Hensley Hitch Hay-ell!

[tevake]

Too late to go back and edit my post, but I am informed that the hitch here is a Pro Pride. Another PITA as I see it!

Cheers Richard

[KJRitchie]

My brother-in-law keeps telling me to get a Class C like his after he watches me trying to back my AS and hitch and unhitch and I don't have a Hensley or PP. I guess I don't make it look easy

Kelvin

[J. Morgan]

I am sure it helps that I have been hooking trailers since my youth, but so far neither hooking to the ball or the Hensley has proven difficult so far.

Five minutes and done, no camera or aid devices needed. I get out and look a couple times as I approach, make minor adjustments and hook it.

[Chipster]

After reading all of the above, it's obvious that the Hensley is not the answer for everyone and neither is an Airstream. [note all of the happy campers with a 5th wheel] I happen to love both my Hensley AND my Airstream and both did not give instant gratification, there was a certain learning curve.
Once this learning curve is mastered, smooth sailing so to speak, is yours to enjoy ! [if one chooses]
Chipster

[cory_can]

I've heard a few of these epic Hensley tails. For the people that don't have problems, do you typically camp in smooth private parks and conversely, do the people that do have difficulty tend to use more "natural" camp sites? The Hensley and PP concept has been recommended to me by a few but there's no way I want to concern myself with selecting a site based on ground conditions in addition to everything else we think about...depth, location, view etc

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by cory_can

I've heard a few of these epic Hensley tails. For the people that don't have problems, do you typically camp in smooth private parks and conversely, do the people that do have difficulty tend to use more "natural" camp sites?

I camp in all sorts of sites, and have no issues. It's a learning curve. Once you get it, there is no issue with hitching nor unhitching....IMO.

[crispyboy]

Originally Posted by cory_can

I've heard a few of these epic Hensley tails. For the people that don't have problems, do you typically camp in smooth private parks and conversely, do the people that do have difficulty tend to use more "natural" camp sites?

I camp in all types of situations with my Hensley. Occasionally I have to back up 2x for alignment but 90% of the time it is a one shot deal. A properly place backup camera makes all the difference.
Anybody want to have a hitchin' race?

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by crispyboy

I camp in all types of situations with my Hensley. Occasionally I have to back up 2x for alignment but 90% of the time it is a one shot deal. A properly place backup camera makes all the difference.
Anybody want to have a hitchin' race?

Yup, every time we miss, we gotta take a shot!

[dkottum]

Easy peasey, no sweat, piece of cake. You've got to align it backing up or forget it, not difficult.

I also filed the sharp edges and corners just a bit, and spray a shot of CorrosionX on the stinger and hitch box.

Some folks like to trash the Hensley design at each opportunity because they never used one and may never realize how nice it is in use. That's unfortunate for them and those who believe their non-experience.

[Foiled Again]

My Ecoboost does have a backup camera. More than once I've gotten in the truck, backed up, said "um, dat look gud!" and simply went BUMP and placed the stringer perfectly into the hitch. Most times, I do jump out and take a look from the top and side at about 8 inches, then fiddle a bit, get in the truck and BUMP, I'm in like Flynn (anyone know where that expression came from?).
I have had problems only 4 times. I've actually done well on some pretty hairy hitches, one where I had to adjust the Hensley to almost a half inch out of level down on the left, simply because the drive way was that far out of level.

I think the tape measure trick and the piece of 2x2 to put into the hitch for aiming purposes are brilliant. So are the ideas of using the big legos to adjust and steady the hitch. I might even use a piece of reflective tape right down the middle of the 2x2 to further refine my approach.

The last thing... stress makes you less creative, more "brute force". If I'd have gone into the trailer and had a cuppa tea, and thought my way through the problem I might have been successful at 27 tries or so. (And YES I actually did look around for some kind of lubricant and since I didn't have any vaseline, I used some petroleum based ointment from my first aid kit on the stringer.... that was about Sucess minus 3 tries. The three guys were the magic potion.

Hey. The Hensley is a great hitch and going up I-95 is a real test of sideways sway from trucks and straight line panic braking due to stupid drivers who think 2 inches clearance is good for a right to left pass at 80 mph!

Just sometimes you swear BY it, other times AT it. Fessing up did give me some more adaptive behaviors to improve my success rate.

Paula

[dbj216]

Oh Paula, what a trying day! You write so colorfully it is fun to read about your "adventures". I think we have all had such days!

Both the 2ZAir threads on the Hensley and Propride hitches are full of folks trying new things to precisely align stinger to hitch head. It is more difficult than getting a ball under a coupler. I am new to my Propride and have had some difficulties too. We all have.

Remember the hitch head does "pitch, roll and yaw" on the ball, coupler joint. The dog gone WD bars tend to restrict this movement. So I always loosen my WD bars all the way when I unhitch.

The second trick I've learn is that I must "unload" the tongue weight from the stringer before I unhitch. I don't want any drag between stinger and hitch head. On my trailer, I can see a slight bit of movement between the coupler and the hitch head as I lift the trailer. This is the exact spot where the stinger is free, not binding due to tongue weight. Now I can drive away without any disengage clunk.

Thank God for back up cameras! I back in the best I can, jump out and eye ball the alignment, and then engage the stinger. The hitch head will usually "self align" to the stinger.

I have had challenging campsites, but leaving the hitch head loose and floppy helps it align better.

The hitching hassle is worth it when driving down I-70 from the Eisenhower tunnel to Denver in wind gusts. The trailer stays where it is suppose to.

David

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

My Ecoboost does have a backup camera. More than once I've gotten in the truck, backed up, said "um, dat look gud!" and simply went BUMP and placed the stringer perfectly into the hitch. Most times, I do jump out and take a look from the top and side at about 8 inches, then fiddle a bit, get in the truck and BUMP, I'm in like Flynn (anyone know where that expression came from?).
I have had problems only 4 times. I've actually done well on some pretty hairy hitches, one where I had to adjust the Hensley to almost a half inch out of level down on the left, simply because the drive way was that far out of level.

I think the tape measure trick and the piece of 2x2 to put into the hitch for aiming purposes are brilliant. So are the ideas of using the big legos to adjust and steady the hitch. I might even use a piece of reflective tape right down the middle of the 2x2 to further refine my approach.

The last thing... stress makes you less creative, more "brute force". If I'd have gone into the trailer and had a cuppa tea, and thought my way through the problem I might have been successful at 27 tries or so. (And YES I actually did look around for some kind of lubricant and since I didn't have any vaseline, I used some petroleum based ointment from my first aid kit on the stringer.... that was about Sucess minus 3 tries. The three guys were the magic potion.

Hey. The Hensley is a great hitch and going up I-95 is a real test of sideways sway from trucks and straight line panic braking due to stupid drivers who think 2 inches clearance is good for a right to left pass at 80 mph!

Just sometimes you swear BY it, other times AT it. Fessing up did give me some more adaptive behaviors to improve my success rate.

Paula

Re "In like Flynn, think "Errol Flynn" and his womanizing ways! That is the only explanation I have ever heard!

When you back up, do you adjust the camera so that you have the end of the stinger in view in the camera? Presume so,but if not that makes a bog difference in accuracy of lining up when used with the tape measure on the ground!

If for some reason you cannot see the end of the stinger with your camera, you can always stick some sort of short vertical rod on the end of it with a magnet.

I also painted the outline of the box of the hitch with fluorescent yellow paint to make it show up better when looking in the back camera no matter what the lighting conditions. I was finding that at some times, depending on sun direction and shadows, I was just looking into black shadows in the camera.

My backup camera is just one of the old "Swift Hitch" cameras with a very small monitor - I'm sure newer ones are better. Mine doesn't get a really good signal to the monitor unless I install it upon the glass of the truck cap to get a clear patch to the monitor on the truck windshield.

I would rather have the camera mounted low down near the stinger, but then I get signal break up due to all the layers of metal between camera and monitor.

Brian


PS - but now, who was not Flynn, but "Quinn the Eskimo?" that is what I want to know!

[RangerJay]

These tips have been mentioned a couple of times already but they bear mentioning again:

• some lubricant like WD40 sprayed on the stinger ends and the wedge faces as well as inside the box prevents any sticking
• on rough, uneven ground a 2X6 placed under 1 or both rear wheels (or front) of the tow vehicle will help level the playing field. They need to be long enough to allow the stinger to fully enter the receiver.

Not yet mentioned but two additional things that I have found helpful on uneven ground - but particularly if the front of the trailer is in a hole:

• try fully extending the spring bars
• "nurse" the stinger into the receiver - by this I mean get out of the truck when the stinger and receiver are about an inch apart - then adjust the hitch head so the stinger will enter exactly on centre - do this every couple of inches till you're able to hook up. On really rough ground this is pretty much mandatory.

And finally (maybe firstly ....):

• think through what you're going to have to do to hook up before you unhook.

I've had my share of frustrations (and humiliations) with our Hensley - but not any more - over the time we've had it I've come to believe that rough or uneven ground are not the real issue at all - the REAL issue is when someone is watching ....... that is when it gets tough .....


Jay

[Foiled Again]

Yes it was Errol Flynn.

He was charged with Statutory rape of a 16 year old girl who showed up in court dressed like Catholic school uniform (after trying to negotiate a deal
to not complain to the police in return for major financial incentives).

Flynn's lawyer pretty much destroyed the whole case when the following came to light:

The "girl" had worked as a showgirl and her work dress and makeup made her look about 25, and that she'd routinely lied about her age to get work as a showgirl/actress

Many of the details she testified about were shown to be untrue - even that she was looking at the moon through the porthole of Flynn's yacht when in fact it wouldn't have been visible on that side of the boat,

And best of all, when asked if Mr. Flynn had removed ALL of his clothing she stated that he'd left his socks on because he was in such a hurry....
hence "in like Flynn"

My memory is like an old disorderly attic. The stuff that's in there and pops out worries me sometimes. I really love the English language and find it fascinating how some expressions have become a part of the language - yet we have lost the original thread. For instance "a flash in the pan" generally now means a "one hit wonder". Originally it was a very serious malfunction with a firearm. Flintlock muskets and rifles were fired when the trigger pull scraped a piece of flint across a metal grid surface and the sparks ignited a small amount of black powder placed in the "pan" which had a touch hole into the barrel where the bulk of the powder would propel the musket ball out of the barrel. If the pan powder went off, but failed to light and explode the powder in the barrel you had a "flash in the pan". Militia men were regularly trained to have a lighted pipe with them so that they could knock the tobacco ashes into the pan and get a second chance to get the gun to fire.

Here's another that Jay Leno could explain "It's a Doozie"

Paula

[SteveSueMac]

Doozie - Duesenberg, yes? But I've forgotten the story....

[overlander63]

Next time you are having to hook up and the truck and trailer are at angles like that, make sure you have put some white lithium grease on the stinger. Back the truck up to where the stinger starts to go into the hole in the Hensley. When it is in the hole a couple of inches, simply lower the tounge jack on the trailer. The weight will force the stinger down at the back, allowing you to slide it in.

[Foiled Again]

I've made five or so trips since the original post on this thread. Only one on a concrete pad - and successfully hitched on one or two attempts each. One of the three guys who saved me also shares my home campground and volunteered to come over and "help" when I left. I did have a very unlevel setup again, and the corrosion-X and a bit of work with the bastard file did make all of the difference, but I had the legos out for the front wheels of the truck just in case.

All the help REALLY helped, Thanks all,

Paual

[ROBERT CROSS]

These have helped a lot since the beginning.....
Hitch'n Rods plus a couple of O-rings.

Oh...and yes, I do remove the orange 'shin-saver'

Bob

[mojo]

I would simply add that when unhitching on an angle, tilt or combination of both, do not touch the head of the hitch when it disconnects. That way it will be set to retrieve the stinger, providing you can back the truck into the same position.

When you change the position of the hitch head you are creating a whole new angle to try to re-hitch if the trailer and truck are on different angles and level.

[Buck944]

I have a hensley and sometimes it just don't want to cooperate... Most of the time it is not related to the site...

I am usually good to do it by myself in 10-15 minutes, but if it doesn't want to go in, I use my b plan. I align the "male" side to have it at least inside the "female" side and I ask my wife to keep the car in reverse, just enough to put a pressure to help the stinger to go in. While the car still in reverse, I use the over center latch as two handle to shake the whole female
Side with my hand... It will eventually slip slowly while I shake it...

Off course my jack need to be on the loose side to do that...

I love that hitch...


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