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Lumatic · 02-20-2012, 06:46 PM

I would get an Airsafe that you can also use a WD hitch and sway control with. I'm not sure if a class IV will do that or not but I know a class 5 will. I have an Airsafe with a Husky WD hitch with a Reese Friction Sway bar.

gypsybanker · 02-20-2012, 07:02 PM

thanks for all the replies folks;-)

gypsybanker · 02-20-2012, 07:14 PM

@silveregoose, thanks for that article. Very informative of what looks to be the cause of my argosy's issues. Its been on many dirt roads in the mountains in CA and CO. I will keep my fingers crossed that there'll be an over all improvement once I get the axles replaced.

Foiled Again · 02-20-2012, 08:45 PM

Have a Reese Dual Cam - heavy sucker. I was shopping for Christmas last year at Home Depot. They had a 2 for 1 sale - a heavy fabric tool bag with a plastic drawer unit that would hold screws, nails, rivets, etc. for about $20. The hitch rides in the tool bag in the back seat of the truck.

Handles on the tool bag are nice for lifting and stowing the hitch, bag keeps the rough spots from messing up the truck mats, etc. It also holds the hitch lock, and the various clips and pins that hold on my weight bars, my ball lube and the ball cover that keeps the lube off of my jeans.

**Stefrobrts** · 02-20-2012, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dznf0g

If I were you, I'd replace the axles, replace the rivets and watch things closely for awhile.
Then decide whether to spend the $$ on the airsafe.

I second this suggestion. We were losing rivets on the Caravel, but with the new axle it just floats along behind us, gentle as can be. It was the old stiff axle that was shaking the poor thing apart!

Lumatic · 02-20-2012, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stefrobrts

I second this suggestion. We were losing rivets on the Caravel, but with the new axle it just floats along behind us, gentle as can be. It was the old stiff axle that was shaking the poor thing apart!

I agree. An Air Safe hitch won't help much if the coach has bad axles. That is not to say an Air Safe is still not a good idea, especially over rough roads and a TV with a stiff suspension.

Friday · 02-20-2012, 10:23 PM

I have the baby Airsafe class III... love it. It doesn't have any option for weight distribution but does have a tab to mount one friction sway control. The bigger Airsafes are heavy and expensive, but they work. You'll find a lot of trash talk about them, mostly from those who have never tried one.

I used it on my Basecamp and it made it so much nicer to tow with our little truck... no hammering of the hitch on rougher roads... much, much smoother ride in the trailer when I hopped in for a test-ride. Now, I use the same one on my 22 foot, and tow with a Sequoia... same thing... super smooth and just makes the whole trip a lot more enjoyable. I'm on the edge of the capabilities of the class III, so I might step up to the next one.

Every now and then they have a good sale... or... just call them up and tell them you want a deal. They seem to be good that way.

ROBERT CROSS · 02-21-2012, 06:04 AM

Argosybanker gal,

I would go with the axle replace first...then chooze any of the other "gizmo's" you feel are needed.

You will most likely find that whatever they turn out to be, they will be demonstrably better than any choice anyone else has made.

Bob

perryg114 · 02-21-2012, 06:14 AM

I would replace the axels like the others have said. Also what sort of tires are you running? Some folks are running E rated tires at max pressure which will make your trailer ride like the wheels are solid. Also when you are not running at max load you can let some air out of the tow vehicle tires. If you have an IR thermometer you can measure tire temperature at the edges and the center. Higher temp in the center means too much air. Higher temp at the edges means too little air. I would do this on the TV and the trailer.

Perry

slowmover · 02-25-2012, 05:09 PM

Basics first, band-aids second.

Friday · 02-26-2012, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Argosybanker gal,

I would go with the axle replace first...then chooze any of the other "gizmo's" you feel are needed.

You will most likely find that whatever they turn out to be, they will be demonstrably better than any choice anyone else has made.

Bob

Axles must be gizmos then as well? Or is the science behind a compliant suspension different than the science behind a compliant link to the tow vehicle?

Try it, then bash it.

ROBERT CROSS · 02-26-2012, 10:45 AM

[QUOTE=Friday

Try it, then bash it.[/QUOTE]

Why.....other's don't.

And after all my choice of gizmo's ARE better than all the others.

Bob

Friday · 02-26-2012, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Why.....other's don't.

And after all my choice of gizmo's ARE better than all the others.

Bob

Did you read the thread with the 'unswayable Hensley' that totalled a 25 footer and a Titan? On a flat, straight highway?

ROBERT CROSS · 02-26-2012, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Friday

Did you read the thread with the 'unswayable Hensley' that totalled a 25 footer and a Titan? On a flat, straight highway?

No.

unswayable, Bob

dznf0g · 02-26-2012, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Friday

Did you read the thread with the 'unswayable Hensley' that totalled a 25 footer and a Titan? On a flat, straight highway?

Link please....I'm interested.

Airslide · 02-26-2012, 05:41 PM

I believe Friday is referring to this link.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...tch-82925.html

Vinnie

Friday · 02-26-2012, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airslide

I believe Friday is referring to this link.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...tch-82925.html

Vinnie

That's the one... and sorry, it was a 31' and a Titan...

ROBERT CROSS · 02-27-2012, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Friday

That's the one... and sorry, it was a 31' and a Titan...

Cause?.............. could it have an accident?

Truth....Fri don't use a ppp & RC don't use an airsafe, and as such neither one knows what their talking about not having tried the other.

No bashing intended or implied.

Bob

Friday · 02-27-2012, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Cause?.............. could it have an accident?

Truth....Fri don't use a ppp & RC don't use an airsafe, and as such neither one knows what their talking about not having tried the other.

No bashing intended or implied.

Bob

I think the concept of the Propride or Hensley is fantastic. If I had a configuration that it would work with, I'd have one. I priced out the Cub and even though it was about 3x as much as a Reese set up, my trailer is about 3x as much as a box-mo-bile.

My bigger issue with my configuration was my trailer getting pounded to smithereens on our rough Northern BC roads. I had the Airsafe from towing my much lighter Basecamp behind my much lighter Tacoma. When I picked up the 22', it came with an Equalizer that was incorrectly configured and the people towed it for 2000 miles (behind a Tacoma) saying how great it was to tow. There was no tension on the bars, and one of the link-pins had fallen out, so one was just swaying in the wind not even attached to the trailer. They also had no safety pin in the spare-tire tray, so that was a miracle it didn't drop...

Anyway... since the hitch was missing a piece, I towed it the last 500 miles to my house and used my Airsafe. The trailer was very docile and in strong cross winds, on 2-way highways with lots of big rigs, it never moved a tiny bit. This is in some fairly demanding areas.

Here is my dilemma... my 22' weighs around 4500 loaded, and the hitch weight is 460lbs loaded. My Sequoia drops about an inch when it's on the ball. I've got the recommended 10 to 15% trailer weight on the ball, and my truck is as level as recommended by any WD manual I've seen. So.. by adding a WD hitch, all I am doing is hanging an extra 190lbs on the back, then tensioning to remove that 190lbs back to the front. Useless.

The short overhang of my Sequoia creates other issues... WD hitches can really screw up weight transfer when the axle is so close to the hitch... it is quite possible to hit undulating pavement and get a situation where your back-end is completely unweighted. When I read the Titan thread, I'm not sure that isn't what happened to that guy. By making the trailer a 'solid' connection to the TV with a Hensley/PP... if the trailer is indeed trying to move the TV, the choices are for it to twist the hitch right off, or move the entire vehicle sideways.

It isn't a sway-eliminator, it simple transfers that force to the entire vehicle, front and back, making sway impossible to detect until you are on a rocket ride into the ditch. Now, I don't think ANY hitch is going to save you in that situation... I'm just saying a badly set up WD can create more problems that it solves.

So... I've looked at a friction sway control, and have been advised by many people that they don't fix anything. If the trailer wants to sway, you can tighten it up as much as you want and it's going to sway.

My rig tows great, and anything I add to it is going to create problems I then need to solve. A Hensley is great, but now my ball is further back than my Airsafe, so I've created more overhang which gives more chance for sway and more tension to transfer weight forward. Not only is it longer, it's heavy (they all are, but the HH especially) so I'm adding 190lbs sticking 3 feet out the back of my Sequoia... again, creating more problems... And, there is no way my wife could manage to lift the HH to install it.

Anyway... I'm am certain for lots of people, the HH or PPP is perfection. For me, it doesn't make sense.

The Airsafe with a dual-cam or similar would also be a nice setup for those looking to prioritize their problems a different way.

I also notice that Hensley is selling an air-ride setup on their site... so even they recognize it's usefulness.

Lumatic · 02-27-2012, 06:32 PM

A couple other pros on the Airsafe:
1. You can easily adjust the level of the trailer easily by adding or releasing air
2. Making the rating of the spring bars on a WD hitch more verstile. I use a heavy spring bar (just because that is what I have). The air bag works in tandem with the spring bars on a WD hitch.