Hensley Hitch on Escape 19

[cpaharley2008]

You can always add a w/d hitch later, if you feel the need.

[sclifrickson]

We have a 2016 F-150 with the factory tow package and our 19 with an E2 hitch. The trailer tows well *without* the spring bars attached, just the ball hitch. It tows great with them, trailer and truck totally unified. The E2 is really easy to use, especially with an electric tongue jack!

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Kingbiscuit

We already have the tow vehicle, 2017 Nissan NV 3500 passenger van. V8 with 7 speed Transmission and tow package. It doesn't have an integrated brake controller but has the plug for it. I'll be installing the controller soon.

The van as configured as it is has a towing capacity of 9,400 lbs and a payload of 3,700 lbs. Should be good to go. I'm mostly concerned about issues with sway/fishtailing. As I said earlier, perhaps I'm worrying about nothing.....

Dan, I'm gonna go back to what I posted earlier. Try towing without any weight distribution hitch. Provided you have adequate tongue weight on the 19 (pretty easy since they are naturally a slight bit tongue heavy) you should have no sway.

If at a later date you feel like spending a boatload of money, the Hensley hitches will still be there.

[camperwa]

We towed our old stick built trailer (30ft Pacific Coachworks Panther) with a Pro-Pride Hitch (same as a Hensley hitch - same engineering pretty much). Our old trailer weighed in at 7800lbs so I was concerned about sway given that I was towing with a Toyota Tundra. That ProPride hitch worked beautifully...I was very much impressed. As far as hitching and unhitching it was no more difficult then an E2. When we sold our old trailer I kept the ProPride expecting I may want to use it for our Escape 21 we purchased this summer. In the end we got a used Escape 21 with an E2 hitch already on....so I decided to just see how well it would work with just the E2. I am pleased to say after 6000 miles of towing all over the west..there has been No Sway No fish tailing and stops easily. As a result I have no plans in putting the ProPride hitch on and will probably list it on craigslist next spring. A normal w/d hitch is plenty for the escape trailers especially given the lower weight of the escapes and the fact you have a tow vehicle that has a 9600 lb towing capacity. Just my two cents. Jim

[Doug]

I have been pulling our 19 for two years with our Tacoma with just the regular hitch and have never noticed any sway, wiggle, or troubling sensation. I think you will be just complicating your life by adding anti-sway.

[scubarx]

Originally Posted by wetzk

...After watching someone hook up one on their Oliver I can say this.
Sure is a complicated looking device.
Heavy too when you add all the parts together. So it will subtract from your carrying weight. Not sure why you would want to use something that is really designed for far heavier trailers on a fairly lightweight unit...

Since this thread is about a Hensley Hitch, I'm confused about what you saw. Oliver has never used one of these so unless someone cobbled one together after the fact, you saw something else.

Some folks are using the Andersen System, but after 75,000 miles of towing, I've never seen the need for any kind of weight/distribution/anti-sway setup. My trailer weighs in at about 7200 pounds ready to travel.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by scubarx

Since this thread is about a Hensley Hitch, I'm confused about what you saw. Oliver has never used one of these so unless someone cobbled one together after the fact, you saw something else.

Why would that be confusing? A Hensley hitch is not a built-in part of the trailer; it is bolted on like other WD hitches. It does leave a lot more hardware on the trailer when unhitched than other designs...

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by scubarx

Since this thread is about a Hensley Hitch, I'm confused about what you saw. Oliver has never used one of these so unless someone cobbled one together after the fact, you saw something else.

Some folks are using the Andersen System, but after 75,000 miles of towing, I've never seen the need for any kind of weight/distribution/anti-sway setup. My trailer weighs in at about 7200 pounds ready to travel.

The one I saw up in Franklin had a lot more parts attached to the trailer. So to me adjusting it would be complicated. I had inquired what the hitch was since I had not seen one like it before and was told it was a Hensley so I assume he would have known what it was. Me, I recognize Blue Ox, E2's and a few others but not Hensleys. The Oliver factory bike rack I would love to have.

[Kingbiscuit]

Thanks for all the responses. As you can see by my posts, I've gone back and forth on this.

We finally decided to add the E2 hitch to our build sheet. Currently, I have a health issue that prohibits me from driving. This brings to light that my wife may need to be towing the trailer. That said, I want to make her as comfortable as possible while towing and trailer sway is something she's concerned about.

Last summer we were on a trip from FL to Myrtle Beach going up I95. A travel trailer started fishtailing, got out of control and flipped itself and the truck towing it. It was ugly. Hence the sensitivity around this issue. I realize that insufficient tongue weight and excessive speed were probably the culprit here but we'll do what we can to reduce the risk.

[thoer]

Dan, the E2 is a very good WDH. My only complaint is that is sometime squeaks during low speed corners.

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by thoer

Dan, the E2 is a very good WDH. My only complaint is that is sometime squeaks during low speed corners.

Ours does not do that. It did when very new but has not done so since. Do you have the old or new L pins? We changed to the new style mainly for the ease of not forcing the cotter keys in. I have read where some said these helped with the noise but have no idea if true. Ours did quieten but I forget if it was pre or post new L pins.

I was going to purchase the rubber jackets but they were not available yet for the new style. They are supposed to reduce or eliminate the pop and groan noises. If the noises returns we might buy a pair or just ignore the noise.

[thoer]

Ken, ours just have what they came with from ETI - with the removable clip. Is this the new type? They are listed as Equalizer parts, not Fastway E2 as are the rubber jackets I have seen. Are they interchangeable?

[wetzk]

Yes those are the new L-pins and they and the newer rubber cover will fit the E2. Be careful with the rubber part as the older ones did not fit with the new L-pins. Which is why we did not pick up a set.

[Kingbiscuit]

"The one I saw up in Franklin had a lot more parts attached to the trailer. So to me adjusting it would be complicated."

Once installed, all that stuff you see on the trailer tongue stays on the tongue. Hooking and unhooking, as previously mentioned, is pretty much the same as other WD hitches.

[thoer]

Originally Posted by wetzk

Yes those are the new L-pins and they and the newer rubber cover will fit the E2. Be careful with the rubber part as the older ones did not fit with the new L-pins. Which is why we did not pick up a set.

Thanks! Do you know if they have new rubber pads that work with the newer L pins yet? These mention E2 in questions: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...Q3TN25W7&psc=1

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by thoer

Thanks! Do you know if they have new rubber pads that work with the newer L pins yet? These mention E2 in questions: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...Q3TN25W7&psc=1

I never checked again after my set did not fit and were returned.
Per the questions they say it fits the snap L-pins so it looks like these are the right ones.
Someone told me to just put a spot of Vaseline where it rubs, its supposed to quieten the noise if you have it but not affect the sway operation. I never tried it so I have no clue if it would help.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Kingbiscuit

... Hooking and unhooking, as previously mentioned, is pretty much the same as other WD hitches.

... except that instead of dropping the trailer's coupler over the tow vehicle's ball (as with any other design of ball hitch), then closing the coupler latch, you back the tow vehicle into the trailer so that the square horizontal "hitch bar" of the tow-vehicle-mounted part of the Hensley/ProPride stabs into the socket of the the trailer-mounted part, then use a tool to close the "over-center latches".

(The trailer is to the right-hand side in this illustration, which shows only the most forward fraction of the hardware which is mounted on the trailer.)
The bar is a very loose fit in the socket to make this possible, with a tapered collar (and probably a tapered socket end) to locate the parts properly when it is forced together with the over-centre latches.

I haven't done this, but it looks like something that's easy to do when everything is perfectly aligned, but maybe not so easy to get aligned. See the 12 seconds or so starting about 1 minute and 41 seconds into the Hensley Hitch Video for an ideal demonstration (... and I suggest ignoring the other technical content in this video, which is generally unfounded crap).

[wetzk]

I want to know the magic behind the ability for any car to tow a heavy trailer.

That sounds similar to years ago when a buddy of mine came by my house towing a large boat behind a Mazda truck. I'm looking at his massive boat and he says it tows it fine. Later on the phone rings and he wants me to go over to his house and see if his son is home as he is not answering the phone. I go and find the son and he and I go down to the boat ramp. Truck towed the boat fine. Fried the clutch trying to pull it out of the water was the only problem.
The dealer told him it would work.

Want to get stuck behind the car pulling the big Airstream up a hill?
And the hitch still looks complicated to me.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by wetzk

I want to know the magic behind the ability for any car to tow a heavy trailer.

I don't see anyone claiming that in this thread, but I might have missed it. I do see it inferred that the Hensley hitch is needed on a heavy trailer because somehow a heavier trailer means more sway. There's really no correlation. Sway is generally caused by improper weight distribution, mainly a light tongue.

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

I don't see anyone claiming that in this thread, but I might have missed it. I do see it inferred that the Hensley hitch is needed on a heavy trailer because somehow a heavier trailer means more sway. There's really no correlation. Sway is generally caused by improper weight distribution, mainly a light tongue.

Watch the video