Classic 30 tow vehicle

[m.hony]

Should tow fine.
I tow a Classic 30 with a Tundra.

[Zybane]

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

Sorry to but in however your advise on hitches is totally misleading. There are a number of great hitches out there for a fraction of the money a Pro Pride costs.

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

That is your opinion and we all know what opinions are worth.

No it's not. From an objective engineering and physics standpoint, sway control that relies on friction is 100% inferior to sway control that uses geometry. Nothing you say is going to change that fact.

[Roadtech]

Originally Posted by Zybane

No it's not. From an objective engineering and physics standpoint, sway control that relies on friction is 100% inferior to sway control that uses geometry. Nothing you say is going to change that fact.

100%

[Zybane]

Originally Posted by Roadtech

100%

Meaning always inferior. The degree of "practical" inferiority of friction based versus geometry based hitches would span a wide range between designs, but always inferior.

You can call geometry based hitches "over-kill", but they are still a better design for the purpose.

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by Zybane

No it's not. From an objective engineering and physics standpoint, sway control that relies on friction is 100% inferior to sway control that uses geometry. Nothing you say is going to change that fact.

The Blue Ox is not a friction hitch.
And to prevent sway there needs to be foremost countervailing force .
At the end of the day all hitches need to be geometrical to work.

Milk is white regardless of what color the cow is.

[Zybane]

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

The Blue Ox is not a friction hitch.
And to prevent sway there needs to be foremost countervailing force .
At the end of the day all hitches need to be geometrical to work.

Milk is white regardless of what color the cow is.

I never mentioned the Blue Ox. That was your injection. Blue Ox is the best of the cheap hitches, but to imply that a pivot projection hitch isn't superior to a hitch with slightly canted spring bars applying a small force to keep the trailer in line is nonsense.

Someone ate up the marketing material.

[jcl]

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

The Blue Ox is not a friction hitch.
And to prevent sway there needs to be foremost countervailing force .
At the end of the day all hitches need to be geometrical to work.

Milk is white regardless of what color the cow is.

The issue isn’t the counter force. It is about where it is applied, ie behind the rear bumper (with a resulting lever arm) or up at the rear axle.

The geometry is the difference. Yes, they all use geometry. One has the trailer pivoting on the ball itself. The other doesn’t.

Saying that all are the same is ridiculous. It appears you are drinking Koolaid, though, not milk.

[Wingeezer]

Classic 30, GMC 2500HD diesel, Hensley - had it ten years and still seems a perfect
match!

Not saying others are not equally good - this is just what I know!

Brian

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by jcl

The issue isn’t the counter force. It is about where it is applied, ie behind the rear bumper (with a resulting lever arm) or up at the rear axle.

The geometry is the difference. Yes, they all use geometry. One has the trailer pivoting on the ball itself. The other doesn’t.

Saying that all are the same is ridiculous. It appears you are drinking Koolaid, though, not milk.

I am sorry I forgot , the extra money charged for the really, really expensive hitches is for the little projectors inside them projecting the weight onto all available axles.

Reading your ramblings leads me to believe that you are the one who has imbibed on Koolaid.

[sbowman]

Originally Posted by mojoe7009

ProPride...worth every penny and fantastic customer service. Hard to explain until you experience it.

For some time we have followed thread(s) on ProPride versus other makes. The question I have, can a person try out a ProPride set up to justify price and claimed superior tow set up over others?

Best regards and safe travels

[rmkrum]

Originally Posted by sbowman

For some time we have followed thread(s) on ProPride versus other makes. The question I have, can a person try out a ProPride set up to justify price and claimed superior tow set up over others?

Best regards and safe travels

Have a look at the "Unofficial ProPride..."thread.

Personally, I did a 1-1 comparison between a Husky brand WD only hitch, and a ProPride system over the exact same course (up and down) the Cajon Pass (4,000+ feet) in Southern California. Night and day better with the ProPride system. It is a touch more challenging to hook up, but once it is installed, you do not have to mess with removing and storing the WD bars--they just stay on the Airstream, and you store the 'stinger' which is the drawbar that connects the tow vehicle and the rest of the hitch..

Downside, it's not cheap. But, as they say in the commercials,the peace of mind is priceless...

[jcl]

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

I am sorry I forgot , the extra money charged for the really, really expensive hitches is for the little projectors inside them projecting the weight onto all available axles.

The linkage projects the lateral forces forward to the rear axle, not the weight.

[Countryboy59]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

Have a look at the "Unofficial ProPride..."thread.

Personally, I did a 1-1 comparison between a Husky brand WD only hitch, and a ProPride system over the exact same course (up and down) the Cajon Pass (4,000+ feet) in Southern California. Night and day better with the ProPride system. It is a touch more challenging to hook up, but once it is installed, you do not have to mess with removing and storing the WD bars--they just stay on the Airstream, and you store the 'stinger' which is the drawbar that connects the tow vehicle and the rest of the hitch..

Downside, it's not cheap. But, as they say in the commercials,the peace of mind is priceless...

I’ve hitched and unhitched my Hensley on steep driveways etc. once you figure how to set the angle, it’s painless.

[Pete B55]

I've been in a sway-induced roll-over accident with a friction sway hitch where the TV and trailer were both totaled but my family had only minor injuries (seatbelts and airbags REALLY do save lives). I swore I would buy the best hitch available to avoid that happening again.

The issue of what is 'good enough' is a personal opinion, but what is better or best currently available is not an opinion.

A sway event is caused by a lateral force applied to the TV or the trailer. The weak point in the TV-trailer system is the coupling point inducing an oscillation between the two. A larger lateral force (a larger sway event) requires more damping then a smaller sway event to prevent an oscillation that causes loss of control. Sway events happen all the time, most are small, some are large.

In my roll-over, the lateral force could not be overcome by the damping of the friction hitch.

Each hitch type mentioned here will dampen a sway event, however when a large enough lateral force is encountered, each will reach their limit of oscillation dampening capability and a loss of control WILL happen.

When I bought our Classic, I looked at every hitch available including all details of their design (I'm an engineer). The Blue-Ox and Hensley are far superior than any friction hitch. That's a fact. Are they good enough? That's an opinion and up to you decide.

The Pro-pride mechanical structure which puts the pivot point at my rear axle rather than at the ball has truly superior damping capability compared to any other hitch on the market. That's a fact. Could I encounter a lateral force that's too much for the Pro-pride to dampen? Absolutely.

As I said, my decision was simple. I wanted the best hitch available to give me and my family the best chance when things go bad. Is it more expensive? yes - the mechanical mechanism, hinge points, bars, links, and jacks are more pieces with more cost. Is it worth it? That's an opinion.

[Zybane]

Yes, for a $135K+ Airstream Classic a pivot projection hitch is a no-brainer.

[mojoe7009]

Originally Posted by sbowman

For some time we have followed thread(s) on ProPride versus other makes. The question I have, can a person try out a ProPride set up to justify price and claimed superior tow set up over others?

Best regards and safe travels

I doubt that can happen. But I can tell you an anecdotal story. My Classic was towed back to Jackson Center for some warranty issues by one of Airstream’s delivery guys who does it for a living. He had to take my stinger so he could hitch up my ProPride equipped trailer. Before he left he said, “I’ve never pulled an Airstream with one of these”. He had to tow it over 8 hours. When he arrived at JC he called to tell me my trailer was safe and sound. Then he said, “Now I see why you love the ProPride. Totally different than anything I’ve experienced. Gave me great confidence, semi-trucks didn’t move the trailer at all and occasionally I forgot the trailer was back there.”
But as others have said, many a mile has been traveled with other less expensive hitches. So, it is a budget and personal preference issue. For me, it was expensive, which gave me some pause, but ultimately I believe it was money well spent. It has been a pleasure to tow our Classic with total confidence. Plus, as I keep repeating, the customer service Sean, the owner of ProPride, provides is outstanding and adds value to the whole experience.

[rmkrum]

Pete, that’s a heck of a hard way to have an experience that would lead to to upgrading the heck out of a trailer hitch. Mine was a bit more tame, but a little more wind and a bit less caution, I could have had a similar event going down 5,000+ feet on a steep grade on a windy day.

Night and day better with a ProPride. I’m glad you and your family made it through ok.

I knew an upgrade was a good idea, and I hope others learn from your experience. The naysayers and doubters are entitled to their opinion, but I’m ignoring them, since “it’s good enough” does not cut it when you are talking the safety of your family...

I spent over 20 years in industry working for Boeing, among others. Setting up things to be safe, reliable, and always controllable is s hallmark of the aviation industry. Why not insist on the same things in conveyances that you put your family in? Compared to the possible consequences, I’d say a few or a couple thousand bucks for a rock-solid towing experience is worth it.