WD hitches - Event Date: 07 Nov 2016 - 01 Dec 2016

Please remember that the forum does not have the ability to convey tone and body language. Nothing I said was intended as a "tongue lashing." It was just a reminder that one's experience cannot be used as a guide to what others can expect since not everyone has the same TV, Trailer, or even loading of each. If one can save money, I am all for that. I am not for compromising safety. If you can tow with your setup with no problems, great. I could not do so with my current TV. One of these days, I hope to upgrade vehicles, but want to wait until I get this one paid down.

The Nissan Frontier has a tow rating of around 6100 lbs (based on my Crew Cab 2010 Frontier 4x4). The trailer will push down the back end some and lift the front some. Whether that is enough to make it unsafe since the weight is taken off the steering wheels, I can't say. The first time I towed our 179 with the Frontier, I had to go with just the hitch ball since the WD was set up for the Escape which had just been put out of commission by an encounter with ice and wind while towing. I was getting the high-beam blinking from oncoming drivers, so it does affect the vehicle. That being said, steering seemed to be okay.

There are different ways to handle this. The first is to go with a WD hitch with sway control. We have the Equal-i-zer 4-point sway control hitch. After I got it set up for the Frontier, I did notice a difference in how things rode. It will help with porpoising (bouncing up and down with the joints in concrete roads and bridge joints) also.

The second is to go with beefing up the rear suspension with either air springs or the rubber Timbren rear suspension enhancements. Either will do the job for the sagging rear end/elevated front end. However, with these, you would still want to add a sway control bar.

A third option for sway control is to go with a Hayes No-Sway electronic sway control. This mounts on the A frame and with a built-in GPS and gyroscope, detects any sway at speeds of more than 45 mph. If there is a sway condition, it applies the trailer brakes to bring the trailer back behind the to vehicle. Since it can react quicker than a person trying to reach for the dash manual brake control and it can act even if the driver is too occupied to be able to reach the control, it is a good alternative to a sway bar. Plus, it would not need to be loosened or removed before backing. I purchased one of these after our accident as an adjunct to the Equal-i-zer in case we ever encountered another situation where the hitch's sway control would be inadequate. If you do decide to get it, eTrailer has their lowest price pledge. If you find it at a lower price elsewhere, they will match it at 110%.

Least desirable is a friction sway bar. While that is the cheapest option, cheapest is not always the best. There are other posts about bent mounting plates for friction bars where it bent during sharp turns. It has to be released before backing. You mention getting a hitch and sway bar at U-haul. I am going to have to assume that you mean the hitch ball and sway bar. If I recall correctly, the Nissan should have come with the factory tow package that includes the 2" receiver and the round Bargman connector. What it does not include is the brake controller. Do you have that already installed? If not, then you will need that as well. The good thing is that the Frontier has the wiring connector in place to make it a plug-and-play installation unlike the Escape where I had to run wires from front to back and more.