? Weight of a Hensley Arrow ?

[bugbite]

I have looked on the site and can't find it's weight.

I am going blind at this point (no kidding I am legally blind w/o my glasses) eyestrain is making my eyes cross.

Gross on the truck w/o hitch is 5.540 w/ snug top, rubber mat, bed rug, tubes, and DH and me. Gross vehicle wt. rating is 6,030.

Can't be more than 210 load rating on the truck.

Would some kind soul tell me what it weighs?

We need to account for Henley Arrow. We are getting close on the gross on the truck.

I am gritting my teeth...

BB

What is the Arrow?

http://www.hensleymfg.com/whatisthearrow.html

[Poppy & Nana]

BB - I just read on HA site that is approx. 79 lbs heavier than a normal w/d hitch - now ya need to find that weight.....I have not check any other sites for "regular" w/d hitches but when ours was shipped in, I think I paid for a 60 lb package.....so figure on about 150 pounds....unless you can find the weight o a reg. w/d hitch!

[bugbite]

Hi x, total shipping weight 200 pounds, about 100 pounds more than normal hitch equipment.

Thanks for your note, let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

Phil Sinewe

800-410-6580, ext. 114

---

phil@hensleymfg.com

BB

[Poppy & Nana]

HA HA HA - so they "fibbed" on their website!

Glad you got someone from Hesley to answer you and on a weekend yet!

[bugbite]

Hensley is trying to squeeze out shipping wt. so they over inflated it. I think you are right. Closer to 150.

They fibbed no doubt.

Besides Kathy, who am I going to believe, you or Phil

Shoot you are part of the gang to give me the Sunshine rays.

DH is getting excited. No joke I will have to go on a diet to lighten the truck load especially if the Hensley weighs 150 ish.

Heck if we get any closer to the limit I may have to be tied to the bumper and try to run along like that poor dog on the movie Vacation

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by bugbite

I have looked on the site and can't find it's weight.

Gross on the truck w/o hitch is 5.540 w/ snug top, rubber mat, bed rug, tubes, and DH and me. Gross vehicle wt. rating is 6,030.

Can't be more than 210 load rating on the truck.


BB

What is the Arrow?

BB

Just a friendly heads up if I am reading your note correctly.

If your TV weighs 5,540# loaded to go camping by itself, and your GVWR is 6,030#. That leaves only 490# of extra cargo weight.

Please correct me if I have understood this wrong.

The heads up is when you hook up a loaded TT, the loaded tongue weight could put you over your GVWR on the TV.

Over running GVWR by a small amount is one thing but when you get close to this you can also possibly go over the rear axle rating. Over running GVWR is one thing, but over running axle ratings can have real issues. And in most cases it is the rear axle. Tires overloaded, axle bearings, axles etc.

Don't get tricked by catalog Dry listed tongue weights. They are the camper dry from the factory as they built is and does not include propane nor battery and no camping gear. The Sunline web site does explain this if you read in the print below.

Pending TT layout and what gear you bring and where you put it, tongue weight can go higher than you think. It's amazing what "stuff" weighs.

The added weight of the Hensley may not be the problem as much as loaded TT tongue weight plus the Arrow. And you want good tongue weight for natural low anti sway characteristics. So do not try to save the TV by over lowering tongue weight as that can cause larger issues.

While you are checking out the Hensley, check the ground clearance. Ask Hensley what it is from the top of the tow ball to the bottom of the spring bars. And or give them the TT ball coupler height when the camper is level. They can then tell you how much ground clearance you have. They can hang down in some cases further than the other style hitches and on some low-slung axle Sunlines, you might drag pending what model you get. The only reason I bring this up is I only have 6" ground clearance on my Reese DC due to the low-slung axle setup. This is about the bare minimum to not get hung up. I would not recommend running much lower than this.

There are ways to get out of the ground clearance, Axle flips, etc, that are sound that are very doable, but research your tongue weights loaded and TV axle ratings if you have not already.

If you already knew this, then great. I'm just trying to help a future potential fellow Sunliner help not make a mistake you have fix later that you did not realize.

You made a comment on one of the other posts about my TV and TT combination. Thank you. However I learned a lot of this the hard way, after a lot of research and helping other people on their rigs work thru their problems. In my case I had to change my TV once I learned where to look and how badly I was overloading my rear axle on a 1/2-ton truck. In my case, we loved the Sunline to much and the TV had to go…

Good luck

John

[bugbite]

Unfortunately You are right John.

Your and our reality bites calculations,,, like a swarm of mosquitos.

Whadda bummer. >>490# of extra cargo weight>> Bout what we figured. That's why we were sweating the hitch wt.

<<The heads up is when you hook up a loaded TT, the loaded tongue weight could put you over your GVWR on the TV. <Uh> Over running GVWR is one thing, but over running axle ratings can have real issues. And in most cases it is the rear axle. Tires overloaded, axle bearings, axles etc. <Hey>The added weight of the Hensley may not be the problem as much as loaded TT tongue weight plus the Arrow.<<

Uh huh that goes what we are thinking,,, with you son.

I think we are OK on the ground clearance but good point for the 1/2 tons here now and the newbies in the future.

Have a nice high butt on the truck w/ the spring type. Has the right gear on the axle for the hauling w/ our towing package.

Working on that figure. Hensley true wt. Now this is really spitting hairs but anyone ever considered just carrying 1 gas bottle vs. 2?

We don't run L.P. except when parked to bring the fridge/freezer to temp and then switch to electricity.

We don't cook inside except when it rains very hard. Do all outside generally.

How much does a Reese Dual Cam weigh? Anyone know that one?

Hensley says that their hitch is about 73ish more than any other brand on wt.

<<In my case I had to change my TV once I learned where to look and how badly I was overloading my rear axle on a 1/2-ton truck. In my case, we loved the Sunline to much and the TV had to go… <<

Here is the kicker we already thot of that today. I simply can't see going into debt to get a TV when our Tundra is still new (as in condition) it's only get 30K for goodness sakes. For any Toyota that ain't hardly broke in. Now at 300K we might talk.

It's immaculately kept (anally retentively so). Not even a scratch. Maintained to the hilt. And PAID FOR! I just don't know if I am ready to hear the rattle, rattle, rattle reminding me we had to borrow just to have a 1950 to camp in.

I guess it's all in the set of priorities one picks. No one person's choice with more credence for what it is the families what decides. Just what are the priorites? The way we have it now we owe for nothing.

Looking 2 yrs. from now retiring. I just feel much cozier (it's the Scotts in me) not to be in debt. Have done what my parents and his have done. Cash on the barrel head or don't buy. It's in the genetic code ... Nature and nurture//// permeates our existence...

No joke we need to both go on a diet to lighten our load. I will now here by proclaim this the Solarus Diet !

Yeah we are way to fluffy but what messed us up is the snug top, heavy bed rubber mat, and the tubes. Thot we had more slack on those items.

Moral of the story...

So those of you out there. Stay skinny and don't mod to death your TV. And if you go over to Tundra Solutions our mods ain't squat compared w/ the WOTTERs, blue and red necks do to their trucks. Read the links I put on the towing board. Some real towing Einsteins those are hysterically funny but very sad to think there are so many Bubbas all parts of this great land of ours!

Now one thing on the combined we have learned thru the years I can't bring 10 pairs of shoes and 2 weeks of laundary (clean clothes). We wash clothes after a week. We won't need as much stuff even as we pared down to for the PUP. Adding stuff to make life more comfortable for PUPPing will be made up w/ accessories, storage, etc.

Right down to weighing foam cups and plates LOL! I think we will be fine on the actual loaded wt. on the trailer. I may not dress like a fashion plate on a trip and I have learned to quit shoe shopping.

That is our hard luck story and we are sticking to it!

Reality bites! Seeee I tolt yall we did have cause for concern as do all the 1/2 tonners out there.

Not to worry types uh uh reality may smack you over a gully TV and TT landing on their tops in twisted metal and steaming w/ that rosey scenario pushing types.

"You can't change the law of physics with wishful thinking." JG DH

BB, bitten by a heavy prehistoric dragon fly sized mosquitos.

[Sunline Fan]

Originally Posted by JohnB

The only reason I bring this up is I only have 6" ground clearance on my Reese DC due to the low-slung axle setup. This is about the bare minimum to not get hung up. I would not recommend running much lower than this.

I can agree with this...I've actually had the drop bar on my non-Hensley hit the end of the driveway before. The bars have also dragged on some occasions.

Jon

[bugbite]

I asked on RV Forum and got this response:

Posted: 06/30/07 10:42pm

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I e-mailed them and asked. They told me 190lbs.
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So I said:

Posted: 07/01/07 01:47am
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I emailed them too. Said shipping wt. was 200 lbs. Hmmm did you "talk" to a Phil by any chance? Phil also said 100 lbs heavier than any other hitch.

Let's face it the shipping wt. is over inflated (you know like on the commercials to pay shipping and "handling".) Well what they are packing on shipping charge is the handling they intend to pocket I would wager. Just guessing mind you.

The only clue on wt. is the site that says, 79 lbs heavier than the typical such as Reese Dual Cam.

Any one ever weighed your Hensley?

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My new best buddy Ron said:

Posted: 06/30/07 08:23pm

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BB, I personally haven't weighed mine, but I've "heard" that they are around 200 lbs. I don't really think it is that heavy as when I first installed mine, I first installed the stinger (about 20 lbs) in my hitch, then picked up the main unit and put it on the stinger. This is definiately the heavest part, but I don't think it is more than 75 lbs. Then I installed the two spring bar jacks (10 lbs ea), then the two strut bars (5 lbs ea), then the two spring bars (20 lbs ea)... so by my "off the wall estimate" it is probably closer to 165 - 175 lbs.

Ron

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Ron & Sandie
'00 Tundra 4x4 Supercharged TRD 4.7L at 375hp/400 lbs.ft
TRD Headers/Dual exhaust, w/Helwig rear anti-roll & adj air bags
Prodigy, Mckesh, and Hensley Arrow.
'00 Coachmen Catalina Lite 252RKS TT, 5640# Loaded.
RETIRED!! How sweet it is....

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Aside: Ron has been extremely helpful to me in a very gentlemanly and charitable manner. I respect what he has to say.

Check out what he is running on his Tundra. Not over taxing he says and I believe him. Tundra has a very conservative Gross Truck Wt. figure.

We can probably say actual is 200 lbs. more. Toyota is conservative on their load ratings etc.

[bugbite]

Originally Posted by Sunline Fan

I can agree with this...I've actually had the drop bar on my non-Hensley hit the end of the driveway before. The bars have also dragged on some occasions.

Jon

Thanks Jon for coming back at me (and my DH) you can tell we are into splitting hairs now since we are so close on going over truck wt. We thot pre CAT scale we would be within tolerances.

OK here is our dilemna as I see it... (NOT to get into the stupid stuff like on RV Net my .... is better than your...)

Here we are on tongue wt. The Hensley is considered truck wt. until loaded right?

At that point the "equalizing" is distributing to truck and TT axles and frames.

Now given the Hensley is about 175 ish... (they say what was it 79 ish heavier than others) I am assuming Reese Dual Cam and Equil-i-zer correct?

Now forgetting the price differential which is HIGH grrrr... I have that covered on selling the Coleman...

Are we better off given the voodoo formula of total GVWR getting the heavier Hensley vs. say the Reece Dual Cam which is lighter?

I hope I made that clear. My cheesy growing in terminology TT101 I hope I will get gradually better on my questions so I am not misunderstood. I have to translate from my brain trying to shoot in some engy thots into TT101ness. Scary thot



Thanks you vets of the TT wars and loyalists of the Sunlines. I wish we weren't so delimited by 1/2 ton to a 1950 ratio. Rats!

Engineer addage, "The devil is in the details."

You Sunline Enthusiast Clubbers truly are the best!

You are saving us trouble up the line and probably a heck of a lot of money!

[nickster60]

My turn to chime in. I have a F150 v6 tow capacity 5500 lbs. I pull my t1950 with little diificulty. My truck has 144 inch wheel base which helps. The t-1950 tows very well I dont think you need too fancy on the towing set-up. It just doesnt weigh that much. I have pulled a trailer everyday day for 13 years. I little common sense with go a long way. We have all seen the idiot towing his TT at 80 plus miles an hour. In Florida we see them all the time in the winter. And lots of them stuffed on the side of the roard in accidents. I think the tow values are a good guide. Use your head and tow safely and things will be fine.

[bugbite]

>>We have all seen the idiot towing his TT at 80 plus miles an hour. In Florida we see them all the time in the winter. And lots of them stuffed on the side of the roard in accidents. I think the tow values are a good guide. Use your head and tow safely and things will be fine.
Nickster>>

With you on that. Exactly what we are trying to avoid.

We do had added complications you might not have our snugtop, rubbermat, and tubes plus you have the stouter frame. I think the snugtop and mat got us.

[PTHutch]

I’ve physically weighed my Hensley Arrow.

The components that attach to the trailers tongue weight a total of 166.5 lbs. That includes 2 - 1,400 lb spring bars, the main hitch assembly, and 2 - sway control & jack assemblies.

The shank that inserts into the tow vehicle's receiver weighs 40.5 lbs, Our shank is a 2” drop.

Total weight of all my Hensley Arrow (all components) is 207 lbs.

So when Hensley says 200 lbs shipping, that's with their standard 1,200 lbs spring bars, which is probably very close to the actual weight of all components that are being shipped. The shipment includes all hitch components plus the proper shank for you setup (i.e., TV & TT).

[bugbite]

OK Hutch and John B.

What is it to be the heavier Hensley Arrow or the Reese Dual Cam since we are at or slightly above the limit on the TV mostly?

Hoping to be able to go the Hensley Arrow.

Given both of your inputs and reading the very detailed JohnB assessment ... what say both of you?

I know Hutch likes the Hensley Arrow but are its benefits being outweighed by being out weighted?

I know the Reese Dual Cam more than adequate also. But for less tongue weight.

[PTHutch]

BB,

Both Hensley and Reese Dual Cam are excellent hitches and will do the job.
It’s your decision and only you can decide which one to purchase, I can’t make that decision for you.

Everyone here has provided you with more than enough information that you should be able to make a logical decision based on your financial situation and weight considerations. Now it’s your turn to take the information provided and use it as you wish.

Yes I like the Hensley, but that’s because I own one. I’m sure John likes his Reese Dual Cam as much as I like my Hensley. Does that make one better than the other – No. Does that mean that only the Hensley or Reese Dual Cam will work – No. I towed our T-2670 for years with a standard Reese WD & friction anti-sway hitch setup with no problems.

Why do you want a Hensley?

I also don’t remember if you have ever stated what the tow rating is of you current tow vehicle. I see you state it’s GVWR & GCWR in your sig, why don’t you state its tow rating also?

My rule of thumb is if the TV’s tow rating is not more than the trailer’s GVWR, the TV is probably not a good match for the trailer.

If you’re looking for my opinion, then IMHO if you feel that you are that close on weight that you have to worry about the weight difference between a Hensley or a Reese Dual Cam hitch, you have a lot more serious problems then deciding on which hitch to purchase.

If you’re looking for a suggestion, if you haven’t done this yet, I would suggest that you take your current tow vehicle to a dealer and test tow a T-1950 or T-195SR, (or if you can’t find one of those specific trailers, test tow a trailer of similar weight and length). I’m sure the dealer will let you borrow and set you up with a standard hitch with friction anti-sway control. See how it tows, take it on different roads and on the highway. See if you’re experiencing any sway. I test towed our T-280SR before purchasing it and that test tow identified that even though our current tow vehicle towed the trailer, it was laboring going up hill and we would eventually need to purchase a new tow vehicle. Our purchase was then also based on experience, not just information, wrt towing.

Good Luck
Hutch

[bugbite]

Hutch and JohnB,

DH will weigh each axle and apply the formula again. We will tow w/o the rubber mat. That gives us 60 lb more slack.

I do believe we are OK. Would a bigger tow vehicle eventually be a good idea? Of course. If we ever do a long distance, cross country tow we will probably get a hoss 350 so we absolutely have no doubts with overkill we can pull our lil 1950.

I don't anticipate us getting a larger TT but then I will never say never. But let's say highly unlikely.

I think we are to Bubba-ized as most are that say... I like that floor plan... I want that one! Without thinking ahead SHOULD I get that one?

Thanks for both of your astute breakdown.

BB

P.S. I thot of removing 1 gas bottle as we really don't use much gas at all. Just to get a refer cool at first. Rest we use small propane bottles. It's just us 2 chickens.

[JohnB]

BB

I’ll add some to Hutches very good thoughts.

We have tried to show where to go looking so you know where to look for weights and balance. This is the help we can give you that most going this alone will have a long time learning curve on. Until forums like ours started showing up where camper people can help each other easier, the learning curve took much longer.

While we try our best to understand your present day towing setup, we are not there and cannot see everything. Take what you read here, apply it to your situation and then make the best decision that you feel fits. In time you will need to learn how to adjust what ever hitch you buy.

As I stated in another one of your posts along the way, each hitch is good when applied correctly. There is no 1 hitch that solves all problems. I’m not into hitch bashing either as sometime occurs on the more popular larger forums.

In my case I have a DC, before that I had a friction sway bar from the PU. We ran the TT for a short time on the friction sway bar as I had it from the PU and then converted to the DC as added antisway protection for when bad things come my way.

A TT needs to tow stable with no antisway system. Meaning towing going down the road the TT should track straight behind the TV at speed. If this does not occur, then most likely an out of balance situation with low tongue weight is the cause. After that soft side wall rear TV tires, and overloaded rear TV axle and a TT not towing level. Towing level is best as each TT axle is loaded equal and the air currents are better balanced out. Next is slight nose down as on some TT's, towing nose high creates unstable air patterns that can add to sway. And on some TT layouts going nose real high or real low changes the tongue weight against you. These are all guides as there are a lot of variables in the equation.

Once you have a stable towing TT, then we add antisway controls to it for when bad things come our way. High wind gusts, large semi’s passing, busses passing, the jerk pulling out in front of you forcing a quick maneuver, driving on a rough patch of ground up black top, or a high ridge in the road., etc. These are all things that come at us when towing.

I had to write 2 long letters to Reese Tech service and engineering to get my low slung TT and Reese new style HP DC to work properly and not create a bind in a turn. The older std DC has been around a long time, the new HP DC only a few years. Now that we know about this, there are way on how to adjust in most situations out of the bind.

I have also investigated the Pullrite, The Hensley, the Equal-I-zer. Actually the Pullrite if it will fit your TV, is the simplest and offers equal performance to the Hensley. However it too has some small drawbacks if it fits your TV. Backing up will take a little learning curve but that can be over come. Next is, it is part of your TV and when you change TV, it may not transfer to the new one if it does not fit.

With my TT and TV setup and proper TT balance, I have good performance with the Reese DC. It does have limitations too. When I hit 45 MPH plus hard side winds gusts, I have to make a very slight steering correction. This is the only condition I have in my setup that causes a slight steering correction. Other than that the rig is very stable.

I am a firm believe in proper tongue weight, 12 to 15% of the TT GVW is the range I shoot to have when using the Reese DC or Equal-I-izer.

If your vehicle has a short wheel base, or a very long TT, the Hensley or Pullrite can help overcome these problems. They can also help over come a 10% tongue weight stability issues on some TT’s as the Truck cannot always take 13 to 15% tongue even on a ¾ ton truck. If I ever get a lot longer TT, I will convert to a Hensley or Pullrite as I’m more conservative. I have helped a few camper friends setup their rigs with the DC. The past one had a ¾ ton SUV pulling a 6,900# 28 foot TT. Once adjusted he did well. Then this past winter he bought a 34 foot camper. He tried to make his DC work and he could not get the right tongue weight as his Ford EX will only allow a 1,250# receiver rating. For him, he upgraded to the Hensley and solved his problem. When before the same TV and DC worked well on the smaller TT.

I’m not trying to have you swimming in hitch stuff, more to help educate.

I’ll also pass this along. When looking up the T1950, it listed a 17 ½” ball coupler height. This raises the caution flag if you are using a HP DC. I have a 18 ½” ball coupler height and only have 6” ground clearance on the DC to get out of the compound angle turn bind with the ball coupler on the top of the frame. Low slung axles, ball coupler on top, frames at or larger than 5" create a problem combination for the HP DC, The older std DC does not have the same issues. It just has possibly propane tank mounting issues and is slighlty harder to adjust the DC. All can be overcome, it just takes a little more work.

If the T1950 has a 5” frame tongue, a 17 ½” ball coupler height, ball coupler on top, you could have an issue with the HP DC hitting the ground. If it has a 4” frame tongue, then you may be able to get out of the problem or use the older style DC that uses U bolts to bolt on.

The Equal-I-zer brand does not hang down so far as the DC and may be a better fit for your low slung axle TT if it is a 5” frame tongue. See here on this picture which shows the DC on my TT, 5” frame and ball coupler on top. If you get the Hensley, check that it will fit on your TT and give adequate ground clearance. Much less than 6" needs to be thought thru.





Hope this helps.

John

[bugbite]

JohnB, I definiitely have to pass this onto the DH! You have me now son.

>>I am a firm believe in proper tongue weight, 12 to 15% of the TT GVW is the range I shoot to have when using the Reese DC or Equal-I-izer. <<

Now this I do see our TT being a savor as I do believe we will have a lighter tow than most that have family carrying more plunder sneaking in too much.

We are pretty sensible in figuring out what we can and connot do. For example pull between Gatlinburg and Cherokee. My poor cousin from OH came down to Pigeon Forge to camp in her lil Tab. She wisely went up to Cades Cove without the Tab.

She got behind some Bubba in a huge TT. It took the whole procession to go downhill 2 hours to go about 20 miles. I'll bet some would have roadrage at that gooney bird camper guy when we pulled over once in town. We do pack here LOL!