Light Trailer Towing

[rfporzio]

Hi All, I will be taking delivery on my new Jayco 145RB with my 2012 Tacoma. Does anyone tow a light weight trailer without weight distribution and sway control. I do have air bags. tongue weight is 250lbs. with 3000 full load weight.
My plan is to test tow then add if needed.

[aftermath]

Sound Guy, I am certainly not disagreeing with you. I do believe that a properly set up trailer hooked to a properly mated tow vehicle can tow safely. All the additional comments you made about proper weights also apply.

My personal issue is that, I had to buy a hitch. I "felt" like my first set up would work just fine but I wasn't completely sure. I did know that my trailer's hitch weight was going to sag the end of my 4Runner so I purchased a WD hitch. But, just to be safe I got one with built in sway control. My Equalizer has worked well for me with three different setups. Each time I changed either the trailer or the TV, I had to readjust the WD part and never really had to worry about the sway part.

That said, for your situation I do think you are on the right track. The OP will probably be fine too but it might do him well to get the weight measurements you have done.

[profdant139]

For whatever it's worth, I tow the little trailer in my signature below with a Tacoma and a friction anti-sway bar. Over a hundred thousand miles so far, in some very sketchy conditions -- ice, snow, mud, cross-wind, very steep ups and downs. No problem.

[SoundGuy]

drsteve wrote:
More than likely, it will pull OK without WD.

aftermath wrote:
My big concern is sway and a simple weight distribution hitch does not address that.

Not necessarily true at all - a properly sized and adjusted weight distribution system alone can easily allow towing a trailer without any incidence of sway at all. I do exactly this with my own Coachmen, using a simple Reese trunnion bar WD, no additional sway control. The key is a properly loaded trailer, running a proper amount of gross tongue weight to gross weight ratio, all connected to an adequately rated TV with a properly adjusted WD system that transfers a correct amount of weight to the TV's front steer axle. Do that and it is entirely possible to tow without any additional sway control device.

[aftermath]

drsteve wrote:
More than likely, it will pull OK without WD. You may or may not find the feeling you get from passing semis unsettling. WD will reduce or eliminate that. WD also helps when winds are gusty, or if your truck feels bouncy. Pull it and see how it goes. If you don't like it, get a WD hitch.

I have never towed without a WD/Antisway system so I am a bad guy to offer up advice. I have read many posts that say you can tow safely without the WD. I have also seen many trailers go by me just on the ball so I think each system is unique. Like many say, a good trailer truck match loaded properly works just fine. I would give it a try first.

I think the above discussion is a bit confusing. My big concern is sway and a simple weight distribution hitch does not address that. Many of the newer ones has a built in sway control aspect like the Equalizer Hitch. I have never been to Vermont so I don't know what the towing conditions are like but out here in the west we have it all. Steep passes, snowy conditions, hot desert driving and, at times, wind, lots and lots of wind.

There are some amazing forces a trailer undergoes when a large semi passes going the other direction. Add some wind into that equation and you might understand why I am concerned with sway before weight distribution.

Again, give it a try. You will know how stable your trailer "feels" and if you are getting any of the up and down instability that bothers you. I hope it works for you.

[Jebby14]

Not out of the question. I would say close enough to try it and decide later. I would think a friction sway bar would be a good idea more so than wd can be had cheap also

[campinia]

I had a 2012 Jayco 184Bh that weighed around 3500 pounds and I towed it with a 2011 Chevy Silverado. The first year I towed it with just a sway bar and it was fine and it felt safe, but, I got tired of the bouncing or porpoising. I put a WDH on the next year and it was a much better ride.

[rbpru]

How far, how often, are the key factors. If you tow it 50 miles to your camping spot at a Yogi Bear campground them bring it home in the fall. That is different from several longer tows each summer.

At this point why guess? You are already going to give it a test drive, so drive to the CAT scales and weight the combo. Unhook the TT and weight the truck.

Then, you will know the true weight and load your truck sees when you are camping. My guess is, it is a lot more than you think. But then again, why guess?

Locally, the process take about twenty minutes and cost $12,00 to $14.00 depending on which truck stop I go to.

[mountainkowboy]

SoundGuy wrote:

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. 😉

DOOM AND GLOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew he would throw it...


Realistically look at your hitch, mine says if the tongue weight exceeds 350 pounds a WD hitch is required. That being said I would think that your right on the edge of one. If it were me I would load it up and see if it tows well or if yo really need a WD hitch.

[gmw_photos]

The OP's truck and new trailer may pull "just fine" without WD hitch.

But unless he tries it both ways, w/o WD hitch, then back to back with a WD hitch, he will never know the difference.

Which is why I posted the way I did earlier. I've towed two different trailers with this same truck, with and w/o WD hitch.

Honestly, I would have little hesitation pulling my travel trailer simply on the ball behind the Frontier. But I prefer the way it drives with the BlueOx in place.

Simply put, I don't mind the added few minutes it takes to hitch and unhitch.
That's my two cents on it.

[drsteve]

More than likely, it will pull OK without WD. You may or may not find the feeling you get from passing semis unsettling. WD will reduce or eliminate that. WD also helps when winds are gusty, or if your truck feels bouncy. Pull it and see how it goes. If you don't like it, get a WD hitch.

[theoldwizard1]

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.

[rexlion]

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.

[SoundGuy]

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. 😉

[rfporzio]

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.