Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new 2500RL. Many of your questions can be answered with information in our welcome letter. Here's a copy:
https://gdrvowners.com/forum/main-fo...to-new-members

Now, on to your question about sway bars. I also pull a travel trailer. I always use a hitch with sway control. I use the Blue Ox hitch, but other brands do a good job too. The sway control hitches are needed to keep sway to a minimum and can really help if you have a side wind or when a truck passing. Rough roads have little to do with causing sway.

If you do choose to use a sway control hitch, make sure you read your tow vehicles owners manual about how to set them up, and to determine if you need to change any settings on traction control or built in sway control.

Again, welcome,

Jim

Do you HAVE to? No. But it is safer and makes towing easier on the driver.

Is it a must to use a WDH, as mentioned "POSSIBLY NOT". What determines if you need one is your tow vehicle. You only mention what trailer you have. Are you trying to tow with a 1/2 ton class truck or SUV, a 3/4 ton truck or SUV, 1 ton class truck, or possibly a class 8.

Tow Vehicle is the 1st component of determining IF you need a WDH. The second is sway control. Do you have to have sway control, short answer NO, long answer is more of how do you plan to use the trailer including towing distances and locations. I prefer the advantages of the WDH helping to keep the front of the vehicle down thus resulting in steering control, close to proper alignment of headlights should they be needed, and sway control.

Many people do not realize that the front tires of a vehicle are most of the braking force to stop the vehicle, this includes towing. If the front tires are lifted significantly when you hit the brakes the front tires can loose more weight due to the load from the trailer tongue pushing down on the rear of the vehicle. NOW you can argue trailer brakes are there to help, reality is trailer brakes fail, do not apply fast enough, etc. Not using a WDH when needed can create an unsafe condition for everyone around (occupants of your TV and other vehicles) when you are towing.

Back to your question, do you need a WDH? Analyze your setup, trailer towing conditions, and experience towing trailer with high sail area. If you are asking, then most likely YES. Also remember you have limited availability of redistributing the load to reduce the tongue weight unlike utility trailers.

I towed a 34' TT with out a weight distribution hitch one time. On the back roads around home it was not bad, down the 2 lane highway at 45 to 55 mph it was horrible. The sway and bounce made the rig almost uncontrollable. I dropped it off at the dealer for inspection and when I picked it up I installed the weight distribution bars and the sway control and had a much nicer experience on the way home.

I do not recommend towing with out the proper set up.

Brian

I have never towed a large TT (I have a 5th Wheel) so, this is just a question from the sidelines . . . but, how do the delivery drivers travel all those thousands of miles without WDHs? The trailers would have the lightest possible hitch weight which should make things worse and as they pass me in the left lane, I don’t see the trailers swaying. Albeit, most of the delivery tow vehicles are duallies, but not all of them.

Rob