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redwoodguy · 12-02-2011, 11:43 PM

I will be picking up a new Flying Cloud 25B next week. My TV is a 2007 Suburban LTZ 4WD with tow package. I have never towed with any kind of WD hitch.

My A/S dealer sells and installs the HuskyTow Centerline hitch (GO-RV.com - RV On-line Catalog). I have never heard of this product. It looks conceptually somewhat like a Hensley.

Does anyone have direct experience with this hitch? Any comments?

**GCinSC2** · 12-03-2011, 06:06 AM

redwoodguy,

Sorry, no 1st hand experience, and only 2 years with AS. The topic of hitches is a very active conversation starter.

A nearby RV dealer has these on display. Looks a bit like the Equal-I-Zer that I have (came with the used trailer) but with a twist. The Equal-I-Zer relies on metal to metal friction (a good source of wear) at the trunion sockets into the head to do its job. If you angle the beams, they are content to stay there but the Husky uses belleville springs and a cam action to maintain the beams in position. If you try to angle the Husky beams, they want to come back to center. The cam action against the belleville springs caught my eye and this hitch is calling my trailer to come try one. If you want to expirement with belleville washers see if your hardware store carries them, buy a couple of 1/2" or 3/4" and then just tighten them like normal with a bolt, they take energy to clamp them down and push back as they are actually a type of spring. Also IIRC you can change the beam ratings w/o replacing the entire head, but check.

Good luck,

Gary

SteveH · 12-03-2011, 06:23 AM

I agree with Gary, the Husky looks more conceptually like the Equal-I-Zer, but with a centering force simular to how Reese operates. An interesting design, and I for one would like to know how it works out.

Ridgerunner3 · 12-03-2011, 08:02 AM

Do a search on Google. There is information on the Husky hitch out on other RV forums. The price appears to be similar to a Reese Dual Cam hitch but some owners are reporting problems with the Husky hitch.

redwoodguy · 12-03-2011, 09:09 AM

Thanks for the good info. I am looking for more on this hitch. I have a short time to decide. And, I don't want to end up buying two hitches one after the other!

redwoodguy · 12-05-2011, 02:46 PM

Quick Update: Sutton RV no longer sells this Husky Centerline hitch. They only install Eqaul-i-zer.

SteveH · 12-05-2011, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redwoodguy

Quick Update: Sutton RV no longer sells this Husky Centerline hitch. They only install Eqaul-i-zer.

If you go with the Equal-I-zer on your 25 footer, I suggest you insist they install a 600/6000 version. They will try to tell you the 1000/10000 is what you want, and THAT is the one that is too stiff and can cause damage to the trailer.

HCR · 12-05-2011, 04:02 PM

SteveH--I assume your recommednation of the 600/6000 vs. the 1000/10K is based upon personal experience. What kind of damage did you sustain and what year was the AS to which the damage was done?

Thanks.

SteveH · 12-05-2011, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HCR

SteveH--I assume your recommednation of the 600/6000 vs. the 1000/10K is based upon personal experience. What kind of damage did you sustain and what year was the AS to which the damage was done?

Thanks.

No, I've actually never owned an Equal-I-zer hitch, but I've read most of the horror stories. The Equal-I-zer has the most stiff bars of all the weight distribution hitches I know of.

r carl · 12-05-2011, 05:08 PM

I just looked at their bars, they are not tapered... Looks like they can do some damage.

SteveH · 12-05-2011, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r carl

I just looked at their bars, they are not tapered... Looks like they can do some damage.

If you are talking about the Husky, I've seen them at the parts dealer, and they are tapered, but maybe not as much as a Eazylift.

r carl · 12-05-2011, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveH

If you are talking about the Husky, I've seen them at the parts dealer, and they are tapered, but maybe not as much as a Eazylift.

These here.

SteveH · 12-05-2011, 05:31 PM

Oh yea, the Equal-I-Zer. Those bars are like railroad rails, that's why I said.....

**GCinSC2** · 12-05-2011, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r carl

I just looked at their bars, they are not tapered... Looks like they can do some damage.

Agreed, same observation.

Again, I do not own one (Husky) and I claim limited experience (compared to many others) but my Equal-I-Zer bars are not tapered and when I called them for a setup question shortly after getting rig, the Tech Support person recommended even heavier bars. This did not sit well with my gut feel.

Heavy bars will transfer a lot of weight to the front of TV, but is it at the risk of trying to make the truck frame and AS frame act as one long solid frame? My thinking as my rig goes over various drive angles is that I think the WD section should have some flex, a spring action. Is that what tapered bars provide?

My travels around Air Forums have shown that hitches and tires are the topics that can really stir up a rousing discussion.

Good luck with your new trailer.

slowmover · 12-05-2011, 06:08 PM

One thread for the subject will better suffice. And a cheap hitch is no friend to you (as on other thread). Anything not needed can easily be re-sold on CL.

ggoat!!! · 04-10-2013, 02:22 AM

I have the Husky Centerline.

I LOVE it. The best hitch I've ever used.

When I first purchased my latest trailer I was going to go with an Equalizer, but the reports of loud pops and noises had me concerned. I hadn't even HEARD of the Husky hitch, and basically stumbled across one at an RV dealership in New Orleans. The first thing that struck me was how the hitch looked; it was meticulously finished, and just LOOKED good. So, it got my interest. I researched what I initially thought was an Equalizer copy when I learned about the compression discs and how they eliminate sway...while also eliminating the noises caused by the friction aspect of the Equalizer. I decided to try the Centerline, with the 600lb bars for my 19ft 75th Prototype.

My local dealer matched the cheapest online price I could find. The hitch has a lifetime warranty. I DID have the widely reported problem with broken compression discs as there was a batch of the hitch heads made with a soft metal problem upon initial release in 2010. However, this issue was taken care of immediately and I received a brand new hitch head which has traveled thousands of miles without a problem.

The absolute lack of sway is amazing with this hitch. I've NEVER felt that familiar sucking motion when trucks pass. Out west in windstorms I've never felt the trailer wander or gyrate whatsoever. My SSR actually rides BETTER when towing the Airstream with the properly meticulously set-up Centerline (which took quite a while to get it exactly right). There are no harsh bumps, no hitch binding clanks, no squeaks, no rattles, no creaks, no moans. The hitch is nearly completely noise-free.

The only negative thing I've found about the hitch is the weight of the hitch head. It is huge. And, it weighs a ton. I have a long Eaz-Lift 18" drawbar (that fits deep underneath my SSR) and the combined weight of that and the huge Centerline head is astonishing. It's difficult to get it up under the truck to mount it. However, it IS super solidly built...you could pull a train with it. But, with all that heft on the head is some great engineering. Tilting the head could not be easier...there are no ridiculous washers and spacers to install. The Centerline uses a notched square washer system that is simple and a design completely along the lines of "why didn't everyone else think of that" in that you simply move the washer in or out one tooth at a time to angle the hitch head. No need to completely disassemble the head to change the angle. It was actually FUN setting up this hitch...except for lifting the thing. I reiterate...the head is HUGE and feels it. I've never lifted a hitch head/drawbar so heavy.

I can't recommend this hitch enough. For anyone who wants an Equalizer type hitch but without the noise and more primitive design, the Husky Centerline seems to be the natural technological evolution. The compression cylinders are genious...and did I mention that there's no noise???

Hope this helps someone,
Jeff

**GCinSC2** · 04-10-2013, 05:08 AM

Jeff,

Interesting and certainly a twist with the bellville spring centering system. It's still on my interest list. Wonder if anyone has an owners report with a heavier trailer?

Gary

Bbelk · 08-22-2013, 08:04 PM

I have been pulling trailers for 30 plus years with simple chain hung equalizers with nothing for sway control. I do have a long bed crew cab 2500 which helps.

I just bought a 2010 27FB Classic which came with a Husky Centerline hitch.

I only have a couple hundred mile on it now, but I can't feel any advantage over the simpler "primitive" setups.

Here is what I don't like.

It is way too heavy and I am sure there is more that one ruptured disk out there from trying to mount it.

I feel like I am risking my life (at least my fingers) trying to lever those bars in place.

There are too many pieces, that end up dropped in the sand or otherwise lost.

The lever bar used to mount the thing has to be so long to give you enough leverage that it won't fit under the hitch if the ground is not level.

If you lose that special bar, you ain't gonna find it at Walmart and until you do find it, you will be dragging around a trailer. A tire tool won't do it.

I pulled a 29 footer 16,000 miles in the last year with no sway problems. I think I am going back to my old "primitive" set up.

slowmover · 08-23-2013, 08:55 AM

Have you used a segmented weight scale to set it up? Do this most basic of tasks before throwing it out. And get your individual wheel position weights while you're at it (both the RMA and BRIDGESTONE have online .pdfs to this end). Get the TV tire pressures to optimum, not just the vehicle loadings.

An Airstream is certainly "forgving" compared to the usual leaf-sprung buggy out there . . but it doesn't mean that performance should be left on the table after walking away.

.

Bbelk · 08-24-2013, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slowmover

Have you used a segmented weight scale to set it up? Do this most basic of tasks before throwing it out. And get your individual wheel position weights while you're at it (both the RMA and BRIDGESTONE have online .pdfs to this end). Get the TV tire pressures to optimum, not just the vehicle loadings.

An Airstream is certainly "forgving" compared to the usual leaf-sprung buggy out there . . but it doesn't mean that performance should be left on the table after walking away.

.

You lost me. What is a segmented weight scale and what are individual wheel position weights?