hitches

[Don Cook]

Do a I need a Hensley hitch for a 16 to 25 AS trailer when I am pulling with a Chevy 2500 Duramax/Allison truck
Thanks
Don Cook

[Buttercup]

No, You don't NEED one but they sure are nice to have. In just about every case, a standard weight distributing hitch and a sway bar are all that is needed.

A Hensley might be concidered as the cadillac of hitches as far as price and perhqaps functionality are concerned.

I have a Hensley and I love it.

[bhayden]

Please, give me the quicky sales pitch as to why/how Hensley is so good. They must have something going for 'em ;-) I think you stated it well, required? NO. Nice? Most definitely.

FWIW, I think sway control is highly overrated. If you NEED it then something's wrong. The newer Dual Cam set-up seems like a good idea and how I'd likely go if I was buying new but the older friction anti-sway devices, I'm not sure the do much unless you've got a problem child. An Airstream shouldn't be a problem child. Some single axle boat trailers, now that's a different story!

-Bernie

[Buttercup]

Well this issue has been hashed over many times on the forums. By the time the dust settles and the blood has been wiped away it is impossible to tell which type of hitch won.
Now I love a good fight (search my involvement in the whole WBCCI name change issue) but in this area I think that it truly is a matter of personal preference. What do you want.
I love my Hensley and that is that. Others think it is a piece of overpriced junk and for a quarter of the price can get a perfectly fine hitch which will do the same thing.

I don't argue in favor of any hitch but I do argue that if you are looking for one, do the research and find the one that you will feel most comfortable with between you and your trailer - and then go with that.

[85MH325]

Frankly, Buttercup's right. All of the hitches on the market will move your trailer down the road. And this has been hashed over a bazillion times. What is generally not understood very well, particularly by novice tow-ers is what sway is and isn't.

Sway isn't inherent in a trailer, unless the trailer has some design flaw or severe axle maintenance issue. Sway IS an induced condition, has a variety of causes, and IS preventable. Trailers that tow perfectly behind one tow vehicle may be a white knuckle ride behind another.

The causes of sway are typically low tire pressures in either the tow vehicle, trailer or both; improper loading of the trailer causing the tongue weight to be less than the normal 10-15%; engineering shortcomings in the design of the tow vehicle that allows for "rear axle steering" when the rear axle doesn't stay centered under the tow vehicle under load; and deficiencies in the hitch setup where the trailer isn't towed level and the tongue is either high or low (again affecting effective tongue weight).

The effects of sway on the tow vehicle are magnified with short-wheelbase, light weight tow vehicles, and are minimized with long-wheelbase, heavy tow vehicles.

Once all of those issues are corrected there should be no inherent sway in a trailer/tow vehicle combo. THEN it's appropriate to look at which sway control/hitch setup works best for you.

Sway control applied to a hitch system before the problems are resolved merely masks the problems until the problems become so severe that they overcome your sway control system. That sets you up for a crash, essentially without warning. Sway control should be "in addition to" as an added safety factor rather than "instead of" figuring out and fixing why you have sway.

Here's another current thread on sway and hitches:

http://www.airforums.com/forum...ing-23637.html

Roger