ProPride & Hensley v.s. S.O.B.

[hikingcamera]

Originally Posted by 2012FB

Dare I say the person driving is the 99.9% safety factor regardless of setup. No one seems to mention the need for advanced driving classes, or towing classes, which is probably the most important aspect of safely driving much less towing.

I don't entirely disagree with what you are saying here, and very much appreciate your comments. Separating out the hype and subjective inputs can certainly get muddy. And I 100% agree that defensive driving techniques, safe towing practices, etc. are EXTREMELY important to safety. In some other countries there are higher tow ratings paired with required education and additional licensing to tow and much lower speed limits for vehicles that are towing.

That said, it is also true that we tend to over-emphasize what interventions we think we can do as the driver. Unexpected circumstance can occur, despite human intervention efforts (and sometimes because of human intervention efforts) that can cause catastrophic accidents when traveling at high speeds (above even just 25 mph). Driving is in large part the illusion of control. But that goes for whether you are towing or not, and I don't think your comments were intended to disagree with that, but felt it was worth pointing out for readers.

[BobnGayl]

We pulled several SOB trailers prior to out AS purchase. The first one we bought used for $4,500 and it was great. A big heavy thing that we went everywhere in, pulling it with a 3/4 ton GMC Suburban. It never swayed and towed fine. Our next was a nice Starcraft that looked great, was well equipped, and terribly designed. The axles were too far forward which made achieving adequate tongue weight a challenge. We had more than a few white knuckle trips with that one, especially going across the plains. We learned how to load it to improve sway, but it was never great. I considered a Hensley a few times, but never bought one. Then we got our AS and sway was a thing of the past. We towed all of our trailers with Reese Straightline cam hitches. They worked as designed, even with the poorly engineered Starcraft. I believe tongue weight is the primary determinant for sway, and as long as it’s where it needs to be, zero issues. IMHO.

[KettleKayaker]

I tow our 2019 international with a 2017 F-150 Supercrew. My hitch is a Reese dual cam WD/anti-sway system. I have towed about 7500 miles over the past two years with this setup and am generally happy with the performance. I have never had a "back and forth sway" under any conditions. What I do feel when passed by a truck is an abrupt lateral shift followed by the normal "suck and push" as the truck passes. I pay attention and make the normal corrective steering measures.

In trying to find the source of the "abrupt lateral shift", I placed three 0.030" spacers in the trucks receiver to eliminate most of the 0.100" left to right slop between the hitch shank and the receiver opening. This did not eliminate the " abrupt lateral shift" experienced when passed by a truck.

Two other possible causes of the abrupt lateral shiftcome to mind:
1) Is it possible that this type of anti-sway hitch requires a certain amount of motion to react to the side force on the Airstream? In other words this is what you get.
2) Is it possible that the sidewalls of the truck tires (from Ford) have low enough stiffness to Produce the "abrupt lateral shift" that I feel?

Will a ProPride hitch elinimate the "abrupt lateral shift"?

I have read everyone's opinion on this topic. They are varied and insightful. I wish there was a standardized test that could applied to objectively rate each hitches reaction to the "disturbances" seen while towing.

On a side note: We taking delivery of a 2022 F-250 SuperCab with 8 foot box next week! Got tired of running into the cargo limits with our current F-150. I plan on seeing how my existing SOB hitch handles with the new truck. To get rid of the abrupt lateral shift I would consider a new hitch.

First post! - let's see how this works.

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by KettleKayaker

I tow our 2019 international with a 2017 F-150 Supercrew. My hitch is a Reese dual cam WD/anti-sway system. I have towed about 7500 miles over the past two years with this setup and am generally happy with the performance. I have never had a "back and forth sway" under any conditions. What I do feel when passed by a truck is an abrupt lateral shift followed by the normal "suck and push" as the truck passes. I pay attention and make the normal corrective steering measures.

In trying to find the source of the "abrupt lateral shift", I placed three 0.030" spacers in the trucks receiver to eliminate most of the 0.100" left to right slop between the hitch shank and the receiver opening. This did not eliminate the " abrupt lateral shift" experienced when passed by a truck.

Two other possible causes of the abrupt lateral shiftcome to mind:
1) Is it possible that this type of anti-sway hitch requires a certain amount of motion to react to the side force on the Airstream? In other words this is what you get.
2) Is it possible that the sidewalls of the truck tires (from Ford) have low enough stiffness to Produce the "abrupt lateral shift" that I feel?

Will a ProPride hitch elinimate the "abrupt lateral shift"?

I have read everyone's opinion on this topic. They are varied and insightful. I wish there was a standardized test that could applied to objectively rate each hitches reaction to the "disturbances" seen while towing.

On a side note: We taking delivery of a 2022 F-250 SuperCab with 8 foot box next week! Got tired of running into the cargo limits with our current F-150. I plan on seeing how my existing SOB hitch handles with the new truck. To get rid of the abrupt lateral shift I would consider a new hitch.

First post! - let's see how this works.

Yes, a ppp hitch will eliminate the "abrupt lateral shift". Unless the wind is strong and from a particular direction, there is no feeling at all. During higher winds (again direction plays a role) you will get just a slight push as a rigid unit. None of the "push, suck, push" that you get with others. If you are close to the right line, and the truck is not crowding you, you get virtually nothing.

One thing with the Dual Cam you should try. If the cams are not adjusted so the saddles of the bars are full seated on both ramps, you will get a "snap to center...a snap over the center...and a snap back to center.

With your TV and trailer loaded as you would travel, adjust the cams so a .020 feeler gauge won't slip between the ramp of the spring bar and the cam....BOTH front and back side of the cam.

If your load changes significantly (TV or trailer tongue weight), like more than 100#s, you will need to adjust again.

Dual cam is still my emergency back up hitch. I think it is the best of the non-PPP hitches.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by KettleKayaker

I tow our 2019 international with a 2017 F-150 Supercrew. My hitch is a Reese dual cam WD/anti-sway system. I have towed about 7500 miles over the past two years with this setup and am generally happy with the performance. I have never had a "back and forth sway" under any conditions. What I do feel when passed by a truck is an abrupt lateral shift followed by the normal "suck and push" as the truck passes. I pay attention and make the normal corrective steering measures.

In trying to find the source of the "abrupt lateral shift", I placed three 0.030" spacers in the trucks receiver to eliminate most of the 0.100" left to right slop between the hitch shank and the receiver opening. This did not eliminate the " abrupt lateral shift" experienced when passed by a truck.

Two other possible causes of the abrupt lateral shiftcome to mind:
1) Is it possible that this type of anti-sway hitch requires a certain amount of motion to react to the side force on the Airstream? In other words this is what you get.
2) Is it possible that the sidewalls of the truck tires (from Ford) have low enough stiffness to Produce the "abrupt lateral shift" that I feel?

Will a ProPride hitch elinimate the "abrupt lateral shift"?

I have read everyone's opinion on this topic. They are varied and insightful. I wish there was a standardized test that could applied to objectively rate each hitches reaction to the "disturbances" seen while towing.

On a side note: We taking delivery of a 2022 F-250 SuperCab with 8 foot box next week! Got tired of running into the cargo limits with our current F-150. I plan on seeing how my existing SOB hitch handles with the new truck. To get rid of the abrupt lateral shift I would consider a new hitch.

First post! - let's see how this works.

Some, (I) call it a "bow wave".
With our Safari & Reese set-up it would push the AS first then the TV.
With the Hensley,PPP, it's felt as slight lateral pressure on the entire rig.
A very manageable occurrence.
Not at all like true TS.

Bob
🇺🇦🇺🇸🇺🇦

[KettleKayaker]

Well when adjusting these Reese dual cam for our new F250 I found the source of my “abrupt lateral shift”. I saw uneven wear on the one cam. It seemed like something was rotated causing wear on the left side of one cam. I then saw the cause. The hardware that attaches to the frame (the mechanism that pulls on the chains) had bolts that were coming loose! This allowed a rocking of the mechanism which lead to my “abrupt lateral shift”. Tightened all hardware and there is no more “ abrupt lateral shift”! I will routinely recheck all hitch hardware for proper bolt tension. New truck tows our 27 ft International quite well. Still getting used to the new setup but am pleased with the new setup.