I'll leave the calculation question to others as I'd be guessing but I wanted to say that I bought Curt's Bluetooth brake controller this summer and I'm really happy with it. The device cost most than others but the install was way less so they ended up about the same. 

Welcome...I hope you love your pod as much as I love mine.

Julie

This is the brand of brake controller I had installed on my Tacoma; it is posted on the Forest River forums' classified section.

https://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f246/new-never-used-tekonsha-p3-brake-controller-220715.html

I have used a 2" drop WDH for our 195, but used a straight 2" ball and hitch when we had a 179. We used sway control with both hitches. Really not too concerned about 3/4" difference as long as the hitch weight was right. Others will be able to express more grounded opinions on this issue for sure.

The Rpods are so much fun; good choice.

Go with a 1" - 2" drop (front of pod lower than rear) when towing.  Reduces potential of sway.  Ideally you also want 10% - 12% trailer weight on your receiver, again to reduce potential of sway.

I'm pretty sure the 2" drop/ 1" rise means if you install it one way you have a 2" drop, but if you turn it over (and install the ball from the other direction) you have a 1" rise.

It's nice to get things as close to right as you can, but remember, when you put the weight of the Pod down on the ball, the back end of your truck is probably going to go down a bit.

TT

If you get a wdh that will have a set of adjustments you will need to work through to get the trailer level and the front axle of the Taco back to the same load/height it was without the trailer. Ideally you want the trailer as close to level as possible when hitched up so you can roll into an overnight campsite and/or rest area and catch some zzzz's without having to unhitch. 

As for brake controllers, I agree with mcarter. The Tekonsha P2 is a very nice, simple and relatively inexpensive controller. The P3 has more bells and whistles but the same underlying functionality, it would be a better choice probably if you were towing more than one type of trailer. Either one is good and the company has a good reputation. 

Whatever you choose, do get a proportional controller, which uses accelerometers (like what's in your smartphone) to apply the trailer brakes in proportion to the rate at which you are applying the Taco's brakes. When you get it, set it up yourself and be sure you familiarize yourself with its operation and adjustments, you should use its manual control to test the trailer brakes out each time you hitch up. 

You can back up with the wdh installed, not a problem. They take slightly longer to hitch up because you need to tension the spring bars that are pushing the  front of the tow vehicle down but once you have it adjusted the first time its easy, and you can raise the jack to take the tension off the bars while hitching and unhitching. You will be attaching some hitch parts to the tongue for the spring bars to connect to and will need to allow some time with the rig on a flat surface to get everything set up right to begin with, but the improvement in ride, handling, and control is well worth it when you're towing with a (relatively) light tow vehicle like your Taco or my Highlander.  

You should also think about sway control as part of your wdh selection process. If you do a search on this forum you will find lots of discussion on wdh and sway control brands pros and cons. 

Similar to this:

That's debatable. Any WDH will "preload" the receiver. Once I've loaded the round bars, everything is pretty darn tight down there. We don't hear any clunks or thunks when the WDH is engaged, so my inclination is that it's somewhat redundant. OTOH, it would be kind of like belt plus suspenders, and the tightener is pretty inexpensive.

I don't think you're missing anything, the spring bars do attach to the ball mount assembly of the wdh. It's just that once tightened the stinger is trying to rotate the tow vehicle down in the front by applying torque to the receiver so there is less likelihood of getting that clunking noise. Less but not zero. My wdh will still clunk in the receiver occasionally, just much less frequently than when the bars aren't tightened. Personally the clunking noise doesn't bother me, it just tells me the trailer is still attached back there. 

You can do it! 

If you're talking about the high torque settings for attaching the ball you don't need to buy a huge torque wrench. It's not rocket science.  Turn the hitch 90 degrees in the receiver. Put your socket and breaker bar on the ball nut and step on the breaker bar, being careful not to fall. If for example the torque setting is 250 ft-lbs (3000 in-lbs) and you weigh 250 lbs  step 12 inches from the center of the nut. If you weigh 125 lbs, step 24 inches out, if you weigh 175 lbs step 17 inches out. IOW, take the ft-lb torque setting, multiply by 12, then divide by your weight and step out that number of inches. Put all your weight on the breaker bar and bounce up and down a little bit just to be sure, it won't hurt anything. 

Check out the Andersen 'No-Sway' Weight Distribution Hitch.

It's not terribly difficult to install, and there are easy workarounds for he high torque requirements (see above). We bought the E2 and the RP179 together as a  "package", and the dealer set it all up.

https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Anti-Rattle/Curt/C22321.html?feed=npn&gclid=CjwKCAiA5IL-BRAzEiwA0lcWYoo8RqXL0LcPO-pvRdAtAIZxOcS03sPwaSLjxVFXGcqE787imVmtvBoCpJQQAvD_BwE - https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Anti-Rattle/Curt/C22321.html?feed=npn&gclid=CjwKCAiA5IL-BRAzEiwA0lcWYoo8RqXL0LcPO-pvRdAtAIZxOcS03sPwaSLjxVFXGcqE787imVmtvBoCpJQQAvD_BwE