Connecting with a Hensley Arrow Towing System is different than
connecting to a traditional ball hitch. Here are the procedures that Hensley
Manufacturing recommends. Additional user comments follow.
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Hensley Arrow
Towing System Hook-Up: |
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Hensley Arrow
Towing System Unhooking: |
Hensley Arrow Towing System Hook-Up:
The Official Instructions
(from the Adobe Acrobat online version of The Hensley Arrow
Installation and Operation Manual)*
1. With the hitch bar (also called the draw bar) pinned in the tow vehicle,
back toward the travel trailer as if you were going to make an attempt to
hook-up. Stop about 18 inches from the hitch box.
2. After placing your tow vehicle in Park, observe the angle at which
the hitch bar is sticking out from the tow vehicle.
3. After you have observed this angle, remove the hitch bar from the vehicle
and place it into the hitch box on the travel trailer. Secure it with the
over-center latches. Observe that angle.
4. The goal is to have both angles matching or mirroring each other.
Remembering the angle sticking out of the tow vehicle, maneuver the angle of
the hitch box by tensioning or untensioning the spring bars with the spring bar
jacks. (This is like maneuvering a wheelbarrow. Your arms are the jack and the
wheelbarrow handles are the spring bars.)
5. Once you see the hitch box angle matches the angle from the tow vehicle,
remove the hitch bar from the hitch box on the travel trailer and replace it in
the tow vehicle, pinning it securely in place.
6. Back up toward the travel trailer again. This time stop 3-4 inches from the
hitch box and adjust the height of the hitch box opening by moving the travel
trailer tongue jack up or down. Center the hitch bar in the opening.
7. Back the hitch bar into the hitch box. Don't be afraid to be somewhat
aggressive.
8. Finish the connection by camming the hitch bar securely into place with the
over-center latches. Install the safety keys, connect the safety cable, safety
chain, and electrical cord.
9. Engage weight distribution of your towing position by tensioning the spring
bars using the spring bar jacks. Also use the height indicator marks on the
jacks, making sure both sides are equal height for towing.
10. Raise the tongue jack of the travel trailer completely up and out of the
way. Put away tools and unchock wheels.
Hensley Arrow Towing System
Unhooking: The Official Instructions
(from the Adobe Acrobat online version of The Hensley Arrow
Installation and Operation Manual)*
1. Chock the travel trailer tires.
2. Put the travel trailer tongue jack down, raising the travel trailer enough
to take the tongue weight of the trailer off the tow vehicle. (This can be
measured before hooking up or could be the measurement given when the hitch was
ordered - measurement from the ground to the top inside of the 2-inch receiver
on the tow vehicle - trailer not hooked up and vehicle running).
3. Start untensioning the spring bar jacks, As you untension them, you will see
the spring bars become "sloppy loose." As you continue untensioning,
the spring bars will start to tighten (this is reverse tensioning). Stop
when you see this tightening start to occur. (We call this process of
untensioning "sloppy loose plus a little bit further".) This
will take into account any angles between your vehicle and the travel trailer
(side to side/front to back).
4. Disconnect electrical cord, safety cable and safety chains. Remove safety
keys and open the over-center latches.
5. Straighten wheels and pull away from the travel trailer. Level trailer for
sleeping and refrigeration.
More Hitch Hints from Hensley
Manufacturing
(from the Adobe Acrobat online version of The Hensley Arrow
Installation and Operation Manual)*
Since not all campground have pull-through lots and sites are unlevel, this
section will give you tips on dealing with the phenomenon of hooking and
unhooking at unusual angles.
The following little exercise will help you better understand hooking and
unhooking with the Hensley Arrow and why we compare the jacks like two arms and
the spring bars like wheelbarrow handles.
Do this procedure without the tow vehicle by putting the hitch bar in the hitch
box and fastening the over-center latches on each side. (Not hooked up to tow
vehicle)
- Fully extend jacks.
- Tension one side all the way
up watching the angle changes of the hitch bar.
- Tension the other side all
the way up noting further angle changes.
This will give you an idea of
how the jack/spring bar combination will hold the hitch head at the same angle
you unhooked from.
Some Additional User Tips for
Hooking Up
(not from The Hensley Arrow
Installation and Operation Manual)
(last updated on September
11, 2003)
Owners have expressed frustrations at their first attempts to hook up to a
Hensley Arrow. With experience, most people eventually become experts. Here are
some user tips that should reduce the learning curve for newbies.
1. Develop a sighting system to get a view of how your tow vehicle is lining up
with the Arrow's hitch box as you are backing up. The reflective surface of an
open rear window can help. Or...
- Use a large, adjustable
convex mirror on the back of the tow vehicle, like the Hitch Align, to
help out. (Large convex mirrors can also be purchased at truck stop
stores, like Flying J, and with a little cleverness can be adapted for
this use. Remember, that when using a mirror true depth perception is
lost.)
- Or use 2 magnetic-base-mounted
alignment sticks. One alignment stick goes on the Arrow's hitch box, the
other stick goes onto the Arrow's draw bar. (Circle magnets, into which
a dowel can fit, can be purchased at Radio Shack. Glue a pair of them
together for stability. Paint the ends of the dowels a bright color for
visibility.)
- Or, while already hooked up,
place a vertical strip of tape down the back window of the tow vehicle and
another strip of tape on the front of the trailer. The trick is that these
two strips should superimpose exactly when viewed through the rear window.
At future hook-ups, the driver should try to visually align the two strips
while backing up.
2. Paint the end of the draw
bar and the edges of the hitch box opening white (or some bright, contrasting
color) to improve their visibility as targets when backing up with a mirror.
3. Lay out an open yellow steel measuring tape in a straight line directly
front of the hitch. With the use of a good mirror, this will provide a very
handy, straight count-down target to the hitch when backing up.
4. If there is a helper guiding the driver of the tow vehicle while backing up
for a connection, be sure that there is a pre-arranged system of hand signals.
A pair of family radios will also reduce the shouting (and short tempers)
between driver and helper.
5. The Spring 2001 issue of the Hensley newsletter, On Target, includes
an item about a new product called the Hitch-Eze. It is a wooden version of the
Hensley Arrow's tapered draw bar. It is intended to be used in steps 3, 4, and 5
of Hensley Manufacturing's Hook-Up Instructions. It replaces the need to move
the actual, heavy, steel draw bar between the tow vehicle, trailer, and back
again while checking for alignment. The wooden bar can be purchased through
Hensley Manufacturing for $25.
6. Use BAL Products' Tongue
Twister device to easily adjust the side-to-side position of the hitch box
when making your final corrections. The trailer tongue jack should be seated on
the Tongue Twister - in the midway adjustment screw position. (As a bonus,
the 3/4" ratchet wrench that comes with the Tongue Twister can also be
used on the Arrow's jack post tensioning screw. Even cooler...use a cordless
drill with an adapter for a 3/4" socket for these chores.)
Hensley Manufacturing sells this product directly as The Hitch Helper.
7. Some people liberally spray the draw bar and the inside of the hitch box
with lubricant to ease the connection and disconnection. *Caution: Roy
Fowler has sent me the following warning: "Please be advised that WD-40 is
not a lubricant. It is a penetrant, solvent, and will substitute for starting
fluid and works well for that. When WD-40 dries, it will become a gummy sticky
film. Read the entire label, nowhere will you find the words lubricates/lubricant."
8. If the hitch bar doesn't seat all the way in, you can use the
over-center-latch wrench to pull it in with the locking cams. Remove the wheel
chocks from in front of the TT's wheels so you can pull the TT right into the
hitch.
9. Most of all, these tips will be of little value if you are not already
following the factory-recommended procedures and hints posted above, especially
the complete untensioning of the jacks when disconnecting.
* The Hensley Arrow Installation and
Operation Manual is available for download from Hensley Manufacturing's web
site. You will need Adobe Acrobat to read it. Beware that the visual quality of
the manual is poor, especially the photographs.