I thought I would share some of the things I do and use to aid in hitching the trailer to the tow vehicle. A few of them are specific to the Hensley Arrow, but most would be common or adapted to any hitch set up.
Getting Hensley Hitch Assembly’s receiver to right hitching height
I’ve marked the OCL Wrench with masking tape to identify the proper hitch height needed to hook up.
I place the OCL Wrench on the ground and raise / lower the hitch until the lower bar of the Over Center Latch (OCL) aligns with the masking tape. This gives me a good starting point for backing the hitch bar into the Hensley Hitch Assembly’s receiver.
Hitching
I got these
Magnetic Hitching Rods from Camping World as a BDay gift from my DW and kids (ya, I'm a Camping World / Gadget Junkie
)
I was hesitant if that actually would be useful or not. You put one rod on your coupler and the other on your hitch ball/bar.
Then using the rods you can easily line up your hitch with the trailer’s coupler. Here’s what it looks like as viewed through the tow vehicle’s rear view mirror. You can see the top of the hitching rods just below the sun of the Sunline Logo. The objective is to align the rods, when the rods are aligned, the hitch bar will be aligned with the trailer’s coupler.
I was pleasantly surprised on how well these work. When hitching up by myself, it has removed the constant need to get out of the tow vehicle to check the alignment of hitch bar & trailer.
Here’s a picture from viewing out the back window of the tow vehicle. Though I always use the rear view mirror, this picture gives a little better view of the hitching rods.
Hensley Arrow Safety Keys
Attached Safety Keys to Over Center Latch (OCL) using a chain & cable tie to keep from loosing them.
There’s enough slack in the chains to allow the Safety Keys to be easily installed in the OCLs.
Extending Hitch Cord
I needed to get a little extra length of the trailer’s hitch cord because of the extended separation length created by the Hensley Arrow. So I disconnected the cords current wire lock, which was attached to the trailer’s frame. I used a wire tie bracket as an alternative method to secure the cord while adjusting the cord positioning to get more usable length.
I screwed the wire tie bracket to the trailer’s coupler and secured the cord with cable ties.
This provided enough extra cord so there’s plenty of slack in the cord for turns.
Securing Hitch Cord
To ensure the hitch cord stays securely attached in the tow vehicle’s receiver, I use a 1½ O-Ring:
I wrap the O-Ring around the trailer cord connector and the tow vehicle’s cord receiver’s flap. This keeps the receiver flag/cover clamped down on the receiver cord.
Locking Coupler
Added a coupler lock for safety & protection.
This type of lock works well with the Hensley Arrow. Other types of coupler locks are too large to fit within the Hensley Arrow’s hitch assembly.
Attaching the Chains
I added larger rapid link connectors to hitch receive for attaching chains.
This gave a little extra room to compensate for the extended length of the Hensley, plus made it a lot easier to hook-up the chains to the GM OEM hitch because the receiver / hitch lock was in the way of hooking up the chains.
Attaching the Brake-away Cable
Added hook and a small rapid link connector to brake-away cable so it can be attached directly to the hitch receiver.
I attach the hook directly to the TV’s receiver, instead of the chains. This is just for a level of added protection by having the brake-away cable connected independently and not with the trailer chains.
Hensley Arrow Jack Assemblies
I’ve use standard white out to highlight the markings on the Hensley Arrow’s Jack Assemblies. This makes it real easy to identify the different marks when adjusting the jack assemblies.
I typically tow with the jack assemblies adjusted to the 2nd (middle mark).
I use an 18V Ryobl cordless drill with a ¾” socket to make adjustment of the jack assemblies (up & down) fast and easy. The ¾” socket and cordless drill also work on the BAL stabilizer jacks.
Hitch Bar Condom
And finally, I’ve saved the best for last, there’s what I call the hitch bar condom. It’s our method of planned parenting / hitch protection. Got to protect from those HTDs (Hitch Transmitted shin Divots.
When leaving the hitch bar on tow vehicle, it can be very painful to the shins of an unsuspecting individual. I’ve learned from experience.
So I created a hitch bar condom by creating a hitch bar splint out of cardboard. Used some carpet padding for the cushion, then cut and wrapped it using a garbage bag and lots of packing tape.
It covers the hitch bar up to the Over Center Latches.
When unhooked, it slides over the hitch bar. Now if someone (i.e., me) walks too close behind our tow vehicle, they won’t get the shins cracked.
Hopefully some of these sparked an idea that you can use on your own setup.
Hutch
Linear Mode
