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Old 01-02-2014, 12:02 PM   #1
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towing

We have a 2013 Toyota Tundra 5.7 v8 2wheel drive double cab, and would like to know if weight distribution bars are needed for a 296hw, we were pulling a 30ft travel trailer and still have the same equipment. Do we need to change, or can we pull the camper ok without the bars.
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Old 01-02-2014, 12:03 PM   #2
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read your trucks' manual.
what can the truck and hitch take for tongue weight? What is the weight of the trailer tongue?
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Old 01-02-2014, 12:10 PM   #3
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I looked up the specs for that unit. It says 280 tongue weight but ~4500lbs GVWR. So proper tongue weight would be 450-600lb range assuming 10-15% recommendation. I would think that would load the back of your truck down and I would recommend WD hitch.
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Old 01-02-2014, 12:13 PM   #4
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Were you pulling a 30' TT without WD hitch or sway control? If yes, how did your truck sit? Nose high I would think..
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Old 01-02-2014, 12:26 PM   #5
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we had the heavy duty WD hitch and sway control and the truck and camper were almost level with each other. Hitch weight on the 296hw is 373lbs where on the trailer it is 883lbs.
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Old 01-02-2014, 12:34 PM   #6
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we had the heavy duty WD hitch and sway control and the truck and camper were almost level with each other. Attached is the camper and trailer. Hitch weight on the 296hw is 373lbs where on the trailer it is 883lbs.
If you want to control sway you generally load and adjust your tongue weight to be 10-15% of your trailer weight. I looked up your unit and it said the GVWR ( max load) was about 4500 lbs. that would put your actual tongue weight at 450-600 lb range.

At least you have the WD setup already from your previous trailer. Hook up the new init without the WD bars and see what you get. I think you will find your front end to be high and may have some handling issues. If you have issues, use the WD hitch you already have.. Good luck and congrats on the new unit
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Old 01-02-2014, 12:47 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prof_fate View Post
read your trucks' manual.
Ditto! the owner's manual will state the minimum weight amount that recommends using a WDH.
if your PUP is under that, then you shouldn't need it. but you may want to install a anti-sway bar.
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Old 01-02-2014, 01:26 PM   #8
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Lucille, like you, we also down-sized from a TT to a HW296. Since we already had a round bar WD hitch we just continued to use it, though I did back off the chains a couple of links to account for the lower tongue weight. Personally, I think the Tundra would have no problem towing without the WD setup, but like I said, since we already had it, we continued to use it. It can't hurt, and surely makes the towing a little easier. For sway, we just use a simple friction-type sway bar.

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Old 01-02-2014, 01:50 PM   #9
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Thanks our 296hw is scheduled to be here around the 9th and we want to be ready to bring it home when it gets to the dealer, just wondering if we needed to replace what we have with another system, but this seems like it will do, we also have a 2007 Toyota 4 Runner that we may want to use sometime. We had a heavy hitch installed on it also, but never pulled the TT with it (only an enclosed cargo trailer). We are downsizing to where we will only use 1 vehicle and put our cargo in the back of the truck or if going only local we want to use the 4 runner and we can put our cargo in the back of it since there is only 2 of us.
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Old 01-02-2014, 02:31 PM   #10
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After towing a 30' TT you will be pleasantly surprised how easy the HW296 tows. Also, you will be pleasantly surprised at the gas pump.

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Old 01-03-2014, 07:31 AM   #11
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Why the switch? You probably won't even feel the HW behind you after towing a 30-foot TT!
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