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.

No comments: