WD hitch overkill?

[kipper]

I have a new to me surfside approx 1500lbs dry. Planning to tow with my Sienna (3500lb/350lb rating)Trailer has electric brakes that i will use.

I have had sway scare the $&@!! Outa me in the past and my dream for this trailer is towing it, a family of 4 and all our gear through the mountains.

Thinking to use a WD hitch with sway control. Is this major overkill or a good idea?

Thanks

[Raspy]

Do you want a WDH? Or are you just getting a WDH in order to get sway control? If you only want sway control, why not get a sway control device?

[Glenn Baglo]

I use a WDH without the optional sway control. It distributes weight and controls sway. I'd not use sway control without weight distribution, because loading the trailer and correctly distributing the weight in the trailer is the key to safe towing.

[CharlesinGA]

I do not have any experience with it, but the Andersen hitch has been favorably commented on by people on other forums, especially for lighter trailers and smaller tow vehicles.

https://andersenhitches.com/Catalog/...ion-hitch.aspx

Personally I am not happy with Andersen after the defacing incident in Arches NP, but people do talk favorably of the products.

Charles

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by CharlesinGA

I do not have any experience with it, but the Andersen hitch has been favorably commented on by people on other forums, especially for lighter trailers and smaller tow vehicles.

Charles

There are favourable and unfavourable posts about pretty much everything. I no longer put much trust in reviews. One must read them carefully. I'm happy with my Pro Series, which costs half what an Andersen costs, but I've never used an Andersen WDH or any other. I have no way to compare, and, I suspect neither do most others.
Some believe that if they pay more or the most ( Henderson? ) that they made the wise choice.

So, beats me. But, I'm happy with my Pro Series. Just wish it didn't weigh so much, especially as I age.

[kipper]

I am just wanting the safest ride possible. WDH is so load is even and therefore braking and control stability, sway control just seems like a good option. I am looking at the curt WDH but its HEAVY. So much that i will have to load carefully in the van trunk. I dont think my wife could install it , but for me no issue

[vintageracer]

Spend some real money on a real WDH.

Just get a bigger more capable tow vehicle and your sway problems are solved!

[kipper]

Ha ha! Sorry not in the finances 😁 minivan rocks for everything else!

[redbarron55]

A WDH is nice as it makes the ride better. I have a 16' Scamp much modified and heavier than normal and I tow with a 2016 Town & Country similar to your Sienna.
I use a WDH and is makes the ride better and more stable and reduces the front tire spin on wet starts especially uphill.
The Sienna is quite capable of towing your trailer safely and the WDH only adds to that.
I can't speak for the Sienna, but the T&C calls for the WDH over 1800 lbs.
The trick is to find a light weight WDH for the size range of your trailer.
I use a Reese Mini-350 which is no longer being made. They make a newer hitch which is similar and both have anti-sway built in.
I towed all over the Rockies in our year before last trip to Yellowstone and area with no troubles at all.
All of that being said we bought a VW touareg 2012 TDI rated at 7700 lbs and we traveled from Florida to Big Sur taking in mountains etc and I can say that the Touareg is a much better tow vehicle and more comfortable than the Van, but has less storage space for the "Stuff".
Make sure the brakes are setup correctly and you should be good to go!
By the way I have a Teknosha P3 in the T&C and a Redarc Tow Pro inthe VW. The PS is by far the better controller, but the mounting of the Redarc is cleaner with just a knob in the dash showing.

[kipper]

Great info thanks! I am now looking at a lighter WDH like anderson or the Reese you suggested

Thanks

[Marjorie B.]

We had a 2015 Honda Odyssey and had a WDH. The Mini vans are too lite in the rear not to have one. I would put a sway bar on too. It depends on how your TV is built. Now we have an Audi Q7 that is heavy and has all wheel drive. With this TV we don't need a WDH or a sway bar anymore. Unlike the Honda now we almost don't know our Casita behind us.

[nancyrnfit]

In the specs for our Honda Pilot, they said NOT to use weight distribution hitch, so we just used a sway bar.
Just saying, check your vehicle specs to be sure.
When we towed with our Sienna, we had no sway issues.

[Rzrbrn]

Somewhere I read that the Andersen is good for sway control not so much for weight distribution. I use the Andersen on a Casita but use a Blue Ox Swayrpo on my larger Big Foot. Much prefer the Blue Ox.

[Byron Kinnaman]

I've never used any hitch stiffening devices in my 14 years of towing my 13'. I put about 10,000 miles a year on it and never had a problem with sway or the tongue loading down back of the tow vehicle. It tows level.

[Rzrbrn]

Byron, you tow 10 miles a year?

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Byron, you tow 10 miles a year?

closer to 10,000 miles per year.

[Yobeevr]

IMO a WDH is the way to go which will provide the best sway control technology. Anderson may indeed be a great unit but at Nearly $500.00 I believe pricey. A curt or similar Husky brand will cost nearly half what Anderson does.

Just my .02 cents and many say I am broke... Good info here, I say make your own call.

Best of luck on your decision.

Alan

[V'sGlassSleeper]

I've been towing a Bigfoot B19 (about 3,500 lbs. max dry) with a V6 Nissan Frontier shortbed Crew Cab Nismo 4x4 (6,000 lb max tow capacity). With the heavy-duty suspension and wheelbase, I am perfectly fine using 2 Curtis sway bars on each side of the tongue. They work like a charm and I don't have to worry about dealing with the 60 lb. Equalizer shank, which was unwieldy and greasy. My truck suspension and frame don't get pushed down in the back from the tongue weight and if they did, I'd rather buy airbags than ever deal with the heavy WDH again. I held on to the Equalizer just in case, but plan to sell it. That said, I definitely often see people towing who clearly need a WDH. But with how lightweight your trailer is, the sway bars might be enough. You can tell a lot from how it tows. Happy trails!

[tractors1]

I tow a 4200 lb E21 with a Tacoma (rated 6400 lbs) using an Andersen, and am quite pleased. No heavy bars, no grease, easy to hitch/unhitch (with practice.) The older design had some cone creepout problems, but they replaced the entire thing with the new design 3 years after I bought it under warranty - including shipping! New design is great.

[V'sGlassSleeper]

Hi Tractors,

You said that the bars aren't heavy but what about the shank? I'm a strong gal, but I'm not as young as I used to be and it's the shank not the bars on my Equalizer that seems so unwieldy and greasy - a broken foot waiting to happen if I drop it...and I felt that way even 10 years ago). Is the Andersen shank lightweight? How much in pounds? Just curious if lightweight WDH even exist out there...the shank seems to be the design limitation in terms of how heavy it is. Has someone found a workaround?