WDH and Anti-sway recommendations

[TKPINSC]

Originally Posted by FF602956

trust me i myself prefer american made, that is why i sell pullrite and blue ox. i offer the Husky to those who need the price point. I have towed with all three.

The equalizer was a good hitch but i dont like that they dont use spring steel. it is also louder than the husky.

the husky rides well, it is quieter and i prefer the spring steel they use. I dont like the non-American manufacturing.

The blue ox is my go to hitch. Hands down itll beat any hitch on the market, its a smooth ride. I expeerienced next to no sway and love the fact that it doesnt use friction.

Again im here just as a part professional throwing in my two cents to help people out.

What are your thoughts on the Reese dual cam? Like the blue ox it doesn't rely on friction, instead providing an active self centering force. A feature that in theory should work better?
I have no personal experience with either.

Sorry for the thread hijack.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by SailorSam20500

ProPride Example

Stay safe and

In the ProPride example, he puts all the forces on the TV side of the hitch, NOT on the TT side. The forces causing sway are almost always applied to the TT, not the TV. So I'm not passing judgement on the ProPride, only saying I'm skeptical of his example. I'd be more impressed if he'd added a "trailer" and picked up the water bottle with the "trailer." He needs to apply the load where it's actually occurring.

[hdmtnrider]

TKPINSC, I use the Reese Dual cam and have not had any issues with it. I do have to say that it is easy to hook up. As with most hitches, a power tongue jack is a must.

[FF602956]

Originally Posted by TKPINSC

What are your thoughts on the Reese dual cam? Like the blue ox it doesn't rely on friction, instead providing an active self centering force. A feature that in theory should work better?
I have no personal experience with either.

Sorry for the thread hijack.

.

i have nothing against the Reese Dual cam, but i prefer the simplicity of the blue ox. Hook the chains, rotate the bracket and go.

Also reese uses a ton of foreign parts

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

In the ProPride example, he puts all the forces on the TV side of the hitch, NOT on the TT side. The forces causing sway are almost always applied to the TT, not the TV. So I'm not passing judgement on the ProPride, only saying I'm skeptical of his example. I'd be more impressed if he'd added a "trailer" and picked up the water bottle with the "trailer." He needs to apply the load where it's actually occurring.

I'm typically a skeptical person myself, but the ProPride works. I know this from experience. I went back to an Equalizer because I needed a hitch that could relatively easily be used on different trailers. The ProPride requires a significant amount of time to install with many of the components bolted to the truck. With the Equalizer, I can simply remove 4 bolts on the sway brackets and then bolt them to different trailers. As long as the trailers are very close to the same height (the ones I use it on are) and have roughly similar tongue weights (they do) its a 5 minute process. I heavily considered keeping my ProPride because it worked so well and I'm sure I'll end up going back to one some day, but it just didn't make financial sense for me at the time to keep $1500 tied up in a hitch I wouldn't likely be using for several years. I actually used the ProPride to bring a TT home during a massive snow/ice storm once. About 500 miles of really nasty roads. All types of vehicles including semis in the ditches the whole way. There is absolutely NO WAY you could have traveled that with a friction type system. The friction works by attempting to lock you into place- not good for making maneuvers on slippery surfaces. I just took it nice and easy with the ProPride. Only had 1 scary moment where I lost traction on a slight up hill slope with a gentle curve when I first started getting into the bad stuff. Went to 4WD, kept speed at ~45 and had no more trouble. The 4WD played a huge role in maintaining stability as well by placing power to the steer axle.

[325BH]

I don't doubt the anti-sway ability of the propride/hensley hitches. Here are issues I have with them:
Cost -self explanatory
Complexity - they are a lot more complex and have more things to break which can leave you stranded (if something breaks on a standard WD system, you can still tow -- the ball/coupler are separate from the WD design)
Hitch-up/hitch-unhook is a lot more difficult, ESPECIALLY on uneven ground. I routinely have my truck and trailer at different pitch, roll and yaw angles when the trailer is placed in its spot.
A LOT of stress on the linkages.
A LOT more things to break.

The existing ball-and-coupler is a pretty rock-solid design. A properly matched TV, along with a properly sized traditional WD system is fine.

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

In the ProPride example, he puts all the forces on the TV side of the hitch, NOT on the TT side. The forces causing sway are almost always applied to the TT, not the TV. So I'm not passing judgement on the ProPride, only saying I'm skeptical of his example. I'd be more impressed if he'd added a "trailer" and picked up the water bottle with the "trailer." He needs to apply the load where it's actually occurring.

What the demo really shows is that the trailer stays rigidly straight behind the TV because the trailer cannot induce a pivot at the hitch. The geometry of the hitch allows only the truck to induce a turn. If the trailer tries to sway (the force), it has to make the entire TV slide sideways with the pivot point being the center of the trailer axles. Think about what would happen if the PP model was used in the trailer sway demo.
I have seen a post where the person said they towed a trailer with zero tongue weight and no sway occurring. Guy said this was a mistake, not a recommendation. Are there many folks who would knowingly do the same with a conventional hitch?

Originally Posted by dustman_stx

I went back to an Equalizer because I needed a hitch that could relatively easily be used on different trailers. The ProPride requires a significant amount of time to install with many of the components bolted to the truck.

I think dustman_stx misspoke. Nothing is bolted to the truck. There are a number of components bolted onto the trailer though. So yes, it is more work to move the hitch to a different trailer on a regular basis. On the TV side, there is only the stinger that slides into the receiver just like a ball hitch.
Installing the hitch takes about 2 hours.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by SailorSam20500

I think dustman_stx misspoke. Nothing is bolted to the truck. There are a number of components bolted onto the trailer though. So yes, it is more work to move the hitch to a different trailer on a regular basis. On the TV side, there is only the stinger that slides into the receiver just like a ball hitch.
Installing the hitch takes about 2 hours.

I did. Meant trailer. Thanks for catching that.

[llr]

Originally Posted by CamperJo

The Equilizer seems to be a very popular choice. I did see a Blue Ox locally in Craiglist with pictures. Looks barely used and is going for $300.

I would be sure it is the later version of the sway pro, not sure all the changes but the later version has a fixed head angle

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by 325BH

I don't doubt the anti-sway ability of the propride/hensley hitches. Here are issues I have with them:
Cost -self explanatory
Complexity - they are a lot more complex and have more things to break which can leave you stranded (if something breaks on a standard WD system, you can still tow -- the ball/coupler are separate from the WD design)
Hitch-up/hitch-unhook is a lot more difficult, ESPECIALLY on uneven ground. I routinely have my truck and trailer at different pitch, roll and yaw angles when the trailer is placed in its spot.
A LOT of stress on the linkages.
A LOT more things to break.

The existing ball-and-coupler is a pretty rock-solid design. A properly matched TV, along with a properly sized traditional WD system is fine.

You are correct about the cost and the complexity. However, if you've seen one of these things in person you'll be amazed at how beefy they are. The TV is very complex as well, but we typically trust those complex components to work because of the engineering that went into them. I had complete confidence in my ProPride. If they were prone to problems and breakage, I have no doubt that the Airstream crowd would have abandoned them long ago. As for hitching and unhitching- it's actually very simple even when on very uneven ground. After a few attempts, anyone with even a modicum of engineering savvy can figure out how the WD jacks on the system affect the orientation of the head and adjust accordingly. There were a few minor modifications that I did make to mine that should be incorporated into the design and/or suggested. First, the WD jacks need a better bracket system to keep them from pulling outward under high WD loads. The U-bolts will bend. There are some plates that PP offers, but these would not work on my application. In addition, something other than powder coat needs to be applied to the stinger, IMHO. The only issue I had was that the stinger would stick in the head and had to be lubed to avoid this. But then you had to deal with the lubrication on the stinger, which would be nice to avoid. Maybe chrome plating the portion of the stinger that goes into the head? At least something that doesn't cling together like 2 painted/powder coated surfaces seem to.

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by wrvond

The truck also has electronic sway control.

After watching this video of tests on sway, I've elected to disable my truck's anti-sway while towing. I decided not to use the electronic controller that is tested on the trailer due to worries about the electronics failing when I need them.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVlXlbU38zA

[WolfWhistle]

Originally Posted by Scotty

I loved the Andersen for weight and ease of operation. Absolutely no sway. My issue was I was unable to transfer weight back to the front. I lost 420 lbs on the nose due to tongue weight. That put my tongue weight at 1,300+. The TV handle and steered ok, but I didn't like the heavy tongue with a 1200+max class IV hitch. Therefore, sold the Andersen , purchased the Blue OX and now I have the front back within 1/4" of unhooked and my Tongue Weight is at 1,120. Happy camper with the Blue Ox. Not knocking the Andersen just didn't do what I wanted.

I've heard that before and I don't doubt what you said. I'm pulling with a 2500 Ram CTD 2WD and I absolutely can put the front end height back to where it was before hooking up... or even lower, granted I lift the truck rear high and crank enough turns into the adjusting nuts that it takes. It is so easy to readjust for bike or no bike... I had a Reese Dual-Cam... It worked well dialed in, but with or without bike required readjusting and that isn't fun or easy.
WW

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by SailorSam20500

After watching this video of tests on sway, I've elected to disable my truck's anti-sway while towing. I decided not to use the electronic controller that is tested on the trailer due to worries about the electronics failing when I need them.

This video did not convince me to disable the truck's anti-sway. They ran a trailer that was clearly loaded incorrectly (no tongue weight) and had no friction sway control. (And while they didn't dwell on it, that tank of water, which I think they said was 2250 lbs, or about 260 gal, was free to slide back and forth, which isn't realistic on most TT's (unless you routinely travel with a 1/2 full fresh water tank, which still isn't close to that kind of weight sloshing around). While it wasn't pretty, the truck DID deal with the sway, near as I could tell. So I figure with my tongue loaded correctly, only a few gallons in my FW tank, and my Equalizer WDH with sway control, I'll be happy to let the truck's anti-sway make up any additional help that may be needed.

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

This video did not convince me to disable the truck's anti-sway. They ran a trailer that was clearly loaded incorrectly (no tongue weight) and had no friction sway control. (And while they didn't dwell on it, that tank of water, which I think they said was 2250 lbs, or about 260 gal, was free to slide back and forth, which isn't realistic on most TT's (unless you routinely travel with a 1/2 full fresh water tank, which still isn't close to that kind of weight sloshing around). While it wasn't pretty, the truck DID deal with the sway, near as I could tell. So I figure with my tongue loaded correctly, only a few gallons in my FW tank, and my Equalizer WDH with sway control, I'll be happy to let the truck's anti-sway make up any additional help that may be needed.

Got basically the same answer to a similar post on another forum. What worries me is how violent the truck anti-sway can be. If you start to get sway and are on a slightly slick surface (first rain after a long dry spell for instance). Could the trucks response make things worse? If my DW is driving, would the truck suddenly braking cause her to panic (heck, would it cause ME to panic!)?

I thought the electronic brake gizmo added to the trailer provided a much more controlled response. But, I;ve had enough issues with electronics failing when I needed them, that I don't want to put that level of confidence in them. That Murphy guy visits me way too often.

Anyway, need to keep thinking about this and watching reports.

[W5CI]

The Equalizer 4 Point is the way to go IMHO

[david_reaves]

I'm very happy with my Reece 12,000/1200 WDH with dual-cam sway control. I pull a Windjammer 3001W (under 9000 lbs loaded) with a Ram 3500 single rear wheel, 6.4 L Hemi. Works very well.