Why not more WD hitches on the road?

[Boondocker]

If you want to claim there are negative trade offs to using WD, then tell us what they are. Ive never come across a single one.

Have you seen the threads about people who figured a little was good so more was better and they used spring bars rated for well beyond their needs? I have a friend who moved from a 5th wheel to an Airstream and ditched the load leveling hitch because it caused a rough ride and had the trailer cushions on the floor.

Are you really trying to use an example of misuse of (ie over rigging) as a trade off of using WD? Would you also claim that people on prescription medicine who alter their dosages provide a good argument against prescription medication?

[bryanl]

Who has ever investigated a large number of "loss of control accidents" that would be credit worthy, in your opinion.

Folks who are properly trained and can support their measures and conclusions in court. Note that this isn't insurance investigators as their goals differ and they have a definite bias. - this is an interesting topic (for me) but not on topic for this thread.

On one side we have years of experience, on the other we have analytical statistics and physics.

and sometimes you get both! One thing with analysis and fundamental principle is that it is possible to discuss them in a profitable way - it is worthy of note that, instead of working with this basis there is the approach shown here which seems to impugn such rigor. I also do not think there is any need or purpose trying to imagine the experience or training of someone who offers ideas you don't like.

Are you really trying to use an example of misuse of (ie over rigging) as a trade off of using WD?

no, this is a straw man. - I was asked for examples and I provided several, improper rigging being one. I tried to provide examples within easy access of anyone here who is interested.

"FUD" would be an interesting addition to data. Who could possible come up with those parameters, and prove their validity, every time someone questions them?

People who talk about (shout) safe as an absolute and brag about saving lives with absolutely no evidence to support their assertions are working on fear. When you assert that others should do as you insist or they are not safe, you are promulgating uncertainty and doubt. FUD mongering is a common sales technique and is why many RVers buy equipment that is inappropriate or unnecessary for their rig.

I believe I will expand my web site, to include an article about hitching, that has already been written.

This will be good. Can Am Andy's columns in the Canadian RV magazine are rather hard to come by - they also tend to get into practical experience, track testing, and analysis so some folks here might have a problem with them (and, as a matter of fact, were rather vehement in saying so on a thread a while back). It is hard to find good solid information on RV rigging and the factors involved that can actually help people find what will solve their handling problems or understand what is happening. I can hope that articles with a solid basis and a good understanding will help. That is the sort of articles I have had on my website for quite a while now.

From looking at the responses to my comments I think some folks need to step back and take a deep breath and think about their feelings and perceptions a bit.

[slowmover]

If every case is different, then every man is right. That doesn't wash. Physics, statistics, etc, are all useful. The problem is in finding the information. I have seen SAE papers referenced and downloaded one a while back. A longer search on this site, alone, will reveal more information than perusing other RV sites of my acquaintance.

I have a "big truck", but the idea that it is best is faulty (to be generous). Though it is "rated" to tow beyond 12,000-lbs, still, the owners manual states unequivocally that tongue weights in excess of 500-lbs require a weight-distribution set-up. Doesn't matter -- at all -- that the bed can carry 2,400# or that the tires and axle are rated for a load well beyond that.

Weight, per se, isn't the issue. The issue is how the load -- the weight -- is spread. And an ordinary truck scale will show that instantly.

Then there is the matter of willful ignorance. At any campground my first question is, "Let's see the scale ticket", because any other approach is wishful thinking.

I would say that the problem is not W/D or not, but the scarcity of detailed, accurate information of what constitutes a safely hitched rig.

There are no accidents, my Dad used to drum into me.

Some of us are closer to accidental loss of control than others all other things being the same as to the driver (for which we cannot control). The TT, the TV and it's rigging we can.

This is an issue we have gone over often. So, here's another step: How fast can you drive on the Interstate making violent lane-to-lane changes? I've done it at over 55 mph; at over 50 mph -- throttle-on -- for over a mile as my test of a H/A hitch. Was that enough? NO. The weight distribution was still not up to par. Only a few (that I'm aware of) have demonstrated that with whatever hitch (scale numbers shown) that they have achieved all that is possible to achieve.

Give it a road test, and have an observer to comment.

[Jaxon]

Originally Posted by Tin Diesel

Perhaps the size of the population of people willing to tow a large trailer without WD and sway control is genetically self-limiting ???

We could only hope...

[Sean Woodruff]

Originally Posted by Tin Diesel

Perhaps the size of the population of people willing to tow a large trailer without WD and sway control is genetically self-limiting ???

Originally Posted by Jaxon

We could only hope...

I wonder if any have been nominated for a Darwin Award...

[darlingbooks]

I called our Airstream dealer today, to ask about the origin of our Hensley Hitch that was on our Airstream when we bought it from the dealership. Our 2006 Classic accidentally came equipped with this hitch, because of a choice of the previous owner, and our dealer had installed and set this hitch up for the previous owner. Our dealer says that they install and setup what the customer decides to use, and do not make the decision for the customer about the type or brand of hitch, and I think that this might be a liability type of a thing for the dealership.

Mom and Dad at the dealership, buy a new Airstream for use during the winter in Florida, and then sell it as a demo when they return home in the spring. Mom and Dad have always installed a Reese hitch on their trailer, because of the expense of the Hensley.

Our dealer said that we should not change away from the Hensley with our trailer, as we would sure tell the difference in handling. The dealer has made thousands of trips towing trailers, and only three years ago, made his first delivery of an Airstream that his shop equipped with a Hensley hitch, and he says “There is a noticeable improvement in handling with a Hensley”. Their shop has installed Hensley hitches for 10 plus years, but this was his first trip delivering a Hensley equipped trailer himself.

The observations of our dealer pertaining to Hensley and Reese hitches are that with the newer wide body Airstream trailers built from 1995 to current 2009, the hitches seem to be split evenly 50-50 percent between Hensley and Reese hitches. The dealer says that “The Wide Body style of Airstream tracks different from the older narrower Airstreams, as they seem to catch more air, and a Hensley hitch will make a difference with sway control.

The conclusions of our dealer about the Hensley hitch vs. Reese hitch are that the Hensley is a better hitch, except for the price of $2800.00 and the Reese is a good hitch for around $700.00.

Anne-Marie and I have only driven a little less than 4000 miles with our Hensley hitch equipped Airstream, and only once, during a windstorm in the Oregon Columbia River Gorge, did I feel the presence of the trailer during a tow. The constant reminder is in the mirrors that you have a trailer in tow, but our van doesn’t seem to notice that anything is different from not loaded.

We have checked and double-checked the weight of the front and rear axels of our tow vehicle empty and hitched to the Hensley equipped Airstream, and we have adjusted the Hensley to level the trailer and to balance the load on the tow vehicle as best as the hitch will allow. We have gone through the learning curves with the adjustments, and with the hookup process, and we seem to have a good working system now.

Had I voted with my pocket book, I may have chosen the Hensley over the Reese, because most of the time if an item or tool costs more, it most likely has a good reason, and is better than the lesser priced item or tool.

I could not imagine towing any trailer without a weight distribution hitc.

Steve

[Sean Woodruff]

Sounds like you have a smart dealer, Steve. Next time you are talking to him let him know that the technology and stability can now be offered for less money. Not as little as the Reese but less than $2500.