Selecting Weight Distribution/Sway Control System for 17-Foot Casita Trailer Towed by 2009 Tacoma

Question:

I have ordered a 17foot Casita Trailer to be picked up Oct, 18, in Rice Texas. The manufacturer of this trailer recommends a tow vehicle of 5000lb GTW and 500lb TW. I have a 2009 Toyota Tacoma access cab, tow package, v6 engine, etc. They tell me that Casita will install the WDH for me when I get to Texas. I have never towed anything before. My question is: Will this tow bar FA94-00-0800 do the job for me ? or do I need to buy a more expensive one ? is bigger better ?

asked by: Bob N

Expert Reply:

Weight distribution/sway control systems (WD/SC) like the Fastway e2 # FA94-00-0800 need to be matched to a trailer's actual loaded tongue weight (TW). These systems are rated for the total TW load they will see, which is the combination of the loaded trailer's actual measured TW (which can be determined with etrailer scale # e99044), plus the weight of anything in the tow vehicle that sits behind the rear axle, such as a loaded cooler or generator. This total combined weight is what a WD/SC system will "see" and it is important that it be correctly matched to the trailer/vehicle combination.

In the online manual for the 2009 Tacoma Toyota indicates (page 207) that for the tow-package-equipped truck the maximum TW load permissible is 650-lbs and (on page 212) it notes the tow-package-equipped truck can tow up to 6500-lbs. I suggest you review your own manual and also the certification sticker on the driver-side door jamb which may have more accurate information on towing capacity for your specific truck. The Toyota site does recommend a WD system for trailers over 2000-lbs. The 17-foot Casita Independence (according to their site) has an empty weight of 2210- to 2480-lbs so WD is indeed called for.

Since you have never towed this trailer before you can estimate the loaded TW by checking the dry hitch weight from the trailer's specs. Casita indicates the standard version's dry hitch weight is 295-lbs while the deluxe version is 365-lbs. This is the TW when the trailer is empty. Naturally your actual TW will be more than the trailer's dry hitch weight, but this figure at least gives you a starting point.

Chances are that your loaded TW will be in the range of 450 to 600-lbs. This will be a good match for the Fastway # FA94-00-0800 which works for TW from 400 to 800-lbs. You want your actual total TW load to fall near the middle of the system's operating range. If the WD system is not rated high enough for your actual TW then it will not give you the weight shift that it should; if it is rated too high for your actual TW then it can cause weird handling issues. All you need to add to this system is a hitch ball (of the appropriate ball size for your trailer's coupler) that has a 1-1/4-inch diameter shank, such as 2-inch # EQ91-00-6080 or 2-5/16-inch ball # EQ91-00-6100.