anybody have experience with Lippert Straptek system?

[sgfrye]

anyone have experience with the Lippert 335852 Straptek system.

good reviews on amazon but not that many reviews in general.

https://www.propridehitch.com/lippert-335852-straptek-weight-tension-technology-kit/

[BarneyS]

rpnelson wrote:
He may be able to fix this by using a higher hitch ball. I personally am leary of the straps lasting very long, especially if used with heavy trailers that have over 1,000 lbs. of hitch weight.

You do realize that you have revived a 4 year old post don't you?
Barney

[rpnelson]

He may be able to fix this by using a higher hitch ball. I personally am leary of the straps lasting very long, especially if used with heavy trailers that have over 1,000 lbs. of hitch weight.

[Huntindog]

I am not sure I can improve on Barneys post.
I will plead a small mea culpa on the washers... Yes it is true that not all hitches tilt the head with washers. In fact I have owned some of them many years ago. I have been using the EQUALIZER for so long now, that it slipped my mind about other methods of acomplishing this basic hitch setup adjustment.

So if it makes you feel better, you can claim a small technical victory on that point.

[BarneyS]

Soundguy,
Careful who you say doesn't know what they are talking about. I have been doing this stuff for more years than you can imagine and know exactly how the Reese and almost every other hitch works and how they should be adjusted.

I agreed with Huntindog about the hitch needing tilting to the rear, not necessarily how that is accomplished. I said nothing about the washers. Anybody that has been around these forums for any time at all knows that there are many different methods of accomplishing that task.

If you really knew how a WD hitch is adjusted, you would know that tilting the hitch head rearward INCREASES the amount of pressure that the WD bars produce no matter what chain link or amount of lift via strap winding mechanism you have. That would have INCREASED the amount of weight transfer to the front axle of your tow vehicle. It doesn't matter if the head tilt is accomplished via washers, grooved side washer, elongated slot or whatever. That was not important in your case but the head tilt most likely was.

In addition to the above, if you really knew how a WD hitch is adjusted you would know the trunnion style bars of a Reese hitch are NOT supposed to end up being parallel to the A frame. You blamed that on the hitch when it was probably your lack of understanding how a hitch should be adjusted that was the problem.
I suggest you take a long careful look at this thread. End of story! :R

Sorry I tried to help you out.
Next time, be careful who you shoot off your mouth to as you may end up with a foot in it!!!
Barney

[SoundGuy]

BarneyS wrote:
I agree with Huntindog above. The hitch head should have been tilted rearward more to add more tension to the WD bars when they are drawn up with the straps or chains.

Unfortunately neither you nor Huntindog have any idea what you're talking about. :R First, the Reese trunnion bar system I'm running uses no washers for head adjustment, as Huntindog referred to and which you agreed to. Secondly, although changing the head angle will increase spring bar tension it will not solve the problem of the bars not running parallel with the A frame, as they should in any well adjusted WD system. Third, I don't really care what anyone else thinks, I only replied to the OP's initial question which was - "anybody have experience with Lippert Straptek system?" - my answer being yes, I tried it and didn't care for it, not because it wears the Lippert name but because the frame brackets force the spring bars to sit much lower than they should without significant effort to correct this problem. Simple. 😛

[BarneyS]

I agree with Huntindog above. The hitch head should have been tilted rearward more to add more tension to the WD bars when they are drawn up with the straps or chains.

That is one of the basic adjustments on the WD hitch. You adjust the tilt of the hitch head so the WD bars point downward before drawing them up. It takes some trial and error to find exactly the right angle and height to draw them up. The more they are pitched downward before tensioning, the more WD you will get when they are tensioned or drawn up any given amount.
Barney

[Huntindog]

SoundGuy wrote:

sgfrye wrote:
anyone have experience with the Lippert 335852 Straptek system.

I do ... tried it, couldn't make it work because the brackets sit so low there was no way to properly tension the WD spring bars. 😞 Only 2 ways I could see to solve this - either weld additional square tubing atop the trailer A-frame so the StrapTek brackets, when bolted to it, would sit higher OR lower the ball height. In either case the spring bars would then sit parallel to the A-frame when under tension and still provide the correct amount of load transfer. I wasn't willing to do either so I returned it.

Here's a pic that best illustrates the problem ...



StrapTek bracket is mounted in the correct position where the original Reese saddle bracket would normally be located. In this pic the Reese is sitting forward of where it should be but you can still easily see the StrapTek hook is hanging way lower than it needs to be, about 1.5". With the spring bars hooked up to the StrapTek and it's straps raised as high as possible there's not anywhere near enough tension on the spring bars and they're not anywhere near parallel to the A-frame as they should be.

I am not a fan of this system, but all you need to do is add more washers to tilt the hitch head to increase the tension to what ever it needs to be.

[SoundGuy]

Jayco254 wrote:
I think I have to agree with Turtle n Peeps anything with the Lippert name on it makes me want to run the other way.

You'll have to run a l-o-n-g way as Jason Lippert has been buying up whatever RV related companies he can for some time now. Good luck to ya. :W

[Jayco254]

I think I have to agree with Turtle n Peeps anything with the Lippert name on it makes me want to run the other way.

[sgfrye]

SoundGuy wrote:

sgfrye wrote:
anyone have experience with the Lippert 335852 Straptek system.

I do ... tried it, couldn't make it work because the brackets sit so low there was no way to properly tension the WD spring bars. 😞 Only 2 ways I could see to solve this - either weld additional square tubing atop the trailer A-frame so the StrapTek brackets, when bolted to it, would sit higher OR lower the ball height. In either case the spring bars would then sit parallel to the A-frame when under tension and still provide the correct amount of load transfer. I wasn't willing to do either so I returned it.

Here's a pic that best illustrates the problem ...





StrapTek bracket is mounted in the correct position where the original Reese saddle bracket would normally be located. In this pic the Reese is sitting forward of where it should be but you can still easily see the StrapTek hook is hanging way lower than it needs to be, about 1.5". With the spring bars hooked up to the StrapTek and it's straps raised as high as possible there's not anywhere near enough tension on the spring bars and they're not anywhere near parallel to the A-frame as they should be.

thats a great review. the chains are time tested and proven

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Two things turn me off:

#1. It's made by Lippert.

#2. Chains last a lifetime. Straps around here last about 4 to 5 years out in the weather.

YMMV. 🙂

[SoundGuy]

sgfrye wrote:
anyone have experience with the Lippert 335852 Straptek system.

I do ... tried it, couldn't make it work because the brackets sit so low there was no way to properly tension the WD spring bars. 😞 Only 2 ways I could see to solve this - either weld additional square tubing atop the trailer A-frame so the StrapTek brackets, when bolted to it, would sit higher OR lower the ball height. In either case the spring bars would then sit parallel to the A-frame when under tension and still provide the correct amount of load transfer. I wasn't willing to do either so I returned it.

Here's a pic that best illustrates the problem ...



StrapTek bracket is mounted in the correct position where the original Reese saddle bracket would normally be located. In this pic the Reese is sitting forward of where it should be but you can still easily see the StrapTek hook is hanging way lower than it needs to be, about 1.5". With the spring bars hooked up to the StrapTek and it's straps raised as high as possible there's not anywhere near enough tension on the spring bars and they're not anywhere near parallel to the A-frame as they should be.