It's nice to have a bit of orange between the tow vehicle and the trailer...

Towing a big trailer over a variety of terrain and in a variety of weather conditions can be challenging.  The traditional hitch setup means the trailer can really push the rear end of the tow vehicle around, at a point in back of the tow vehicle, which can lead to disaster.

We were concerned about towing a big trailer and some of the control problems we could encounter.  We looked at all the available options and prices for sway control and weight distribution.  After three years of using a Reese 350 Mini weight distribution/anti-sway setup with the popup, we were certain that a good sway control and weight distribution system was a must.  But with a much larger trailer we were very worried about the tail wagging the dog, even though the Sequoia isn't the smallest puppy on four wheels.

 So after a lot of research, including hours and hours reviewing the comments and experiences of people on the RV forums, we decided to spend what seemed like a crazy amount of money and bought a Hensley Arrow hitch.  But all in all, relative to the overall investment in our rig, it's not a huge amount of money.  Yes, I'm still justifying this one!

Reputedly the best you can buy, the Hensley Arrow's claim to fame is that it not only reduces sway, but it eliminates it, virtually putting an end to white-knuckle experiences that might be caused by the passing of large trucks and buses, lane changes and emergency maneuvers.  We decided that we wanted to make it a big non-issue.

The technology works in such a way as to allow the tow vehicle to initiate the pivoting action of a turn, at the hitch.  However the trailer is prevented from initiating that same action.

During our research I came across this excellent web site about one person's experience with the Hensley.  It's a very comprehensive description of the Hensley so rather than spell it all out here, check out the link!

This is a diagram of the Hensley, to give you an idea of what the parts are and how it all comes together.

 This is my Hensley Arrow after a paint job.  I used Tremclad's True Orange since I couldn't find any Allis-Chalmers Orange around here.  It came out pretty close to the authentic colour, I think.

I painted the stinger orange as well, to help with visibility in case I end up hitching up solo using a tongue-mounted mirror or rear-camera system.

The page on our tow vehicle describes more about the experience of towing with the Hensley Arrow.