WDH ?

Please pardon my ignorance Petra but what is a WDH? (You can tell that I don't know much about caravans).

Thanks

Mick

That's a pretty big van Petra so yes you almost certainly are going to need a WDH and probably a suspension upgrade on the Pajero as well if you haven't done so already.
I've got an 07 NS Pajero and I've found the suspension upgrade worthwhile.
You will probably also need the spare wheel lift kit to lift the spare wheel approx 50mm so you have a better chance to open the rear door while the van is hitched to the car.
Is your van an "offroad" version with the 6" chassis and where is your coupling located on the drawbar of the van? on the top or recessed down in the bottom of the A frame.
This is important as it can dictate the type of WDH that will fit and not hit on the drawbar.
For example my van has a 6" deep drawbar with the coupling mounted on the top and it requires the Hayman Reese "standard" series of WDH's that allow the bars to run underneath the van drawbar rails.
Some more info from you is required before some definitive answers can be given.
Regards Andrew.

Petra
The short answer would almost certainly be YES.

The W.D.H allows you to redistribute the [additional] weight on the rear wheels of Tow Vehicle created by the Tow Ball Mass [weight-dowload] of the Caravan. This would usually mean that when attached the WDH transfers much of that weight to the Tow Vehicles Front Wheels and also to the Caravans wheels. Having that weight distributed appropriately assists to maintain the steering, stability and handling of the rig [car and van] meaning it is likely you will avoid, eliminate or reduce the potential for swaying.

The E.S.C is very different and does nothing to transfer weight so as to maintain the steering and handling characteristics of the rig, rather it intends to activate only when it senses that the caravan is getting out of control and swaying [yaw]. So the E.S.C is designed and intended to assist to overcome the van swaying. It is my opinion that you never rely on the E.S.C until and unless you have created the optimum dynamic capability of the rig by having weights in the right places.

As and aside you will as a matter of course need to establish the tow ball mass of the van and consider the limits of the Pajero which may be as low as 180kg or as high as 250kg dependent upon the weight of the fully laden van.

FYI I have recently retro fitted the ALKO ESC to my large Van even though I have the best available WDH and electric brake controller and a large tow vehicle which I have towed some 60,000 k,s, the reason was simply to have a secondary back up system to assist in the event the van starts to sway uncontrollably. You will benefit from reading article written by Collyn Rivers in regard to Caravan Dynamics, google search and you should find the article.

Expect you will have some great fun in the Starcraft.

Bob

If you don't want to set your Pajero's suspension up correctly for towing and load the van accordingly then yes a wdh is for you it's just a short cut and cheaper alternative to having a safe and level set up in the first place.

The Caravan industry/RACQ Towing Mass Guide indicates that Mitsubishi say "Load level hitch recommended." If Mitsubishi recommend it then I suggest you use WDH.

How heavy is the van fully loaded and what is the tow ball weight?

I believe that the Pajero has a towing limit of 3 tonnes, but if the van is over 2500kg the tow ball weight limit is only 180kg -ie the common 10 percent rule does not apply above 2500kg. This is regardless of suspension upgrades and needs to be considered.