Hensley points down...

[Buttercup]

I called Hensley the other day to ask about something I precieved could be a problem. My Hensley points downward when the trailer is hitched up.

Because of the hight of the receiver on the H2 I need the maximum length of tow bat that Hensley makes - 8 inches. Still that is not quite enough. But because of the stresses on the tow bar they will not go any longer than 8 inches in length.

Hensley says that it is not a problem at all.

Does anybody else have this condition?

[Mookie]

Buttercup -

I have a similar problem - the Airstream rides a little high in front using the 6-inch stinger. I believe it would ride a little low with the 8-inch stinger but I have no way to tell. Here is a picture taken last week showing the position of our Hensley (it points down):


I hope this helps.

-Mark

[silverback]

That looks about normal for us too (the trailer being slightly up in the front). I'll measure this weekend but I must have the 8" stinger.
-Ken

[Dwight]

They need to make a bar for the odd sizes too (3", 5", 7"). Also you might check and be sure that your struts are not too tight, that can also push the head to point down. They should only be finger tight and 1/2 turn added.

[Paul Mayeux]

My Hensley does the same. My Ford F250 4x4 uses the 8" drop as well. However with the 8" drop when the 25 CCD is hooked up, and the bars tensioned to the 2nd notch from the bottom (which results in a pretty good bow in the 750# bars) the trailer is prefectly level and the truck is perfectly level. The Hensley however is pointing down. The Airstream dealer, who is also a Hensley dealer, did all of the hitch setup when I picked up the trailer.

[Paul Mayeux]

Oh, I did have a picture of the way mine is setup too.

[TheLuvShack]

Mine looks that way too. The HA points down but the TT and the TV are level. Yours appears to be level also.

[2airishuman]

hi b cup and other haha users......

my understand is, a small amount of downward tilt at the front is normal/common. this is after fully linked and with the w/d bars tightened....
and also assumes your reciever isn't loose or improperly installed on the tv...

while it does depend somewhat on stinger drop length, it is also related to the position setting on the strut bars and the hole openings showing on the spring bar links at the lower end of the spring bar jacks....

of course what matters most is that the trailer is prettly level front2back and that a cat scales visit shows proper axle loads on the tv...if those 2 issues are correct downward till will be small but visible....

cheers
2air'

[Buttercup]

Good! I have not scaled the H2 with the trailer hitched up but it still does have a slight up slope when hitched up. But the H2 is level and it does tow wonderfully. From the pictures you all sent it looks exactly like what I have so all is good!

[moosetags]

My Hensley hookup appears pretty level (see photo). We just got ours in June, and are still fighting the Hensley hookup battle.

SuEllyn & Brian McCabe
Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

[Buttercup]

moosetags,

That is pretty. Your receiver is much closer to the ground than mine.

As for the hitch up battle, I too am getting used to it and playing around with different hitch methods. All in all it doesn't take me any longer to hitch the Hensley than the old ball hitch.

[Chipleyboy]

I am trying to match up a 2004 Nissan Armada with a hitch height of 19 inches to a 1979 AS Ambassdor that has an unhooked hitch coupler height of 15 inches. A check with carpenter level shows trailer is level unhooked. AS owners manual say hitch should be 19.5. Do not understand how to be able to pull level. Current used Hensley Hitch came with a 4 inch drop bar. Any thoughts?

[Buttercup]

2 things - First is are your axles shot? Have you checked them to still be good? If your axles are shot and you later fix them (as I have done) it will mean you will need a new tow bar. But you may need a new one already because... (keep reading)
Second, is to contact Hensley (after you have verified the axles to be good) and they will send you out the correct tow bar for the hight difference.

[uwe]

Shouldn't the WD bars be more parallel with the trailer's tongue?
In most of the pictures, the bars look like they're either mis-adjusted, or of the wrong weight rating.

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by uwe

Shouldn't the WD bars be more parallel with the trailer's tongue?
In most of the pictures, the bars look like they're either mis-adjusted, or of the wrong weight rating.

I agree!! especially with Mark's---------pieman

[Mookie]

I appreciate the feedback, pieman and uwe. Hitch maintenance just moved to the top of my to-do list. At the time I took these pics the cam on the Hensley was tweaked to one side, so that may account for some of the appearance of being out of whack, but I agree, when I'm hooked up my spring bars are not parallel to the frame. I originally set the hitch up using Hensley's recommendations for initial jack adjustment. I just checked the manual and the only thing it says about parallel is that the jacks need to be adjusted so that they can hold the hitch head at parallel.

You know, it's kinda funny - I dote over our Airstream like it's a child - I'm always doing some kind of maintenance, or trying to better our rig in some way. For some reason, my eyes just didn't see that these bars may not be set up correctly. Thanks for caring enough to point that out.

-Mark

[2airishuman]

hi mookie/mark....

have you got any closer pictures?

i noticed the bars but my 'zoom in' feature just distorts the image.

post a couple of close ups and maybe a shot with the camera at hitch/tongue level....

we can sort this out with ya....and all learn something in the process...

cheers
2air'

[Buttercup]

The bars on mine do seem to do the job and they are quite tight when I crank them up. I will be watching this part of the discussion to see what happens. has anybody called Hensley to ask?? They are quite amenable on the phone to answering questions.

[Mookie]

Hey 2air,

The Airstream is parked in storage right now, so it will be a few days until I can take some pics. I took this pic last month on our way up to Oregon to be recoated. This is the only one I could find right now that shows the position of the WD bars:


-Mark

[Mike Lewis]

haven't changed my opinion----------pieman