Your friend doesn't NEED a weight distribution hitch with a 3500 truck and a TT. But he probably needs it for his receiver. Receivers have two ratings typically.... One for weight carrying and one for weight distribution. The weight distribution rating is typically much higher.
If he is going to go without weight distribution he needs to make sure that the receiver is rated for the tongue weight. If the receiver can't handle the tongue weight without weight distribution than he can purchase a higher rated receiver. He will also need a draw bar rated to handle the weight of the tongue... Typically the $19.00 draw bars are too weak for a big travel trailer.
regardless, a WD hitch will make his rig ride much better.
My last truck was a F350 Dually and I had a 7700 lb travel trailer. Without the WD the truck handled the trailer fine. But the ride was much smoother with the WD hitch.
Regardless of if your friend goes for WD or not, I would suggest running sway control. The sway control is in place for those times when you really need it... If you don't have sway control of some sort and something goes bad...it's too late to do anything about it but hold on and pray you get stopped.
Most WD hitch heads have provisions for two sway bars, if the TT is over 24 ish ft then it is recommended to run two sway bars.
If he decides to not run WD then he can have two sway bar mounts welded to his draw bar and still have sway control.
Weight distribution is my recommendation.
Thanks!
Jeremiah
