Dealer recommends Equalizer as a more 'user friendly' than ProPride?

[sheriff1]

More like you need to spend $2500 to try to correct your poor vehicle choice.

[SteveSueMac]

Thanks, aftermath - I slept ok [emoji3]

[gandttimes]

The is a less expensive alternative that some of us may be able to use.
When we went from our 20ft safari to our 25ft fb I realized that I needed to change trucks. Went to a 1500 GM with max tow. Great. I immediately noticed that the towing was less twitchy going from single to double, but a bigger change was going from the stock wranglers that I could inflate to only 35psi to a load C wrangler with kevlar that would take 50psi.
Stronger sidewalls, less flex and any slight sway I had felt with my Equal-i-zer was gone. Now done over 50k towing and I feel very satisfied with the towing performance.

[bono]

Fixed

Originally Posted by sheriff1

Very easy, if you WANT a PP or Hensley, great! If you NEED weight distribution hitch, you don't have enough vehicle for your trailer.

[rmkrum]

I'll just run what I brung, y'all...

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by sheriff1

More like you need to spend $2500 to try to correct your poor vehicle choice.

Yup, a VPP is pretty much the bandaid needed with a pickup truck.

[Lyman]

I find most guys who are older with mostly 33 foot trailers are the ones using the Hensley hitch. Think years ago some of the newer stuff was not around. I talked with people with Hensley and they love them. I would say looking at them that they must do the best job of any other hitch. But not many people are going to spend the money as they cost twice as much as others. I tow with a Blue Ox and like it as so simple to hook up. Back in THE GOOD DAYS I started towing with a 1971 Chev car with a chrome bumper on it. I put a little clamp on hitch right on bumper no frame connection. Pulled 18 foot travel trailer with surge brakes on it from Spokane to Wi and back. Thought nothing of it. Sway might have been there with that who would know. Family was young and we so happy to be on road would not have known what sway was. Any type of hitch anyone uses today is so much better and safer than the past.

[sheriff1]

Originally Posted by slowmover

Yup, a VPP is pretty much the bandaid needed with a pickup truck.

I love my "inferior " F350 Diesel 4X4. If your happy with your perfect tow vehicle [emoji594] , good for you! (Fiat 500)? Equipped the ppp hitch of course!

[bono]

Are you going to add this link to all threads?

Originally Posted by james.mileur

http://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/1...owing-a-camper

Remember when passing, your trailer has to clear the vehicle to safely complete the maneuver.

[james.mileur]

Originally Posted by bono

Are you going to add this link to all threads?

I'll assume non-facetious and reply only that I dropped it on all the towing, truck choice, hitch choice threads that I had in the "Participated" tab on my phone, for maximum distribution asap.

A small bit of caution can save a chunk of TV, TT, and lives.

A word to the Wise should suffice, the committed Fools will eventually find "The Stupid will be punished" off-ramp.

[2wiresdave]

I recently purchased a used 2010 Flying Cloud 30. We have a 2017 Ford F350 6.7 diesel that we had purchased to tow our 5th wheel weighing in at 12K lbs. The Airstream came up for sale nearby, at a great price, was well cared for and we always wanted one but I like to buy used RV's a few years old generally, and the model we liked was a bit of a needle in a haystack locally. Wasn't planning on finding one, or I probably wouldn't have bought quite as much truck.

We towed the trailer 500 miles last week with the Blue Ox hitch I bought along with both the 1000lb and 1500lb bars as I wanted to see what the difference was. Coming from a motorhome towing a car, to a 5th wheel towed by one ton trucks and then towing boats all my life, I never felt unsafe with the set up but was surprised at how much input from the Airstream could be felt in the seat of my pants. Watching the mirrors while windy with semi's passing I could see a bit of tail wagging that realistically was small and I wouldn't even characterize as sway but could still be felt again in the "seat of my pants". I have towed 5-8000 miles annually for years now so I am not new to the whole thing, but am new to the whole travel trailer towing experience.

Yesterday I ordered a ProPride hitch. Why? because (and Sean at PP and I laughed about this), I have a 60K+ truck with a topper filled with nice bicycles, a cab with me and my wife and two dogs. We are towing a great rig that we really like. Going down the road we are towing well in excess of 100K worth of stuff. My motorhome required close to 3k worth of stuff to tow our car, so the price of the PP didn't seem extreme to me at less than 2% of the total cost to connect the two. The Blue Ox will sell quick on CL.

I think from everything I have read that many people are quite happy with their hitches of all makes, I have also read of several people unhappy with their hitches of all makes except for PPP hitches...across the board. Price is the typical objection to PPP hitches and I get that. But in the grand scheme of things to me I figured what the heck, I got my dream truck, my dream trailer, why skimp now. I could have bought a much cheaper trailer too, but it wouldn't have been the one that makes us smile.

Now, if someone else loves their hitch and feels it works for them...that's great too, and I actually think my Blue Ox would work out fine - but I just didn't want to be left wondering on some windy day getting buffeted by semi trucks on a wide open western highway.

I plan on towing the Airstream a few more times before installing the PP sometime next week just so the towing experience is fresh in my mind when I do some test runs after with the PP. I hope I can be objective about the difference or lack of.

We need more "YMMV" and less ""your wrong" because everyone has a point and has to do what's right for them.

[rmkrum]

I ran up and down the same route (Cajon Pass, Interstate 15) from Corona, Ca to Victorville, CA and back with the original hitch setup. After I installed the PP setup, I ran the exact same route in similar conditions. Night and day better (YMMV). As far as I'm concerned, that validated the decision to spend the money. Dittos on the value of the cargo, AS, pets, and family--priceless!

Do follow the install directions carefully, and adjust it properly. I have to adjust the WD bar jacks up or down depending upon how the trailer is loaded to get solid steering stability without porpoising on the highways around here. It is easy to detect the 'light front end' feel if you pay attention while you drive. For me, I can easily tell if it's not right--motion-sensitive wife gets green around the gills (grin).

Look around in the forums, there are many threads that talk about proper hitch setup and measurements using CAT scales to dial in the setup, not just for ProPride...its a great setup.

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by 2wiresdave

I recently purchased a used 2010 Flying Cloud 30. We have a 2017 Ford F350 6.7 diesel that we had purchased to tow our 5th wheel weighing in at 12K lbs. The Airstream came up for sale nearby, at a great price, was well cared for and we always wanted one but I like to buy used RV's a few years old generally, and the model we liked was a bit of a needle in a haystack locally. Wasn't planning on finding one, or I probably wouldn't have bought quite as much truck.

We towed the trailer 500 miles last week with the Blue Ox hitch I bought along with both the 1000lb and 1500lb bars as I wanted to see what the difference was. Coming from a motorhome towing a car, to a 5th wheel towed by one ton trucks and then towing boats all my life, I never felt unsafe with the set up but was surprised at how much input from the Airstream could be felt in the seat of my pants. Watching the mirrors while windy with semi's passing I could see a bit of tail wagging that realistically was small and I wouldn't even characterize as sway but could still be felt again in the "seat of my pants". I have towed 5-8000 miles annually for years now so I am not new to the whole thing, but am new to the whole travel trailer towing experience.

Yesterday I ordered a ProPride hitch. Why? because (and Sean at PP and I laughed about this), I have a 60K+ truck with a topper filled with nice bicycles, a cab with me and my wife and two dogs. We are towing a great rig that we really like. Going down the road we are towing well in excess of 100K worth of stuff. My motorhome required close to 3k worth of stuff to tow our car, so the price of the PP didn't seem extreme to me at less than 2% of the total cost to connect the two. The Blue Ox will sell quick on CL.

I think from everything I have read that many people are quite happy with their hitches of all makes, I have also read of several people unhappy with their hitches of all makes except for PPP hitches...across the board. Price is the typical objection to PPP hitches and I get that. But in the grand scheme of things to me I figured what the heck, I got my dream truck, my dream trailer, why skimp now. I could have bought a much cheaper trailer too, but it wouldn't have been the one that makes us smile.

Now, if someone else loves their hitch and feels it works for them...that's great too, and I actually think my Blue Ox would work out fine - but I just didn't want to be left wondering on some windy day getting buffeted by semi trucks on a wide open western highway.

I plan on towing the Airstream a few more times before installing the PP sometime next week just so the towing experience is fresh in my mind when I do some test runs after with the PP. I hope I can be objective about the difference or lack of.

We need more "YMMV" and less ""your wrong" because everyone has a point and has to do what's right for them.

Should I ever come to the conclusion that towing and Airstream or SOB is so dangerous and life threatening, that the only thing that would keep me from certain sway induced catastrophe and possible death is a $ 3,000.00 hitch that comes with 23 pages of instructions I will will be selling our Airstream and stop towing period.
And I would suggest that anyone feeling that insecure and unqualified towing that that is a must for them should stay of the road to keep the rest of us safe.

Why is it that reading any of these threads about hitches and there are countless, always end up with the same undertones invariably suggesting that unless one is using a ProPride or Hensley he is endangering his family and the general motoring public.
Frankly I find all this rather absurd.
Accidents are rarely induced by equipment failure or the lack of.

[Mollysdad]

My criticism of the Equalizer hitch is that adjusting it is like starting over.
I'm liking the new Reese Stedi-Flex more. (But I'm not dumping the Equalizer.)

[ROBERT CROSS]

“If your happy with what your using…it’s adequate.
If other people are un-happy….it’s not”
RLC

Bob

[rmkrum]

Personally, I don't really care about other people's opinions. I do my engineering due diligence, perform appropriate tuning and testing, and report the results if asked. I firmly believe it is always possible to improve the performance of hardware, especially airplanes and Airstream trailers.

That said, note that my personal hitch setup choice is ProPride, and I'm very satisfied that it improves my personal safety at a reasonable cost. I'm well aware that there are other reasonable choices out there, and that's fine. But kindly do not assume that I'm pushing a brand or bragging about the money I spent to assure, in my eyes, my family's safety in the road.

[NoResults]

So you just need an engineer in the family to set it up and keep it adjusted. This is why the dealers don't sell the pro pride.

Dave

[Ray Eklund]

I will never want to be a Trailer Hitch Geek... There just is no future in it.

After nearly three weeks of OUR toughest Off the Grid campsites and travel in Nevada, Idaho, western Montana and western Wyoming... it cost me $41 to have the tow vehicle and Airstream International ... washed at Blue Beacon, Las Vegas... restoring both to their original 'EXTERIOR' colors.

My Equalizer Hitch with 1,000 pound bars made for a stable ride and not one single reason wanting to change hitches.

On the 'Loneliest Highway' in the USA... Nevada I looked at my speedometer... 90mph+. No sway. Great response to slowing down to 65/75 mph. Not one indication that 100+mph was not possible. You look at the road on the horizon without traffic, beast, or space aliens hitching for a ride.

The odometer goes to 100mph.

The 16" LTX Michelins on the International... wanted more... I wanted to spend more time on the Planet.

My Ford F350, My International 25 foot, My Equalizer Hitch... work just fine for me.

I am living proof that any fool can, with experience and proper equipment, do unplanned 'validated' testing of all components of Highway Towing.

IF YOU... have not driven many of the 100 mile+ two lane highways between one Ghost Town and another in Nevada... try it some day and go 55mph.

What is it like to see the odometer at 90 or a bit more....? Much like 65, as long as the wife is dozing in the passenger seat. The ride was smooth and obviously, without incident.

I do not plan to be the test monkey on hitches, tires or tow vehicles... but this is not to be repeated.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

Should I ever come to the conclusion that towing and Airstream or SOB is so dangerous and life threatening, that the only thing that would keep me from certain sway induced catastrophe and possible death is a $ 3,000.00 hitch that comes with 23 pages of instructions I will will be selling our Airstream and stop towing period.
And I would suggest that anyone feeling that insecure and unqualified towing that that is a must for them should stay of the road to keep the rest of us safe.

Why is it that reading any of these threads about hitches and there are countless, always end up with the same undertones invariably suggesting that unless one is using a ProPride or Hensley he is endangering his family and the general motoring public.
Frankly I find all this rather absurd.
Accidents are rarely induced by equipment failure or the lack of.

Since you make the argument subjective (as always) and not ever objective, I'll recommend readers substitute "Airstream brand of travel trailer" for a Hensley-designed hitch.

Learned nothing, did we?

No design understanding, no experience. Don't waste your money.



.

[rmkrum]

Originally Posted by NoResults

So you just need an engineer in the family to set it up and keep it adjusted. This is why the dealers don't sell the pro pride.

Dave

Respectfully disagree. I set it up when my daughter and I installed it, following the directions in the book.. Doesn't require other than a minor adjustment for WD when trailer load changes.

The reason dealers don't sell it is that its only available from the manufacturer, as far as I know, and that the price probably does not include dealer profit...dealers don't sell Hensley, either, for that matter.

From what I've read on the forum, there are quite a few dealers that don't know how to set up simpler design hitches either...not that I would trust most of them to do anything right on my rig (grin).

By the way, I'm not a mechanical engineer, either, my expertise is electronics, computer science, and management of information systems, and being one heck of a DIY expert on most other things...including swinging wrenches on vehicles... I contend that an intelligent person that can read the manual can figure most things out--I've made a career of it.