Somewhere I had read a discussion concerning fabrication of a Stinger that coupled to a regular Ball Hitch. Suitable to allow your friendly RV storage folks to move your TT when you aren't around.
Has anyone seen or heard any progress on this piece?
Crispy's DIY fabrication just jogged my memory. Great work!!!!
I certainly can't take all the credit. Like I said - I "purchased some pieces of steel" - it was precut. I just had to cut and modify my hitch bar and weld into place. I believe a certain commercial vendor will be selling these soon...... I really wish it was my idea.
I was going to make the hitch bar modification myself once I saw the idea from a picture here on the forums but it was quicker/easier to do it this way.
What a great job!!!
Do you plan on getting that "Bad Boy" powder coated?
Powder coating would be nice but at this point I'll probably apply some good epoxy paint. I have one or two other items around the garage that need to be painted.
I certainly can't take all the credit. Like I said - I "purchased some pieces of steel" - it was precut. I just had to cut and modify my hitch bar and weld into place. I believe a certain commercial vendor will be selling these soon...... I really wish it was my idea.
I was going to make the hitch bar modification myself once I saw the idea from a picture here on the forums but it was quicker/easier to do it this way.
Those pieces look very familiar...
If anyone wants an adjustable bar just let me know. I'm not selling pieces now because I have the bars and OCLs in stock.
You done well, really well. Was the straight stinger solid steel? I have been thinking of this as well. I have the 4" drop and there won't be much meat left after I cut it off. Starting with a straight stinger would be the way to go. You also prove that
Crispy, that is really nice, and looks strong! Great work. Is that stainless steel or are you painting it?
Never mind, I just saw your comment above.
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"Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet" - Roger Miller
"Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs" - Roger Waters Hubba - 2006 2500HD DMax............Bubba - 2007 30' Classic w/ Hensley
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I have a friend in our Airstream Only park (Arizona) who has a Hensley Hitch that she wants to sell. It has no "stinger" but you would want to get the correct stinger for your rig. I am sure she would sell it at a low price. About 1k. This hitch is an older model but worked fine.
I am going to list it on craigs list next month.
Mike,
The hitch bar is solid steel. I would think that if you grind out the welds or your handy with a torch you could probably salvage the solid pieces of 2x2 steel. After some careful measurements I only had to make one cut to the steel with the straight hitch bar. The hitch bar is 2 1/2" longer than the original (original was 25" long end to end). There was no way around this except to make the plates smaller but that would compromise the strength of the hitch bar. That was not an option.
You may want to contact Sean to see how much his adjustable hitch bars will cost versus having your old one reworked. You could always ebay the old one to recoup a few bucks.
Mike,
The hitch bar is solid steel. I would think that if you grind out the welds or your handy with a torch you could probably salvage the solid pieces of 2x2 steel. After some careful measurements I only had to make one cut to the steel with the straight hitch bar. The hitch bar is 2 1/2" longer than the original (original was 25" long end to end). There was no way around this except to make the plates smaller but that would compromise the strength of the hitch bar. That was not an option.
You may want to contact Sean to see how much his adjustable hitch bars will cost versus having your old one reworked. You could always ebay the old one to recoup a few bucks.
The adjustable haha hitch bars I have will also require changing out the OCLs to make them shorter due to what Cripy' mentions above. The wedges on the hitch bars are closer to the OCL tabs on both the haha adjustable bar and the ProPride adjustable bar.
My 5/8" heim joints arrived today. I'll need to make a couple of adapters to attach them to the strut bars and spacers to keep them in the center of the strut bar pin. Then when the force is applied the pressure will be equal between the pins and the holes they pass through on the Main Hitch Assembly and brackets.
I have completed the modifications to my strut bars. This picture shows the bar to the extreme right.
This This picture shows the bar to the extreme left.
The hitch when squared up would not be at these extreme movements, but as you can see in the pictures, the ball of the heim joint allows the strut bar to pivot thus keeping the pressure on the pin equal, this in turn keeps the pin pushed forward in the holes it fits into. Pressure is equal on the four contact points of both pins, per side. Spacers on either side keep the ball of the heim joint centered on the pin. In my world everything is nice and square.
In this picture is the adapter that will be welded to the tube end of the strut bar. The solid end of the strut bar was drilled and tapped for the heim joint. I’m going to set it all up again on the trailer before I weld anything. The smaller end will fit into the tube and then welded at the shoulder.
Well, back in April I stripped down my used Henlsey to begin the rebuild. With a 2 year old son, it sure took a while to finish it but since we still havent found a trailer, it wasnt a big deal. Just glad to have it finished. The most frustrating part was getting the new grease seals back in the hitch head assembly. Man, I crushed a ton of seals but finally got it. Really liked how it turned out. I replaced some parts due to wear and others just because I wanted it to look like new. Hensley (Jarrod) was great on ordering parts. One thing they couldnt sell me was a serial number sticker. I would guess that is because they get them sequenced. I looked high and low since I didnt want to put the old sticker on. I finally found a place that will sell vinyl stickers and I created one to match pretty darn close. I will attach a picture when I get them.
I went with a metallic grey automotive paint on the main hitch head. Like it a lot better than the orgininal color. Should last longer as well since its a base coat with a few clear coats. The rest of the hitch is satin black.
You did put the horse in front of the cart, after all it's the Arrow that arrives first.
You found the right hitch, now go out and find the right Airstream.
Good luck..
Bob
Thanks. The problem I have is that people just want a lot of money for trailers in crappy condition. I plan to keep looking and just tent camp until I find the right trailer.
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Sooper
What a great job!!!
LOST IN THE SIXTIES
This This picture shows the bar to the extreme left.
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