Hensley Arrow: How does it REALLY work?

Ron Gratz wrote:
I would love to see you guys do this. It would mean that the model tests which Tim Luxon and I have conducted could be confirmed by two actual Hensley owners. OTOH, maybe you wouldn't want to confirm what we have been saying.

Actually, I think it is YOU that may not be happy with the results of this test, if it was done accurately (taking into account the pulling/tension on the Hensley). You'd have to take back most of what you've said in this thread (and others). And, you'd realize, that sometimes all the Math and Physics in the world, will not prevent you from overlooking a simple thing or two, which changes everything. :)

If you would like to see what another obviously biased and ill-informed non-Hensley owner has to say about testing of Hensley models, you can read this.

Interesting reading there. Nice try, Ron, but I agree with a lot of what he said. :)

"My only reason for pursuing this subject to some logical conclusion was to identify what I would call a myth. In other words, some factual operating characteristics of the hitch, as related to sway(fishtailing), can not be successfully extrapolated to cover any and all trailer events."

Absolutely! Nobody (except Hensley's marketing hype maybe) ever said this hitch was 'magic' or that it could cover any and all trailer events. He went on to make an example of a situation, where a truck/trailer are going down a hill, and encounter a curve on a slippery surface, and that in this situation, the Hensley would not help you any better than any other hitch.

Funny thing is, even though he did not intend to, he is proving the point Don and I have been making all along, that once the tension/pulling in the Hensley goes away, the trailer is free to pivot (through the projected pivot path/arc the Hensley allows). If you're going downhill like that (without braking) as he describes, then briefly, the trailer could be pushing the tow vehicle instead of vice-versa. We've said all along, that taking away the tension/pulling in the Hensley, allows the trailer to pivot through the axis/arc that the Hensley forces. He's right - NO hitch will lock up the trailer in that circumstance, except maybe a real tight friction device (and that creates more problems than it solves).

Interpretation: If you're a Hensley owner, your theory is correct even if it has not been proven????........

Interpretation: If you're not a Hensley owner, your theory is not correct until proven even if it is based on sound Mathematics/Physics; and even if it were proven, it would not be valid because you are not a Hensley owner????

Noooo, its more a matter of, so many of us that own a Hensley know what we have experienced, and know what our hitch does. In my case (and many others as well), I have a hard time believing that just the simple pivot-point projection the Hensley does, is enough to explain how much better it tows. In my mind, there HAS to be more to it than that.

Similar to the bumble bee thing - when you know for a fact that the bee can fly, it doesn't matter how many of the world's smartest scientists prove with Math & Physics that it cannot, you know and have seen personally, that it CAN fly. Soooo, you know in your mind, that there must be something more to it than the Mathematics/Physics models that 'prove' the bee cannot fly. Same kind of thing here. :)

Will