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sander17 · 02-02-2006, 07:57 AM

Last fall we took a long trip with a new-to-us trailer with Hensley. It took a while, but I finally figured out what was important when hitching: the vertical angle. With this angle slightly off, I was trying to slide the bar in and it kept shoving the trailer. ( It is easy to forget little details after driving over 9 hours in one day.) Get the angle of the Hensley to match the truck, and it will go in easy.

The other disconcerning item was coasting downhill. The Hensley rocks forward on either the left or right side of the receiver hitch with a little thunk. Nothing to worry about, but not expected after using a normal ball hitch. That same rocking occurs when you are backing it up, trying to avoid those trees with your precious aluminum. Just remember you cannot steer the trailer until you have moved the few inches back to lock the hitch.

Good luck with your new hitch!

Big Dee · 02-02-2006, 11:48 AM

what idiotic dealer is this? would never go to them. they are obviously clueless. a simple adapter that any machine shop could fabricate easily is all that is needed for the forklift. toscanos moves mine around like nothing. cant believe how they can manuver my trailer into the tightest spots. and thias dealer charges $50 for this? what a joke.

Quote:

Originally Posted by imagine

A dealer here in CA. charges 50.00 to service trailers with the hensley hitch. He says its a real pain unhooking what needs to be done in order to move it around for service. He said he would kill any of his salesman that recommended it! hummmm.... He did say that they were a good hitch, just not service friendly!

vajeep · 02-02-2006, 12:34 PM

"The other disconcerning item was coasting downhill. The Hensley rocks forward on either the left or right side of the receiver hitch with a little thunk. Nothing to worry about, but not expected after using a normal ball hitch. That same rocking occurs when you are backing it up, trying to avoid those trees with your precious aluminum. Just remember you cannot steer the trailer until you have moved the few inches back to lock the hitch."

Dave,
You might want to call Hensley on this. I had a clunking sound while braking before I adjusted my brake controller. But, not while coasting...I think that some of us did not have the struts tight enough when we started. If your struts are not tight enough you might have some sway.
Good luck and let me know what you find out!!
Abe

imagine · 02-02-2006, 04:42 PM

((what idiotic dealer is this? would never go to them. they are obviously clueless. a simple adapter that any machine shop could fabricate easily is all that is needed for the forklift. toscanos moves mine around like nothing. cant believe how they can manuver my trailer into the tightest spots. and thias dealer charges $50 for this? what a joke))

Dealer (Pan Pacific RV Center 252 W. Yettner Rd. French Camp CA 95231.
209 234 2000 It was their service mgr. He did say he would kill any of his sales staff that sold one to a customer....

He thought it was a good hitch, just a pain for (HIM) to get ready to pull around the yard for service.

Brow324 · 11-29-2006, 10:17 AM

Well fellow Streamers...it's a year later ( since I posted the first note in this thread ) and we spent the past year looking at AS's and other trailers. We finally decided to purchase the 27'FB and are thrilled with it. Our first trip in the new Safari was a 1200 miler from DFW to NC to visit family for Thanksgiving. I ended up selling the old hitch with the old trailer and added a new Hensley to the package, along with a new Prodigy brake controller. I bought the HA about 3 weeks ago ( yes they still offered the nice discount ) along with some McKesh Mirrors. Installation took about 2.5 hours, was very easy, mostly reading instructions, but mechanically a breeze. I definately recommend installing yourself for the "get to know it" aspect of owning the HA. The trip here was a 10 on the "ease of towing" meter, even thru the Black Mountain area of I-40 from Knoxville to Ashville. The McKesh mirrors also proved to be a nice addition to the setup. No issues along the way with adjustments or shear bolt problems, just smooth sailing. I can only expect that the 1200 mile trek home will be the same. Only a few new tools had to be added to my normal bag of road tools....a torque wrench with an 11/16 deep socket for checking frame bracket bolts along the way, the 2 HA wrenches...one for adjusting strut bolts and the hook up wrench, plus a grease gun for greasing the zerks under the spring bars. So far I find it to be a great product...yes a bit on the pricy side, but so was the AS compared to fiberglass trailers so it's all relative I guess. All in all we are happy campers. Departing tomorrow morning for Nashville, the first half of the trip home.

SilverCabin · 11-29-2006, 12:51 PM

Three different dealers here in the Southeast told me that the HA hitch would be overkill with my TV for the 23' I just bought. The 23' has two axles, so that minimizes the blown tire issue that was brought up in this thread. I choose an Equal-i-zer hitch, based on recommendations in other forums here. I think I would go with the HA if I had anything bigger. The video is very impressive.

**moosetags** · 11-29-2006, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brow324

Well fellow Streamers...it's a year later ( since I posted the first note in this thread ) and we spent the past year looking at AS's and other trailers. We finally decided to purchase the 27'FB and are thrilled with it. Our first trip in the new Safari was a 1200 miler from DFW to NC to visit family for Thanksgiving. I ended up selling the old hitch with the old trailer and added a new Hensley to the package, along with a new Prodigy brake controller. I bought the HA about 3 weeks ago ( yes they still offered the nice discount ) along with some McKesh Mirrors. Installation took about 2.5 hours, was very easy, mostly reading instructions, but mechanically a breeze. I definately recommend installing yourself for the "get to know it" aspect of owning the HA. The trip here was a 10 on the "ease of towing" meter, even thru the Black Mountain area of I-40 from Knoxville to Ashville. The McKesh mirrors also proved to be a nice addition to the setup. No issues along the way with adjustments or shear bolt problems, just smooth sailing. I can only expect that the 1200 mile trek home will be the same. Only a few new tools had to be added to my normal bag of road tools....a torque wrench with an 11/16 deep socket for checking frame bracket bolts along the way, the 2 HA wrenches...one for adjusting strut bolts and the hook up wrench, plus a grease gun for greasing the zerks under the spring bars. So far I find it to be a great product...yes a bit on the pricy side, but so was the AS compared to fiberglass trailers so it's all relative I guess. All in all we are happy campers. Departing tomorrow morning for Nashville, the first half of the trip home.

You might wantg to try an 18 volt drill/driver with a 3/4" socket to adjust the spring bars. It make quick work of this adjustment. You can also use this to lowere and raise the stabilizers. It make that job a breeze also.

Sarah Bourque · 11-29-2006, 05:39 PM

I guess we all have an opinion on what is best,but on our first airstream we had a reese it was an 30'.As we was coming home from Tx.we got caught in the tail wind of an 18 wheeler and could not brake free needless to say we lost our camper,so for us we went with the hensley and have not been sorry.I'm not saying anything bad about any of the others,two many people use them and like them.It just was a very scarery thing that happen to us and the choice was easy for us.Good luck

woodedareas · 12-01-2006, 07:23 AM

I just invested $53,000 on my AS, and an additional $30,000 on my Ford truck including $1000 for a Blue Ox hitch. I drove from Illinois to Arizona. I can tell you that during windy conditions on narrow interstates with semis passing at 90 miles an hour my experience was horrible. Since I consider myself to be fairly intelligent I will never subject myself to that experience again. By the way without wind and at lower speed highways the tow vehicle and AS handled adequately. I asked for advice on the Forum and received great information. I decided that I would try a Hensely and I have ordered one. If I continue to have the same bad experience with the Hensely i will dispose of the AS as it is not worth risking the safety of my family. I firmly believe that the Blue Ox hitch with stabalizers properly installed is not safe. It is my hope that i will see some improvement from the Hensely.During my travel across the country with our new 25' AS I was shocked to see what I consider unsafe methods of pulling travel trailers.Further in terms of AS I believe it should be the responsibility of the AS dealer to provide a complete explanation of the various towing vehicles as well as the various hitch options. I don't believe that most first time buyers know much about hitches as we spend most of our time reviewing the AS, and when the dealer suggests that the hitch is good and only costs $1,000 we tend to accept his advice. If I would do it again I would take a different approach.I might add that I did try various adjustments as well as checking my tires before ordering the Hensely. Will the Hensely be an improvement? I will let you know.

wrepete · 12-01-2006, 08:19 AM

woodedareas, you're going to be pleased with the results. The Hensley is also easily installed if you want to do it yourself. After having mine, I would never go back to the others, given the choice. Better travels ahead!

Mike Lewis · 12-01-2006, 09:05 AM

I just installed my new HA day before yesterday on our 30'Classic. Today is road test day!!! As to installation it took about as long to get my tools out remove my Reese Dual Cam as it did to install the HA. I had down loaded the installation manual from their Webb site and read through it multiple times before recieving the hitch. I recommend doing this. Our Reese seemed adiquit 90% of the time but the other 10% was enough to make me look for some improvement. As to hitching problems some have discribed,unless I'm badly mistaken it doesn't look like all that much more difficult than a standard hitch. I'll post test drive results here this eve or ttomorrow.---pieman

**moosetags** · 12-01-2006, 09:38 AM

I think that you will be very pleased with the Hensley. If you are at all handy, I suggest that you install it youself. Most dealers don't install enough of them to know what they are doing. Mine was originally installed by my Airstream dealer. I had to reinstall it and exchange the hitch bar as they had mismeasured by 2.5". Getting a hitch bar with the proper drop for your tow vehcle is important.

The installation is not that hard. Start by reading the manual several times. If there is any issue that is not clear, call Hensley. Their techs are very helpful and knowledgable. Another advatage to self-installation is that you beome familiar with all of the components and the adjustments.

I am still amazed at how well the Hesley works. I have now towed over 10,000 miles with it. I drive fast with my Airstream (70+) and I am in control. Passing or being passed by semis has absolutely no impact.

As far as the dealers go, many of their salesmen are idiots and don't have a clue about towing a trailer. They just want to make the sale as in "sure, you can tow this 28' Airstream with your Toyota Camry".

woodedareas · 12-01-2006, 12:43 PM

I am not very handy at much of anything other than my profession. So I have made an arrangement with an Airstream dealer to install it toward the end of the month. I will stay with him and supervise as I am very good at that according to my wife. The more I think about hitches and the serious life safety problems that can result from an improper hitch or improper installation, the more upset I become about AS dealers.

Brow324 · 12-02-2006, 04:41 PM

Hello Woodedareas: just a thought for your concerns: With a considerable amount invested in your AS and truck another 3K for the H.A. seems to be a sound decision.
I just returned from my first Hensley pull....over 2500 miles on I-40. Now everyone knows I-40 is full of 18 wheelers making the coast to coast run. But my 7 day experience resulted in zero issues from the 18 wheelers, quick maneuvers, tight turns in and out of gas stations, sudden braking, or any other vehicular incident. Only one numbskull local in Tennessee who thought he owned the road and had the right to drive 90 mph and weave in and out of traffic lanes...but there's always one out there somewhere. Honestly it's a HUGE improvement over my old simple weight distribution hitch. The hensley installation is easy for anyone who owns the tools to do it. All in all, if it is set up correctly your towing problems and concerns should be solved.

hookedonclassic · 12-02-2006, 05:46 PM

Wooded: You should see a nice improvement. I also thought the added safety and amount invested in TV and AS made it worthwhile. I'd never go back even though I've had good experience with the Dual Cam in the past. Watch for a Midwest Rally in June that is really fun.

Big Dee · 12-03-2006, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hookedonclassic

Wooded: You should see a nice improvement. I also thought the added safety and amount invested in TV and AS made it worthwhile. I'd never go back even though I've had good experience with the Dual Cam in the past. Watch for a Midwest Rally in June that is really fun.

Let's say you have the Hensley for 10 years and use it say 30 days a year, that works out to $4.00 per towing day. $4 a day for peace of mind and real added safety? Seems like a no brainer to me. Enjoy your Hensley.

Buttercup · 12-03-2006, 09:12 PM

It may be me but I have had days where hitching goes without a single problem and others where it is a bear with me uttering a few choice words of discouragement.
Our big difficulty is that we have quite a hieght difference to deal with so no matter what the tow bar doesn't lighn up completely with the receiver on the HA. I compensate for this by adjusting the WD bars to angle the HA to be parallel with the tow bar. But sometimes you can't adjust enough to just slip right on in so you have to fight it a little. This is really only a problem on uneven ground. Well, that and how much you drank the night before if you know what I mean....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

I just installed my new HA day before yesterday on our 30'Classic. Today is road test day!!! As to installation it took about as long to get my tools out remove my Reese Dual Cam as it did to install the HA. I had down loaded the installation manual from their Webb site and read through it multiple times before recieving the hitch. I recommend doing this. Our Reese seemed adiquit 90% of the time but the other 10% was enough to make me look for some improvement. As to hitching problems some have discribed,unless I'm badly mistaken it doesn't look like all that much more difficult than a standard hitch. I'll post test drive results here this eve or ttomorrow.---pieman

woodedareas · 12-07-2006, 05:56 PM

Do the 2 Ha wrenches come from Hensely? How do you desrcibe them so I can order or did they come with the hitch?Also could you elaborate on the size and type of other torque wrench that I will need?
Thanks

Brow324 · 12-11-2006, 10:46 AM

yes, the wrenches come with the hitch

woodedareas · 12-11-2006, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hookedonclassic

Wooded: You should see a nice improvement. I also thought the added safety and amount invested in TV and AS made it worthwhile. I'd never go back even though I've had good experience with the Dual Cam in the past. Watch for a Midwest Rally in June that is really fun.

Please keep me advised about the midwest rally. I will look forward to it. I grew up in Wisconsin and attended the the U. of Wis. in Madison many years ago. Look forward to meeting you.
Allen