2016 Forest River RV Rockwood High Wall Series HW296

Hi everyone, I have a 2023 TRD Off Road with the tow package. Other than installing a brake controller would I need anything else to tow this high wall camper? Thanks

 

Congrats on both of your rigs.
I use a weight distribution hitch/sway bar to keep the trailers weight off the taco and swaying in control. I also love my rear view camera that is on the back of my Wolfpup trailer. No blind spots to worry about behind you when I’m on the road and especially when backing up. Happy trails !

 

You need a WDH and rear camera and side mirror extenders (I got cheap ama-zon ones and they worked fine). That's the max you can really tow effectively and you will be living in the slow lane. Don't forget your flashers going up *every* hill.

 

Thanks guys, I didn’t buy the camper yet. I wanted to make sure the Tacoma would tow it easily first. It’s not travel trailer, it’s more of a pop up or in between. It’s a high wall pop up. I think I’ll be able to see behind it with stock mirrors. Hitch weight is 370 pounds. That’s why I’m not sure if I would need the weight distribution or sway bar. Anyone have experience with these high walls that they can share? Thanks

 

It depends on what your hitch weight actually comes out to when you have it loaded up. The specs on the brochure don't include all your stuff loaded in plus I think the propane tank, so the actual weight will be higher. I'd bet you're looking at about 450 lbs tongue weight once it's loaded. Now that being said, 450 is okay for a Taco, the manual recommends one above 500 lbs tongue weight. Having one put on anyways won't hurt, and there are plenty of relatively lightweight (60 lbs about) WDH with sway control you can use.

As for sway control, the manual recommends a sway bar for a very light trailer. Imo it doesn't necessarily need it depending on the type of trailer. If it's a Rockwood High Wall, then that's still a pop-up, just a larger one. I used to tow a Rockwood Freedom pop-up without any sway control and that thing could weigh 4,200 lbs loaded. I did however use a WDH since it had a very heavy tongue weight. My dad also tows an 18' Bushwhacker with his Frontier, which is a very similar truck, and it tows fine without any WDH or sway device.

I'd be fine towing it without any sway control device. Pop-ups are low profile and don't have as much surface area for wind to mess with you. Not saying it can't, but its a big difference between that and a 25' TT for instance. If the tongue weight will exceed 500 lbs, then look into a WDH. Also remember that that 500 lbs means ALL the weight on the hitch reciever, including the hitch itself. If you have a 470 lbs tongue with a 30 lbs hitch, time to look at a WDH. I would probably consider one if it went above 450 lbs just to be safe. If you're below that though, it will tow fine without one. I know that's not exactly a clear answer, but there's just a lot of variables to consider until the tongue is actually measured once loaded. Either way the Taco will tackle that thing no problem.

 

PatZ

thank you for the very detailed answer. I appreciate you taking the time to type all of that out. Do you have a suggestion on cheap WDH and a Break controller? Thanks again!

 

Your Tacoma will tow it but not easily. The Tacoma is underpowered/undergeared and towing a lot of weight and a big wind catcher makes it struggle. I’d go with something smaller or a larger truck.

A Redarc brake controller is a nice clean install that looks factory when installed.

 

No problem. I think just about any WDH rated for your tongue weight will do. Check out etrailer.com, and use them at the very least as a browsing sight for different WDHs. You can filter by tongue weight and type of hitch, so it's a good place to check out a few. The one I used with my trailer was just a Husky WDH

$455 Husky 31422 Round Bar Weight Distribution Hitch with Bolt-Together Ball Mount/Shank Assembly 800 Lbs Max Tongue

here. It was about as basic as it got. Now if you're willing to spend extra on a hitch, take a look at the Anderson hitches. The big thing with the Taco is managing the payload since you really don't have much to work with. If the tongue weight is less than 450 I probably wouldn't worry about one since a WDH adds 100 lbs on average against the payload. The Anderson hitch though only weighs 60 lbs. It's expensive, but it tends to work out really well with this truck. Fastway also makes a lightweight WDH, but still costs around the same.

As for brake controller, unfortunately I can't add much there. When I put one on my old Tacoma, I just had them throw whichever one they had in stock at the RV dealer. It worked great, but I don't recall the model (I don't own the Taco anymore).

 

etrailer is expensive, do some price comparisons and save money. The Redarc brake controllers are wonderful and highly-rated and easy to install yourself on a weekend. Plug-n-play. There are threads here on installing.

 

Thanks again everyone, I think I'm picking up the camper next week (weather permitting). I got a good price on it and the weight distribution hitch is included. Just gotta get a Break Controler now.