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
TnAnFLA wrote:
--- but I think the overlooked aspect of the assembly is that the struts keep everything aligned by placing all the pieces under compression. When you snug up the struts, keeping the hitch head, stinger, etc. all aligned you do that by "expanding" the strut.
Andy,
When you snug up the struts, I believe you are placing the struts in tension. The tension at the rear of a strut pulls forward on the TT's A-frame and exerts a compression load in the A-frame channel. The compression load in the A-frame channel causes a forward force on the ball coupler and ball.
The ball is rigidly connected to the HA's rear (upper) unit. The forward ends of the struts are connected to the rear unit via the strut pins. Snugging up the struts simply exerts a rearward force on the rear unit which is exactly balanced by the forward force from the A-frame. The net result is zero. There is no effect on the HA's side links and front link.
Now comes the hard part. How do you explain the "bump" that can happen if the TT brakes don't engage soon enough , or at all, when slowing down.
The "bump" probably results from yaw-related "slack" in the receiver/hitch/TT connections. Potential sources of "slack" are the receiver and stinger connection, the stinger and pin box connection, and the strut connections. A relatively small amount of yaw slack can translate into a relatively large translation/rotation of the HA's rear unit relative to the front unit.
Ron
