3P hitch - about to purchase!

[Ron Gratz]

Originally Posted by RWills

Query: What extra does the 3P provide over a Sway Pro for the additional $2,000? Mind you, I'm not commenting about the quality of a 3P --- I just don't understand its advantages over a Sway Pro. What am I not understanding?

The mechanical advantage of the 3P and Hensley Arrow is that the 4-bar linkage causes the trailer to move as though it is pivoting about a Virtual Pivot Point which, for most yaw angles, is some distance ahead of the ball coupler.
Similar to a 5th-wheel hitch, having the VPP closer to the TV's rear axle enhances the stability of the combination tow vehicle and trailer, rendering it less susceptible to swaying or fishtailing in the presence of side winds.

When the TV and TT are aligned straight ahead, The location of the VPP is about 52" forward of the ball connector and, depending on TV rear overhang, might be about 2' behind the center of the TV's rear axle
As the TT swings relative to the TV, the VPP moves laterally and rearward.
At a yaw angle of 4 degrees, the VPP has moved rearward about 22" and laterally about 19" relative to its straight-ahead position.
At a yaw angle of 20 degrees, the VPP has returned to a position about 5" ahead of the coupler.

A major cause of sway is the oscillating lateral force which the TT can exert on the TV.
This force, multiplied by its distance from the TV's rear axle, generates a steering torque which must be countered by steering changes.
Having the VPP at 24" behind the rear axle generates less steering torque than having the VPP at around 65" which is typical when using a "conventional" hitch.

Ron

[silverlabs]

We changed from the Equalizer to the PP for the exact same reasons you mentioned Gsmblue. The ease or correcting for proper weight distribution when we carried different loads was enough alone. All the other benefits from the PP were icing on the cake. Love towing with the PP. I do see a difference from the Equalizer which I thought did an excellent job itself.

Enjoy and safe travels.

Chuck

[Rich Jenkins]

Gsmblue - Good luck with your hitch. Hope it works out for you as well as ours.

I read the threads, and took the advice of many here. For our 27' FC, I ordered a PP / 1,400# hitch from Sean and had it delivered to Colonial Airstream.

Sean's support has been fantastic. The hitch absolutely works as advertised.

We took off from Colonial and drove 1,100 miles to Tampa, never having towed anything larger than a Radio Flyer wagon. We never noticed any sway on the drive.

I was able to hitch up at Cherry Hill RV Park for the first time ever, on a chilly Washington DC morning at 6:30AM. Without any coffee.

I feel very confident the hitch will work as advertised on our future travels up to Canada and out West.

Rich

[cjaubert]

Your post is unbelievably timely. I have a Pro Pride hitch and LOVE IT. Today, I brought my 2015 30FB to Vogt RV in Fort Worth and they told me they wouldn't work on it unless and until the hitch was COMPLETELY REMOVED from the RV. That's right, they wouldn't touch it unless I unbolted and totally removed the Pro Pride!

My point, BTW, is that you should check with YOUR dealer to be sure they don't have the same dopey rule.

In this regard, has ANYONE ever heard of this before? Frankly, I can't believe this - Vogt has been a good store for me, but if this is true, never again. I'm going to contact Airstream to see if this is even permissible.

[silverlabs]

Vogt told me the same thing. Basically they are too lazy to either modify another adapter for their tractor they use to move the trailers with or use one of their trucks and your coupler to move it. I no longer deal with them. This and some other things I have heard about some of their work. They guys in Dublin are wonderful. They will move it around and do very good work.

I have heard of other dealers doing this same thing so Vogt is not alone but my feeling is there are others that will handle it with the hitch in place so I choose to do business there. Just my two cents.

Chuck

[BoscoMN]

I've spent most evenings for the past 4 weeks looking at forums to get up to speed on what hitch to buy. I remember one member saying that they made up an adapter that they left in place on their Hensley or PPP that enabled their dealer to move their trailer around without an issue. I'll try to find it and repost it here...

[dkottum]

BoscoMN, if your dealer is Shorewood in Anoka, they insisted we didn't need a Propride/Hensley so I bought their hitch with our new Airstream. Should have stuck to my guns. Nonetheless they said if we got one we would need to leave our stinger with them for maintenance work. That would be fine, but we no longer use or want them for service work. We fit Jackson Center into our travels if something comes up.

[ROBERT CROSS]

....are the 3P & HaHa so different?....or is it the TV & receiver?
I move 820b with 1k bars. I had 1200, but switched them out for the softer ride.

Bob

[Gsmblue]

Rob,

From what I can tell, there are a few subtle difference between the 2 designs. The 2 that matter to me are:

1. 3P does not need holes drilled into the AS frame...
2. 3P has a wider angle of acceptance for the shank, so this should make it easier to hitch up.

I am sure others with more experience will be along shortly!!

[rmkrum]

To me, the pp hitch parts look stronger, and I also like the adjustable stinger. Not drilling holes in the A frame was a big plus. No bolts to shear off in case of excessive force.


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[dznf0g]

I got a haha used at a price I couldn't pass up. The lack of an adjustable stinger is the only flaw I have encountered. I got one of the few adjustable stingers for haha that Sean made up. Made the haha a different animal.
If I were buying new, it would be PP.


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[crispyboy]

I also bought my HAHA used and it came with 1000# bars. The 1000# bars seem to work fine for throwing enough weight forward. I would think the heavier bars would just give a more harsh ride. I also have an adjustable stinger which is heavy but works fine.
Like Rich said above - if I bought new it would be the upgraded PP.

[dznf0g]

I, too, have 1000pound bars and they are fine moving all the weight where I need it. And that's with 1050 receiver weight and the truck bed loaded with about 750 pounds and one passenger.


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[Denis4x4]

Here is a photo showing the tongue weight of a '06 Safari 25 FB with a PP hitch. The installation took about 4 hours. Probably half that time with a helper. I have the 1200# bars. Since I'm towing with a Grand Cherokee, I had the stinger sent with out the 5/8" receiver hole inorder to have it has close to the rear axle as possible. I'm a strong believer in getting accurate weights and find the numbers on the AS tags very misleading. Same goes for tongue weights.

[dkottum]

Sean at ProPride recommended 1400# bars for our FC 25/Ram 1500 combo. We can get full restoration (measuring height) to our Ram's front axle even when trailer/truck loaded heavy (which we rarely do but has happened). The w.d. screw jacks allow easy adjustment for the load we have.

I recall Ron Gratz demonstrating the need for more w.d. tension when the w.d. bars are positioned further back from the receiver, as with the Hensley/ProPride. So the need to get the stinger as close as possible to the truck as well as larger w.d. bars than with many conventional hitches.

A soft ride for the Airstream should be a goal as well, but how might one measure it? Inland Andy from Inland Airstream says it's simple. Just stand on the hitch connection and bounce it a few times; should see a couple of inches of movement, if not the connection is too rigid. Sounds like a primitive approach to the question, maybe too simple but probably has merit.

So that's what I did, even with the ProPride 1400 lb bars and there is flexibility. Stuff doesn't get tossed around in the trailer and cabinet drawers and screws have never come undone. The ride, handling and braking of the combo is very good. It's a pleasure to drive, even on busy, windy interstates.

We'll settle for Sean's advice on the 1400 lb bars, Inland Andy's advice on how to check it for flexibility, and Andrew Thomson of Can-Am's advice for near full front restoration on our truck for best towing performance.

[BAB]

I cannot even imagine the ARROGANCE of a dealer telling someone that they wouldn't work on their trailer until the 3P was completely removed! While I have no reason to deal with Vogt RV, whoever owns it should get some feedback that this "policy" has now been made public to the Airstream community. So much for "customer service" from that dealership.

[m.hony]

That just don't make no sense.


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[rmkrum]

That would result in a cancellation of the appointment and me going elsewhere immediately. Won't put up with silliness.


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[BoscoMN]

Thanks Doug for the info on Shorewood.

My only exposure to them had been that I started my wife's and my "let's look at a couple of RVs" by going out to Shorewood one Saturday. That ended our looking at anything that was not Airstream. Fortunately for our wallet/purse, that next week we found and purchased a very slightly used 2015 19' FC from a private party. We will be getting it out of storage for the first time in April. I have high hopes as a nerdy engineer and sometimes handyman to do the bulk of the work on the AS myself. I will be cautious in placing my trust with a dealer - thanks for the reminder.

[ghaynes755]

Making an adapter costs about $30. Basically a straight 2" extension sleeve and a hitch/ball lock piece and a couple of bolts. Put that on with the stinger in place and they shouldn't have any problem moving your trailer.

Mine looked similar to this one

http://www.airstreamclassifieds.com/...hitch-adapter/