I'm had my Hensley Arrow hitch for nine years. Its on a 9,900 pound 33" Outback Toy Hauler bumper pull. I use several vehicles to tow it around. 1). 7.3 Excursion with air bags and automatic, 2). 6.8 V10 F250 no bags and 6 speed manual, and 3). a 5.4 V8 Expedition automatic with air suspension. I will say this about the Hensley, its not for everyone and it takes some getting used to but in my opinion, its a great hitch and I love mine. I've used others and they're easier but I not about easy, I'm about better. The Expy would have had no chance of towing that trailer but with the Hensley, I could roll back some of the tongue weight to the trailer and I towed it from NorCal to Zion then from NorCal to Arkansas. You have to dial it in, for example, my fresh water tank is in the nose, so is the toybox, if I'm empty, I adjust it to one setting, if I'm full, its another. Maybe folks don't want the complication and extra work but I appreciate having the ability and it really makes towing a much more enjoyable experience. I'll take my rig through the CAT scales and if an axle has too much weight, I can change it with an impact wrench. Its awesome really.
What I was looking for in this video is @9:11 (appropriate), the testament to, "Does the Hensley design eliminate sway?". I've had some white knuckled moments with my TT, which would drive me to spend $2k-$3k on on a solution. I'm currently using the BlueOx SwayPro, which definitely helps. And, yes, I probably need to spend more time on proper loading, and figuring all that out. But, in high winds, I've still had the Ford anti-sway braking system kick in and save us from disaster. Appreciate the info folks! Happy camping!
I’m glad we answered your question! Yes, if you want a more comfortable drive the Hensley will provide it! Happy camping to you as well and let us know if you have any other questions!
We've never had the anti-sway engage but have experienced several uncomfortable moments. Made the jump just today from the Blue Ox SwayPro as well. We actually switched to the 1,400 lb. bars first, but it may have been worse. I think we've both made a wise decision.
I tow a 30' Dutchmen Kodiak Ultra-lite (GVWR 7,500#) with a Ford Expedition EL 4WD (9,100# towing capacity) and up to this point have used an Equalizer hitch, which has served me well, including towing in strong crosswinds (I'm guessing over 40 mph). There was one incident, however, that is my reason for switching to the Hensley. One late evening, I was traveling to Flagstaff and I saw two javelina along side of the road, with most of their bodies in my lane. It took me quite a while to decide what to do, but at the last second, I decided to spare their lives and my truck, and swerved to avoid them. This set up a violent sway that scared the heck out of me. Fortunately, my truck realized what was happening before I did and flashed a message that I should apply the trailer brakes. Before I could process the message, though, the truck straightened itself out and the event was over. To this day, I don't know if the truck applied the brakes for me like it seemed to, but I didn't have time to apply the trailer brakes myself. It was lucky that there was no traffic around me, because if there was I surely would have hit someone. To me, the peace of mind that this won't happen again is worth the cost of the Hensley hitch. That and the fact that I can now open the lift gate in the back without unhitching. I just installed the Hensley in the last couple of days and have yet to try it out and I can't wait to do so.
I have a 2008 Jeep Commander with 7200 lbs towing capacity, and used to tow a 24 foot travel trailer. Before getting a Hensley it was a white knuckle experience even with a equalizer hitch. Anything passing me was pushing me around like crazy. After installing the hensley the sway was eliminated by about 90%, which was a huge relief on trips. I plan on using a hensley in the future if I'm towing something big, especially as I tow with SUV's and not full size pickup trucks.
It is a great hitch, we will use it in the future too because of the ease of use and we are weekend campers who live in the midwest so can't really choose to not travel when the wind kicks up.
Great clip! We own the Cub with an F150 and Lance 2285. Love that I can open my tailgate without hitting our jack! Tips on disconnecting (so you don't smash your hands): 1. Wear gloves on that step. 2. Do your best to make sure there isn't pull/push tension on the hitch. That includes taking weight off the WD jacks, but most importantly, don't have the e-brake on the truck when you go to unhook. Often times I will set the e-brake when we are leveling the TT so it doesn't rock back on our Andersen levelers while we set the x-chocks and chocks. That will cause a tremendous force when releasing the OCLs! Glad you chose the Hensley...yes, they aren't inexpensive, but the safety of this hitch will long outlast the pain of the 1-time cost.
At 6:50 I can help you out big time with a bit of advice. Just go to a local hardware store and purchase a steel pipe that will fit over the wrench handle. This will keep your hands away and you will use less effort during the latching or unlatching. Hensley has a fantastic product that I will keep during future trade in upgraded trailers.
I carry a 2-foot piece of strong Sch. 40 PVC pipe in all of our vehicles to slip over the wheel lug wrench to make wheel removal easier - particularly useful since I, my wife and daughters all drive, and could otherwise have an issue getting a wheel off. It's light and takes up almost no room in the trunk or spare wheel well.
@@AllElectricFamily the stinger is adjustable so if you change tow vehicles you don’t have to pay shipping back to Hensley to swap them out. Also I was a member of a couple Hensley pages on Facebook. Both were moderated by people who worked for Hensley. There was a post that came up with a stinger that was shipped from Hensley to a customer and the welds looked horrible. That customer posted it on the forum and I said the welds looked bad and I would send it back. I got booted from the group for saying that and the post got pulled down. Since then I have heard and seen other people’s complaints and concerns get deleted from those forums and those people got booted as well. Seems like they hide any bad stuff instead of just addressing it. It makes it seem they are hiding issues by deleting them and kicking people out of those forums.
Thanks for the video! I have a 33’ Jayco travel trailer that weighs 9,800lbs. Last summer I pulled it with my excursion over 5,000 miles. It was pure hell. White knuckle the entire trip. I used the heavy duty Equalizer hitch. The hitch was installed and set up correctly. Trailer was loaded perfectly. Excursion also had air bags and sway bars installed, new tires, the whole thing was set up to tow. I’ve been towing heavy trailers for over 20 years and never experienced anything this bad. Every semi that passed us damn near blew us off the road. How did the Hensley end up performing on your Excursion? Could the Excursion just suck at pulling long heavy trailers?
It made it better, but it was still not a comfortable experience, especially with any wind. I’m also not sure we got it dialed in 100% with the Excursion either.
I have a Hensley and my daughters tow with a Hensley and a propride.... wouldn't let them tow with anything else....nice to know they will never experience something called trailer sway.
None so far... the propride is definitely a little more complex to install but they all tow perfectly. My white knuckling days are over and my kids will never have them. Jim Hensley is a genius. Simple geometry but still people insist on friction sway control. I don't understand 50 grand and up for the truck and 30 grand and up for the trailer but people complain about the cost of the hitch. I don't get it.
Yeah the strut bars needed to be adjusted up a notch to be level with the frame of the trailer. That was the main reason we had experienced sway according to Hensley.
There are class c rvs with 7500+ towing capacity but only 750lbs vertical weight. I think campers could get by with 12%+ hitch weight instead of normal 15% by using Hensley. Sway danger is the phrase connected to Hensley. That way using 12 or 13% would mean using a little heavier trailer like 6000lbs trailer and staying legal with added safety. It is something to think about. (I would never tell someone to tow 7500lbs behind a class c).
Thanks for the video! I have the same exact setup. 2020 F-350, 2020 GD 312BHTS and the Hensley Hitch. I'm new to RVing and towing. I was practicing backing up the rig today and I bent a strut bar on the hitch. I guess I was backing up at too sharp of an angle. Have you had any issues with bending a strut bar? How far can you jack knife when backing up before you put too much stress on the strut bars?
Sounds like you've got a great set up! 😀 We haven't run into that issue...but we also don't think we've ever had to get the rig at too sharp of an angle. I'm Steve's "watchman" and try let him know if I think we're getting too tight so he can take it easy. I would reach out to Hensley though, they may have an exact angle or help you so it doesn't happen again. They have been great to work with! Good luck and enjoy your new set up!
I have a pro pride. Works well. I’ve had 3 separate pieces break and ended up having them fixed out of my own pocket as I could not get any response from the company. I would likely go with Hensley if I get a new trailer.
I know that you can put the tailgate down with it hooked up but haven’t traveled with it down. If we get a chance to try it we will let you know. Thanks
I'm had my Hensley Arrow hitch for nine years. Its on a 9,900 pound 33" Outback Toy Hauler bumper pull. I use several vehicles to tow it around. 1). 7.3 Excursion with air bags and automatic, 2). 6.8 V10 F250 no bags and 6 speed manual, and 3). a 5.4 V8 Expedition automatic with air suspension. I will say this about the Hensley, its not for everyone and it takes some getting used to but in my opinion, its a great hitch and I love mine. I've used others and they're easier but I not about easy, I'm about better. The Expy would have had no chance of towing that trailer but with the Hensley, I could roll back some of the tongue weight to the trailer and I towed it from NorCal to Zion then from NorCal to Arkansas. You have to dial it in, for example, my fresh water tank is in the nose, so is the toybox, if I'm empty, I adjust it to one setting, if I'm full, its another. Maybe folks don't want the complication and extra work but I appreciate having the ability and it really makes towing a much more enjoyable experience. I'll take my rig through the CAT scales and if an axle has too much weight, I can change it with an impact wrench. Its awesome really.
Great points, great video. Just invested in a Hensley. Cost shouldn’t be a factor when it comes to safety and ease of towing.
You're right...can't put a price tag on safety!
What I was looking for in this video is @9:11 (appropriate), the testament to, "Does the Hensley design eliminate sway?". I've had some white knuckled moments with my TT, which would drive me to spend $2k-$3k on on a solution. I'm currently using the BlueOx SwayPro, which definitely helps. And, yes, I probably need to spend more time on proper loading, and figuring all that out. But, in high winds, I've still had the Ford anti-sway braking system kick in and save us from disaster. Appreciate the info folks! Happy camping!
I’m glad we answered your question! Yes, if you want a more comfortable drive the Hensley will provide it! Happy camping to you as well and let us know if you have any other questions!
We've never had the anti-sway engage but have experienced several uncomfortable moments. Made the jump just today from the Blue Ox SwayPro as well. We actually switched to the 1,400 lb. bars first, but it may have been worse. I think we've both made a wise decision.
After years of white knuckling it going across I80 from IL to The Rocky's I am seriously considering the Hensley Hitch. Thanks for you video it helps.
It will help with that type of driving. There is always a little stress with towing but this takes away 90% of it. Thanks
I tow a 30' Dutchmen Kodiak Ultra-lite (GVWR 7,500#) with a Ford Expedition EL 4WD (9,100# towing capacity) and up to this point have used an Equalizer hitch, which has served me well, including towing in strong crosswinds (I'm guessing over 40 mph). There was one incident, however, that is my reason for switching to the Hensley. One late evening, I was traveling to Flagstaff and I saw two javelina along side of the road, with most of their bodies in my lane. It took me quite a while to decide what to do, but at the last second, I decided to spare their lives and my truck, and swerved to avoid them. This set up a violent sway that scared the heck out of me. Fortunately, my truck realized what was happening before I did and flashed a message that I should apply the trailer brakes. Before I could process the message, though, the truck straightened itself out and the event was over. To this day, I don't know if the truck applied the brakes for me like it seemed to, but I didn't have time to apply the trailer brakes myself. It was lucky that there was no traffic around me, because if there was I surely would have hit someone. To me, the peace of mind that this won't happen again is worth the cost of the Hensley hitch. That and the fact that I can now open the lift gate in the back without unhitching. I just installed the Hensley in the last couple of days and have yet to try it out and I can't wait to do so.
I think you will really like it! I agree, the Equalizer does a good job, but the Hensley is just about flawless. Happy camping!
KYD has a shot of this same sort of scenario a fan that had a hensley shared the video with them and they have it on their review of the hensley
I have a 2008 Jeep Commander with 7200 lbs towing capacity, and used to tow a 24 foot travel trailer. Before getting a Hensley it was a white knuckle experience even with a equalizer hitch. Anything passing me was pushing me around like crazy. After installing the hensley the sway was eliminated by about 90%, which was a huge relief on trips. I plan on using a hensley in the future if I'm towing something big, especially as I tow with SUV's and not full size pickup trucks.
It is a great hitch, we will use it in the future too because of the ease of use and we are weekend campers who live in the midwest so can't really choose to not travel when the wind kicks up.
Great clip! We own the Cub with an F150 and Lance 2285. Love that I can open my tailgate without hitting our jack!
Tips on disconnecting (so you don't smash your hands):
1. Wear gloves on that step.
2. Do your best to make sure there isn't pull/push tension on the hitch. That includes taking weight off the WD jacks, but most importantly, don't have the e-brake on the truck when you go to unhook.
Often times I will set the e-brake when we are leveling the TT so it doesn't rock back on our Andersen levelers while we set the x-chocks and chocks. That will cause a tremendous force when releasing the OCLs! Glad you chose the Hensley...yes, they aren't inexpensive, but the safety of this hitch will long outlast the pain of the 1-time cost.
We have discovered you do have to make sure there isn’t tension. Thanks for the tips! Happy camping!
At 6:50 I can help you out big time with a bit of advice. Just go to a local hardware store and purchase a steel pipe that will fit over the wrench handle. This will keep your hands away and you will use less effort during the latching or unlatching. Hensley has a fantastic product that I will keep during future trade in upgraded trailers.
Smart!! We need to do that!
I carry a 2-foot piece of strong Sch. 40 PVC pipe in all of our vehicles to slip over the wheel lug wrench to make wheel removal easier - particularly useful since I, my wife and daughters all drive, and could otherwise have an issue getting a wheel off. It's light and takes up almost no room in the trunk or spare wheel well.
Thank you
Another one to look at is the ProPride. I own a Hensley but if I was buying again I would go with the ProPride.
I would like to try the ProPride as well someday. What have you heard that is better or different about it?
@@AllElectricFamily the stinger is adjustable so if you change tow vehicles you don’t have to pay shipping back to Hensley to swap them out. Also I was a member of a couple Hensley pages on Facebook. Both were moderated by people who worked for Hensley. There was a post that came up with a stinger that was shipped from Hensley to a customer and the welds looked horrible. That customer posted it on the forum and I said the welds looked bad and I would send it back. I got booted from the group for saying that and the post got pulled down. Since then I have heard and seen other people’s complaints and concerns get deleted from those forums and those people got booted as well. Seems like they hide any bad stuff instead of just addressing it. It makes it seem they are hiding issues by deleting them and kicking people out of those forums.
Thanks for the video! I have a 33’ Jayco travel trailer that weighs 9,800lbs. Last summer I pulled it with my excursion over 5,000 miles. It was pure hell. White knuckle the entire trip. I used the heavy duty Equalizer hitch. The hitch was installed and set up correctly. Trailer was loaded perfectly. Excursion also had air bags and sway bars installed, new tires, the whole thing was set up to tow. I’ve been towing heavy trailers for over 20 years and never experienced anything this bad. Every semi that passed us damn near blew us off the road. How did the Hensley end up performing on your Excursion? Could the Excursion just suck at pulling long heavy trailers?
It made it better, but it was still not a comfortable experience, especially with any wind. I’m also not sure we got it dialed in 100% with the Excursion either.
I have a Hensley and my daughters tow with a Hensley and a propride.... wouldn't let them tow with anything else....nice to know they will never experience something called trailer sway.
It is very nice to not worry about sway. Have you/they noticed a difference between the Hensley and Propride?
None so far... the propride is definitely a little more complex to install but they all tow perfectly. My white knuckling days are over and my kids will never have them. Jim Hensley is a genius. Simple geometry but still people insist on friction sway control. I don't understand 50 grand and up for the truck and 30 grand and up for the trailer but people complain about the cost of the hitch. I don't get it.
Was looking at the P3 hitch, but $3,000 for a hitch and my small 5000# trailer was overkill.
But I like the physics of the design.
We feel the same.
I am setting up a Hensley cub to my Ford explorer a bit concerned about the weight addition to the hitch ball..comments please
Good Video guys, still waiting on Steve's campsite donuts how to video.
🤣 I will make sure he gets it up soon!
Great video. Y’all mentioned adjustments to get sway eliminated. The stinger being upside down was one adjustment. Was there another adjustment?
Yeah the strut bars needed to be adjusted up a notch to be level with the frame of the trailer. That was the main reason we had experienced sway according to Hensley.
There are class c rvs with 7500+ towing capacity but only 750lbs vertical weight. I think campers could get by with 12%+ hitch weight instead of normal 15% by using Hensley. Sway danger is the phrase connected to Hensley. That way using 12 or 13% would mean using a little heavier trailer like 6000lbs trailer and staying legal with added safety. It is something to think about. (I would never tell someone to tow 7500lbs behind a class c).
Thanks for the video! I have the same exact setup. 2020 F-350, 2020 GD 312BHTS and the Hensley Hitch. I'm new to RVing and towing. I was practicing backing up the rig today and I bent a strut bar on the hitch. I guess I was backing up at too sharp of an angle. Have you had any issues with bending a strut bar? How far can you jack knife when backing up before you put too much stress on the strut bars?
Sounds like you've got a great set up! 😀 We haven't run into that issue...but we also don't think we've ever had to get the rig at too sharp of an angle. I'm Steve's "watchman" and try let him know if I think we're getting too tight so he can take it easy. I would reach out to Hensley though, they may have an exact angle or help you so it doesn't happen again. They have been great to work with! Good luck and enjoy your new set up!
50 grand for a trailer, 3 grand for a safer hitch is a no Brainer .
Did you all look at the Pro Pride as well? If so, what led you to choose the Hensley over that one?
We didn’t. We knew more about the Hensley and had seen more people using it, so we felt more comfortable with Hensley.
I have a pro pride. Works well. I’ve had 3 separate pieces break and ended up having them fixed out of my own pocket as I could not get any response from the company. I would likely go with Hensley if I get a new trailer.
Do you know how much the Henley Hitch weighs?
Thank you.
It weighs about 190lbs. So it's quite a big difference from "traditional" hitches.
Do you know if you can travel with the tail gate down? Thanks!
I know that you can put the tailgate down with it hooked up but haven’t traveled with it down. If we get a chance to try it we will let you know. Thanks
Does this hitch affect your backing experience or is it pretty much the same?
Great question! It’s the same for me, I have heard people doing to much of an angle and binding it up but never experienced that. Thanks
How about Ground clearance reduction?
We did not notice a reduction when we switched.
You always need lube for the stinger...😉
😳😂