small TT and towing w/o WD/AS hookup

Just another viewpoint -- we have towed our little trailers for more than a hundred thousand miles in ice, high wind, heavy rain, steep mountains, all with just a friction anti-sway bar, first with a Pathfinder and then with a Tacoma. Absolutely no stability problems. We rarely go over 62 mph, and usually hold it around 60.

Obviously, as the trailer gets bigger, the need for weight distribution becomes more and more important.

I am not sure whether there is a lower limit for WD hitches -- could you use one with a teardrop? Or with a 12 footer, like my trailer?

I loved our T@B. We had the add-on tent, which made a world of difference on space. I am tall too and most of the time I was in the tent room or sitting down inside. I could do the dishes/cook without too much trouble. The new models even come with a shower, which is pretty cool. The best part of the T@B was how easy it was to travel with. Light weight, goes anywhere, quick to pack...

thanks all for the patient assistance. while i like our small MH, we specifically chose a 4runner in the event of switching RV modes.

we mostly take 1 or 2 nite trips once a month to state parks within 100 mi from home in the cooler fall/win/spr months. monthly in-town exercise trips in summer.

as convenient as our C is, i would be more comfortable w/ less hardware sitting idle most of the time.

Standard WD hitch


Friction sway controlThis mounts on the trailer A frame between the frame and the hitch head. Usually on the passenger side.


Although these are the most popular type of hitch and sway control, there are many others. I think that the Andersen hitch mentioned earlier would be a good match for any small trailer like you are talking about. It is light, and from reports of users, does a good job on the sway control and weight distribution as long as the tongue weight is not too high.

Andersen hitch


Hope this helps you out a bit. :)
Barney

You will want a WDH and sway control no matter what, especially with such a light tow vehicle.

BarneyS wrote:


Other than adding restoring lost weight from the front end of the truck, the standard WD hitch does not have any sway control at all from the WD spring bars. Those bars pivot in the hitch head right along along with the A frame and provide no horizontal resistance at all - hence no sway control. Their only function is to provide weight distribution.
Barney

OK! that clears that up about WD. (I should've seen that)

so what is done to provide anti-sway?


i like theT@B, but we are both tall and w/ 45, 55, and 70lb dogs.

We towed our T@B with three different vehicles using only a basic hitch from an auto parts store. The T@B was super light, so I never experienced issues with just the basic hitch setup.

With our current trailer, I am so glad to have a weight distribution/sway control setup. I see others towing similar sized trailers without it and the difference is obvious.

burlmart wrote:
Snip...it seems like if you have the WDH standard setup w/ 2 bars attached to TT A-frame hitch, the bars also add anti-sway. so why do they use the terms WDH and anti-sway separately? Snip...

Other than adding restoring lost weight from the front end of the truck, the standard WD hitch does not have any sway control at all from the WD spring bars. Those bars pivot in the hitch head right along along with the A frame and provide no horizontal resistance at all - hence no sway control. Their only function is to provide weight distribution.
Barney

this short thread makes it clear about towing pods

it seems like if you have the WDH standard setup w/ 2 bars attached to TT A-frame hitch, the bars also add anti-sway. so why do they use the terms WDH and anti-sway separately? on the anderson unit, they focus on the unique hitch ball as what provides the anti sway. i have seen a vid where only one 'bar' is attached to the TT tongue - what does this do?

sorry for stupid questions. all we ever towed was a 1000# aluminum boat w/ 40 hp outboard.

rexlion wrote:
I had the Andersen with my 16' KZ TT and liked it very well. The KZ had 350-380 lb. hitch weight, no problem at all for the Andersen. It's light, clean (no grease) and easy to stow away when not in use. When I sold the TT, the new owner got me to throw it in to close the deal.

I'll add to the Andersen list - it works great with my Jayco 195RB Baja and RAM 1500. I have about 450lb tongue weight and easily get 100% load restoration to the front axle. I think this hitch is very good for smaller TV and small to medium TT. As others have stated - it's light (60lb total), clean, quiet and the built-in sway control works great.