You will probably be surprised to learn the 2012 Outlander 2.2 Di is registered to tow 4400lbs in Norway. With a curb weight of 5400lbs on the car with passengers and luggage
​
I feel just fine pulling 8800lbs with the tiny 2.2 liter diesel in mountainous Norway. But i have double coil springs on both sides!

This was a common problem when Mitsubishi sold these cars new. In Norway we dont buy pickups, we buy station wagons and SUVs to load all our manly stuff around. Need the roof due to rain! The bad rear suspension lead many if not most buyers to complain. So Mitsubishi installed helping springs inside the stock springs in many cases. By the time i bought mine, they had stopped doing it on warranty and i had to pay myself for mine.

This really straighten out these cars to a more level stance
​​​​​​
But i still hit the pavement with my ball hitch when going onto steep inclines and the rear slams down on suspension.


Therefore i am reading and trying to find out if i should upgrade my springs and shocks with something more beefy than stock. Looking at Bilstein shocks.

 

Europe's tow rating are calculated differently and your trailers are designed differently with the trailer axle closer to the tongue. This design is less stable but makes for less tongue weight, so the payload capacity of the tow vehicle isn't required to be as high. Typically calculated to be 5% of the tow rating. In North America, our trailers are designed with the axle positioned to produce 10% tongue weight. When you look at the math between tongue rating and trailer weight, you'll see the math appears that way.

With a higher tongue weight and the axle positioned further rearward on the trailer, you have more stability and can drive much faster on the highway. Which is how it's done in North America.

If you want to level out your vehicle, the Outlander damper is separate from the coil spring. So you can easily add an airbag inside the coil spring, shipping to Europe might be an issue: https://www.etrailer.com/p-F4182.htm...odel=Outlander

It uses a standard bicycle tire schrader valve, so you only have to carry a small pump with you to inflate it.

 

Interesting stuff. The response below makes sense about tongue weight because there is no way I would pull my 3500 lbs 17ft trailer with my 2010 3.0L V6 Outlander (XLS Canadian model with max capacity of 3500 lbs) and I have the helper springs from MAD in the Netherlands because 150lbs of dogs in the back with an 85 lbs bike rack and 100 lbs of bikes makes it sag so much. The helper springs make loading up the care doable. I pull my trailer with mid sized pick-up that has a rated towing capacity of 7100 lbs and I sure wouldn't want to pull anything near the rated capacity further than across town with it.

I traveled by bike in Norway in 2014. Beautiful country!

 

As i have the helper springs inside the big springs, i dont think there is room for bags?

Interesting info on the difference between american and european towing! Ive seen camping vids and have been wondering about those over engineered american hitches. Now i know why.

I just hook up my 2 ton trailer to my ball and off i go. I keep a balance of about 85kg tongue weight on the ball (187lbs) and it rides well. My trailer also have a stabilizer hitch, with brakepads that clamps down on the ball for extra rigidity. My Outlander and my caravan are rated for driving in 100kmh together (62mph) while other cars though able to tow the same trailer, can only go the default 50 mph legally, which is max for normal trailer use. The weight of the car is higher than the trailer, adding stability. With trailer suspension and the hitch, 100kmh is allowed.

 

Nice, i have been trying to find new springs. I assume my 11 year old springs have a little wear in them and thinking about doing a full suspension tune up.

Looking at Bilstein shocks especially in the rear. Hoping for a firmer suspension but i have no idea if they are actually an upgrade or not. Very little info on these parts on stores and on forums.

I know front shocks have started leaking so its time.

 

In the U.S. there's generally no legal limit on speed. But generally speaking, as long as you're not pushing the limit of your tow rating, most people will travel at full highway speeds with a trailer. If your trailer is huge compared to the car, then most people use common sense and drive slower. Some trailers will specify a maximum tow speed for liability reasons.

The lower speed limits make sense based on how European caravans are designed with less tongue weight an a more forward trailer axle, combined with the generally smaller tow vehicles.

You would probably have to remove the helper springs to install the airbags. They are supposed to add 500-1000lbs of payload leveling assist to the vehicle. So with your tongue weight, that should be no problem.