The Motor Oil Bible BLOG

Purchased a used Hensley Arrow Hitch recently. A total steal – basically paid 1/4 what it would cost new.

Could not be happier with my purchase. The unit is extremely well built. Super solid. Should last for years to come, and that is a real bonus, because I’m hoping to get in alot of trips with our travel trailer before the kids get too old and head off to college, etc.

What makes a Hensley so amazing? Well, everything. You see, I pull a 31 foot travel trailer behind a 1/2 ton Yukon XL, and, before the Hensley it was a “white knuckle” drive anytime we took the trailer somewhere. I had already installed an anti-sway system, but, quite frankly, although it DID help, it was nowhere near enough.

Any wind at all, or any significant speed on the highway, and I would begin fish tailing all over. Not a good feeling, especially when you’ve got your entire family in the vehicle. It’s just plain scary and makes for a not very pleasant drive.

Of course, I have to take some of the blame myself. I am well aware that I am hauling a trailer that is really too big for my vehicle (even though the weight capacity of my Yukon and the towing package can handle it). If I had a 3/4 or a 1 ton vehicle, I probably wouldn’t notice nearly so much. But, I don’t, and I’m not planning on upgrading my vehicle just to tow my trailer.

So, what’s a guy to do?

Buy a Hensley (or a ProPride) Hitch

This Hensley Arrow trailer hitch, literally, ELIMINATES trailer sway, making for a completely peaceful and enjoyable trip anywhere. Not even a hint that I’m hauling a trailer, besides the fact that my engine has to work a little harder to get going from a stop. In fact, the guy that sold me the hitch (nice guy from Texas) used it to pull a 33′ with a Ford Expedition (longer trailer and smaller tow vehicle than mine) and said he loved the Hensley (just didn’t have use for it anymore as they weren’t using the trailer).

Now, you might notice that I mentioned “ProPride” in the heading above. I haven’t used a ProPride, so I can’t speak for how well it works compared to the Hensley, but most people who own one seem to be very happy.

You see, ProPride was created by the man that invented the Hensley Hitch (Jim Hensley), and is supposed to be an “upgraded” version that makes installation and hookup easier than the standard Hensley model. Since I haven’t used one, I can’t say. But, they definitely offer good support.

I didn’t even purchase a ProPride, but, when I needed to get a couple of custom fasteners that come with the Hensley but needed to be replaced (and were going to cost me a bit more than I wanted to spend), the guy at ProPride was very gracious in helping me – indicating that, if Hensley wouldn’t come down on the price a bit, he’d see if Jim had any left from his Hensley Arrow days, and ship them to me cheap.

So, you might want to do a little research on which one you want, but, it is my belief that either way you go, you’ll be a happy camper. Neither is cheap. In fact, your jaw might drop at the 2-3,000 dollar pricetag, but the added safety and piece of mind that comes from using this hitch is priceless.

I got my used one for $650 plus $150 to ship it to me from Texas, which was a super stellar deal, but, there are other used ones out there that will save you some bucks.

Installation

The installation actually went rather smoothly. Took me a couple of days to get it done, but that had little to do with the Hensley itself and much more to do with my full schedule. My manual was pretty well done. There were a couple areas where I was a little bit confused about what to do, but I would be willing to bet that their manuals have improved a bit since mine was initially sold. Either way, the installation was pretty straight-forward and shouldn’t give too much hassle.

Trailer Hook-up

This is probably a trickiest part of owning a Hensley, but, it’s worth it, and there are a couple of “tricks” that can make this process ALOT easier. To be honest, until you either own one of these or see some video of the hookup procedure, you may not fully understand why it’s so difficult, but, trust me, without the right “tools” and the right “know-how”, you’ll spend FAR too much time trying to get this thing hooked up. Alternatively, WITH the right tools and know-how, it can, literally, be a few minute process.

Positioning

With a traditional hitch, where you’ve basically just got a ball on the vehicle and a coupler on the trailer, you can pretty much come in from ANY angle, as long as you get the ball positioned closely under the coupler. Still not always an easy task by yourself, but doable. With a Hensley, no such luck.

On a Hensley Arrow trailer hitch system, you’re not positioning a ball under a coupler. Instead, you’re inserting a 9 inch “male” shaft into a “female” hole. And, I’m being totally honest when I say that I’m really not trying to make any sexual analogy here, but, it’s hard to avoid, since it’s a very similar process. This is a little like making love to your trailer. Proper positioning is everything, and angle of entry is CRITICALLY important.

Reese Towpower Solo Hitch Alignment System

After spending, literally, over an hour on each of my last two attempts at hooking up my Hensley trailer hitch by myself, I decided to do something about it – I was not going to go through that horror scene again, especially at the end of a long camping trip. So, one item that I decided I had to have was this Reese Solo Hitch Alignment System – which, as you can see in the picture at right, is really just a fancy name for a couple of foam tennis balls stuck to the end of two telescoping rods with magnets on the bottom. BUT, this system is “almost” perfect, even if a little flimsy.

By placing one of these telescoping rods CENTERED on the Hensley unit and the other centered on the hitch insert on my vehicle, I have a simple way to line up the two, without having another person standing behind the vehicle directing me (like my wife). Now, to be clear, if you don’t have a Hensley, and have just a ball and coupler system to hook-up, this system really is perfect, because your angle of attack will be of little relevance. The only thing that will matter is that you get the ball centered under the coupler. So, matching up the two tennis balls pretty much accomplishes this with ease.

Where this inexpensive little product falls a bit short is on a system like the Hensley, where your angle of attack is CRUCIAL, but, this can EASILY be remedied with NO additional cost. You simply need to place one more “point of reference” behind the “tennis” ball that will be attached to the trailer – thereby creating THREE points that must be lined up. If you can line up the two tennis balls with this final point of reference (as long as you place this point properly CENTERED and visible in your rear view mirror) you will hardly ever miss.

In fact, I tried for about ten to fifteen minutes to get my hitch lined up properly just using the two telescoping rods, and just couldn’t get it quite right. Recognizing that this was going to be a problem, and being that I’m a math major, it became evident that a third point was going to be necessary. So, I fixed a point dead center behind the tennis ball that was attached to the trailer side of this connection and gave it another shot.

BAM!! Nailed it immediately. Pulled the vehicle ahead and made a few curly cues with the vehicle to get myself WAY out of alignment and tried again. POW! Nailed it again, first try.

I did this 4 or 5 times, because I wanted to be sure I would have no trouble hooking up once we were ready to leave the campsite this past weekend. Every time I was dead center or just a touch off the mark on the first try backing into it. And, fortunately, I had also purchased one other little “marvel” from Amazon that would make that “touch off” a non-issue.

BAL “Tongue Twister” Trailer Hitch Alignment

Another product I had never heard of until I came to realize just how much I needed it. This Tongue Twister hitch alignment thingamabob is super easy to use and does exactly what it says it does – it shifts your trailer tongue up to 3-4″ left or right from it’s original starting position. Meaning, if you back your truck up and your ball or hitch insert happens to be a bit left or right of center, it’s not a problem at all.

Just use the included 3/4″ and 7/8″ ratcheting box wrench (which is actually pretty high quality and very convenient) to rotate the threaded positioning screw so as to shift your trailer tongue in whichever direction you need. I found that, with the Reese Solo Hitch Alignment System, I was rarely off the mark enough to keep me from getting my hitch insert into the Hensley Hitch coupler, but, when I was, a few turns of the Tongue Twister was all I needed to “get things right”.

So, although you may be able to get away with just the Reese unit, having this little Tongue Twister is the perfect compliment that virtually assures that, if you’re anywhere close to being lined up, you WON’T have to move the truck a bit. Just turn the Tongue Twister till you’re properly positioned and finish backing up.

These two products, literally, turned an hour-long nightmare solo trailer hookup into a two minute process. And, for the price I paid on Amazon and the number of times I expect to use them this camping season alone, I can’t imagine not having them both.

The Tongue Twister Trailer Hitch Alignment Mechanism seems to be very sturdy and well-built. I expect to get alot of life out of this little unit, and I’m betting you will to.

How Do I Get One?

Well, for the Reese or Bal “accessories”, I recommend just clicking on the links above, which will take you to the proper page on Amazon.com (or just go to Amazon.com and search for those particular units). If you’re looking for a Hensley or ProPride unit, and you want to save some money, go for a used unit through Craigslist or Ebay and see what’s out there. Alternatively, check out the manufacturers themselves. There’s alot of good info & videos available:

Hensley Arrow Anti-Sway Trailer Hitch

ProPride No Sway Trailer Hitch System

Just Trying to Make a Buck?

Although I am an Amazon and Hensley affiliate (and will earn a commission if you click the links above and decide to purchase something), I did not decide to post my affiliate links until AFTER I had tested all three of these products myself and was thoroughly satisfied of their usefulness. However, if you’d like to avoid me making a commission, obviously, you can go straight to Amazon.com and do a search for either the Reese or Bal units, or go directly to the Hensley or ProPride sites to get your hands one of these little beauties.

I’m really not too hung up on whether I earn a commission on these units. Just thought that blog visitors and regulars would find the info useful. Hope you do too.