PPP (Pivot Point Projection) hitches. There are only two and I’ve encountered a lot of mystery surrounding them in regards to price, options and differences among them, and various pro’s and con’s you may not have collectively read before. I wish to share my own experience and results to save many of you the effort of hassling for a good price, avoid being ripped off and to select a company and or person, that suits you best long term.
Terry is Hensley’s only (or most active) sales person. He is straightforward and nice. Although I could have done without emailed pictures failed Propride stingers because I can find drastically more failed Hensley images on the web (my own included) than I can Propride. Other than that, they have been ok dealing with an unusually high number of issues I've encountered, some of which I’ll mention here.
They also have a chain option instead of screw jacks. I've had issues with the screw jacks unwinding while I drive and might try chains next year if problems continue. They are the same price for either or...don’t be fooled into an upcharge.
Hensley’s best remanufactured price - $1695. I missed the “blowout” date and paid $1795.
Best new was $2395 + $110 shipping.
Standard pricing is around $3,000 + $110 shipping
For Propride, Sean seems nice and many people have nothing but good things to report. However, get him outside of his salesmen shell and you'll find more often than not, displays a very poor attitude on forums and that turn many people off. He was far worse than Hensley when discussing the competition. (Bad blood, I know all about it...who cares!)
Sean says he will match Hensley’s re-manufactured pricing for a new Propride but also says he doesn’t play price games. But he does. When you show him anything lower than $1995 from Hensley, he stops responding. I have an instant message from him stating he has sold new Proprides for far less than $2k, but then does nothing to back it up. In fact, because he would not respond to me for 3 weeks (with follow-ups) after providing Hensley pricing to match, I bought the Hensley. Even a few months later, the very same scenario was repeated with him. And it didn’t just happen to me.
He sells all day long on eBay for $1995, although these days the eBay site says remanufactured. So does he really price match anything to sell a NEW Propride? If you bought one for this price or less, I'd be happy to hear it.
Propride Used = $1995 + $300 shipping (And you won’t find this on eBay search for Propride...you have to search "Hensley". Real shady IMO.)
Standard Price = $2345 + 195 shipping
Best Price = ???? Unconfirmed.
Regarding the products:
Hensley has serious manufacturing quality issues and many weak points. I cannot begin to tell you how many items I have shipped back parts for replacement, at one point sending the entire unit back and buying another unit...but brand new. I still had problems, just different problems compared to the reman unit. Inspect your hitch often and in detail when you receive it, during and after every trip.
They have the extreme splattered welds and flaking paint I have NEVER seen on something I've paid money for. There are many set screws to shear off and many clips that if lost or damaged... render the unit useless.
Hensley does have the easiest installation which allows one unit to be swapped trailer to trailer very quickly. If you buy a 2nd set of jack brackets, swap time is just minutes.
Propride installation time is higher and more cumbersome because their yoke sits under most TT LP tank platforms and they have huge bolts requiring sockets and torque wrenches most people do not have in their tool box. And more U-bolts than the Hensley, which all adds up to the lack of struts you see on the Hensley.
Manufacturing quality is much higher. Better paint and drastically better welds. They also have an adjustable stinger, for height and angle. However, plenty of them have broken and they weigh more than the Hensley stinger. The main head does have some extra steel flange material around the spring bar bearings, where Hensley’s have been shown to fail. For whatever reason, Hensley’s version has not been improved in the slightest for decades, likely due to fear of patent infringement.
Propride claims no drilling, but many people are in fact adding large screws (same as Hensley) to the jack brackets like Hensley does so they do not slip off. Propride jack brackets are not the best design, but they work, when they don’t slip. Propride, like Hensley does have the option to use chains vs jacks, which mount conventionally and may eliminate a number of issues.
My biggest concern is Propride is a one-man band. I'm not sure who produces the Propride, if 100% internal or contracted out and shipped from a warehouse. But there is no contact other than Sean. What happens when he's not available? I'm not sure. Hensley is not a huge company, but they do have many contacts and an emergency number to call if needed.
Comments related to both units;
Neither is better than the other. Period. For every advantage/disadvantage one may have, the other can counter with something. The PEOPLE and COMPANY you buy from however, are drastically different.
BOTH PERFORM LIKE NO OTHER. (plenty of nay-sayers don’t believe it because they never tried one) And they perform identically because they use the exact same hitch ball lockout and 4 bar linkage down to a fraction of an inch to project the pivot point. Their trailer connections are also the same (over center latches) with slight geometry differences that have not shown to make any difference.
They are both HIGH maintenance, despite ANY claim. There are so many moving parts, nuts and bolts and jacks to always check. They both require greasing very often, which is messier IMO than any other hitch on the market.
Finally, anyone ever see a hitch "leak oil"? These hitches do! When the grease separates (more often when the hitch bakes in the hot summer sun) you WILL have oil spots.
Terry is Hensley’s only (or most active) sales person. He is straightforward and nice. Although I could have done without emailed pictures failed Propride stingers because I can find drastically more failed Hensley images on the web (my own included) than I can Propride. Other than that, they have been ok dealing with an unusually high number of issues I've encountered, some of which I’ll mention here.
They also have a chain option instead of screw jacks. I've had issues with the screw jacks unwinding while I drive and might try chains next year if problems continue. They are the same price for either or...don’t be fooled into an upcharge.
Hensley’s best remanufactured price - $1695. I missed the “blowout” date and paid $1795.
Best new was $2395 + $110 shipping.
Standard pricing is around $3,000 + $110 shipping
For Propride, Sean seems nice and many people have nothing but good things to report. However, get him outside of his salesmen shell and you'll find more often than not, displays a very poor attitude on forums and that turn many people off. He was far worse than Hensley when discussing the competition. (Bad blood, I know all about it...who cares!)
Sean says he will match Hensley’s re-manufactured pricing for a new Propride but also says he doesn’t play price games. But he does. When you show him anything lower than $1995 from Hensley, he stops responding. I have an instant message from him stating he has sold new Proprides for far less than $2k, but then does nothing to back it up. In fact, because he would not respond to me for 3 weeks (with follow-ups) after providing Hensley pricing to match, I bought the Hensley. Even a few months later, the very same scenario was repeated with him. And it didn’t just happen to me.
He sells all day long on eBay for $1995, although these days the eBay site says remanufactured. So does he really price match anything to sell a NEW Propride? If you bought one for this price or less, I'd be happy to hear it.
Propride Used = $1995 + $300 shipping (And you won’t find this on eBay search for Propride...you have to search "Hensley". Real shady IMO.)
Standard Price = $2345 + 195 shipping
Best Price = ???? Unconfirmed.
Regarding the products:
Hensley has serious manufacturing quality issues and many weak points. I cannot begin to tell you how many items I have shipped back parts for replacement, at one point sending the entire unit back and buying another unit...but brand new. I still had problems, just different problems compared to the reman unit. Inspect your hitch often and in detail when you receive it, during and after every trip.
They have the extreme splattered welds and flaking paint I have NEVER seen on something I've paid money for. There are many set screws to shear off and many clips that if lost or damaged... render the unit useless.
Hensley does have the easiest installation which allows one unit to be swapped trailer to trailer very quickly. If you buy a 2nd set of jack brackets, swap time is just minutes.
Propride installation time is higher and more cumbersome because their yoke sits under most TT LP tank platforms and they have huge bolts requiring sockets and torque wrenches most people do not have in their tool box. And more U-bolts than the Hensley, which all adds up to the lack of struts you see on the Hensley.
Manufacturing quality is much higher. Better paint and drastically better welds. They also have an adjustable stinger, for height and angle. However, plenty of them have broken and they weigh more than the Hensley stinger. The main head does have some extra steel flange material around the spring bar bearings, where Hensley’s have been shown to fail. For whatever reason, Hensley’s version has not been improved in the slightest for decades, likely due to fear of patent infringement.
Propride claims no drilling, but many people are in fact adding large screws (same as Hensley) to the jack brackets like Hensley does so they do not slip off. Propride jack brackets are not the best design, but they work, when they don’t slip. Propride, like Hensley does have the option to use chains vs jacks, which mount conventionally and may eliminate a number of issues.
My biggest concern is Propride is a one-man band. I'm not sure who produces the Propride, if 100% internal or contracted out and shipped from a warehouse. But there is no contact other than Sean. What happens when he's not available? I'm not sure. Hensley is not a huge company, but they do have many contacts and an emergency number to call if needed.
Comments related to both units;
Neither is better than the other. Period. For every advantage/disadvantage one may have, the other can counter with something. The PEOPLE and COMPANY you buy from however, are drastically different.
BOTH PERFORM LIKE NO OTHER. (plenty of nay-sayers don’t believe it because they never tried one) And they perform identically because they use the exact same hitch ball lockout and 4 bar linkage down to a fraction of an inch to project the pivot point. Their trailer connections are also the same (over center latches) with slight geometry differences that have not shown to make any difference.
They are both HIGH maintenance, despite ANY claim. There are so many moving parts, nuts and bolts and jacks to always check. They both require greasing very often, which is messier IMO than any other hitch on the market.
Finally, anyone ever see a hitch "leak oil"? These hitches do! When the grease separates (more often when the hitch bakes in the hot summer sun) you WILL have oil spots.
