Hensley Arrow Hitch Rebuild

[ScottK]

I just picked up a used Hensley Arrow Hitch and I thought I would share the refurbishment of it. I've had my eye on these for years, but could never justify the high price tag they demand. By all accounts they work as advertised so I'm excited to find out for myself.

I wasn't really actively looking for one, but the thought crossed my mind, so I did a Craigslist search, saw one was for sale nearby and it had been for sale for quite a while. After contacting the seller to get some details, then I made an offer for what I was will to pay ($800) and he accepted it!

I called Hensley to get details based on the serial number (and to make sure it wasn't reported stolen or something weird), It was all good and this one was originally sold in 2004. It doesn't appear to have had a ton of use, but I'm sure it has been outside for most all it's life. The powder coat on these things apparently is notoriously bad this one was no exception. But I wouldn't expect it to be shiny after 10 years either. Anyway, I like to really go through things like this so I know exactly what the true condition is, replace anything if needed and really get a good understanding of how things work. I don't like to wonder and worry about the maintenance history. So here are a few of pictures of the tear down so far.

Here are the first few pictures of the tear down. There are 8 cone bearings & races just like your wheel bearings. There are 4 shafts with 2 bearings on each shaft. Now these things aren't spinning like wheel bearings are, just back and forth a few degrees, but I was concerned about water intrusion after 10 years and my concern turned out to be justified.

These pics are of the lower unit (black part) that attaches to the truck via hitch bar. You can see one of the bearings grease is pink, instead of dark red. The pink one has seen water. The upper seal had failed. The bearings on that side were actually starting to rust a bit. The upper bearing would not slide off due to a tiny amount of rust on the shaft and a close tolerance. I started to really worry this might be a bit of a nightmare to get off, but a gentle pull with my puller and it easily came free. Of course I ruined the bearing doing this, but it was already slightly pitted and was going to be replaced anyway. The others all look fine and will just get repacked and new seals. Next is cleaning up all that grease and grime, then it will soak overnight in Evaporust, then remove any remaining loose paint, prime, paint, repack, reassemble, install, then I think we will go camping.

[bunjin]

Thanks for sharing and the pictures. I will be interested on the field report!

[JohnB]

Scott, you scored big time!!! You have a fine piece of equipment there and once you get it all cleaned up, you will be a happy camper once it is all setup.

While you have it all stripped down and cleaned up, before painting wire brush and check the welds on the WD bar sockets. Bright light and look close. If by odd chance you have a buddy in a weld shop, they have dye penetrate that will confrim the welds are sound or not if any look in question.

In heavy use they have cracked before in the WD bar sockets. That said yours does not show the signs of heavy use as the WD bar sockets look nice and true round. They get wallowed out with heavy use and lack of lube. Odds are high yours is good by the looks, just now is a heads up to look while it is stripped down.

The stinger, you may or may not need a different rise/drop, you will know once you get it setup. if you do not have one, Hensley has a full instruction 42 page manual on line. See here for a copy User Manual Downloads - Hensley Mfg., Inc.

I have several campers buds with these and they do work as advertized. The only heads ups up it to make sure you adjust the brake controller so the trailer brakes leads the truck to keep the linkage in tension to not accidentally get the Hensley bump.

Good luck and you will be a happy camper towing.

John

[ScottK]

Thanks John! It doesn't seem to have had a lot of use. The spring bar bushings are designed as a wear part and don't appear to much wear at all. Almost no wallowing. Unless they were replaced at some point, but I doubt it. I'll be inspecting the welds as best I can when it's stripped. Anything suspect I will have it checked out.

Since you mentioned it...I got a bit of a surprise last fall when I noticed my stainless drawbar, that I use for my light utility trailer (only 2" ball), had a significant crack in it. I really never thought I would see something like this especially in something that is rated so much higher than what it was ever used for. I'll be keeping a closer eye on all the components in the towing system from now on. Pics of the cracked draw bar attached.

Note: These pics are NOT of the Hensley.

[Sunline Fan]

Nice score! I have a buddy whose parents have a Hensley sitting in their garage- they bought it in '98 shortly after buying a 30' Nomad. They used the trailer a good amount the first few years, but then as the kids got older, it just sat. Sat in a storage lot for over 10 years until they sold it, but they delivered it to the campground for the people and kept the hitch. When funds allow, I thought about picking it up from them since it is supposed to be better than my dual cam setup. It's probably in similar condition to yours.

[jim44646]

Since you have it stripped dawn get it powder coated. it will look like new.

[ScottK]

Just thought I would update my progress on the hitch rebuild. Since we've had about 6 straight days of rain around here and I couldn't work on the camper, it gave me an opportunity to keep going on this hitch.

When I removed the other 2 sets of bearing from the upper section of the hitch they both had water damage and rust in them. You wouldn't have know they were bad by just rotating the hitch around and maybe I could have got away with just cleaning them all up, but since I'm going through all this work, I went ahead and replaced all 8 bearings and races. I doubt they would have ever actually failed, because there is such little motion, but much longer without use, things were probably going to seize up. I ordered new bearing caps (those silver half domes) from Hensley and I think they are the weak link for water intrusion. I will probably use a little RTV Silicone on the mating surfaces when I reinstall them to ensure no more water infiltration....

[ScottK]

After complete disassembly, I soaked some of the unpainted rusty parts in Evaporust (a wonderful non toxic de-rusting solution) and the greasy rusty parts in my electrolysis tank to remove the rust grime and hopefully the powder coat. You can see how the water - baking soda solution starts clear, and after applying power with a battery charger (after 24 hours) the rust transfers from the part to the cast pipes. You can see tiny bubbles immediately after you apply power. I used 12v and 10 amps. It's a super simple setup and it works wonderfully. Science is so cool! I know electrolysis will strip off many layers of paint, but never tried to remove powder coat with it. I'll save you the suspense, it does not The powder coat was in terrible shape, I could get under it with a knife and flake up big pieces all over the place. Even in places that it was hard to get off, I still found rust under it. I'm beginning to despise powder coat...too many failures and too hard to fix them. Painting over the remaining powder coat would have been a bad idea. It just was not well adhered anymore. So off to the sand blaster the parts went. As I understand it, sometimes even sand blasting can't effectively remove powder coat and it needs to be baked off. This time it came off fine.

[ScottK]

I've got all 8 races pressed back in, and everything now ready for paint. I'll be painting next week. I'll be using, low gloss black, Valspar Tractor and Implement Primer and Paint with a hardener additive. Sounds like the tractor restoration guys really like it for an affordable durable paint for metal. If it's good enough for the tractor resto guys, should be good enough for my hitch!

[Gene]

WOW!!! Great work and FANTASTIC pictures, thanks for posting them. That hitch will be better than new.

[JohnB]

Scott, your handy work is very good

Your doing a 1st class job! I agree on the bearing caps, and the RTV trick. I was thinking that as I read your post and sure enough you did it. Hensley's paint job has been known to be an issue. With such a good quality product, they should help the paint issue.

Equipment enamel, yes a good choice. I have a 35 year old Ford tractor still with the original paint job and it does not flake. Fade yes, but not flake. And it has live through some real outdoor messes and produce spay over the years. A proper paint job with the right product done right, will out last the camper and the hitch.

Thanks for sharing.

John

[ScottK]

Another update on the hitch progress...everything is now primed and has 2 coat of Valspar tractor paint w/ enamel hardener. Getting good and dry over the weekend. Will reassemble this week!

[JohnB]

Looks good! It will for sure out last the original paint job.

[ScottK]

Final update on the rebuilt Hensley. Looks good and should last me many years. I used a little RTV Silicone when installing the new bearing caps, so hopefully that eliminates any future water intrusion.

(don't mind those 2 rusty washers on top, they have been replaced since the pictures)

I installed new chains instead of just extending my old ones. And I just didn't feel right about installing that freshly painted hitch on a scungy looking tongue...so I repainted it as well....ah yes, that's better.

On a couple short trips, it seems to work just as advertised - didn't feel any sway from the wind or passing trucks. Sweet.

[JohnB]

Scott, that came out really well. Nice! Thanks for sharing.

[Lost Hunter]

Wow. Fantastic job in rebuilding the Hensley.