WD hitch overkill?

[Procyonid]

Anti-sway bar, thoughtful attention to how much excess stuff you put into the trailer, and driving in a manner that limits sudden and radical turns are probably all you need.In general, WDH’s are not necessary with small camping trailers IMO.

[johnlochbuie]

You only need a seat control you don't need a wdh for a trailer that light

[johnlochbuie]

I hate spell check you only need a sway control

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by johnlochbuie

You only need a seat control you don't need a wdh for a trailer that light

I presume you meant "sway" control. You don't need sway control with a properly loaded trailer. The WDH shifts weight from the tow's rear axle to the front axle and the trailer axle. In a front wheel drive vehicle, this is important to prevent wheel spin on loose gravel, hills, wet grass. In an AWD vehicle you are likely mostly running with power to the front wheels.
The WDH improves the ride in the tow and makes the whole rig feel like one unit. Much more comfortable and secure ride.
I can tow my 17B without WDH, but I choose comfort and security.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by johnlochbuie

I hate spell check you only need a sway control

If you read what you've written, before hitting submit, you can fix an errant spell check and you may also find other statements that can be made more clear.
In any event, you can edit a post for some time after submitting it ( I'm not sure how long you have on FGRV ).

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by johnlochbuie

I hate spell check you only need a sway control

This site gives you 12 hours to edit a post. On the website or mobile skin there’s an edit button under the post. On the app, tap the post and an edit option pops up.

[Doc.Kev]

We use a WDH for our Honda Odyssey/Scamp 16. I recommend it. No sway. I feel safe. It’s worth the extra effort. Give yourself some time to learn how to install/remove.

[pedalmike]

Originally Posted by 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?

When you set up your ball mount/shank properly, you can have it welded in a fixed position and remove the material not needed. This can take many pounds off the assembly. Can Am RV in London Ontario did mine

[pedalmike]

For 10 years My brother has towed his 1st gen Sienna and vintage Sunline trailer weighing 1850 lbs with sway control only and no WDH. It works well for him. He bought a 2nd gen Sienna and installed air bags in the rear to gain some ride height in the rear. Still tows fine.

If your van is heavily loaded when camping, you might benefit from lightweight WDH. Depending on setup, you might not need sway control at all with a WDH. Remember, air bags don’t transfer any weight between the axles.

[Byron Kinnaman]

An anti-sway bar has a tendency to mask a real problem. Not good,
WDH hitch is only necessary if the tongue weight is high enough to make the trailer nose down.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

An anti-sway bar has a tendency to mask a real problem. Not good,
WDH hitch is only necessary if the tongue weight is high enough to make the trailer nose down.

A WDH also helps with 'pitching' or 'porpoise' motion in the tow vehicle. this is most commonly a issue with a tow vehicle that has a short wheelbase and soft rear suspension, when you go over a dip or bump in the road, the front of the tow vehicle pitches up and down several times before settling out. a WDH will pretty much completely eliminate this, greatly improving ride comfort.

case in point, our Casita SD 16 being towed by our Tacoma TRD Off Road was really bad, got a WDH and it was totally cured. I later added airbags to the back of the Tacoma to better handle heavy loads in the bed, and found that the airbags did 90% of what the WDH did without the hassle of dealing with the big bulky WDH so never used it again.

Note we were WAY below the tow limits of the vehicle.... A Tacoma 4.0L 4x4 with factory tow is rated at 6500 lbs and 650 lbs tongue weight, our Casita 16 was *MAX* 3500 lbs (2200 empty) and had maybe a 350 lb tongue weight.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

A WDH also helps with 'pitching' or 'porpoise' motion in the tow vehicle. this is most commonly a issue with a tow vehicle that has a short wheelbase and soft rear suspension, when you go over a dip or bump in the road, the front of the tow vehicle pitches up and down several times before settling out. a WDH will pretty much completely eliminate this, greatly improving ride comfort.

case in point, our Casita SD 16 being towed by our Tacoma TRD Off Road was really bad, got a WDH and it was totally cured. I later added airbags to the back of the Tacoma to better handle heavy loads in the bed, and found that the airbags did 90% of what the WDH did without the hassle of dealing with the big bulky WDH so never used it again.

Note we were WAY below the tow limits of the vehicle.... A Tacoma 4.0L 4x4 with factory tow is rated at 6500 lbs and 650 lbs tongue weight, our Casita 16 was *MAX* 3500 lbs (2200 empty) and had maybe a 350 lb tongue weight.

There's always one that attempts to justify their decision.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

There's always one that attempts to justify their decision.

Is that statement what you are using to justify your position?

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Is that statement what you are using to justify your position?

Hey Glen if the shoe fits you need to wear it.

[John in Santa Cruz]

How exactly does my buying a WDH to solve a specific problem (which it did very nicely) qualify as 'justifying my position' ??! You're the one who flat out said "WDH hitch is only necessary if the tongue weight is high enough to make the trailer nose down." and the nose-light Casita 16 did NOT have that issue with the Tacoma TRD Offroad.... Maybe you should justify YOUR position instead of making absolute statements.

[Raspy]

John,

Your well thought out, and very useful posts, are always appreciated.

Others have advised me here, after my honest attempts to contribute useful information and further the discussion, to "not take the bait", when someone wants to argue. I think they are right.

[redbarron55]

I found that the WDH aids in comfort and probably control-ability of my heavy 16' Scamp when towing with either mt 2016 T&C or 2012 Touareg.
Both are rated to carry the load and both do well, but my official comfort of travel and towing standard says the WDH helps make her more comfortable as a passenger. (She will not drive towing a trailer).
The T&C has a rating of 3500 lbs with the WDH and 1800 without.
The Touareg is rated 7700 lbs and could tow without the WDH, but SWMBO sayis it makes a nicer ride and is much better and she can't really tell from the ride that it is back there.
But to each his own on this topic. Many here feel that the only safe tow vehicle is a pretty large truck, but that negates the main attraction of the small molded fiberglass trailer foe many.
I originally towed with a 2009 VW Sportwagen TDI and it would have benefited from a WDH if one were available. I added air bags and they give about 1/2 of the benefit of a WDH, but do not shift weight from the back to the front and that is a major thing for me.

[Defenestrator]

Having gone tried both with and without, I'd definitely agree that a WDH helps with "porpoising" even when the tow vehicle is more than adequate (Silverado 1500 with Max Trailering and an Escape 19 that weighs about 35% of the truck's max. Near-zero change in rear bumper height when hitched even without WDH).

Sway control is also nice to have - while it's important to get sizing and balance correct in the first place, the sway control provides another layer of safety on top of that.