The hitch weight on the M17 is 300 lbs and the dry weight is 2900 lbs. Your tow capaciy is 5,000 lbs. Why do you feel the need for a weight distribution hitch? I seriously doubt your vehicle will sag hardly anything with the 300 lb tongue on it. Also there are some really heavy setups out there. You may end up adding so much to the tongue weight percentage wise that the end result benefit is negligible.
Now this may be just my opinion, but hear me out... Ultra light trailers are designed with the specific purpose of making them towable by lower capacity tow vehicles. I really feel that people with towing capacity of 5k spending money on a WDH for an Edge, do it because a) That's what they're used to with an old style heavy trailer, b) They get suckered into it by a salesman, or c) Simply don't do the math.
I recently bought an M18 which I tow with a Honda Ridgeline. Being the skeptical person that I am, you could have gotten the presidents of Honda and Heartland in the same room telling me I needed a WDH and I still would have asked to see the figures. Alas, it wasn't any of those bigwigs but the manager at my dealership who said "with that Ridgeline you're gonna need a WDH". I played halfway dumb and said "really? I thought I wouldn't need one because the tongue weight is 300, dry weight is 3000 and my vehicle is rated for 5." He looked at me like I was crazy, then turned to the salesman and went "that only has a 300 tongue weight???" That was the end of that discussion.
Next, I asked my friend who has a lot more trailering experience than me to come help me pick up the trailer from the dealer. He goes "I'll help you pick it up but before your first trip you're gonna need a WDH"... We had the same discussion and not fully convinced came along to help me pick it up figuring I would see the error of my ways. Got to the dealer, hooked the trailer up and the Ridgeline didn't budge at all. Scratching their heads, my friend and the salesman were impressed and commented on how well it handled the weight. Thats when I let out of the bag that I even had a generator and a bunch of tools in the underbed compartment. I guess i was right and 300 lbs is not the end of the world.
Moral of the story, I encourage you to try pulling it first without the WDH even if it's just once and you might find out you don't need it. Also if you look around in other threads you will see several people reached the same conclusion with good results on the smaller Edges. Good luck!
PS. I did install a sway control bar due to really strong winds on my main hroute to camping areas. They come with a tab that you can just weld on to your regular all mount.
