Sway Bar Vs Weight Distribution

You may or may not "need anything". A lot of towing comfort is subjective.

It's not a "vs" thing. They do two different things. If your truck squats in the rear when hooked up, you need a WDH. If you have sway.. well.. you need anti sway. Some WDH's include anti-sway.

We "don't need" a WDH.. but we run one because the ride is much improved. We have never suffered sway, but I am careful about loading. And our new eX has built in sway control.

Originally posted by Rod Pod My dealer states I don't need anything...

Mine said I didn't need a WDH, but I was getting just a little too much squat, and even more after I went to two 6V deep cycle batteries instead of a single 12V. My dealer did recommend a sway bar, but he threw it into the deal.

WDH and sway control are two separable, but often combined, functions. A weight distribution hitch (WDH) corrects for weight added to the rear of the tow vehicle behind the rear axle. It's main function is to return weight to the front axle that does all the steering for the pair. If too much weight is removed from the front axle the TV will lose steering control and seem to "float". It will also affect breaking. Therefore the WDH transfers weight from the TV rear axle back to the front axle and also the trailer axle. Secondary effects of WDH are less porpoising or bouncing when going over bumps and dips. This greatly improves ride quality and reduces driver fatigue.

Sway control is just that; control of trailer sway. Depending on trailer loading, speed, wind conditions, and 18 wheeler traffic the trailer may walk from side to side or sway. Sway control devices use some sort of friction based apparatus to damp this sway. Sway is difficult to anticipate and even more difficult to stop if it gets started.

Although the two functions are separate, they are often combined in good hitches. E2, Equalizer, Reese, and Anderson are some of the best brands. They all use the standard 2" receiver and come with all the necessary extras. Depending on your tow vehicle you may or may not "need" sway and/or WDH, but most folks eventually find they want both. With PODs, the general experience is anything less than a half ton PU or large SUV such as Expedition or Suburban will require WDH/Sway control.

Since this is new to me, do owners here recommend either (or both) for a 2008 Ford F150 towing a 178? There'll be only me and not much added weight/stuff in the trailer at this early point in my trailing (if I happen to go more full-time, perhaps).

Can you just pull the pin out of the E2 to disconnect while the Pod is parked at a site?