EAZ LIFT Sway Control Bar Sufficient on T@B 320 S?

WDH is not recommended for use with the 320. Sway bar is fine, if your vehicle is built to handle one (yours is), but may not be necessary if the trailer is loaded correctly with sufficient weight on the tongue. Most people don’t use them.

VictoriaP said:

@DigPolo Just remember you’ll have to remove the sway bar before trying to back up.

X2

It’s one of those things that is easy to forget. From past experience with a must larger trailer. In a very tight gas station. IMHO if you don’t need one don’t use one. Proper loading is more important and much safer than a bandaid.

I keep my tongue weight at 8-10% of the T@B weight and never have sway, even with semi-trucks passing closely.  But I keep at 60mph or less.  Our T@Bs are light enough to use a bathroom scale to measure whether you're at 8, 10, or 12% of the total weight when loaded up with propane, water, gear, heavier or additional batteries, extra propane tanks, generators, or if you choose to move where the spare tire is stowed.  Folks who travel faster often shoot for 15% or even a smidge more.

Many TaB400 owners do not even use them, and I have found it not necessary to use a sway control bar either on our YaB 400.  A 320 should be even easier to tow.
cheers

@Dalehelman -- I will have to look into it.  Either way, they are off the trailer, off the tow rig, and in the garage.  Would the use of them by the previous owner have caused any damage to the tongue?

After googling, looks like what they gave me was an "E2" hitch, which the manufacturer says provides weight distribution and sway control.  They also claim it can be used when backing, so I guess that is why the seller didn't mention it.  What I know is, if your TV is on an angle that is different from the trailer (like on my steep driveway), the bars are a pain to get off.  We also nearly bottomed out the pins that hold the bars in place.

  

PNWtabber’s load leveling hitch example above, is bad idea on several counts.
First is it stressing the frame...
Second, it is taking some of the weight of the truck and redistributed it to the TaB320 axle, which is not rated for the extra weight.
Third, not really necessary with a small trailer a d a large TV setup like this.
cheers

@DigPolo ; If you have a flat foot for the jack instead of a wheel, you can get an approximation. The front tongue coupler is almost a foot forward from the jack so it will be easier to lift there, versus at the jack stand point (something about Archimedes and lifting the world with a long enough lever).  But it should be within 5-10%, and somebody on the forum once measured the distances from the coupler to the axle versus the jack stand to the axle, and the relative weight of a coupler and front of the tongue relative to the rest of the camper to show that any jack stand measurement will actually be 4.1835534% too high (or something like that).

But all I do is

• leave the T@B hooked up to the tow vehicle,

• unhook the coupler as if separating the two critters,

• put a scale on the ground where the jack stand will come down on it,

• cover the stand on portion of the scale with a piece of lightweight wood to protect the scale and distribute the weight on it, 

• then slowly lower the jack on to the scale.

Once the tongue coupler starts to rise from the tow vehicle hitch you'll have a consistent weight on the bathroom scale, as you continue to jack the tongue higher, of 200#, 250#, or whatever it is for your camper.

And by bringing a small bathroom scale with you, you can also avoid eating too many s'mores on a camping trip.



Do it on a level pavement area, so the camper doesn't try to roll away as you lift it off the trailer hitch ball of course.

And it can be any cheap throwaway scale good to 400lbs like this one that doesn't take much space...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L2XBK5V

To measure at the coupler instead, just put the scale under the tow hitch ball, get a wide 10-15" long wood dowel, and jack up the tongue until you can slip the dowel between the scale protector wood and the bottom of the tongue right behind the coupler.  Then lower the jack stand and the camper tongue onto the dowel.  A lot less safe, a lot less stable, but a bit more accurate... and not worth doing.  Better to use a 4x4 as VictoriaP suggests below.

But if you search through the forum you'll see folks who have actual trailer coupler scales, and they also make scales built right into hitch receiver stems now too... but those usually are for 1200lb tongue weights, not our typical 175-230lb T@B 320 tongue weights  But those methods cost more than $15.

@DigPolo @VictoriaP

Was bored today.

So I measured the weight of the block of wood I carry and use for load spreading on a bathroom scale. And I measured the 4x4 block I use for measuring a level trailer for weighing and for using under stabilizers occasionally.  Then I took three measurements at the jack (subtracting the block of wood).  And three more at the coupler subtracting the block of wood and section of 4x4 used. Wiggled everything a little between measurements to get a spread of values of 3-4lbs across readings.

Results: 
184lbs at the jack.
170lbs at the coupler, or only 8.5% tongue weight.

So measuring at the jack was 7.5% high versus an accurate measurement at the coupler VictoriaP indicated above. Higher than I expected.

That was with a SLR125 battery in front, and two in the back, a half tank of fresh water, empty black and grey, and two full propane tanks in the front... and various mods to the camper. When I travel I normally carry up to 100lbs forward of the axle and a full tank of water... which gets me pretty close to the 10% goal.

I wasn’t going to use a stabilizer bar but the manual of my 2018 Toyota Highlander (XLE) requires one for gross cargo weight of trailer at 2000 lbs and above.  I thought for insurance/liability reasons it would be worth the hassle of taking it off when backing up.  I think I will have it installed professionally, because I have never drilled metal and it seems you need to be precise to line up the holes.

  I also put a full size spare on my TV because one can’t tow with a donut (per manual) AND even if not towing with my Highlander a donut can’t be used on the front tire, so some swapping of tires is required.  Trailer camping eventually will get easier, I know, but it takes  prep work...

@jesherman I have a 4Runner with the same requirements. I use a EAZ Lift sway control . The dealership got me set up with hitch and sway. I was told to hand tighten it (see the lever in dalehelman's picture above, so it will still slide while driving and turning). I try to remember to remove it when checking in at the park.

We took a lot of trips here in Oregon this last summer...with our 2020 320-s.
Never had any sway problems, so I am at a loss, why would anyone need one on such a light trailer?

Check in your tow vehicles owners manual.  After thousands of miles my Boondock 320 didn’t need any sway, it towed fine.  But one boarded day I was reading my Tacoma’s owners manual.  It specified sway when towing over 2k lbs.  So for insurance problem avoidance in case of accident I installed 0 ne.  I figured $35 was cheap insurance.