Best Weight Distribution with Anti-sway

[Jim Arnold]

I have 22 FT sport! I use a Curt weight distribution and sway bar. Now I am a newbie but I do not know it is back there. I pull it with an X5!!

[Michael_Wild]

I love my Blue Ox SwayPro because there is no exposed grease to get all over everything when removing and storing the sway bars.
http://blueox.com/trailertowing/swaypro/
It is easy to set up, less cumbersome than other options and of course does a great job at preventing swaying trailers.

[Caffeinated]

Originally Posted by planBe

I love my Blue Ox SwayPro because there is no exposed grease to get all over everything when removing and storing the sway bars.
http://blueox.com/trailertowing/swaypro/
It is easy to set up, less cumbersome than other options and of course does a great job at preventing swaying trailers.

I quite like my Blue Ox set up also, but if you are following the prescribed directions for use, i.e., lube every use, you will get some grease to deal with.

Mike

[m.hony]

I had an EazLift. It was a great hitch. It performed very well.
Pro: Easy to dial in as much weight distribution as needed by using one more or one less chain link.
Con: Had to loosen or disconnect sway control for tight turns in reverse.
Now I have an Equal-i-zer Original 4-point Sway Control Hitch. It is also a great hitch and performs very well.
Pros: It is easy to couple and uncouple the truck and trailer and you don't have to remove the weight bars to back up.
Con: It is harder to change weight distribution, but once you get it as good as it gets you can leave it alone. You get more weight distribution by adding washers to increase the tilt on the hitch head and raising the L-brackets.
I have always said if I had the money I would get a ProPride, but now I'm not so sure.
If ti ain't broke, don't fix it. As long as the Equal-i-zer does what it is supposed to do and very well...

[Kent M]

Cazual6.....


Excellent question, many answers.

One answer above is that the heftier your tow vehicle, the less you have to worry. That's golden. The question is how hefty is required?

Second, personal experience depends on the whole rig: tow vehicle, towed vehicle, and loading. All these vary all over the place, and depend on all these factors. An XYZ trailer towed by a CBA tow vehicle and not set up properly can be just short of a disaster, or it can be workable, and satisfy what you need.

Obvious, right? Of course it is. So, why all the confusion? That's easy to explain. Everyone has different requirements and opinions about what's "best"; forgotten many times is that "best" is highly personal. Most of these opinions are not really "best" so much as workable for the writer. Some are slightly workable, some are excellently workable. The real truth is that the range of vehicle combinations that are workable is VERY broad.

The more experience you gain, the knowledge of what's "best" grows. But NO ONE is the world's expert on "best".

Take the question of which hitch arrangement is "best". I don't know, which brings up a conclusion that may or may not be obvious (but I won't follow that line). What I DO know is that, of the five trailers I've owned and pulled with, four (4) had Reese hitches (the fifth had an EZLift that was a close clone). Of the Reese hitches, two had the dual sway stirrups, and two had the single sliding friction bar. All were highly reliable, NEVER giving me any problem. My opinion is that the 2-stirrup setup was better, but it was more clumsy. I confess I have no experience with the more elaborate, and more expensive, and in some cases, much more clumsy to use (if I'm to believe the comments on this forum from some owners/users of those units) Hensleys, etc. As far as actual experience with those trailers mentioned over 40+ years, I've never had reason to fault the "operation" of any of them. Interstate trucks don't cause me sway problems, with a 30' 2002 Classic at 70 mph (but I admit the F-250 diesel tow vehicle is a large contributor to that). They're relatively inexpensive (being in the $500 range, if your tow vehicle comes with the factory platform), don't require an ME degree to understand their operation, and are easy (spelled e-a-s-y) to hook up. My first wife was 5' 2", and could hook it up AND break it down, in maybe 5 minutes, certainly within 10, including the single sway friction bar. My present wife is slightly faster, but she's slightly taller (5'-4") and definitely stronger. The point is that the platform hitch I presently have works for me. It might even qualify as semi-best.

THEN comes the question of which tow device is "best"....same logic applies.

This doesn't address perfection, because perfection is in the eye of the owner.

Happy trailering, Merry Christmas, and may you find a good combination....


Kent
Houston

[mefly2]

Equalizer has worked well for four different trailers and three TVs ...thankfully it is adjustable.

[slowmover]

WD hitches with or without integrated anti-sway fall into a few classes.

"Best" is a question of design.

By design it's the Jim Hensley patent hitches. The older licensed Hensley Arrow and the improved Pro Pride.

Lesser performance with other types.

[cazual6]

Team,

I appreciate the input. But if you look at my OP, I wanted to know which you think is best. I should have said, what is YOUR setup and why did you choose it. So far, the top four \ are Hensley, ProPride, Anderson and Blue OX, no particular order.

Anti sway is important to me because of my "Out of Control Sway" thread. I have learned what caused it and learning to work with what I got vs what I wanted to do. Plenty of info on that thread. My wife is still shaken up, so I want to get a WD with Anti-Sway built in. I currently have the EZLift and Friction sway control on my FC19, it works, but it is noisy.

I am in the process of getting my financial squared away and convincing the wife to let me get the 25 Serenity with a new truck.

[blucloud]

We have towed with both the EZ Lift and the Reese Dual cam. Both tow nicely. We also towed our 9000lb car trailer cross country.

I would prefer the Reese dual cam.

Just my opinion

Dave,
WV8P

[dkottum]

Recalling the earlier thread "out of control sway" caused by hanging too many bicycles well behind the trailer on a welded on hitch-mounted bike carrier, it's still a bad idea.

The trailer is designed to be stable with thoughtful loading in good conditions at reasonable speed. This is basic to safe towing practice. Sway control devices are designed to augment that design to compensate for the less than ideal conditions we encounter on the roadway, not to make a misbalanced, unstable trailer safe to tow.

It's not unlike putting a 30 amp fuse in to correct an overloaded 20 amp circuit. Sooner or later it's going to get you.

Perhaps I am misreading your plan based on the past thread.

If so, we use a Hensley/ProPride (pivot point projection) style hitch. It is best because it projects trailer tongue lateral movements to the tow vehicle's rear axle, where it is stabilized rather than leveraging the lateral movements to the tow vehicle's steering axle. No other hitch does this unless you would include a fifth wheel design that has the pivot point mounted over the rear axle.

[cazual6]

Originally Posted by dkottum

Recalling the earlier thread "out of control sway" caused by hanging too many bicycles well behind the trailer on a welded on hitch-mounted bike carrier, it's still a bad idea.

The trailer is designed to be stable with thoughtful loading in good conditions at reasonable speed. This is basic to safe towing practice. Sway control devices are designed to augment that design to compensate for the less than ideal conditions we encounter on the roadway, not to make a misbalanced, unstable trailer safe to tow.

It's not unlike putting a 30 amp fuse in to correct an overloaded 20 amp circuit. Sooner or later it's going to get you.

Perhaps I am misreading your plan based on the past thread.

If so, we use a Hensley/ProPride (pivot point projection) style hitch. It is best because it projects trailer tongue lateral movements to the tow vehicle's rear axle, where it is stabilized rather than leveraging the lateral movements to the tow vehicle's steering axle. No other hitch does this unless you would include a fifth wheel design that has the pivot point mounted over the rear axle.

No more bikes behind trailer for this Q&A, thus I am getting an F150. The wife just wants piece of mind although I have told her countless times how many times I got ridiculed and schooled about it. I've learned through experience and through the forum. I just want to know how each person choose their choice.

[cazual6]

Originally Posted by Rascal0729

Without equivocation Hensley Arrow

I like the direct answer. May I ask why?

[cazual6]

Originally Posted by mojo

Any of the hitches will work.
Which one works best is a matter of opinion.
That is why so many threads already exist on the subject.

I get that. Thus, I am here asking for everyones setup and why. What is your setup, and I did you choose it?

[mojo]

OK, I have towed on the ball with a sway bar, an Equalizer, a Reese, a Hensley, and a ProPride. The ball was fine for a Bambi. The Equalizer was noisey. The Reese was satisfactory. Like others, I couldn't rationalize spending $3K on a hitch until I bought a trailer that came with a Hensley. Now that I have experienced the 3P hitch I understand. Bought a ProPride because unlike the Hensley, it came with an adjustable stinger.

[Louie Dee]

For what it is worth: I now tow a 34' A/S with a Pro Pride. Wonderful hitch!! I had a Hensley, & Pro Pride is one level up. For me this works. However, for a 19' A/S there are many less expensive & adequate hitch choices. Several products have been offered to you on this thread & many more WD hitches can be found with a little searching on Air Forum.

Good Luck.

[Adventure.AS]

Originally Posted by cazual6

Too many threads on this matter to find what I am looking for. Mind giving me some pointers on which YOU think is best?

Both the Hensley and PP shanks are quite a bit heavier than the Eaz-Lift ball mount that I use. This adds at least 70 lbs to your tongue weight. The stinger for the Hensley and and PP stick out a long way so where you might leave the Eaz-Lift ball mount in the back of the TV for a short run into town you would never risk that with the Hensley or PP.

The trailer sits level with either it is just hard to get my TV to sit level so the back would always be a little low, so I stuck with the Eaz-Lift as I want a totally level rig. You don't get that 'planted' feel with the Hensley but there is no trailer sway.

IMO, for an SUV or other stable TV, I would stay with the Eaz-Lift. I don't think you will notice any real benefit with the Hensley or PP at this point. If you had something inherently less stable, like a pickup truck such as an F150, the Hensley would make a bigger difference.

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by Adventure.AS

Both the Hensley and PP shanks are quite a bit heavier than the Eaz-Lift ball mount that I use. This adds at least 70 lbs to your tongue weight. The stinger for the Hensley and and PP stick out a long way . . .

The trailer sits level with either it is just hard to get my TV to sit level so the back would always be a little low . . .

IMO, for an SUV or other stable TV, I would stay with the Eaz-Lift. I don't think you will notice any real benefit with the Hensley or PP at this point. If you had something inherently less stable, like a pickup truck such as an F150, the Hensley would make a bigger difference.

I don't exactly know why but the longer length of the Hensley/ProPride stinger adds little-to-no additional weight weight to our truck after weight distribution is applied. If the hitch weight is measured at the attachment point of the stinger to the truck receiver, it will weigh less than at the trailer ball coupler.

The ProPride is very convenient. You disconnect from the hitch head, which always stays on the trailer tongue, pull ahead about a foot and slide the stinger back into hitch head. The entire assembly remains on the trailer tongue.

These hitches are available will different weight spring bars, properly set up they will transfer plenty of weight to level your vehicle (air leveling must be off when setting the weight distribution).

Yes, I also believe the full independent suspensions, lower center of gravity, and shorter distance of hitch ball to tow vehicle axle of modern SUV's may have satisfactory stability with an Eaze-Lift hitch and separate sway bars, a great bargain. If the weight distribution is set up right.

The ProPride makes a remarkable difference in overall towing stability with our two Ram 1500's compared to the friction sway control hitches we have used.

[cwf]

ProPride fan here.

The capabilities of this design... or the Hensley are worth strong consideration. You cannot test all possible configurations or situations....of hitch, load, etc,etc...

For us, my wife screamed about the ProPride cost... the next weekend we think the handling of the ProPride saved a serious accident from occurring. ... and a few times since...

After towing with and without WD and sway control then with a ProPride (I haven't towed with Hensley), I now know why I was often white knuckled and putting a lot more steering input before the new hitch system.

Towing requires a keener sense of driving...on many levels.. the hitch will not cause your rig to be autonomous, but it can help manage your task load.

Proof to me was the handling experiences and especially my Wife being able to tow our 34' and talk to me in a normal voice pitch...even when 18 wheelers passed us.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by dkottum

I don't exactly know why but the longer length of the Hensley/ProPride stinger adds little-to-no additional weight weight to our truck after weight distribution is applied. If the hitch weight is measured at the attachment point of the stinger to the truck receiver, it will weigh less than at the trailer ball coupler.

The ProPride is very convenient. You disconnect from the hitch head, which always stays on the trailer tongue, pull ahead about a foot and slide the stinger back into hitch head. The entire assembly remains on the trailer tongue.

These hitches are available will different weight spring bars, properly set up they will transfer plenty of weight to level your vehicle (air leveling must be off when setting the weight distribution).

Yes, I also believe the full independent suspensions, lower center of gravity, and shorter distance of hitch ball to tow vehicle axle of modern SUV's may have satisfactory stability with an Eaze-Lift hitch and separate sway bars, a great bargain. If the weight distribution is set up right.

The ProPride makes a remarkable difference in overall towing stability with our two Ram 1500's compared to the friction sway control hitches we have used.

Agreed. The additional TW is a non-starter. The extra length, same thing.

If TW is above 400-lbs then WD is of benefit even in in a one ton. It's a static measurement. The dynamic measurements can hit thousands of pounds of force.

With the Hensley designed hitches, the amount of force dialed into the spring bars has no relation to the amount of sway resistance, unlike obsolete designs (all others).

Even with zero spring bar tension that best hitch pair eliminate trailer sway.

[SailorSam205]

I went with the ProPride.
My research led me to believe there are 3 levels of sway control, 1. None, 2. sway CONTROL - most use friction (a brake) to control sway, I found a paper from a British engineering student that indicated that enough force could overcome the capability of a friction device leading to uncontrolled sway, 3. sway ELIMINATION hitches - pick your choice, Hensley or ProPride. I found one thread on this forum where an owner of both compared the manufacturing quality of PP vs Hensley. In most measures, that owner thought the PP was the better hitch. That was a few years back and Hensley may have upped their game. Also for me, PP is within driving distance from home - so I saved the shipping costs.

For me, I was willing to eliminate or defer purchase of other stuff to get what, to me, seemed to produce the safest towing. I also really like the ability to adjust WD by using a drill/driver and no worries about connecting to the correct chain link.