My opinion only ...
Don't let the vehicle's tow rating fool you. And don't let the "dry weight" numbers on the TM fool you, either.
My Explorer is "rated" to tow 6800 pounds. Does that mean I don't need a WDH? Well, I made one trip without one several years ago, and I'll never do it again. The rig didn't run wild or swerve all over the road or threaten to throw me off the road - nothing nearly that dramatic. But it just didn't feel right, and I wasn't confident of my ability to control the rig in an emergency situation (and I've experienced a few since then).
As Mr. Adventure pointed out, putting weight on the hitch increases the load on the rear suspension. If you have a rugged suspension, this might not be a big deal. But more to the point, it takes weight off the front wheels. If you take a couple hundred pounds off the front wheels, you've done a number of things. First, you've aimed the headlights up in the air - other drivers are not going to like you at all, and you won't be able to see as well at night. Second, you've decreased the ability to steer and stop the vehicle. Again as Mr Adventure pointed out, all of the steering and probably 2/3 of the braking is done by the front wheels. Decreasing them doesn't seem like a smart thing to do, especially since you have just added two tons of steel behind the vehicle and are expecting the vehicle to control those tons, even in an unexpected emergency maneuver. Third, you've changed the front end geometry (meaning the direction and alignment of the front tires as they sit on the ground), and the way the front suspension operates. The design engineers didn't design it to operate properly with weight removed, so you will have decided that you are smarter than the automotive design engineers.
So my answer would be, why skip a WDH? It costs a bit, sure, but a couple hundred bucks is cheap compared to the vehicle or the trailer. And it takes a few extra seconds to hook up - but if you are in that much a hurry, you probably aren't really enjoying camping anyway.
You will find a few people on this board who tow without a WDH, and there are 1 or 2 or 3 who legitimately don't need a WDH for a TM. But if you are looking for "the blessing of the board", I doubt that you will find it.
Again, just my opinion and experience.
Bill
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