WDH yes or no?

+2  Your best bet, load your R-Pod as though going on a trip, don't forget to fill your FW tank with water if you travel that way.  Go to your county garage and they will weigh it for free.  Take that total weight and make sure you have 11% or more of that weight on your tongue to reduce/eliminate trailer sway.

Yedmonds5, I think the weight you are referring to is the "dry weight" specification.  It assumes a completely empty trailer with no batteries, and no LP tank, etc.  What you need to consider is the gross vehicle weight or GVWR, which is in the neighborhood of 3750 lbs. for a 176.  Trailer manufacturers play a little game in marking lightweight trailers by significantly understating the real in use weight.  By the time you add liquids, all your gear, a battery or two, and LP gas, you will be well up into the high 3K lbs. range.  

Congrats on the 176. Hope you make many happy memories  with it. Glad you have settled on the need for a brake controller and WDH. My vote goes to the Fastway E2. Used that on our 179 for 10's of thousands of miles. Never felt out of control.

Carlisle load range D tires are made in China.  I have purchased several over the years and they all are stamped with their country of origin.  Load range D tires work better to dampen trailer sway, but the comfort achieved by using a WDH and keeping the trailer and TV balanced makes a tremendous difference.  If you have a vehicle with a high towing capacity so that the weight balance is not really an issue, then it's overkill.  But, when you have a vehicle that has a 5000 pound tow limit, the WHD for a typical rPod 170 series makes the cost well worth the comfort, safety, and stability you achieve.  When we towed our 172 with our Dodge Dakota it clearly needed the WHD and I am very glad we had it, especially in high cross winds.

Jim, a lot depends on the model RPod (or other trailer). The heavier 178/179/180/190, etc. would be a different scenario than the lighter ones The heavier trailers have a correspondingly heavier tongue weight. More tongue weight, more load on the back end. Thus, while you might not need or want a WD hitch, I would not tow without it.