehicle, travel trailer or caravan, and specific situation, consider using LoadMate. This platform simplifies towing and trailer weights, offering a custom guide that makes understanding towing and weight limits clear and tailored to your needs. LoadMate ensures your safety and compliance, all the while eliminating stress with tools for measuring weight, maintaining stability, and alerting you to potential issues.
Where Does It All Sit? Crunching the Numbers
Running the numbers using the 2024 Mitsubishi Triton GSR MV Auto 4X4 MY24 Double Cab as an example, towing a 3,500kg trailer, the all-new Triton looks pretty good when pushed to its limits.
Best practice for safety and stability suggests having approximately 10% of your total trailer weight resting on the tow hitch of the car. This is achieved by adhering to correct load distribution and placement, and most importantly, understanding the dynamics at play. This is where LoadMate can significantly help.
Taking the Triton’s kerb weight of 2,115kg and adding 350kg for the trailer tongue/ball weight gives us a available payload of 635kg for the vehicle itself. This is ample for the driver and occupants, plus any vehicle accessories, and most luggage and gear needs.
Astute readers will note we had to knock 100kgs off the GVM limit with these calculations. This is because when towing a 3,500kg trailer, the Gross Combination Mass of 6,250kg will be our first limit that may be exceeded.
Now, checking against those rear axle limits, the reduction in the hitch overhang, shorter distance to the tow hitch, and increase in the rear axle weight limits means we have plenty of payload capacity in the rear as well. With around 547kg payable capacity when accounting for a 350kg tow ball mass, this is a substantial improvement from previous models.
So, at face level, our compliance limits are all looking good!
The final piece of the puzzle is the laden vehicle weight itself. Assuming you load the Triton up to its limits, you’ll have an actual GVM of 2,750kg when fully loaded, compared to a laden trailer weight of 3,500kg. Effectively, your trailer will be 127% heavier than your vehicle, which safe towing practice advises to limit at around 90% of the vehicle’s laden weight.
Wrapping Up: The Verdict on the MY24 Triton
Mitsubishi has certainly done well on paper with the MY24 Triton. In the realm of towing, it has received attention where the outgoing models needed it most.
Based on the numbers, the Triton can comfortably tow trailers up to 3,500kg without compromising your travels with restrictive payloads.
We would suggest a cautious approach to towing with the Triton. While the numbers stack up, the laden vehicle weight ratio to caravan means towing at the upper limits would not be advisable. While trailer electronic stability control is a fantastic improvement in safety, it’s not a free ticket to ride. In less than favourable conditions, the Triton will still be subject to being pushed around by a swaying trailer, without the mass to keep it in check. At speed, things can often turn nasty before ESC can engage.
The Triton is certainly suitable for occasional towing at these loads, with strict adherence to safe weight distribution and loading, and a cautious approach to driving speed and conditions. However, for regular heavy towing, the Triton is more suitable to 3,000kg trailers and under, providing a far more comfortable, safer, and stable towing combination.
