Switching From Hensley To SwayPro

[Roadtech]

Has anyone switched from a Hensley design hitch (Hensley Arrow or ProPride) to a Blue Ox SwayPro or other non-Hensley design hitch in order to simplify hitching and unhitching. I understand that the sway elimination may be compromised somewhat, but it would sure make life easier not to have to line up those angles to get the stinger to seat into or disengage from the hitch box, especially when you are dealing with uneven ground and severe angles when backing into tight spaces.

[Lspangler]

I fulltime in a trailer with a Propride. We move about every 4 days. I have no issues hooking up or unhooking. Angles don't matter, just make sure your straight with the hitch and back right in. I think the Hensley stinger is a substandard construction and it causes some people grief.

When I get unhitch, I raise tongue jack to about where I think the truck would sit unloaded. I then back off the screw jacks until the WD bars are loose. I then look at the top of the stinger in the receiver and I raise or lower the tongue jack until I see the stinger move in the receiver. Then pull truck forward. Works everytime.

Hitching up my 10yr old son adjusts tongue jack while I back in. Takes all of 15 seconds to get it right.

Linc

[BurbMan]

The longer the TT, the more lateral forces it will impart to the TV from wind loads and sway forces. The common way to counteract this is by using a TV with a longer wheelbase, but not everybody wants a 350 crew cab long bed. The hitch uses geometry to dampen the effects of the TT on the TV so that you can tow with a shorter wheelbase vehicle.

Some TTs "need" a HA/PP type hitch because they are not inherently well balanced and it's hard to load them so that will tow well. Our previous TT was a Sunnybrook 3310 4-bunk model and the entire area under the bunks was storage, right at the back of the TT. Look where the bunk area is on the floorplan:



This is what the storage looked like:



When we first bought the 2002 Sunnybrook TT we were excited about how much stuff we could pack in there....BBQ, generator, gas grill, etc etc....being relatively new to towing we really didn't stop to think that loading a lot of weight at the very back of the TT would lighten the tongue, and being 34' long didn't help.

Towing it home from the dealer completely brand new and empty, I couldn't get above 45 mph without the trailer starting to sway. Once it was packed it was even worse...the HA enabled us to tow that TT all over the east coast with the kids until we finally sold it in 2007. Towing at 65-70 in all kinds of weather and on all kinds of roads and never worried about sway or control.

Hooking up is different, having the rear camera on the truck helps immensely. I take the TT out in soft sand on the beach and can still get the HA hooked up. Sometimes it takes a little fine tuning of the head angle but I've never had a case where it was impossible.

[carringb]

I agree. 24" ratcheting breaker bar from Harbor Freight is the way to go.

The Blue Ox wrench is too easy to slip out of your fingers.

Using the ratcheting breaker bar, it won't smack your face or feet when the rotating latch cams over because there is more load on it than you expect.

[gmw_photos]

Roadtech wrote:

carringb wrote:
The Sway Pro has some hookup limitations too. Dropping the trailer on the ball is easy enough, but being anything other than straight puts quite the load on the outer bar, and if the jack won't go up high enough, and can require pulling forward until things are straighter, then going through the bar hookup process again.

In those situations, I think I would just pull the trailer to a level area, and then hook up the bars.

For what it's worth, the swaypro comes with a "wrench" (poor excuse for one ).
Instead I use a 24" breaker bar and a one inch socket to rotate the latches.

[Roadtech]

carringb wrote:
The Sway Pro has some hookup limitations too. Dropping the trailer on the ball is easy enough, but being anything other than straight puts quite the load on the outer bar, and if the jack won't go up high enough, and can require pulling forward until things are straighter, then going through the bar hookup process again.

In those situations, I think I would just pull the trailer to a level area, and then hook up the bars.

[carringb]

I read all the Hensley hook-up stories, but I never ran into those issues, even of very off-camber primitive camp sites. Sometimes it meant going back and better aligning the hitch head, but I don't think I ever once fought with it.

The Sway Pro has some hookup limitations too. Dropping the trailer on the ball is easy enough, but being anything other than straight puts quite the load on the outer bar, and if the jack won't go up high enough, and can require pulling forward until things are straighter, then going through the bar hookup process again.

I'm not a fan of friction-only hitches like the Equalizer, mainly because I tow often in snow and ice. The same friction that prevents sway, can also hold a hitch angle (i.e. jackknife) if things break loose, and would make it much harder to recover from that. The Dual and Sway Pro seem the best for this. The Hensley had a peculiarity on ice too, where sharp turns on snow and ice would cause it to cam over (similar to the "Hensley Bump" scenario) and cause sudden oversteer, which isn't hard to deal with as long as you don't panic and hit the brakes.

[Roadtech]

BarneyS wrote:
Good grief! i don't know what kind of "hassles" you are talking about but the Hensley is the easiest hitch to use I have ever had. After putting the relatively light stinger in place there is no lifting, bending, danger of damaging hands or feet, or any of the other "hassles" associated with a conventional hitch.Barney

I have struggled with hitching and unhitching my Hensley for 4 years. I have a severe angle between the TV and trailer (V shape) where I keep it in storage. Believe me it is a struggle hitching/unhitching.

Also, be careful not to walk into the stinger when mounted cause it can break a leg (I know from experience). This can happen with any hitch, but the Hensley sticks out much further from the truck than any other type hitch I have dealt with, and is a potential hazard.

[BarneyS]

LVJJJ wrote:
Good grief, reading about all the hassles of Hensley etc., sure makes me appreciate my Equal-I-zer, a rather simple answer.

Good grief! i don't know what kind of "hassles" you are talking about but the Hensley is the easiest hitch to use I have ever had. After putting the relatively light stinger in place there is no lifting, bending, danger of damaging hands or feet, or any of the other "hassles" associated with a conventional hitch. It will even do it's job without the wd bars attached although they normally do not get removed. This ease of use is important to an old guy like me! :W
Barney

[Lantley]

LarryJM wrote:
I considered the HA or Propride at one time, but I store my trailer at home along side my home and because of the closeness to the house and the designed slope away from the house for drainage makes for a nightmare of alignment. While the trailer is level the Van is not only nose high, but off axis side to side since it is on the slope area whereas the trailer is on the flat portion of the house. Even with my Equal-i-zer I have to raise the tongue once hooked up an inch or so higher to get the second WDH bar on once the first one can clear the "L" bracket. I imagine I could still use a HA/Propride, but all the stars would have to be aligned so to speak to get things to match.

Larry

In a case like that I would permanently place blocks down to level trailer wheels in an effort to level trailer

[LarryJM]

I considered the HA or Propride at one time, but I store my trailer at home along side my home and because of the closeness to the house and the designed slope away from the house for drainage makes for a nightmare of alignment. While the trailer is level the Van is not only nose high, but off axis side to side since it is on the slope area whereas the trailer is on the flat portion of the house. Even with my Equal-i-zer I have to raise the tongue once hooked up an inch or so higher to get the second WDH bar on once the first one can clear the "L" bracket. I imagine I could still use a HA/Propride, but all the stars would have to be aligned so to speak to get things to match.

Larry

[Lantley]

goducks10 wrote:

LVJJJ wrote:
Good grief, reading about all the hassles of Hensley etc., sure makes me appreciate my Equal-I-zer, a rather simple answer.

Make me appreciate my 5th wheel.

5'ers are not without their woes.
There are chucking and clearance issues to deal with. The height of the newer pick up truck beds are the source for constant clearance headaches

[goducks10]

LVJJJ wrote:
Good grief, reading about all the hassles of Hensley etc., sure makes me appreciate my Equal-I-zer, a rather simple answer.

Make me appreciate my 5th wheel.

[camperforlife]

Roadtech wrote:

camperforlife wrote:
You also need to be pretty straight on the tongue or it does make it harder to latch the bars.

Couldn't you, before latching the bars, pull the trailer to a level, straight place, and then latch the bars? You couldn't do that with a Hensley design.

You probably could with a shorter, lighter trailer. I have a 35 footer with 1500lbs of tongue weight and I've been in a few spots that were just impossible to get square on.

The spots were also where the site was sloped so the tongue was nose down and the front of the truck was up on the road making it impossible to lift the back of the truck to remove or latch the bars properly. I ended up hitching without the bars resulting in dragging the tongue some getting up on the road.

I will add that this happened when I was pretty new to the hitch and I've learned a few things that have made these kinds of situations easier and safer.

[Hannibal]

I would not go from a Hensley to a BO sway pro.

https://www.etrailer.com/question-116001.html

We tow our 32.5' TT with an Equalizer 4 point 10k. Even with a little lube on the L brackets to keep it quiet and the required lube on the sockets, it's solid and straight.