How does Reese WD w/sway control compare to Hensely/PP/Equalizer?

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by Ted S.

Agreed, but check the second paragraph of post 19.

I know...I did...and I disagree, they actually track a bit more inside than a regular non-PPP hitch. But it isn't even an issue consideration.

[Danattherock]

Thanks for the insights Switz.

Nice to hear from a few of you about Sean, and how he supports his product.

That alone is quite valuable to me, limited insights on WD and all.

The apparent ease of hook up with Equalizer and Reese is attractive as well. Might be good balance of attributes for us weekend warriors.


Dan

[m.hony]

All are good hitches that do a good job, but if money is no object go with ProPride.
I am happy with an Equal-i-zer because I can't afford a ProPride.

[Danattherock]

^^^ Thanks Mike.


Just went to ProPride site and saw 3P. Kind of. Need better quality and larger pics. Maybe my iPad isnt showing full site. Will check youtube as well.

Surprised to see him selling Reese dual cam on ProPride site. Saw Holand grill, looks like a nice little grill/smoker. Might have to pick one up on Amazon. Had great reviews there.

Dan

[HowieE]

Originally Posted by gr.austin

The second best feature of the HA after eliminating the sway is the ability to have the trailer tires track the TV tires. This is absolutely a great advantage when being caught in city traffic. The trailer doesn't cut the corners and run over the curbs.

GRA

Would you please expand on this comment. I am quite familiar with how city fire trucks do this with a second driver on the trailer but it sounds like you are taking some liberties with the laws of physics here. Short of sliding the trailer side ways and the tires across the pavement I can't see it.

As to the comment in the initial post that the dealer will set up the hitch for $95.00. It can take several hours to set a WD hitch up correctly and most dealer don't even try. I say this because for ever adjustment one makes during the set up you will most likely have to change the initial setting of the hitch head. There are several treads here on setting up a WD hitch. If you intend to have a dealer do it take your truck to the Cat Scales before and weigh the axles. After the set up go back to the scales and reweigh the truck axles. If the front axle has additional weigh added to it you can assume they are close. If a scale is not available place a strip of painter tape on the front and rear fender. Measure and mark on each tape a reference measurement on the tape. Have the hitch installed and while on a flat surface remeasure to the mark on the fenders. The front fender measurement wants to be LESS or equal to the original measurement. This shows that the WD hitch has transferred weigh to the front axle.

With your combination I would look at the Andersen hitch.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Ted S.

Agreed, but check the second paragraph of post 19.

I've found it depends on the severity of the turn.....on a constant radii turn,(expressway exit, entrance), the first thing I noticed with the haha was how straight the AS tracked behind the Burb when I looked in the mirror.

Seemed to be very little 'bend' at the ball, something to do with the trapezoidal effect I guess.
You only see a tracking variation when the traps are outside the zoidals.

Bob

[HowieE]

This group of researchers would be able to enplane how a HaHa dragging a trailer around a corner while maintaining tracking. It goes way beyond the Zoidals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hMA...s0xlg&index=17

[Bill M.]

I tow with the Reese straight line dual cam. I tow a 25' with a 2500 truck. I have quite a few miles on it. I am happy with the setup. Specifically to answer a question, the dual cams apply pressure to force the trailer to stay behind the TV. A little bit of active sway control. A negative is that if it is very slippery the same forces that push the trailer in can push the front wheels of the truck out if they loose traction. I do not tow on snow or ice. I think the Reese give me a little more maneverability backing and in dips than the pro pride.For me, I think it is easier to hitch,
But if you are going to buy a new truck and a new trailer why not justget the propride upfront and be done with it? On all of the 10 caravans we have been on at least half and maybe more of the rigs use the Hensly or the Propride and they all seem to like them.
I do not know how the Hensly works. But I have seen enough examples of people using it to believe it does work well.

[HowieE]

Both the Reese Duel Cam and Straight Line, they are 2 different designs, have 2 forces used to control the trailer.

The first function is to redistribute some of weight from the tongue to the TV and the trailer. This is done by the amount of force put into the bars when hooking up. The more load on the bars the more weight is transferred. There is no direct relationship as to how much weight is transferred to the trailer or the TV. That is a function of the length of those 2.

The second force is used to reduce sway of the trailer. That is done by having the end of bars ride against a saddle. When sway is a potential problem, truck passing you or crosswinds, the bars resist coming off the saddle and if they do come off the saddle addition force is created forcing the bars back to the center line of the saddle. This action reduces sway from becoming an increasing oscillation.

One thing not often mentioned with respect to the Reese systems is the bars are not always the same length and if not placed on the side they were originally set up for can actually increase sway because the bars may not be seated directly on the saddles. Mark your bars side to side after set up.

[gr.austin]

The HA hitch allows the pivot point of the hitch to move left or right of the actual center of the TV. This feature allows for the TV to turn while the TT stays moving in the original direction. Once the HA has reached its full off center travel the TV then pulls the TT in a much tighter radius than the TV around the corner. The end result is that the TT actually follows the TV and avoids the curbs. This is certainly only my physical observation what is actually going on is way more complicated. For being a first time TT driver I needed every advantage that I could afford.

Happy Trails...
GRA

[HowieE]

At 1:12 minutes into this video it clearly shows the tracking of the trailer. Watch the trailer wheels with respect to track of the outside rear wheels of the TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FsRXjI8W6o

[DuncanK1]

Thank you. An interesting and illuminating thread. I was offered a Reese Dual-Cam by my dealer but I've decided to go with the Pro-Pride. Sean was also very helpful with the correct weight choice for the TV/TT. In fact he was lightning quick. I thought I'd got an auto-response email but it was him with the answer I needed.

[Danattherock]

^^^^ Thanks Bill and Howie!!



This is my last hail marry before reluctantly accepting that I must buy a truck.


Ok guys. Saw the video of sedan yanking Airstream all over the road and slamming on brakes. Nobody died. If buying a HA or PP, would towing a 30' twin be safely doable with a new extended Escalade with 6.2L? I'm curious what such a hitch would add to that tow vehicle and camper combo.

I don't care about gas mileage. I don't care if I go uphill or downhill at slower speeds than others. My ONLY concern, that I hope you will evaluate, is safety. Staying upright and out of ditches. Slow is fine. 8-10 mpg towing is fine. Main use is weekend trips to Smoky Mountains 4-5 hours away.

Nothing scientific. Don't need a complete thread derail, as others will enjoy your insightful WD hitch info here in the future. Would like PMs if anyone willing to give me their honest opinion. That's often easier without being second guessed. Again, I'm off track from the thread. But I've clearly got the ear of many folks in the know. I've had to read some of these posts 2-3x to better understand them.

Extended Escalade rated to tow 8100 lbs as I recall. 8 speed transmission with tow/haul manual gear selecting, transmission cooler, oil cooler, true 4WD, not AWD, etc. The 6.2 L makes 420 HP and 460 ft/lbs as I recall. The Escalade has magnetic ride control, if that matters. Sounds nice, but I lack details on it. Auto leveling rear air is option, if not standard. Wired for trailer brake.

Payload of around 1500 lbs per door jamb sticker is the issue that previously concerned me, but if nothing in Escalade but human and dog weight, 650 lbs now, but 800 lbs in few years, with TW of 30' twin estimated at 1000 lbs, got nothing more to go on. Can you more seasoned guys give a quick yeah/neah with this amount of info?

What's the realistic amount of weight a HA/PP might transfer to front TV axle, and back to TT axles? These numbers seem to have the ability to make an iffy tow vehicle, within spec, or that's my thought. Is this a possible combo or am I once again barking up wrong tree.


PMs or replies here greatly appreciated.




Dan

[slowmover]

See Post #2.

The non-VPP hitches are obsolete so far as performance is concerned.

[dkottum]

Get the Suburban/Escalade with Hensley/ProPride hitch and you will never have a sway issue, it will have better road manners, and it be less tiring to drive especially on days with gusting crosswind and semis passing.

However the Expedition/Navigator will give more towing power at a lower rpm because of it's Ecoboost engine, and be more stable because of it's independent rear suspension. Wait a year or so for the aluminum body and it will also have dramatically more load and towing capacity.

But I think by then you will have changed your mind a few times.

[slowmover]

Twice before Saturday. 😉

I'd enjoy having this problem set.


1990 Silver Streak

[Ron Gratz]

Originally Posted by Danattherock

What's the realistic amount of weight a HA/PP might transfer to front TV axle, and back to TT axles? These numbers seem to have the ability to make an iffy tow vehicle, within spec, or that's my thought.

For an Escalade ESV with a HA/PP hitched to a 30' Airstream with no WD applied,
a load equal to approximately 58% of tongue weight will be removed from the TV's front axle, and a load equal to approximately 158% of tongue weight will be added to the rear axle.

When using a WDH, Cadillac implies the WD should be adjusted to cause the front end height to be restored to the unhitched value.
This implies 100% front axle load restoration.

Therefore, the amount of load which needs to be transferred to the TV's front axle is equal to approximately 58% of tongue weight.
The corresponding amount of load which needs to be transferred to the TT's axles is equal to approximately 23% of tongue weight.

This assumes TV's wheelbase = 130", distance from TV's rear axle to ball = 75", and distance from ball to midpoint of TT's axle group = 250".

The value of 58% is derived from:TV front axle ratio = 75/130 = 0.577.
The value of 23% comes from: TT axles ratio = 75/(75+250) = 0.231.
If you have better values for the estimated dimension, plug them into the above equations to refine the estimates.

Ron

[Relaytest]

I'm a newbie who bought a package deal that included the TV and hitch a few months back. It was an old Reese settup to pull a 28ft Excella.
I drove it from Tuscon to north of St. Louis with little towing experience. I was amazed how rock steady it was. Even on two lane highways meeting tractor trailers, I hardly fealt any buffeting.
It's good enough for me.

[Loden]

I have had the experience of the trailer pulling the tow vehicle. In my case the trailer was a mass of splinters and twisted steel and the TV was totaled. In retrospect I noticed a certain "driftiness" prior to the event, i.e. I felt like I was being shifted laterally a bit from time to time. I was using a load leveling trailer hitch, and had been doing so successfully for several years. I experienced that momentary lateral drift from time to time over the period and just thought it was normal.

I now have a much larger tow vehicle (Chevy Silverado 2500 Duramax 4x4) and am pulling a 27' Eddie Bauer with an equalizer hitch. The "driftiness" is gone. The TV and the AS move down the road as a single unit. Yes, I feel the "push-pull" as an 18 wheeler goes by at a significant speed differential, but there is never any feeling of drifting laterally, almost as if the vehicle was hydroplaning.

Any instability at all in crosswinds or when being passed is a red flag. The Hensley, Pro-Pride, or Equalizer hitches if set up properly pulling a well-balanced Airstream should NEVER produce that white-knuckled sense that things could get out of control. That sensation is unfortunately just part of life when pulling using a inferior hitch and a non-airflow stabilized trailer.

[Danattherock]

Originally Posted by slowmover

Twice before Saturday. 😉

I'd enjoy having this problem set.


1990 Silver Streak

Likely