Light Trailer Towing

The biggest issue is if you have "soft" rear springs on your TV, then the nose will come up giving you very light steering and a possibility of bottoming out at the hitch. The light steering can be dangerous in a cross wind. (AMHIK)

As long as the TV and trailer are staying pretty level, you are fine.

I have towed 16'-17' trailers without WD or sway control for several hundred thousand miles, no problem. The big thing is to make sure at least 10% TT weight is on the hitch, because insufficient hitch weight is the main cause of sway. A 4x8 utility trailer can sway if improperly loaded... as I can attest, when I was young and foolish.

rfporzio wrote:
I'm confident now based on your input that I should be fine.

You will be ... until you aren't. :( It may feel "fine" but dropping 400 lbs of gross tongue weight on the far rear end of such a small truck will unload the front steer axle. The question is whether this bothers you ... regardless, a properly sized & adjusted WD system will eliminate this issue. Your choice. ;)

Thank you all...I did check the label on the hitch. Exactly what you had said regarding WD.
My dealer said exactly what you all had stated but I wanted to confirm it with you all.
I am a minimalist and very rebellious when it comes to STUFF!! Not much going into this thing.
Anything with a little bit of heft will be in the bed forward of the rear wheels.
I guess we will do a test pull and see how it goes. I'm confident now based on your input that I should be fine. I will keep you all posted.

I doubt you need any of that either.
Give it a shot and see how it does. If you find the trailer is pushing you around in your lane, get the H/W.

You probably don't need WD hitch.

Check the weight ratings on your hitch receiver. It should have numbers for with and without WD. You'll probably see something like 500 lbs without WD and 5000 lbs with WD. Your trailer would be within the rating without WD.

As mentioned above, many folks are pulling heavier boats and utility trailers without WD.

I have a utility trailer that has a capacity of 3000 pounds. I've never used WD on that small trailer. In Indiana, if the total weight of the trailer is under 3000 pounds, you don't need trailer brakes either.

Now, my 11,000 pound travel trailer loaded ... well .... that's a different matter altogether!

If you do decide to use a WD hitch, consider a Blueox swaypro. They sell bars as light as 350 pounds.

The trailer will likely tow fine without a WD but with one, it would probably be a smoother ride in the truck.

EDIT: further thought on this. I've towed both my funfinder travel trailer and my horse trailer with this Nissan Frontier. Both on the ball, and using the blueox swaypro WD hitch.

Nissan specs that under 4500 pounds it s acceptable to tow simply on the ball. Over 4500 requires WD. This FF is 4100 loaded. The horse trailer is 3900 empty.

However, using WD does exactly as the name implies. It "distributes" some of the weight from the tongue to the steer axle and back to the trailer axles.

The result is a more balanced combo rig, resulting in better handling and a more controlled and smoother ride.

To the OP, I'd say it's your choice to tow it either way, and be within the guidelines, but you would likely find using WD to be an advantage.

We pulled our 17' Starcraft with our SUV the first year without a WDH and it was ok, but bounced a bit. The next year I opted for a WDH and it was perfect. I would try it without, see how you like it, and add one later if you're not happy.

My 17' Casita weighed more than that and my 4.0L Tacoma handled it perfectly. It's hard to say till you get the trailer but I think you'll be fine.