Hensley Arrow: How does it REALLY work?
There have been several discussions on this hitch that have become somewhat 'controversial'. I am NOT trying to stir this controversy/bashing back up. Instead, I'd like to see a good, intelligent di...
Forum Discussion
drfife wrote:Absolutely, it increases the force needed, but not enough by itself to stop a trans-rotation.
Have you considered that the linear vector force of the tow vehicle on the hitch while in forward motion increases the amount of force necessary to obtain lateral movement of the linkage?
drfife wrote:It contributes, but the real force that "locks up" the linkage is the fact that the solid connection of the rear linkage bar to the trailer via the two struts requires that the trailer would somehow rotate in the OPPOSITE direction of the moment that initiated any lateral movement in the first place.
This force may essentially "lock up" the linkage from lateral forces unless they exceed the forces that are incurred by the forward motion of the tow vehicle.
To help illustrate my point, in this post, I included the following figure.
In application, a trailer would need a counterclockwise (CCW) moment in order to move the rear bar to the left as shown. However, the linkage will NOT move unless the trailer is angulated in a CLOCKwise direction. This makes trans-rotation impossible from a moment about the trailer's axles. Using this model, the only way trans-rotation could take place is if a moment initiates about the virtual pivot point, which really can't happen as long as the TT's tires have lateral friction.
I think we're on the same page using different terminology.
Tim
