Quote:
Originally Posted by Lzerarc
The problem with the Hensly is its a big heavy hitch. Since most half tons have payload issues, this doesn't help that problem.
|
Actually it might. A trailer is a combination of type 1 and type 2 levers. The type 2 lever physics is what is important here. You need to figure out where the center point of trailer net weight that is forward of the axles is located. That defines the length of the load arm. A Hensley hitch increases the length of the effort arm. In all class 2 levers, the longer the effort arm, the lower the actual amount of effort is needed to lift the load. So if the center of the load moves sufficiently less than the extension of the effort arm, the actual tongue weight may be lower.
There are posts out there of folks who have weighed their tongue weight with a conventional hitch and then with a Hensley design who reported decreased tongue weights exceeding 100 lbs. Recognize that Hensley's extend the effort arm by about 2 feet.
Fe = (Fl * dl) / de
Where,
Fe = Lever Effort Force
Fl = Load Force
dl = Distance From Load Force to Fulcrum (trailer axle)
de = Distance From Effort Force to Fulcrum
So an theoretical example. 6300lb trailer with 10% TW. So 3300 load force 6 feet from the trailer axle and end of tongue is at 12 feet. (3300*6)/12. This is a 1650lb tongue weight.
Using a Hensley - add 100 lbs for the hitch. Assume it moves the center point of the load 1/2 foot forward and assume actual weight transfer point is now at 14 feet. (3400*6.5)/14. This calculates to a tongue weight of 1601 lbs. The remaining 149 lbs is carried by the trailers wheels.
A couple of other things to consider. On a conventional hitch the weight transfer point is the ball location. On a Hensley design, weight transfer is inside the TV receiver. The hitch bar on a Hensley/ProPride hitch is, for all intents and purposes, a rigid extension of the trailer. There is no flex where a conventional hitch sits on the ball. So the dynamics of TV front wheel unloading are also different. The TW on a conventional hitch is carried farther aft of the TV rear axle.
__________________
Al
I am starting to think, that I will never be old enough--------to know better.
Tolerance will reach such a level that intelligent people will be banned from thinking so as not to offend the imbeciles. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, Russian Novelist
S.E. Mich. Flagstaff 26FKWS / 2022 F-150 3.5 EcoBoost SCrew Propride