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Old 05-14-2012, 02:14 PM   #1
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Default Do you use a WDH with a fun finder 160?

Hi,
Bought a used 2006 fun finder t160. Towing with a 2012 toyota tundra. Nervous mommy doing much of the towing. Thought I would DEFINITELY want an equal-i-zer wdh with sway control but now I have talked to two different local hitch install companies and both have told me it is total overkill for the wight of our camper (dry is approx 2500) and size of tow vehicle. They both suggested just anti-sway. I asked if it would hurt to get it. One guy said wont hurt but wont help so waste of money. Other guy said it actually could hurt b/c of how stiff the bars are and that the lowest weight wdh you can get is 600# and our tongue weight is around 180#, he said it could potentially make the camper start hopping if doing highway driving. Yikes! Would be thrilled to not have to spend $$ on a wdh yet it seems like I have read about a lot of folks with 160's who do use wdh so would love some input!
Thank you!
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Old 05-14-2012, 10:54 PM   #2
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I pull a 160 with my Jeep Cherokee. I don't use a WDH, just a sway bar and haven't had any problems.
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Old 05-18-2012, 06:46 PM   #3
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You don't have to have one, but...

Your tongue weight is going to be a good deal more than 180 lbs. The rule of thumb for reducing sway to something manageable is to have 12-16% of the towed weight (gross weight when traveling) on the tongue. Dead empty weight (as advertised) of 2500 lbs would give you ~370 lbs of tongue weight and I'll wager your empty weight is going to be closer to 3000 lbs. The term "dry weight" is something that RV builders use to sell "light weight" units, not deliberately misleading, but, pretty darn close. Dry weight doesn't include the battery, the propane in your tanks, the awning and any other "options", whether mandatory options or not (like the microwave for instance).

In reality, it is far more likely that your tongue weight will be upwards of 400 to 500 lbs. Do you need a WDH for that load in your pickup? Probably not, but, IMHO, the truck will ride better and handle better if that tongue weight was distributed between both axles and not hanging solely off the back of the truck. There are a lot of folks that don't use one for that load, particularly on a pickup truck. For a while, I towed my 210WBS with my RAM 2500 with the HO Cummins Turbo Diesel. My tongue weight was right around 900 lbs. Well within the load limit of 2460 lbs for that truck. I used my Equal-i-zer WDH hitch. Weight distirbution hitches are adjustable...you don't have to use the full amount of bar or trunion leverage available on the hitch, just enough to level up the tow vehicle and spread the load over both axles and control the sway. The bar tension on the truck was less than half of what I used when I towed that same trailer with my Jeep Commander, but, I used it none the less, I just move the bar brackets down a notch and a half.

For the 160, you can do without it, but, I would probably go ahead and bite the bullet...how long 'til you trade up to a larger trailer? Never say never I did and now look what I've got



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