The unofficial pp users guide...

[dkottum]

bapp1236, you hooked up to a different truck and still have the "wiggle"? Not sure what you're feeling but one would have to suspect something isn't right with the trailer loading or running gear? Are you carrying anything behind the rear bumper? What size w.d. bars?

[bono]

bapp1236, 99% of people on this forum would consider my TV not sufficient for the trailer (BMW X5 with Jayco 33 ft long trailer). With PP hitch the setup is solid as rock. I towed the trailer from Indiana to California, through high cross winds, through Rockies, etc. I can tow all day with one hand.

My point is that there is something wrong with the trailer (loading?), not with the hitch (unless you have a defective one).

[james.mileur]

Originally Posted by bapp1236

I fear i fell pray to the internet hype and 9/10s is all it will do.

What's in the hype that you didn't get?

[bapp1236]

its manageable, but It is definitely not as stable as a fifth wheel, which was what is was my expectation based on the hype. Here's a quote from the Jayco forum from someone experiencing the same problem.

"Okay, I was trying to find the strand where someone talked about a "wiggle" and I was thinking it was in a Propride strand. (Was on my phone and thought easier to reply on computer). So this is not the strand but thought you might find this interesting anyway.
Mocad: I have a Blue Ox on my WhiteHawk 21FBS and I have an extremely difficult time getting all of the tension off it to disconnect; almost raise TV off ground. The conjecture is that there's something about the way the Blue Ox has two stabilizing components and both put pressure on the ball. And that frame is different on those units, receiver is more "up" or something. Plus the trailer has now been lowered 3 times; dealer simply set it up too high so that did help. So a combination of my inexperience and the dealers with that system probably all contributes. Anyway, the tension bar finally got me and I ended up in the emergency room.
In the process of thinking about a different WDH, I finally decided to "put out" for a Hensley or Propride. I hesitate to put this conversation here because the guy at Hensley I talked to really hesitated on answering me; he did not want to mudsling but I asked the question as to why I would go with a Hensley rather than a Propride (other than the modification needed to TV) After stammering around a bit, he finally said the model Propride is using was a hitch they had developed that they had finally rejected. I can't find my notes from that conversation now but I'm almost certain that he said it sometimes had a wiggle and they never could engineer it out so they discarded the design. So maybe ProPride has addressed that issue now or maybe it's the same hitch. The guy who does Propride was a sales rep for Hensley, not an engineer. Just informational for what it's worth. And even if it does wiggle sometimes, it's probably still a very good system. I am getting a Hensley installed this week and will cross my fingers I can hitch on my own!"
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[dkottum]

bapp1236, would you post a photo of your F-150/ProPride/35.5' Airstream Classic 30 combination?

[james.mileur]

Originally Posted by bapp1236

. . . I hesitate to put this conversation here because the guy at Hensley I talked to really hesitated on answering me; he did not want to mudsling but I asked the question as to why I would go with a Hensley rather than a Propride (other than the modification needed to TV) After stammering around a bit . . .he said it sometimes had a wiggle and they never could engineer it out so they discarded the design. So maybe ProPride has addressed that issue now or maybe it's the same hitch. The guy who does Propride was a sales rep for Hensley, not an engineer. Just informational for what it's worth.
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Heres some different information from that salesman guy running Pro Pride.
https://www.propridehitch.com/the-ji...y-hitch-story/

[james.mileur]

Originally Posted by bono

Just found on another forum...

Here's a hitch you might have more experience with, and I bet no wiggle.

[SailorSam205]

Have you considered taking a vacation up in Michigan? Propride is just outside Flint. You could ask Sean to take an up close, personal look at your setup. He might diagnose it.

Just noticed, I'm in your neighborhood. Spending a night at the Horse Park on our way north after watching the eclipse in Sweetwater Tn.

[cwf]

We have a 34' AS and 2500 Chevrolet and have owned the PP 4 years. I rebuilt it last year before trip from TEXAS to Minnesota.. flawless.

When new, the PP changed the handling.. my wife even enjoyed pulling the AS! I had to make an evasive maneuver I had to drive the rig onto a muddy shoulder... flawless.

Two years later the PP exhibited noise when backing and when stopping. When backing it could not be ignored. Stopping, the front of the AS would twitch to the side even when stopped with trailer brakes.

I have a rebuild thread somewhere here... and Sean was very helpful!!!

I should mention that changing truck tires to Michelin actual did not improve the truck handling.. especially when towing. There are others here who found their TVs were not capable or had mechanical issues or troublesome suspension mods...

The issue I found when disassembled was water intrusion, corrosion, crushed roller bearings and cage.. it appears (in my evaluation the caps did not properly seal and somehow there was little grease.. which may have leaked out once the seals and shafts corrode because the lower seals held water in...that probably accelerated the corrosive effects ... the PP is in the weather all the time...

To his credit, Sean sent repair parts... which was great because shipping the head would be EXXXPENSIVE. With those I had the part numbers and did what I considered an upgrade... ..I chose to install Timken bearings and races. Also National seals. The numbers are listed in my rebuild post.. and if asked, I bet Sean would help provide the numbers.

So, after thousands of carefree miles, the PP is still working great.. hitching was improved too..

The axles were 15 years old, so I replaced them... the new axles had nearly zero grease in them and, yes, I fixed that too. Of course... this on rebuildable axle bearings .. if those are not good, the trailer will handle adversely.

So... If the PP is good, the adjustments correct, the axles and hitch good, it should tow properly.

I actually adjusted the rebuilt PP stinger too low and the AS swayed, pulling the AS all over once we hit 45mph.. raised the hitch to next hole totally fixed the issue.

Anyway, the PP works. The HAHA works. The problem is elsewhere IMHO.

[bapp1236]

Update: The PP is less than a year old with only about 2000 miles of towing. A friend and myself took the PP off of my trailer and installed it on his. He has a 2017 Keystone Bullet that is 35.5 feet long and about the same weight. It exhibited the exact same behavior. It has to be the hitch because it was on a different trailer and TV. I even talked to my local Airstream tech who has set up several of these hitches and he said he has seen this before from PP and could never get it dialed in just right on some. The first thing he asked was what speed does it occur? It usually occurs above 70 mph. He said that speed was too fast for a travel trailer. I would always pull my fifth wheel at traffic speed so that is usually about 75-80 on the interstate with no problems. I guess i'm hitting the limitations of a travel trailer set up. I like my trailer, but I don't want to be the old grandpa holding everyone up on the interstate. I should have known because when i was a truck driver I always dreaded coming up on a lumbering travel trailer going 60 while everyone else is going 80. It made for a dangerous situation in a truck by having to go around or stop suddenly.

[bapp1236]

I don't carry anything inside the trailer except a few cloths and very little food. The trailer, the hitch and truck are less than a year old. So I am starting to believe I just cant drive this at the speeds I pulled my fifth wheel. the problem only starts above 70 mph, which is slow on I 75.

[james.mileur]

How do you measure a 6" wiggle at >70 mph ?

[james.mileur]

Originally Posted by bapp1236

Update: The PP is less than a year old with only about 2000 miles of towing. A friend and myself took the PP off of my trailer and installed it on his.. . .

Wow, that's a lot of work since yesterday. I never saw the answer to a previous question of what WD bars you have on the PP.

It made for a dangerous situation in a truck by having to go around or stop suddenly.

Relative speed difference of 25 - 30 mph is hardly dangerous, unless one isn't looking up while driving. I bet < 70 mph will be safe enough for everyone around you and you.

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by bapp1236

. . . this s what my experience tell me after 18 months of tinkering and adjusting countless numbers of times.

How do you spend 18 months tinkering and adjusting your ProPride that is less than one year old?

[james.mileur]

Is this one of them dang fangled rabbit holes?

[Al and Missy]

I have had two TVs, two hitches, and two trailers. Safari 25 with Equalizer and F150, Safari 25 with Equalizer an Ram 2500 diesel, Classic 30 with Equalizer and Ram, and finally Classic 30 with Propride and Ram. We just returned from a 1300 mile round trip to view the eclipse. The Propride was rock solid. With all previous combinations I would experience a push of the trailer front/truck rear with some, but not all, passing vehicles. It was not severe, but noticeable, and resulted with the truck steering toward the passing vehicle. The surprise was that some semis didn't push and some smaller vehicles that looked pretty aeordynamic did. With the propride, there was occasionally a barely perceptible push of the whole rig away from the passing vehicle.

I thought I had it set up properly in my driveway, but out on the road the trailer seemed to porpoise more and looked nose high. Like Channing (thanks Channing for the help) I had to rebuild mine, purchased used from an SOB owner in Canada. I couldn't differentiate between potential shipping damage and poor maintenance but the bearings had little grease and a lot of rust. Two of the grease caps had come off, probably in shipping, and one of the grease seals was dislodged.

All cleaned up and rebuilt with new bearings, races, and seals it works like new. My trailer is stored inside, I packed the bearing cavities well with grease and carefully installed the grease caps so I don't anticipate any water intrusion problems.

The main reasons I switched were stability in emergency maneuvers (which I hope I never have to test) and convenience when unhitching and storing and rehitching. I just decouple and swap the stinger from the truck to the trailer when storing and the reverse when I pick the trailer up. The same goes for arrival at a long-term campsite. With the Equalizer I had to lift the heavy hitch head and bars up into the trailer or truck and get them out to hitch up.

All in all a much better experience with the Propride and my back thanks me.

Al

[chracatoa]

Originally Posted by bapp1236

its manageable, but It is definitely not as stable as a fifth wheel, which was what is was my expectation based on the hype. Here's a quote from the Jayco forum from someone experiencing the same problem.

Well, I have never driven a fifth wheel. But I can say that the difference between a normal hitch and a ProPride is like night and day.

However, considering how the PP is built (and Hensley), there's no way it'd act like a fifth wheel on the X axis. The VPP only works on the Y axis. Perhaps this is the difference?

As for the Hensley comment, this is probably a sales tactic. The fundamentals of both hitches are the same (in fact, you can see it in this

Lego

video). I can't see where anything that would wiggle on the PP wouldn't wiggle on the Hensley.

Anyway, what sold me on the ProPride was the adjustable hitch, the price and customer service.

[rmkrum]

Ditto on the ProPride. Love the adjustable stinger, easy tensioning on WD, And the lack of having to drill holes in the A-frame to install the hitch.

[bapp1236]

The 18 is a typo it should have been 8. And yes it was a lot of work in one day because i guess I'm grasping at straws to try to sort out something that cost this much so I'm not throwing good money after bad.

[bapp1236]

One doesn't measure it at 70 mph. The six inches is the quarter inch at at the receiver projected over the length of the 35 foot trailer. Recall your college geometry. This means the trailer can move six inches before the slack is taken up an the hitch can dampen the sway.