Hitch Basics

[lsbrodsky]

I do not think you are ever going to get a clear decision from the forum; you are going to have to trust your gut. My life's lessons, for big ticket items, have included spend the money to do it right the first time. If I were pulling with a dually I would have been tempted to go cheaper on a hitch but with a 1/2 ton Chevy I wanted to eliminate the possibility of any problems towing, that the right hitch could eliminate. There are just too many accolades for the ProPride to ignore the value. That was how I made my decision. I doubt that I will ever regret the decision because I will not be using any other hitch.
Larry

[PharmGeek]

The fact that the priciest hitch gets consistently good accolades is not surprising or necessarily revelatory

Consider this analogy.

Within the practice of medicine - we know that higher cost treatments (including placebos) tend to carry a higher incidence of subjective positive outcomes.....

And to use a hyperbolic example - people buy and use homeopathy (IE water drops on a sugar tablet sold for $$$$) - 5 billion per year in sales in the US ad people that use it swear by it.

Not meant to be an offensive analogy - but I am always weary of people's reports on this all - after all - if we say "well there has to be something to all the accolades of propride users" then we can also on that logic say "there has to be something to all those 'brand x' hitch users saying they do very very good with their hitch"

To be clear I am undecided still and contemplating....in the end I may indeed make a "gut" decision - but that does not inspire much confidence really - but what other choice is there.

There is historical precedent - examples of droves I people that claim x product/service/drug is clearly superior and with basic well controlled research those conventions melted away...

I will have to go with my "gut" then I suppose :/

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

Do not count on the dealer getting it set up properly. I started with a ProPride so the towing was fine, but I went to CAT scales on the way home and the WD needed some adjustments.
Larry

True there are many reasons not to rely on the dealer to properly setup a hitch.

Some dealers don't seem to know as much as someone whose only knowledge is what they read in the instructions and many just don't care.

Some people think "the dealer set it up, so it must be right."

When you buy the trailer it's normally empty and when you load the trailer for use it may require a different setting with the hitch.

[m.hony]

Conversely I have had 2 hitch setups from 2 dealers. They both did great jobs. They do have experience and they install hitches every day. The second time around might have been better than the first. The first setup apparently didn't have exactly the right tilt on the ball as it was pretty worn on the back side. The new setup must have the proper tilt because there is very minimal wear on the ball. Of course I didn't know this until the second setup because before I had nothing to compare to. Some of this may also be attributed to the design of the Airstream. Everything seems to be just a tad bit better quality than on the previous sob trailer, even the coupler and safety chains- they're just slightly bigger so they hook into the holes on the truck easier.

[m.hony]

I just looked at the Blue Ox website. The design is somewhere between the EazLift and Equal-I-Zer. The Equal-I-Zer is easier to hook up. ProPride and Hensley Arrow look to be even easier. The older I get, the more important that becomes. Those spring bars with the chain links that have to be lifted into the saddles on the a-frame are for the birds. Even that is made easier by using the tongue jack to pick up the truck 'n' trailer till they go on easy.

[PharmGeek]

I know of one owner of a blue ox on here - perhaps he will give some insight about ease of use - im not opposed to equalizer ..,. I'm not opposed to Hensley or propride but feel a gret need to stress test that idea before I shell out the dough.

This should be an easier question - how much easier to hookup is propride as compared to others?

[m.hony]

The Equal-I-Zer was a "consolation gift". I was extremely unhappy and about to walk away from the deal and the dealer decided to "sweeten" the deal to make the sale. Basically I got it free. They said it would have been a grand, but I don't know that they weren't exaggerating. Either way, it is definitely a step up from the EazLift, which was still really good compared to others I have seen.

[m.hony]

Your are a lot younger than me and in better health...the spring bars may not bother you at all...

[gmw photos]

As a BlueOx user, I would say the only part of it that is "work" might be the picking up the 68 pound head, and sliding the stinger into the receiver. The rest of it is just a matter of stepping through the process. I do not have an electric jack ( and do not want one ), so I suppose one could say there is a little bit of work involved in cranking it up twice.
I'll leave to each individual to determine if lifting 68 pounds from the ground up a foot or so is more work than they want to do. Go find something that weighs 68 pounds and set it on the floor and pick it up....one will know if they are ok with the idea or not ? ? ?

For me the "ease of use" in hitching and unhitching means little. I'm more concerned with how it works rolling down the road.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by m.hony

Your are a lot younger than me and in better health...the spring bars may not bother you at all...

Use your tongue jack.

Lift the tongue upgood'n high, connect your bars. then lower, presto! DONE

Bob

[PharmGeek]

They pulled that same crap on me - "900 dollars for hitch + installation "

Talked him out of that though just like you did pretty much.

Luckily I knew the actual cost of hitch and that left him explaining the labor cost as the difference...woops

A nice guy - they are just trying to make their money really - they get you on a "decent" deal then try and nail you with an inflated cost of so
Something else to get profit margins back to a more desirable level

Thank goodness for competition during negotiations

[m.hony]

If I hadn't gotten the Equal-I-Zer free, I'dstill be using the EazLift and be happy. Already owning a hitch helps to get a lower, more straight forward price while haggling.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

The fact that the priciest hitch gets consistently good accolades is not surprising or necessarily revelatory

Consider this analogy.

Within the practice of medicine - we know that higher cost treatments (including placebos) tend to carry a higher incidence of subjective positive outcomes.....

And to use a hyperbolic example - people buy and use homeopathy (IE water drops on a sugar tablet sold for $$$$) - 5 billion per year in sales in the US ad people that use it swear by it.

Not meant to be an offensive analogy - but I am always weary of people's reports on this all - after all - if we say "well there has to be something to all the accolades of propride users" then we can also on that logic say "there has to be something to all those 'brand x' hitch users saying they do very very good with their hitch"

To be clear I am undecided still and contemplating....in the end I may indeed make a "gut" decision - but that does not inspire much confidence really - but what other choice is there.

There is historical precedent - examples of droves I people that claim x product/service/drug is clearly superior and with basic well controlled research those conventions melted away...

I will have to go with my "gut" then I suppose :/

Do us the favor of trading for a 1962 pickup truck. Drum brakes, bias tires, slow steering, seriously crude suspension. If this is good enough for your family then so is a non-VPP hitch. You will get down the road just fine, so as to money you'll be ahead. A nicely restored one will compete favorably with one of current production. If you've not driven one in heavy rain with a load aboard, in traffic, maybe the example will be lost. But its a better analogy by far.

Some of us have been doing this longer than you've been alive. And used all WD hitch designs or none at all. Not to mention all sorts of trailers with their trade-offs in aero design or suspension sophistication. It may well be that we did or did not "need" experience to determine that problem-solving in three dimensions at 66-mph would be better served by better design be it tow vehicle, trailer or hitch apparatus.

Were your analogy accurate, then a 3-year old conventional plastic box trailer would be compared to an Airstream. But it doesn't work at highway speeds where money and value change places altogether. I don't see the nitpicking of this analogy type used in the combined purchase price of the TV and TT. Why not?

What matters at speed matters more than anything else. Only the foolish believe their "skill" will save them from accident avidance problems . . the better approach is one of risk minimization. Try some more reading and keep preconceptions out of the way.

.

[PharmGeek]

I've settled on Pp hitch - getting a good price through my deal

[slowmover]

You will be pleaed. Sorry to be heavy-handed . . this weak link (WD hitches) matters. And it will make using any of a variety of TV types easier as an A/S is amenable to many. Todays tow vehicle may not be that of tomorrows.

[Ridgerunner3]

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

I've settled on Pp hitch - getting a good price through my deal

Good move.

Have you picked up your truck yet?

[m.hony]

PharmGeek don't half do nothin'. Way to go, man. Which truck did you get? Ram diesel? 2014 Flying Cloud bunkhouse? And a ProPride? Wow! Go 'head on! Wit' yo' bad self! Then gonna go 'head on and make a custom parking pad and shelter? Rivet master before he gets a trailer...

[PharmGeek]

Originally Posted by m.hony

PharmGeek don't half do nothin'. Way to go, man. Which truck did you get? Ram diesel? 2014 Flying Cloud bunkhouse? And a ProPride? Wow! Go 'head on! Wit' yo' bad self! Then gonna go 'head on and make a custom parking pad and shelter? Rivet master before he gets a trailer...

Heh heh - do it right first time if I can and get in with the simplicity of streamin'

I'm getting a steal on the pad - and I'll end up getting propose my guess is 1900 installed (1650 if I could do install myself).

Now y'all just have to con me into 16' tire upgrade - another 2k .....sigh

[PharmGeek]

Propose = propride

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

Heh heh - do it right first time if I can and get in with the simplicity of streamin'

I'm getting a steal on the pad - and I'll end up getting propose my guess is 1900 installed (1650 if I could do install myself).

Now y'all just have to con me into 16' tire upgrade - another 2k .....sigh

Sixteen inch tire upgrade is an absolute no brainer for sure. Do it !