It has come to our attention that misrepresentations of Hensley Mfg. and, specifically, the Hensley Arrow anti-sway towing system, are showing up in various forums and websites on the internet. While we understand and respect the opinions expressed by others, we have also come to realize that the internet is a breeding ground for a new form of marketing. Using the anonymity of the internet, some competitors are distributing misinformation in attempts to malign companies like Hensley Mfg., who have a well-established reputation in the marketplace and engage in only upfront, honest methods of marketing. Please be advised that people you talk to on the internet are often competitors under false names trying to promote their own product.
It has also come to our attention that a former employee of Hensley Mfg., who was released from our employment two years ago, has a hitch design, once owned by Hensley Mfg., and is attempting to market it, using the methods described above, as a “new” Hensley design.
That is a false statement. The design referred to is under U.S. Patent No. 5,660,409. The patent was filed in 1998 and the rights purchased by Hensley Mfg. After ten years, we were unable to find an effective solution to a number of inherent problems with this design, so we relinquished our rights to the patent back to the inventor, James Hensley. The purpose of this “new” design can be best expressed in Mr. Hensley’s own words, as found in the patent documents:
“My trailer hitch assembly, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,542 (Hensley Arrow), provides a trailer hitch, which allows a trailer to be towed without significant swaying or fishing tailing by effectively placing the pivot axis forwardly of its location, and while being capable of accommodating sharp turns. Although my previous trailer hitch works well for its intend purposes, it sometimes exhibits limited applications. For example, the hitch (Hensley Arrow) works exceedingly well in larger, heavier trailers, for example camping trailers. These larger camping trailers generally employ their own brakes, usually electric brakes associated with the trailer wheels that are simultaneously actuated when the driver actuates the tow vehicle brakes.”
The “new” design for the Hensley hitch was intended to be used with trailers employing surge brakes. While promising for the surge brake market, the design never panned out because of the problems involved with the yoke-style mounting system. In addition, the market for an anti-sway hitch in the surge brake market (primarily boat trailers) is not large enough to support production of such a system.
Marketing Mr. Hensley’s new design to the RV industry was quickly thrown out because a simple change of mounting configuration was not an improvement, did not simplify the operation of the hitch, nor did it save manufacturing cost. To market such a devise as “new and improved” would have been disingenuous to our customers. Hensley Mfg. still maintains that the Hensley Arrow is the absolute best and safest way to tow a travel trailer. After 15 years, no other hitch manufacturer has found an improvement. Hensley Mfg., in fact, is constantly researching new designs for improving trailer safety.
We should also note that James Hensley was never actively involved in design work for Hensley Mfg. The company bought the manufacturing rights for his patent, then designed the hitch around his idea to make it reliable and safe for the customer. The design of the Hensley Arrow is credited to Robert Hillman, who is still active with our company.
We appreciate the continued support of our customers around the world. We will continue to provide the highest quality products available and offer world class customer support, as we have done for 15 years. In fact, we have answered the demand for a htich for small trailers. We call it the Cub. Give us a call at 800-410-6580 if you'd like more information on it or the original Hensley Arrow. Remember: if it's not Orange, it's not a Hensley!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Evolution of the Perfect Hitch
Hensley Mfg. has now been in existence for 15 years. That's quite an accomplishment for any company, especially one tied to the RV industry. We have tens of thousands of loyal customers, and they often ask how all this got started. After all, it's an unusual design and it must have caused quite a stir when first introduced.
It did.
The original idea for the Arrow came from a man named Jim Hensley. Jim is a self-taught inventor who understood a basic physics concept called a 4-bar linkage system. Think of a trapezoid with all 4 points in motion. Lock down two of the points, and you can control the motion. That's a simple explanation. If you want to hear the whole thing, call me and I'll be happy to bore you into a coma.
Jim built a few hitches based on his idea, but had problems with the design, not to mention the marketing. One day a friend introduced him to Colin Connell, a man who had just bought a 24' Starcraft and was terrified by the way the trailer fishtailed behind his Lincoln Towncar. Colin tried Mr. Hensley's hitch, knew right away it was a brilliant idea, and purchassed the manufacturing rights.
You see, Colin wasn't just a guy with a trailer. He was an entrepreneur and a man who had spent most of his life in the machine tool industry in Michigan. He knew the hitch was pretty good, but he also knew, with the right people, he could make it better. After finding investors, some of who happened to be engineers, he completely re-designed the Hensley hitch, named it the Arrow, and set about producing and marketing the safest hitch in towing history.
Since then, Hensley Mfg. has considered different designs. The most notable was a yoke system, where the hitch is held in place by a single member attached under the center of the A-frame. That was ten years ago. It seemed like a good idea, but produced more problems than it solved. In fact, even if it had worked, we realized that all we did was change the mounting location. Big deal. There was no improvement in performance. See? Even in a successful company, there are moments when you realize you spent a lot of time on something that really wouldn't have improved the product or reduced the cost. So much for the yoke system.
We also tried an adjustable hitch bar. Which worked great (all 50lbs. of it) until the safety chains caught on the extra length and just about destroyed the hitch. The solid hitch with the free exchange program is still the best way to go.
We've tried reducing the weight, which was partially successful in that we came up with a lighter hitch (the Cub) for smaller trailers, but we found that the big trailers still needed a lot of steel to meet our durability standards.
We've even considered electric spring bar jacks. But it would be cheaper to sell a cordless drill with each hitch with a socket driver to raise and lower the jacks.
Okay, I've talked enough. I love this company and the people I get to meet, so I spend a bit too much time talking about it. And, of course, I have a trailer and an Arrow on the front. I wouldn't have it any other way.
It did.
The original idea for the Arrow came from a man named Jim Hensley. Jim is a self-taught inventor who understood a basic physics concept called a 4-bar linkage system. Think of a trapezoid with all 4 points in motion. Lock down two of the points, and you can control the motion. That's a simple explanation. If you want to hear the whole thing, call me and I'll be happy to bore you into a coma.
Jim built a few hitches based on his idea, but had problems with the design, not to mention the marketing. One day a friend introduced him to Colin Connell, a man who had just bought a 24' Starcraft and was terrified by the way the trailer fishtailed behind his Lincoln Towncar. Colin tried Mr. Hensley's hitch, knew right away it was a brilliant idea, and purchassed the manufacturing rights.
You see, Colin wasn't just a guy with a trailer. He was an entrepreneur and a man who had spent most of his life in the machine tool industry in Michigan. He knew the hitch was pretty good, but he also knew, with the right people, he could make it better. After finding investors, some of who happened to be engineers, he completely re-designed the Hensley hitch, named it the Arrow, and set about producing and marketing the safest hitch in towing history.
Since then, Hensley Mfg. has considered different designs. The most notable was a yoke system, where the hitch is held in place by a single member attached under the center of the A-frame. That was ten years ago. It seemed like a good idea, but produced more problems than it solved. In fact, even if it had worked, we realized that all we did was change the mounting location. Big deal. There was no improvement in performance. See? Even in a successful company, there are moments when you realize you spent a lot of time on something that really wouldn't have improved the product or reduced the cost. So much for the yoke system.
We also tried an adjustable hitch bar. Which worked great (all 50lbs. of it) until the safety chains caught on the extra length and just about destroyed the hitch. The solid hitch with the free exchange program is still the best way to go.
We've tried reducing the weight, which was partially successful in that we came up with a lighter hitch (the Cub) for smaller trailers, but we found that the big trailers still needed a lot of steel to meet our durability standards.
We've even considered electric spring bar jacks. But it would be cheaper to sell a cordless drill with each hitch with a socket driver to raise and lower the jacks.
Okay, I've talked enough. I love this company and the people I get to meet, so I spend a bit too much time talking about it. And, of course, I have a trailer and an Arrow on the front. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Unhooking your Hensley on Unlevel Ground
Campsites are rarely level with the road. You'll often find that your truck wheels are still on the paved road when your trailer is level and exactly where you want it. Though the angle on the tow vehicle may not seem great, that inch or two difference between the front and back of the vehicle makes a big difference when unhooking.In order to unhook your Hensley Arrow or Cub, you must take the weight of the trailer off your truck. Sometimes it's a bit tricky to determine when the weight is off your truck on uneven ground.Here's a neat trick: When you're ready to unhook, lower your tongue jack until the weight of the trailer just begins to come off the truck. Loosen your spring bars until they're "sloppy loose," then continue raising the trailer tongue while watching the point where the hitch bar goes into the truck receiver. When you see the hitch bar shift, you know that the weight is off the truck (you can also hold your finger on this point to feel the hitchbar shift). Loosen your spring bars again and continue the unhitching process.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Towing With a Hensley Arrow
Let me start out with this disclaimer: I'm an engineer, not a salesman. If I can't prove through the laws of physics that a product will work, I ain't buyin'. And neither should you.
I've been towing with the Hensley Arrow on my trailer for ten years now. I've been with the company for two. The first time I saw it, I identified it as a simple 4-bar linkage system with two fixed points, which eliminate the freedom neccessary to enable a trailer to initiate the pivot.
Simple enough?
Okay, maybe not.
Let's put it this way: if you pushed the side of a Hensley equipped trailer with a bulldozer, the trailer wouldn't pivot. The tow vehicle and trailer would move as a unit. However, the tow vehicle can initiate at will. No friction involved. It's truly amazing, but quite provable. No miracles, just physics.
If the bulldozer image doesn't sink in, just think of it as a tool like any other. Ratchet wrenches work in one direction, not the other. Not quite the same, but easy to visualize.
The truth is no other hitch company can claim to eliminate sway, just dampen it with the use of friction or some sort of resistant force. Friction, of course, works both ways. The tow vehicle has to struggle to turn or regain control because friction impedes the freedom to turn. Don't buy it. Trailer sway is the number one cause of RV accidents. Trailer sway should be eliminated, not dampened. It's like a doctor telling you that he can dampen the effects of your terminal disease. I'll take the doc who can cure it.
Sway is the disease. Hensley Arrow is the cure.
See ya next month.
I've been towing with the Hensley Arrow on my trailer for ten years now. I've been with the company for two. The first time I saw it, I identified it as a simple 4-bar linkage system with two fixed points, which eliminate the freedom neccessary to enable a trailer to initiate the pivot.
Simple enough?
Okay, maybe not.
Let's put it this way: if you pushed the side of a Hensley equipped trailer with a bulldozer, the trailer wouldn't pivot. The tow vehicle and trailer would move as a unit. However, the tow vehicle can initiate at will. No friction involved. It's truly amazing, but quite provable. No miracles, just physics.
If the bulldozer image doesn't sink in, just think of it as a tool like any other. Ratchet wrenches work in one direction, not the other. Not quite the same, but easy to visualize.
The truth is no other hitch company can claim to eliminate sway, just dampen it with the use of friction or some sort of resistant force. Friction, of course, works both ways. The tow vehicle has to struggle to turn or regain control because friction impedes the freedom to turn. Don't buy it. Trailer sway is the number one cause of RV accidents. Trailer sway should be eliminated, not dampened. It's like a doctor telling you that he can dampen the effects of your terminal disease. I'll take the doc who can cure it.
Sway is the disease. Hensley Arrow is the cure.
See ya next month.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Don't Fear the New Year
If one word can define the state of the world at the onset of 2008, it's this: Yikes!
It almost seems absurd to even consider buying a new house, car, or an RV. After all, we seem to be on the cusp of all sorts of political and economic terrors. As the campaign season unrolls, we'll certainly be hit with many a "fact" that proves we're on the verge of a) recession, b) an energy crisis, or c) total extinction.
Forgive my eternal optimism, but I have much higher expectations of a country that has gone through 2 world wars, a depression, and Al Franken. Negativity has a way of spreading like a disease, and our media seems perfectly happy to act as the carrier.
We are not on the verge of economic collapse. Probably not even a mild recession. There are people a lot smarter than me who can expalin why, go visit their blog if you need more detail. My own economic theory consists of this: people will not go backward. Given a problem, they'll overcome it and improve their lives. We have this uncanny desire to be happy and will usually find a way to achieve it.
Which brings me to the RV industry. The buzzword in this business is "gas prices." Yes, gas is higher than it's ever been and will likely go higher. What does this mean to those of us who enjoy the nomadic lifestyle? Pretty much the same as it does when gas hit $1 a gallon, then $2. The same is it will when it hits $10 a gallon. We're not about to build barns and fill them with horses, so we'll learn to adapt. We'll budget. By the way, anyone who thinks traveling by horse is cheaper has never owned a horse.
Sometimes it takes a leap of faith to plow forward with our dreams and desires, uncertainty hanging over our heads like an ugly campaign season. But it's what we've been doing for the last 40 generations. No one has ever lived the perfect, care-free life. Yet we're living a much happier and healthier lifestyle than ever before. That's because our ancestors didn't give up hope. Neither can we.
Don't get me wrong, don't go spending your money like a grandmother in December. But don't give up the things you love, either. RVing has been around for a long time (covered wagons count). I have faith that it will be around for a long, long time.
Happy (and I do mean Happy) New Year.
It almost seems absurd to even consider buying a new house, car, or an RV. After all, we seem to be on the cusp of all sorts of political and economic terrors. As the campaign season unrolls, we'll certainly be hit with many a "fact" that proves we're on the verge of a) recession, b) an energy crisis, or c) total extinction.
Forgive my eternal optimism, but I have much higher expectations of a country that has gone through 2 world wars, a depression, and Al Franken. Negativity has a way of spreading like a disease, and our media seems perfectly happy to act as the carrier.
We are not on the verge of economic collapse. Probably not even a mild recession. There are people a lot smarter than me who can expalin why, go visit their blog if you need more detail. My own economic theory consists of this: people will not go backward. Given a problem, they'll overcome it and improve their lives. We have this uncanny desire to be happy and will usually find a way to achieve it.
Which brings me to the RV industry. The buzzword in this business is "gas prices." Yes, gas is higher than it's ever been and will likely go higher. What does this mean to those of us who enjoy the nomadic lifestyle? Pretty much the same as it does when gas hit $1 a gallon, then $2. The same is it will when it hits $10 a gallon. We're not about to build barns and fill them with horses, so we'll learn to adapt. We'll budget. By the way, anyone who thinks traveling by horse is cheaper has never owned a horse.
Sometimes it takes a leap of faith to plow forward with our dreams and desires, uncertainty hanging over our heads like an ugly campaign season. But it's what we've been doing for the last 40 generations. No one has ever lived the perfect, care-free life. Yet we're living a much happier and healthier lifestyle than ever before. That's because our ancestors didn't give up hope. Neither can we.
Don't get me wrong, don't go spending your money like a grandmother in December. But don't give up the things you love, either. RVing has been around for a long time (covered wagons count). I have faith that it will be around for a long, long time.
Happy (and I do mean Happy) New Year.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Mr. October
October has always been my favorite month. Here in Michigan, there is no better time. Oddly enough, it's a lousy time to be in the RV business. The northerners are through camping and have visions of snowblowers dancing in there heads. The snowbirds are still in a state of denial that it is time, yet again, to point their rigs south.
So we write blogs.
To be honest, I'd forgotten that we'd set this up. I'm glad we did. Now I can vent.
Why am I not camping? What's wrong with me? My trailer sits patitently next to the house. The Hensley Arrow is wearing its hitch cover (the boss hates it when I call it a hitch cozy). The air is crisp, made for nighttime cuddling. The deer are in rut and always in abundance. The ducks have gotten a head start on the snowbirds.
And here I sit. Staring at a computer monitor while the office phones are woefully silent.
Plenty of time. More Octobers are coming. Right.
Let us make a vow, my friends, to not let another autumn slip through our grasp while we plan next year's camping trips. Take a weekend. Take a day, even. Embrace the fall.
So we write blogs.
To be honest, I'd forgotten that we'd set this up. I'm glad we did. Now I can vent.
Why am I not camping? What's wrong with me? My trailer sits patitently next to the house. The Hensley Arrow is wearing its hitch cover (the boss hates it when I call it a hitch cozy). The air is crisp, made for nighttime cuddling. The deer are in rut and always in abundance. The ducks have gotten a head start on the snowbirds.
And here I sit. Staring at a computer monitor while the office phones are woefully silent.
Plenty of time. More Octobers are coming. Right.
Let us make a vow, my friends, to not let another autumn slip through our grasp while we plan next year's camping trips. Take a weekend. Take a day, even. Embrace the fall.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
The Ultimate Brake Controller
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