How to Tow a Travel Trailer, Plus 5 Equipment Essentials

Whether you’ve been drooling over RVing blogs, camping vlogs and photographs of the open road, or you simply decided it was time for a new toy, you’ve decided to buy a travel trailer.

Great choice! Now what?

Well, now it’s time to figure out how to tow a travel trailer. I know. It can be daunting. Driving that giant new house on wheels down the open highway – you have more in common with that giant 18-wheeler barreling down the fast lane than with that minivan in your rearview mirror.

Don’t worry. It’s worth it. You’re well on your way to enjoying beautiful sunsets, fresh air, breathtaking landscapes and a rare sense of freedom.

To choose a hitch, ask yourself two basic questions:

1. What kind of travel trailer do you plan to tow?
2. What kind of vehicle do you plan to pull the trailer with?

If you purchased a travel trailer with a 5th wheel coupler (called a king pin box), you’ll need a pickup truck and a 5th wheel hitch to tow it.

For the purposes of this guide, we’ll focus on equipment for bumper-pull travel trailers. In a nutshell, here’s what you’ll need to pull a travel trailer:

1. Receiver hitch
2. Weight distribution hitch
3. Sway control
4. Trailer wiring connection
5. Brake controller

Some people, like full-time RVers, have hitched up their trailer so many times, they make it look easy. For the rest of us, it’s better to err on the side of over preparedness.

There’s lots to remember when hitching up a travel trailer: secure the safety pin, plug in the wiring, test the lights, hook up the safety chains, raise the jack, take a snack break… You get the idea.

Why not make yourself a checklist of things to do before you hit the road? Better yet, here’s one for you! Print out this short list and keep it in your trailer tongue box or glove compartment and give it a once-over before leaving home. For a better understanding on the individual parts of a trailer, see this guide on the Anatomy of a Trailer. 

With your towing system set up and ready to go, you’ll be gliding down the highway like a hot marshmallow on a smore, right?

Maybe, but realistically, there are going to be some bumps along the way.

Before you embark upon that first trek, take a walk through your trailer and look for any cargo that might not fare well if you go over, say, a speed bump.

A well-stocked pantry, for example.

Make sure every cabinet door is shut tight, every appliance fastened down and all other cargo secured for the trip with the proper cargo straps.

So, your driving instructor’s advice wasn’t so bad after all. Driving defensively doesn’t just apply to automotive vehicles (that is, without trailers). It’s a critical rule when towing a travel trailer of any size.

Defensive driving means driving with safety at the forefront of your mind. With a big, heavy travel trailer in tow, it means increasing your stopping distance, merging slowly, staying calm and being patient (even when other drivers don’t reciprocate!).

Remember, towing a travel trailer is about enjoying the journey. Don’t be in a rush to reach your destination. Savor every mile!

A receiver hitch is a versatile piece of towing equipment that provides a square tube opening at the rear of your vehicle, typically just below the bumper. This tube can be used to mount all kinds of different towing accessories, including the equipment you’ll need to tow a travel trailer.

Receiver hitches come in standard sizes of 1-1/4”, 2” and 2-1/2”. Many larger vehicles, particularly those with a tow package, come factory-equipped with a receiver hitch.

If you’ve done any kind of research into RVing or towing, you may be familiar with weight distribution. A weight distribution hitch is a receiver hitch attachment that helps distribute your trailer’s tongue weight more evenly, keeping your vehicle and trailer level as you drive down the road.

One VERY IMPORTANT NOTE to keep in mind when towing a travel trailer (or any trailer, for that matter) is weight capacity and ratings. Vehicles are only rated to tow a certain amount of weight. This rating MUST BE sufficient to pull your trailer, or hooking up isn’t safe.

Consult with your vehicle owner’s manual before purchase.

Additionally, all of the components in your towing system must be rated to meet or exceed your trailer weight.

Think of it this way, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. That “weakest link” in your towing setup must be rated high enough to handle your travel trailer

While being pulled down the highway, trailers (especially large travel trailers) tend to wobble in a side-to-side motion, particularly when passed by a semi, pickup truck or other large vehicle. This is what’s known as trailer sway.

Trailer sway can be nothing more than a nuisance if your towing system is set up correctly. However, if unchecked, it can lead to dangerous driving conditions. To improve your tow and prevent sway, check out our lineup of sway control trailer hitches. 

It’s very possible that if you’re towing your travel trailer with a pickup truck or SUV, your vehicle will already be equipped with a trailer wiring connection.

Even if it is, you’ll need to make sure the vehicle connector matches the format of the trailer connector. There are a handful of standard formats, including 4-way flat and 7-way RV blade.

The final piece of essential equipment for towing your travel trailer is a brake controller. Trailers, particularly larger trailers, come with their own set of brakes to assist the tow vehicle in its efforts to stop.

Trailer brakes require a special device to active them. This device is called a brake controller.

First, check to make sure your travel trailer actually has brakes. Some smaller campers don’t need them.

Then, if your trailer has brakes, choose a brake controller that fits your lifestyle. 

Depending on your travel trailer size, the tongue weight (that is, the weight exerted at the tongue of the trailer) can be quite substantial; substantial meaning 500+ pounds. When this weight is unchecked, it can impair your control over the vehicle and lead to some nasty trailer sway.

Enter the weight distribution hitch.

This hitch accessory acts like a spring or brace, leveraging the trailer connection point to actually make the vehicle and trailer more level.

Weight distribution is generally for trailers between 5,000 and 15,000 pounds.

Learn more about weight distribution hitches here!

Do yourself a favor: if you’re planning to tow a travel trailer (and since you’re reading this, we’ll assume you are), address trailer sway now.

A trailer sway control unit is a simple attachment for your hitch that helps restrict this side-to-side motion.

BONUS TIP: Certain weight distribution hitches, such as the CURT TruTrack, combine both weight distribution and sway control into one product, eliminating the need for the extra purchase and setup.

If your vehicle doesn’t have a standard connector, you’ll need to purchase a custom wiring harness, unique to your year, make and model.

If your vehicle does have a standard connector but it doesn’t match your trailer’s format, you’ll need to purchase an adapter.

Depending on when they were manufactured, travel trailers can come with a few different connector types, typically 6-way round, 7-way round or 7-way RV blade.