Help getting my truck ready to tow

Setup planned:
2016 Crew Max 4wd, towing package, 5.7L
2022 Catalina 184BHS, dry weight=4202, GVWR=5500, tongue weight=492 (all values are per Manufacturer, not actual weighing). I do know the tongue weight is before battery and propane fill.

Want to add tow mirrors. Have read a lot on the options, OEM style vs GM style. But a lot of them out there have BSM, which my truck does not have. Can I still use a mirror with the BSM circuits if It's not on my truck? Seems it would just sit unused, unless it changes connector pinout.

Hitch:
Dealer service said I'd be fine with just a ball, but not going to go that way. I've towed travel trailers for 20 years and tend to be conservative. So thinking a reese strait-line. WDH with cam anti-sway. They have one that is 6K max 600 tongue and one that is 8K with 400-800 tongue. Since the pass through storage is toward and some stuff will be in the bed, I/m thinking to 8K.
Thoughts?

 

I think you are right on track. Consider a rear sway bar and some LT rated tires (stock size) to firm up the sidewalls - this will trade off some acceleration performance for stability but is worth it IMO.

if I had to pick mirrors, I’d do OEM due to reports for the aftermarket mirrors having glass that vibrates going down the road not providing a good view.

 

I really like my Boost Auto GM style mirrors. If you order off their website, just say you don't have BSM and they'll send you the right ones. They're pricy, though. You can get cheaper ones off eBay but it's hard to confirm which years they're compatible with or which features they have. I went with the buy once, cry once mentality. The guys I've talked to who towed are not fans of the OEM ones.

As mentioned above, rear sway bar is a good add. I have the OEM Toyota one. It helped stabilize everything but there's still more body roll than I would like. I kind of wish I'd gone with the Helliwig, which I'm told is bigger and heavier.

I would definitely go with a weight distribution hitch with the anti sway trunnion style bars (i.e. not the kind with chains). I have an Equal-i-zer, which is said to be the best but the price reflects that. They have a calculator on their website to help you pick the right one but they don't have an 8000 lb one, just 6000 and 10,000. I ended up with a 10,000 lb for my trailer but it's at least 1000 lbs heavier than yours. Other brands that have been recommended to me are Fastway E2 and Curt Tru-Track. (Curt also has chain style WDHs but my understanding is that the Tru-Track has trunnion bars.)

 

Agreed with above and I believe the toyota manual states using a WDH with anything >5000lbs

 

WDH for sure. The ride, drive and safety/stability will be improved.

 

Just a little update. Got an email stating the rear sway bar would take 3-5 days to ship. Also ended up ordering the trail Ridge tow mirrors.
based on the dates I may not have any of the mods done before our scheduled pick up date. So will probably bring it home with just a ball and brake controller for the 4.6.miles from the dealer.

 

5 miles? Slow & low, downshift to slow down, slow through turns, just get it home so you have time and money to set it up correctly for your family, others on the road, and confidence while towing it. You'll be fine.

 

I’d add airbags to your list too. WDH does most of the work, but the bags will help with the rest. I got a set of the Firestone’s… I think I’ve only got 10 psi in them but it made a world of difference for a saggy rear end.

I went with the OEM tow mirrors too. I like them now that I’m used to them, but I see the appeal to the GM style… they have a larger convex mirror. And my oems don’t have bsm, tho the truck does. Just had to disable that feature from the trucks menu after install.

 

Now that I think through it, maybe I'll just bring it home with the 2500HD. Probably the smarter move with just a hitch ball. I've pulled a 30ft band trailer with it plenty of times with just the ball.

 

You'll be fine. You may want to install the ball in the ball mount upside down. I did that and it had my trailer pretty level on the way home.

 

Just a little update. Planned to take the 2500HD to pick up the new trailer. Got there and my wife saw a trailer she liked better. But was bigger than I wanted. And some comments from the service guy about the unit we were there to pick up concerned me. So after looking at several alternatives we settled on a different trailer. It weighs 4400 dry with a 490 hitch. GVWR 6000. Once it's home and loaded out I'll put it on the tongue scale. So I went ahead and ordered an equalizer 10000/1000 4 point hitch. Arrived today. Still plan to just take the 2500HD for pickup tomorrow.

Still haven't decided which truck will get tow duty.

 

I pull a 23 foot Gulfstream with an empty weight of 4,100 and GVWR of 6,080 very easily with my SR5. Entrance ramps are a blast allowing me to get in ahead of traffic instead of behind then. Once had 40 MPH direct crosswinds on a bridge that felt no worse than a semi blowing by on the interstate. WDH is a fastway E2 8,000.