Towing, Hitches, WD Bars for Professionals

[Bajaexplorer]

Greetings all, I am new in this busness of towing, but I have been safely driving cars and light trucks for the past 50years all over America and as a new unexperienced driver learning the physics of towing, WD, Sway control etc. and also, new into internet forums, it is so confusing to me and others that I have a lot of difficulty in understanding a respectable professional opinion about the right and most efficient and simple equipment to purchase. I believe that when it comes to terms for anyone to get the safest equipment to purchase to tow a trailer, money it is not an issue, when your life and the life of the others depend on it. However, some and lots of postings differ from this and have some opinions that have no room in some of these forums, and the same goes for some other postings from people that had never experienced all sort of equipments to assume that the particular ones they have are the best. So i hope we can have a tread where profesional masters only, with years of experience can express their opinions in a very objective way about the best equipment they used, and still using today and why.Considering, that most of the brands out there are the safest and the best money can buy., please, let us know in a profesional manner and experience why you favor one towards the competition, why a EQ in favor of a resse or other brand.. I think having a tread reserved for pros with years of experience in this business will help and assist all of us, so we can have the most respectable opinion when it comes to hitch our AS.

[AWCHIEF]

Everyone here is a professional, just ask them they will tell you so.

[dkottum]

When we wanted a Hensley/ProPride hitch for our first Airstream is was the "Pros" at the dealerships and manufacturers who talked us out of it and sold us two other mediocre hitches. After wasting that thousand bucks, we bought what we wanted in the first place.

They promote what they sell and build.

[aftermath]

Welcome to the forums. I believe that your question is unreasonable as we are all experts, just ask us. This will devolve into another my hitch is better than your hitch thread. There have been plenty of discussions about this topic and it seems to me that they all end the same.

If money is no object to you go out and get the most expensive one you can find. Many people equate money with quality so they never hesitate to purchase the "best". Good luck in your hunt. Listen and you soon will be given lots of advice, all by experts.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I have had the same trailer, tow vehicle, and hitch for nine years. I have towed in 13 western states and 3 western provinces. For many thousands of miles. [over 10,000 miles in my Alaska trip alone] I have towed in 100 plus temps and zero temps. I have towed in strong winds, rain, and snow and on dirt, gravel, and paved roads. In all of this time, my trailer has only once swayed violently out of control; My trailer was in my driveway during a 5.0 Earthquake.

[SteveSueMac]

Welcome. And sincerely - good luck with this quest :-)

It may be due to the myriad of x-factors that your question doesn't have an answer. What are you towing? What are you towing with? What is your objective - weight distribution (and if so, does your tow vehicle manufacturer require it? 50% restoration to the front axle? 100%? ) React to a sway event? Prevent a sway event? How much weight can you put on your a-frame? What's your budget? What roads will you be traveling? What level of experience do you have towing? What kinds of devices are in your tow vehicle (brake controller, anti-lock brakes, "sway control" software, etc.) ?

There's a few thousand permutations there which might come up with different answers each time.

Know the strengths and weaknesses of yourself, your tow vehicle and your trailer, know what you're trying to accomplish (and why), and do everything you can to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses - then you'll make the right decision.

But I'd love to hear a professional's opinion on this too - I'd be shocked if there's one answer.

Good luck. Oh, and get the ProPride :-D

(Obligatory line...no affiliation.... :-) )

[J. Morgan]

I have been towing trailers since I was a teen, big trailers, little trailers, and in between trailers.

For my work I bought and had built fifth wheel trailers because of their stability.

If a person wants the kind of stability with a bumper mount trailer, get a Hensley or a ProPride.

[markdoane]

You're on the wrong site. This forum is for amateur towing professionals.
The Professional Airforums site is at a different address and I'm not going to tell you where it is.

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by markdoane

You're on the wrong site. This forum is for amateur towing professionals.
The Professional Airforums site is at a different address and I'm not going to tell you where it is.

Whew! Thanks for not sharing that with everyone! ;-)

[Gosman]

New to this issue , but you that have been in Airstreaming for a while may know , I was hauling my Argosy over the week end and backing it up one of my Weight Distribution Hitch Trunnion Spring Bar (1) Broke !
Not sure how old the hitch is , know markings on bars or hitch at all ?
Bar is stright not curved ,
would any one know were I could get a replacement ,
do not think this is some thing to get weld .

Has worked really well in the past , not sure what happened .
Thanks all need help asap.

[Road Ruler]

Flyingsilver.

To best answer your question I will list 3 names who are IMHO the most knowledgeable and professional rv connection/hitch Guru's on the planet.

Sean Woodruff of ProPride... (a forum member)
Jim Hensley of Hensley
Andrew Thomson of Can AM... (a forum member)

If you contact any, or all of those 3 individuals you will without doubt get the most accurate and appropriate information regarding hitches and setup with regards to your needs.

The Jim Hensley Hitch Story | Hensley Arrow and ProPride 3P Inventor | ProPride, Inc.

Can-Am RV Centre | Your Towing Experts

[Chipster]

Nobody answered the original question ! Asking the mfg. about their hitches---DUH ! As usual, the dance continues and the people who were not asked the question cannot resist adding their opinions fwiw.
I can see why the professionals refrain from entering this arena.
chip

[Road Ruler]

Duh....... ????

Sorry you are not getting it.

[J. Morgan]

Professionals hock what they sell. This is just reality. (I am not saying they don't believe in their products)

I am not an RV towing professional, nor do I sell hitches, but I have towed trailers for hundreds of thousands of miles, and I have studied the situation a lot and I have worked with weight distribution with my trailer to make it tow "on the ball" as well as I could over about 15K miles, even going so far as to remodel part of my remodeling.

The difference in moving to my used Hensley was amazing. The trailer now tows as well as, and in some respects BETTER than a well set up fifth wheel. (Imho of course)

So, while I don't meet the criteria of the thread, I say the smart and best move is the ProPride/Hensley design.

Set it and forget it.

[AWCHIEF]

The last person I would ask for an unbiased opinion is the manufacturers or a dealer that pushes one brand. Asking for opinions here sometimes can be rather pointless as you you get responses from people that also have other agendas. You have to be able to tell the difference. Not that hard to do after reading a few of their post.

[John&Vicki]

The OP is interested in towing particulars for safety reasons. Me too. Where the rubber meets the road is where the rubber meets the road. There are folks out there towing with hitches priced from a few hundred dollars to a several thousand dollars. I'm not interested in which ones look better, feel better, bestow the most pride of ownership, whatever. I'm interested in which ones are *safest*.

So forget hypotheticals and opinions. Let's deal in facts. One way to do that is to try and track crashes and their specifics. Is there a thread here that does that? Or are accidents so rare that there's not much to discuss? If crashes are extremely rare it would indicate that just about all hitches are safe.

Flamesuit on.

Poppy

[terryV]

I have had a little experience towing trailers. (51 years, actually) However, now that I am in the presence of "experts", I would like to pose a question about something that I have wondered about all these years.

What makes the popping and creaking noise when turning, especially when backing and turning?

[J. Morgan]

As far as that goes there are few reports of people crashing their trailers while towing on the ball.

I am a person who mixes a certain amount of confidence and experience with a certain amount of respect for how a trailer can get out of shape.

In this line of reasoning, it is entirely possible for one person towing a big trailer on a ball can be safer than another person towing a little trailer with a state of the art hitch.

The biggest advantage I am likely to see with my Hensley is EASIER driving. In other words I will be able to cover more miles with less fatigue.

Frankly, an Airstream on a ball is harder to drive down the road than a large tractor trailer. Harder does not have to mean unsafe though.

That and that truck I didn't notice coming up in my rear view mirror wont startle me quite so much...

[J. Morgan]

My trailer didn't pop and creak when it was being towed on the ball, nor has it on the hundred miles of me testing my Hensley.

I have read a lot of popping and creaking posts regarding other brands of sway control/WD.

[xrvr]

J excellently stated, I agree. Jim