Hensley - Bent shaft on frame brackets?

[timmaah]

On my Hensley.. circa 1999, the two posts that the jack assemblies mount on are bent downward. I assume this is not normal as they are bent at different degrees.

Is this something that needs to be fixed/replaced before I can use the hitch? Would this have happened from someone torquing down way too much on the wd bars? Also the jack assembly portion that slides over this post has a lot of play in it. Is this normal?

I have never towed this trailer or hitch before. According to previous owners there are ~30k miles on the setup.

[boondockdad]

Wow. Yeah, that's definitely a problem that should be covered under warranty. I would NOT tow with that condition. I imagine the collars that hold the jack assembly on would be under a lot of force and potentially 'pop off'.

[SteveH]

Be happy first that you caught the bent parts before using the hitch, and also that nothing has broken. I've heard of parts breaking on the Hensleys, even to the point that one person I talked with carries spares with him.

[slowmover]

Glad you checked it. Put up pics of the rest so we can ooh and ahh . . (help you make sure).

[timmaah]

Originally Posted by REDNAX

Glad you checked it. Put up pics of the rest so we can ooh and ahh . . (help you make sure).

Everything else appears to be in great shape. The main assembly has a bit of surface rust. I have it all apart, cleaned and ready to paint. Though I'm going to wait on a response from Hensley on this issue before I go further.

[Tim A.]

Originally Posted by timmaah

On my Hensley.. circa 1999, the two posts that the jack assemblies mount on are bent downward. I assume this is not normal as they are bent at different degrees.

Also the jack assembly portion that slides over this post has a lot of play in it. Is this normal?

I find the way they are bent a bit strange. It is possible that jacking up the WD bars did it, but your trailer's tongue weight is lower than what many Hensley hitches are subjected to. Perhaps somebody stood on the posts while the WD bars were pulled up.

The assembly that slides over the post is supposed to be loose. That allows the jacks to move freely during operation.

Tim

[Sodbust]

Dont look safe to me,, I would sure look for stress cracks...

Must have been set up wrong,, and one heck of a dip,, or pot hole..

Sodbust

[Silver Otter]

WOW, our Hensley dates from 1999, too. It easily has 30K miles on it, heck, I put 26,000 on last summer. No evidence of bending like the picture on ours. We will all be interested what the factory has to say about the possible cause and the "fix" if there is any.

[timmaah]

Hensley did not seem to be overly concerned about the bends.

[dznf0g]

I been holding back on comment until I heard the response from Hensley. As some of you know, I found a great deal on an apparent low mile used HAHA a few months ago. One of my frame brackets has a slight bent in the jack post. When I called Hensley I got the same response. It is apparently caused when in a tight backing turn AND a sizable dip. Once the arc is set, it never changes. Just inspect for cracks....if none, continue forward.

[Sean Woodruff]

This problem first appeared when the jack busing was changed from an angled cut to a straight cut. I would bet that your jack bushing is a square cut and not cut like the photo I have attached.




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[Sean Woodruff]

^^ bushing

not busing

[dznf0g]

Yes, Sean, mine is square cut....I believe that the bottom of the inside jack gets a lot of side load toward the center of the A frame in a hard turn and the bushing gets in a bind and turns the end of the frame bracket post downward.

Mine is less severe than Timmaah's and appears to more at the tip of the post.