I would seriously recommend a Gen Y head for pulling a travel trailer/toy hauler. The head is adjustable. Go to Gen Y website for more information, they are also very informative over the phone

 

Several issues with questions like these:

- Most folks have only towed one type of trailer (RV, construction, flatbed, etc)
- Most folks have only used one type of hitch (straight ball, Brand XYZ weight distribution)

That makes for very poor sample size to give advice on best practices.

Travel trailers are about the worst trailers to tow because of their huge side wind profile. If you compare the towing experience of a 30' RV and a 30' flat bed with an excavator or a car on it, the experience is night and day different.

I'm of the opinion RV's benefit the most from sway control. Weight distribution/sway control is super popular in the RV world mostly because A LOT of RV owners are under-trucked and the industry has responded by selling them band-aid hitches instead of the right truck. This is not the OP's case, where he is definitely over-trucked and I think that's the right choice.

All that to say...weight distribution and sway control will probably improve your towing experience. Wind forces on RV's are a pain in the ***, where the proper truck and a good hitch will help. For the OP, any of the common Equalizer style friction bar hitches will be more than enough for a safe and comfortable experience. For the best sway control, Hensley and Pro-Pride are the only options but they are a big investment.

 

I wouldn't think WD is needed for that setup, but definitely some sort of sway control. I tow a 4k lb travel trailer that has a single axle. Without the sway control that little thing is bouncing all over the place. I went with the Harbor Freight 10k lb WD hitch that has hookups for sway control bars on both sides. I use them on both sides.

 

@Bumble2019 , I pull a similar bumper pull toy hauler. Mine is a little longer and a little heavier. Without the WDH I get pushed around on the interstate when vehicles pass me. It sucks my rig into the passing vehicle. With the WDH, there is almost none of that.

Without the WDH I get a good amount of porpoising. With the WDH, 95% of that is gone.

Overall, it is a much more relaxing drive with the WDH. The 5 minutes it takes me to connect the WDH is well worth it.

 

I don't use a WD hitch because I don't need to redistribute the tongue weight with my truck and trailer combo. My trailer is larger than the OP's but so is my truck; I tested my setup on a 3,000 mile trip in all conditions and at various speeds and I'm comfortable that I don't need to use a WD hitch. Sway control is a secondary function of a WD hitch and there are other ways to accomplish that without using a WD hitch - this said, most truck/trailer combos will benefit from using a WD hitch......but the WD hitch isn't a panacea and has both pros and cons. For the record, I have 8 trucks and 9 trailers of various sizes and configurations and we tow almost daily for the past 37 years. I have used WD hitches on several of our trailers though almost nobody uses them on commercial trailers - even cargo or job trailers that have significant windage.

Two thoughts:
- hitch weight is very important, my current RV trailer runs at 14 - 15% tongue weight
- with a toy hauler you need to be extra careful of your load as it relates to the effect on tongue weight - almost as much as a car trailer or flatdeck.

Dave

 

Any WDH with the factory air leveling system can cause issues. There is a particular way you're supposed to set it up - I believe it discusses it in the owner's manual of the truck. I've never done it because I have never owned a truck with the factory auto leveling, but from what I've read on other forums you're actually supposed to set it up with the auto leveling set to 'hook up' mode or something (basically turns the auto level off temporarily), hook up and get things level, then turn the auto level back on. I think that's how it goes.

Regardless I'm not a fan of the factory auto level systems, but to each their own.

For OP's question, I'm on the fence - he likely doesn't NEED a WDH or sway control for such a small trailer - many just 'enclosed' trailers that size don't have or need anything like that. However, if you have the option to use it, especially on longer trips, it's definitely worth it because when it is properly set up, the trailer feels more controlled.

I'm in the same boat with the new truck - it pulls our TT just fine without a WDH, so for short trips from the storage yard or local campgrounds I don't tend to use it. But if I'm getting out on the highway and going a decent distance, I'll put it on - it feels more controlled, improves the ride by getting rid of some 'porpoising,' and gives me some extra wiggle room when crosswinds pick up. With the old truck, I could bring it home from storage without the WDH but because of the softer suspension of my old Wagon I didn't feel comfortable getting out on the road without it at all.

 

I think you have to enable the leveling first. Otherwise, when the leveling kicks in and raises the rear of the truck it will undo the WDH configuration. It would be similar to configuring the WDH, then raising the tongue with the tongue jack.

 

it was a pain trying to unhook trailers lol

 

I ued to use wdh…they are junk and stupid. I was using them on 14-15k, and yes i used ones for that weight. If you need to get rid of sag or accept a little more tongue weight air bags are the way to go. I have put them on all my trucks for the last 10ish years and threw away the blue ox.