RE: NOISEY HENSLEY ARROW
The only reason I say don't get too aggressive is that I have bent tongue jack shafts with that whole aggressive thing... On the other hand, if the hitch is aligned properly, the stinger will glide right into the receiver with little effort...
Just trying to share my mistakes before it happens to you :W
Les
PS - there is a post on page 1 from last night (actually July 4th at 2:58AM!!! WOW - don't you ever sleep!! :W :B
Nope, I'm a night owl! I know what you meant by being too aggressive. I've also struggled getting the hitch bar aligned properly. getting better though! thanks for the replies.
RE: NOISEY HENSLEY ARROW
Sounds like you might have it... My bet would be on the w/d bars where they go into the head... There is a lot of pressure at that point when the bars are tightened up and that may have been the source...
I spray a bit of silicon lube on the stinger and into the square portion of the hitch when hooking up - this seems to do it for me... You should NOT have to be very aggressive when backing into the hitch... If you are having to do that, you are not lined up properly...
I step back away from my hitch and "eyeball" it for alignment... Stepping back and kneeling down and looking can give you the proper perspective on alignment...
Hope the grease has solved your problem...
Les
I don't know what happened to my post from last night, I don't see it. I greased the wedges and re-greased where the bars go into the hitch head. I don't think I hooked up properly the last time I towed when I heard the noise. I remember the stinger being pulled in some when I latched the OCL's. Also, my OCL's have been a little difficult for me. Sometimes to tight, sometimes to loose. Last night when I hooked up they were just right, like a vice grip. The Hensley instructions tell you to not be afraid to be "somewhat aggressive" when backing the stinger into the hitch head. last night I didn't back up real fast on hook up, just gave it a small extra shot once the stinger was in. I felt it go further in than before. I towed for an hour last night and no noise. I'm guessing proper greasing and hook-up did the trick.
RE: NOISEY HENSLEY ARROW
OK, hoping to solve the noise problem, I believe I did. Before hooking up, I greased the wedges on the stinger. Thinking back during hook up for the trip on which I heard the noise, I don't think I was aggressive enough when backing the stinger into the hitch head. I now remember when I engaged the OCL's, the stinger slid in a little more once they were secured. Tonight, I was definitely more aggressive and got the stinger all the way in. I've also been struggling with the OCL's somewhat in past hook ups. Sometimes they were very hard to latch, sometimes too easy. I always had to either turn them in or out in order to get them to latch. This time they actually felt like a vice grip. Possibly, the OCL's being to hard to latch during prior hook ups was due to not having the stinger far enough into the hitch head. Finally, I greased the bars through the zerk fittings until the grease came out of the bottom where they enter. I did this at initial installation, perhaps it was time to re-grease. I did clean off alot of dirty grease from the outside, around the bars where they enter the hitch head. It may be possible that the initial grease had worked its way out of the hitch head. Anyway, I towed it for an hour and the hitch absolutely made zero noise. I don't know if it was one thing I did or a combination of all of them. I'm new to the hensley, so, guess I need to keep up on the reccomandations of applying grease and re-tightening it. Thanks for the helpful inputs.
RE: Adjusting Equalizer hitch for new TV
Wheelbase most definately come in to play. We're talking leverage, and distance on both sides of the pivot point are part of the equation.---Since you mentioned equations --
When the coupler is placed on the ball, the load removed from the TV's front axle is approximately: L = TW*OH/WB
where TW = tongue weight, OH is ball overhang (distance from TV's rear axle to ball), and WB = TV's wheelbase.
For the Titan: L1 = TW*OH1/140
For the F-150: L2 = TW*OH2/157
Then we have to select a criterion for adjusting the WDH. Let's assume we want to adjust the WDH so it restores 100% of the load which was removed from the front axle.
The load restoration is approximately: R = WDF*BL/TTD*(OH+TTD)/WB
where WDF is the combined downward force exerted by the WD bars against the A-frame, BL is the effective length of the WD bars, and TTD is the distance from ball to midpoint between TT's axles.
For the Titan: R1 = WDF1*BL/TTD*(OH1+TTD)/140
For the F-150: R2 = WDF2*BL/TTD*(OH2+TTD)/157
Since we assume the restored load will be equal to the removed load, we have R1 = L1 and R2 = L2. That gives
WDF1*BL/TTD*(OH1+TTD)/140 = TW*OH1/140, and
WDF2*BL/TTD*(OH2+TTD)/157 = TW*OH2/157
A little bit of algebra simplifies the above to:
WDF2/WDF1 = {OH2/OH1}*{(OH1+TTD)/(OH2+TTD)}
If you replace OH1, OH2, and TTD with any realistic values for the OP's TVs and TT, you should see that there is relatively little difference in the theoretical values of WD bar force required for the two TV's. And, what difference there is, does not depend on TV wheelbase.
Ron
Thanks for the Algerbra problem! LOL!
RE: NOISEY HENSLEY ARROW
Thanks for the replies. I don't know when the noise started. I only had my truck window down so I could enter the gate code at the rv storage facility, that's when I first heard it. I first heard the noise when pulling away after the gate opened. It was a constant screeching/grinding kind of noise. It reminded me of my Equalizer hitch when it would make noises while turning. I haven't had time to check it out yet, but, I'm going to grease the the bars where they enter the hitch head, grease the pivot points of the jacks, and re-tighten everything. Guess that's all I can do. I already visually looked it over and all seems to be in place.
Just got off the phone with the Hensley tech department. They seriously doubt it's the hitch that's making the noise, to which I agree. They seem to think it is something on the trailer itself, i.e, brakes, bearings, etc. I don't know how long the noise was going on or when it started. I was comming home from a trip that was all highway miles, only stopped for gas, so I didn't hear anything during the trip. I couldn't isolate it after getting home because I was by myself, only heard it from the drivers seat while driving. Guess I need to hook up the trailer and have some one walk beside me and see if they can tell where the noise is comming from.
RE: NOISEY HENSLEY ARROW
Thanks for the replies. I don't know when the noise started. I only had my truck window down so I could enter the gate code at the rv storage facility, that's when I first heard it. I first heard the noise when pulling away after the gate opened. It was a constant screeching/grinding kind of noise. It reminded me of my Equalizer hitch when it would make noises while turning. I haven't had time to check it out yet, but, I'm going to grease the the bars where they enter the hitch head, grease the pivot points of the jacks, and re-tighten everything. Guess that's all I can do. I already visually looked it over and all seems to be in place.
NOISEY HENSLEY ARROW
Just did my 4th trip towing with the Hensley Arrow. Hadn't had any issues at all until I pulled the toy hauler back to the storage facility to put it away. I stopped at the gate to enter the security code, when I took off, there was a horrible screaching noise comming from the hitch. This continued for 100 feet or so until I stopped again. This noise continued all the way to un-hitching. has anyone had this issue with their Hensley Arrow? Maybe time to re-grease the bars where they attach to the hitch head? Re-grease the ball? Any information/hints are appreciated!
