Josh3006

no you don't need wdh

MikeD134

hitches | etrailer.com

All of these have sway control built in. personally, I have the Equalizer 4pt

Flamingtaco

Rolling down 3% average, winding grades that go for 5-7 miles, I'd want brakes on the trailer just to keep heat down on the truck's rotors. 3000-4000lb doesn't seem like much until you notice the Mantis has 3.5ft less height that the average 3000-4000lb travel trailer. A regular trailer has 170% more frontal area above the landing pad on the tailgate of the truck than a Mantis, that's a good chunk of lost aero braking.

Barry_Vee

No, you do not need a weight distribution hitch for a 3000 lb trailer. Unless there is something unusual with the load causing tongue weight to exceed 500#.

Properly loaded, the trailer will settle the truck very little, About what 2-3 guys standing on the bumper would. It is going to pull well too. After driving a few thousand miles with no problems thank me, and spend that WDH money on something else. Maybe a trans cooler?

Edit: Am going to change my advise if it is this trailer https://taxaoutdoors.com/habitats/mantis/ GVWR is under 5k. But empty tongue weight is already almost 500 pounds. Two tanks of propane and it’s over. So then if this is your trailer, WDH is required.

Mike Up

Depends, my camping trailer is over 3000 lbs loaded and I tow it like nothing with only a weight bearing hitch. Now my previous trailer was more of a concern loaded between 6500 lbs. and 7000 lbs, I used a Blue Ox Sway Pro with 1000 lbs spring bars for it's awesome sway control. Better than my previous Reese High Performance Dual Cam system.

You may be more concerned at this point about good sway control depending on the trailer. What did the dealer state was needed. Any RV dealer worth anything, can tell you what you need for the truck and then steer you to a hitch installer or their own service shop.

I will say that is a very unique camper, never seen anything around here in the RV Capital, like that.

Boomerweps

My trailer was bought to stay within towing specs for my 1998 Explorer. The dealer agreed that I was well within not needing a WDH specs, he very strongly recommended one. He knew I was balking at the cost of the unknown need/not need so he recommended a used one he had for $300, a guy traded to get larger for a new trailer. My plan was to drive home without and buy later if desired. Glad he talked me into the used one. They set it up darn near perfect, too. I downloaded the manual and walked through the setup process at home, verifying everything done correctly. Good thing. After buying the F150, I went through the process again and it was within tolerances, no adjustment needed. After having my TT axle undersprung (moved from on top to below the springs for additional clearance), I had to flip the stinger from drop to rise on the head assembly and, again, go through the WDH setup. It does require some large wrenches! Axle "flip" added 5.5" clearance.

Husky Centerline TS, solid spring bars that rest on perches and does not use chains in the Weight Distributing. The solid bars are built in sway control. This model can use a few different capacity spring bars, easily replaced without additional components needed. Mine are 400-600# bars. Weighs about 130# overall. Trunion head assembly weighs 51#, 400-600 bars weigh 26# each. Noisy on right angle turns but very effective in both WD & sway control. There was a web store selling them new for about $300 but you'd have to search.

The name brand WDHs all have various similar models and they are similarly effective. So used is an option.

My TT GVWR of 3877# is well under F150 WDH required limits, but the tongue weight is always over the 500# limit. Plus I already had it. It was a MUST when compared to without with my Explorer. The WDH gets rid of the bending in the middle porpoising on highways and makes the whole rig feel like one unit or a long bus in straightaways and gentle turns.

Boomerweps

yup. If I had known, I would have either purchased my cargo trailer with brakes or even installed them myself, they are fairly cost effective.