Hensley Straight Arrow

[DennyDay]

Has any body used or had experience with the Hensley Straight Arrow hitch? I would like to know your thoughts and experience, with both the equipment and the company.



the good,

the bad,

and the other ugly (the 1st ugly is the price of unit)!



Denny

 

[JMetzger]

I have had the Hensely hitch on my 32ft Holiday Rambler since 1997. The hitch has really made pulling our trailer a piece of cake. Our trailer was all over the road with the Reese Dual Sway hitch when passed buy large SUV's & semi's. Our trailer was one that had control problems & HR recommended the Hensely. If you drop one side off the shoulder it will come right back with no sway at all. Really great hitch, made pulling our trailer fun but they are not cheap. As far as the company, really great company to work with. I had a couple of problems installing my hitch & called the company & they were very helpful. When I traded for my 02 4x4 I needed a taller reciever bar & all they charged was UPS for me to ship the old one back. Hope this helps.

 

[EEdmondson]

One ugly: I saw/helped a guy hook up in a campground. You have to back the shaft into the sleeve (or viceversa can't remember) which means you have to be perfectly straight and hit the hole. Correct me if I'm wrong.

With a regular hitch you can back in at an angle.

 

[JMetzger]

I have hitched at angles but as RickE said straight in is the easiest & fastest. They also carry a life time warranty but I have never had a problem & our trailer has over 100,000 miles on it & the hitch.

Jack

 

[DennyDay]

JMetzgar and EEdomondson- -



Thanks for your input! I looked at the DVD they sent, and saw the hooking up as a posible problem, just gotta' be a little more presise than droping the hitch on a ball. I use a backup camera so that will help hitching up but think that will be a small price for ease of towing.



Thanks for the info, guess we'll bite the bullet after the first of year.



Denny

 

[oldcrow]

Hensley

had a Hensley on my 32' Coachman and it was a great to tow. One thing I learned the hard way is to have both wheels chocked with a good chocks. The other I used a mirror on the tailgate to look at the hitch when backing and hooking up. We traveled back and forth coast to coast several times.

I now have a fifth wheel only because everyone with a fifth wheel said how I would like the way it towed and it was time to upgrade to a newer model. I still like the Hensley towing better than the fifth wheel. The backing up was a big advantage to me because of the tight location where I park and store.

 

[gened4288]

I've had a Hensley on my trailer for about 5 years... I love it. I had an incident while towing my camper where I caught a cross-wind as I was being passed by a semi, and it threw the trailer into a BAD sway real quickly (it's no fun looking in the right mirror and seeing the trailer door looking back at you!). I was able to hit the trailer brakes hard and bring the rig back under control, but it scared the crap out of my wife & kids (me too!). I'd seen the Hensley ads, and knew they had a buy-back guarantee if I didn't like it, so I figured I'd give it a try. That was 5 years ago and I'd never go back to a "conventional" tow system. To address your questions...

The Good: It tows rock-solid. Passing semis, cross winds, sudden lane changes... I have yet to find a situation where the trailer didn't follow the tow vehicle in a totally controlled manner. It's also much easier to back into a camp site (you can turn tighter. Also, since the spring bars stay attached to the trailer, there's no more worry over where to keep the greasy bars when in camp or at home.

The Bad: It takes a little practice to hitch up, but it becomes second nature after 5 or 6 times. The trailer end of the double-receiver has 3 locking positions from left-to-right, so there is some leeway.

The Ugly: IMHO, nothing.

YES... the price is expensive, but when the price is compared to how much $$$ I have invested in the truck and trailer, it seems reasonable. When the price is compared to the safety of my family, the hitch is downright cheap! For me, it's turned towing the camper from a stressful event to a pleasure.

Gene

 

[Sean Woodruff]

Has any body used or had experience with the Hensley Straight Arrow hitch? I would like to know your thoughts and experience, with both the equipment and the company.



the good,

the bad,

and the other ugly (the 1st ugly is the price of unit)!



Denny

Hi Denny,



I was the Vice President of Hensley Mfg. for ten years so you might say I am intimately familiar with the product. Owners here have let you know about it but if you have anymore questions you can shoot them at me.



You also might want to check out the newest design by Jim Hensley. He is no longer associated with the company named after him and I have licensed his newest design.

 

[JMetzger]

Denny

Hensley also sells an item they call The Hitch Helper for around $35. 00 I think. The tonge jack fits in it an it is adjustable from left to right so you don't have to be dead nuts backing up to the hitch, You can adjust it left to right to align the Hensley hitch reciever to the bar. You also will find that you have to have the Hensley hitch reciever at the same angle as the as the reciever bar. If you do it hitches slick as you know what. Hope this helps. Again Great hitch. I can hook up my trailer in 3-5 min.





Jack

 

[Sean Woodruff]

Yes, as Jack said, the Hitch Helper, which is a knock off of BAL's Tongue Twister, allows you to move the hitch horizontally 10". However, most people who buy them only use them a few times and then it becomes a piece of cake to hook-up. Again, as Jack said, it is a 5 minute hook-up when you follow the process.

 

[Grey Wolf]

I've used the HA hitch for 4 years and wouldn't tow without it. Sean, Jim made a great hitch and I can't see how it could be improved but if anyone could do it Jim is the man! Good luck to you guys

 

[Sean Woodruff]

I've used the HA hitch for 4 years and wouldn't tow without it. Sean, Jim made a great hitch and I can't see how it could be improved but if anyone could do it Jim is the man! Good luck to you guys

Hi Grey Wolf,



Yes, it is a great hitch. Performance wise, towing down the road, you're correct that it is hard to improve. It is hard to tell a difference because it there isn't a differences to note...



However, we have improved on some of the other issues with it.



Jim is THE MAN, I'm with you on that!

 

[abdiver]

Denny, What make and length is your TT? I think with the Mega cab you wouldn't notice much real towing difference unless your TT is really long I have a 22'er and the reg type spring bars with a sway control work just fine for a short trailer. I think the Hensley makes you a couple of feet longer.

Bill

 

[Sean Woodruff]

Denny, What make and length is your TT? I think with the Mega cab you wouldn't notice much real towing difference unless your TT is really long I have a 22'er and the reg type spring bars with a sway control work just fine for a short trailer. I think the Hensley makes you a couple of feet longer.

Bill

Bill has a point here if you have parking or storage issues. A convergent link hitch makes you about 12" longer overall. With this type of design the length isn't a critical factor in towing stability because the effective pivot point is 50+" forward of the hitch ball coupler. In other words, if you moved the trailer back over 4 feet you would have the same lever arm between the pivot point and the rear axle which would be equal to that of a conventional hitch.

 

[abdiver]

Sean, Welcome to the site. I know the TV wheelbase vs TT length has a lot to do on how a TT handles on the road. At what length of TT do you find the Hensley or ProPride 3P hitch to be of real help in towing a TT.
Do you have any guidelines?

I do know of some that have a double cab truck with an 8' bed(long wheelbase) and a 19' TT and have chosen to have a Hensley. I would think this is more of a they feel safer Kind of a belt AND suspenders mentality

 

[Sean Woodruff]

Sean, Welcome to the site. I know the TV wheelbase vs TT length has a lot to do on how a TT handles on the road. At what length of TT do you find the Hensley or ProPride 3P hitch to be of real help in towing a TT.
Do you have any guidelines?

I do know of some that have a double cab truck with an 8' bed(long wheelbase) and a 19' TT and have chosen to have a Hensley. I would think this is more of a they feel safer Kind of a belt AND suspenders mentality

Thanks for the welcome!

There aren't really any guidelines established as it can be based on an individual "seat-of-the-pants" feeling.

However, there is a lot more to consider than just the length of the trailer. A Pivot Point Projection hitch projects the effective pivot point approximately 50" forward from the hitch ball. The shorter the overhang on the tow vehicle, the closer that effective pivot point is to the rear axle.

If we take a measurement from that effective pivot point back to the centerline of the trailer axles, we'd have the lever arm working against the tow vehicle lever arm. That is where the length factor comes into play.

Then we have to consider the weight ratio of the tow vehicle to the trailer. A light trailer can sway around back there all day and not affect a heavy tow vehicle.

Then there are tire issues to consider on both the tow vehicle and trailer.

So, as you can see, there really isn't a rule of thumb.

My experience with these types of hitches shows that the greater you can make the difference in that tow vehicle lever arm (shortening it) versus the trailer lever arm (that is constant based on the trailer length/design) the greater the control factor is regardless of the weight and the tires.

I guess I have been a bit long winded here but I see a lot of comments about , "I have a short trailer so I don't need sway control. " That may be true in that particular set-up but it shouldn't be considered a rule of thumb or a guideline for all combinations.

 

[DennyDay]

abdriver - - To finally answer your question about size - - It's a 29' RVision, not a heavy weight, but I like the idea of towing ease, and this case no sway due to wind and passing trucks. I've upgraded to 225/15 wheels/tires from

14" and doing a few outher things to serve our purposes, The Arrow hitch looks like it kinda' makes the towing a bit easier, and make the purchase worthwhile. I've driven thousands of miles towing a TT with both a Reese and an EZ Lift with sway control, and know what is like in a cross wing - - Ain't fun!



Denny

 

[Blu-meanie]

abdriver - - To finally answer your question about size - - It's a 29' RVision, not a heavy weight, but I like the idea of towing ease, and this case no sway due to wind and passing trucks. I've upgraded to 225/15 wheels/tires from

14" and doing a few outher things to serve our purposes, The Arrow hitch looks like it kinda' makes the towing a bit easier, and make the purchase worthwhile. I've driven thousands of miles towing a TT with both a Reese and an EZ Lift with sway control, and know what is like in a cross wing - - Ain't fun!



Denny

If you buy one, you are going to love it. Especially after towing a lot of miles with the other sway controls. There aren't too many items that actually do what they promise, the Hensley does. I am very satisified with mine.

 

[abdiver]

Sean, I checked out you ProPride, Inc. Trailer Hitch - The Next Generation in Trailer Sway Elimination site, couldn't find a diagram of how it all attached to the TT. I would like to see a diagram or at least a few pictures of the Pro Pride installed.

Thanks Bill

 

[DennyDay]

abdriver - - I'll send you the pictures Sean sent me, as soon as I get home this evening. Send your email address to



-- email address removed --



Denny