towing with my new Hensley arrow...
Sooo, I got my hitch installed. I'll post pics later... get my truck hooked up. set up the WD ( I got the chains and snap up brackets) I wish all brackets were like these... the chains are held ...
Forum Discussion
Agree with Barney on this...it's certainly easier to line up the stinger when backing into the hitch straight on, but I have hitched up at almost every possible angle. I installed a small wireless camera on the license plate frame for backing up and can see the stinger and hitch pretty clearly. Backing at an angle is just like backing straight, you still need to be sure that the stinger is aligned with the hitch box or it will cock partway in and not seat.
I have also twisted the nut clean off of the OCL trying to draw a poorly seated stinger into the hitch. Lesson learned was that if the stinger didn't seat when you backed it in, you won't get the hitch to come together using the OCL either. This is true regardless if you are hitching straight on or at an angle.
We camped on the beach in NY for many years, and towed the TT in very soft sand with 15 psi in the tires. The nature of the sand is such that it shifts in large degrees, and you are 100% guaranteed that you will NOT be able to duplicate the angle, yaw, pitch or any other measurement you took when you unhitched. I not only lined up the stinger side-to-side, but had to predict the vertical angle that the stinger would take as it went into the hitch based on the slope of the sand and use the screw jacks to adjust the pitch of the hitch accordingly.
Sounds complicated but when do it a few times and learn where to look and what to look for it is very easy. Granted not as easy as backing a ball under a coupler, but not rocket science either.
Old photo, but note how soft the sand is.
I have also twisted the nut clean off of the OCL trying to draw a poorly seated stinger into the hitch. Lesson learned was that if the stinger didn't seat when you backed it in, you won't get the hitch to come together using the OCL either. This is true regardless if you are hitching straight on or at an angle.
We camped on the beach in NY for many years, and towed the TT in very soft sand with 15 psi in the tires. The nature of the sand is such that it shifts in large degrees, and you are 100% guaranteed that you will NOT be able to duplicate the angle, yaw, pitch or any other measurement you took when you unhitched. I not only lined up the stinger side-to-side, but had to predict the vertical angle that the stinger would take as it went into the hitch based on the slope of the sand and use the screw jacks to adjust the pitch of the hitch accordingly.
Sounds complicated but when do it a few times and learn where to look and what to look for it is very easy. Granted not as easy as backing a ball under a coupler, but not rocket science either.
Old photo, but note how soft the sand is.
