I found a used Hensley Arrow complete setup for $600. I went to Hensley's website and not alot of information there about setup and various models.
My questions are:
Do the Hensleys have different weight ratings? (i.e. WD hitches rated for 1K/10K, etc.)
Do the Hensleys have parts that wear out? (need to look for any problem areas.)
For $600, I gotta go for it if it will work.
JON

 

Get the number off of the hitch and call Hensley back, they can tell you everything about it...even who bought it orginally although I'm not sure they are supposed to give that out but they have in the past.

 

Excellent, thank you. I just emailed asking that information.
Jon

 

If that is a cpmplete, fully functional, not-beat-to-death hitch that is a STEAL. WAY more than just a good deal. So much so that I'd have bit of too good to be true concerns. There is no doubt a Hensley will get the job done for you.

 

I bought my Hensley back in Feb for $800 and thought that was a great deal! Hensley was able to tell me when mine was made/sold and the general location of the first/only owner as well as what his TV and TT were.
I stripped mine down and refinished with powder coat and paint after replacing all 4 seals and 2 of the bearings that had gotten a little wet. I had to upgrade the spring bars from the 1000# ones that came with it to new 1400# bars, got lucky with the correct stinger drop. I also put all new pins, clips, bushings, zerks, U-bolts and shear bolts on it. Hensley supplied all new decals/sticker so now it looks brand new.
So far have about 1500 miles on it pulling a very high tounge weight 28' toyhauler that weighs 9200# with nothing in the garage area (explains the high TW!) HUGE improvement over the old WD setup! Drove in 60mph crosswinds during the NC tornado outbreak back in April and never had the trailer come out of line with the EX, the rig moved together and didn't feel squirrely at all. Real world one handed worry free (well, after the twisters passed anyway!) 65mph cruising.
I think all the Hensley Arrow (not the Cubs) hitches are rated for 14,000# trailers and 1400# tounge weight. They offer several different spring bars, actually they use other manufacturer's round bars. If you poke around their website you will find the installation and owners manual, I downloaded and printed it out for ours.

 

He says the price is what Hensley will give him for it to return it and they cover the shipping so that is all he is asking as he had it listed for a while and needs to get it gone.

 

What did it cost you to "refurbish" it? THe bushings, bolts, pins, etc.

 

You can also ask Hensley if this serial number qualifies for their purchased lifetime warranty...going that approach may save you in the long run with having to buy individual parts like bearings, hitch bar (stinger) and jack frame brackets (you may need new ones based on your ball coupler arrangement versus the previous owners arrangement)...for more info on the jack brackets call Hensley...bottom ball couplers have different jack frame brackets over top ball couplers and different sized (height) frames also have different jack frame brackets so make sure you ask.

but the point is that if this S/N Hensley qualifies for the $500 lifetime warranty buy...by the time you purchase all new parts...(stinger and bearings, etc)...you may have $500 in the hitch.

Just some thoughts.

I tow with a Hensley and have for nearly 5 years...I have nothing but positive comments and while I feel the price of new hardware is expensive...this market is so small it has to be that high for this company to stay in business and those of us that choose to spend it for new ones...understand what we are getting...getting one on the used market truly gives people the opportunity to get a top notch hitch at a much reduced price...

IMO the price of even a new Hensley is worth it and has made my many towing miles so much more relaxed even in 30+ mph cross-wind towing when we went to the Grand Canyon...

Good luck,
joe.

 

I picked up the bearings (about $10-12/per) and seals (about $6/per) from a local auto parts store. Had the main hitch head (orange) frame brackets, OCL assemblies and stinger (black) powder coated locally for $100. I painted the rest of the parts with Sherwin Williams Dimension automotive paint (leftovers from son's race car). From Hensley I got the new 1400# bars and bushings (about $220), emergency kit (all pins & clips) $31.25, 2 zerk assemblies $16.75/per, U-bolts $6.50/per, 2 new bearing covers about $5/per and 4 spare shear bolts for about $5. Used almost a full can of Mobil 1 synthetic grease during assembly, I had completely flushed all the bearings and parts in the parts washer. Not a hard refurb at all, took several pics during teardown to help my soft brain get it back together correctly. I installed the new pins & clips keeping the old ones (glass beaded and clear coated) as spares.
I replaced the 2 bearings due to a seal failure on the lower hitch head (black one) that had let water enter the bearing housing and caused some mild rust/pitting on the bearing cages, the races looked fine. I would think that typically these bearings should last a lifetime plus as they really don't see the kind of service they are designed for as wheel bearings.
Good luck! I hope this one is complete and works out for you. Feel free to ask any questions about refurbing it, it's still fresh in my mind. Search around over at RV.net, member BarneyS did a nice rebuild pictural thread there, it gave me confidence.

 

Well, just got off the phone with Hensley and they gave me the specs on the unit I was looking at.
My TT has an inverted coupler so there's a adaptor for that. Would have to get the #1400 load bars, diff brackets, etc to make this hitch work with my TT and a different offset to work with my TV.
So when tallying up the cost it doesn't make sense as it would only be $300 cheaper than a factory reconditioned one. For peace of mind and all, I'd have to go with the factory one.
Thanks for all the help, now gotta convince "momma" why we need a $2K hitch
Thanks fellas.
Jon

 

Sorry to hear that this one wasn't a good match for your rig.
If you have a link to it maybe someone else here could make use of it, sounds like a great deal if it matches someone's TT tounge style.
Have Momma read all the great Hensley owners posts here and over at RV.net, that might help some.

 

X2 on the sorry...

FWIW...when I spent $3K on my new Hensley momma wasn't happy in my house either...then when we were towing from Indiana to Williams Arizona to visit the Grand Canyon and Sedona we fought 4 straight days of 30+ mph cross-winds...the worst was in Oklahoma and Texas but it blew relentlessly for those 1800 miles towing to Williams...

After the 3rd day momma looks over at me and says...you know for all that grief I gave you about the cost of that ugly orange hitch...it sure has come in handy with this wicked winds we've been fighting on this trip...right there SHE GOT IT and it was worth every penny to her at that point...the safety factor and the ability for us to be able to tow without swaying down the road was totally priceless. So the initial buy in cost is high on the hitch...you cannot argue that...however look at what the costs would have been had we had to sit at some campground and "wait out" the wind on that vacation travel?...we would have missed our stops and been way behind the power curve...

The Hensley allowed us to continue to securely tow in that god awful wind.

Good luck,
Joe.

 

We towed our Jeep from FL to CO a few years ago, the winds
across Texas were awful. The # of windmills suggest it's
always winding in Texas. At least it was pretty constant
and always from the SW - seemed like I was making a left turn all day.

 

Well, actually when on the phone with Hensley, they said by that serial #, the seller already agreed for the them to buy it back and Hensley already sent out the boxes and prepaid postage for him to ship it back.
At that point, I said a man should keep his word......I'll not pursue it any longer. Just don't feel I should but in on an established agreement and Hensley would be out the cost of $60 in boxing. I know that is a small amount but I'm a guy of "principle" even to the extent of costing me a bit more.

 

I was checking out Propride as well and came across a nice little guarantee they have. They sell the Reese Straight Line (dual cam) hitch for $585 and underneath the listing, they have a blurb that says if this hitch doesn't eliminate your sway to your satisfaction, etc......we will apply 100% of the purchase price toward a Propride 3P hitch!
To me that is a no brainer unless I am missing something. Put up $600 and try the hitch, if it performs well, I've saved nearly $2000. If not, I'm out $35 shipping and purchasing the Propride afterall. That's "risk-free" to me with the potential to save alot of $$.
Am I missing something or just wasting time with the Reese? Think I'll end up with the Propride anyway?
Thanks for all the input and help. I'll have to show my bride this thread for her to get real-world input and not just me "spinning" things to get a new toy
I mean this all in fun of course. My wife is awesome and very supportive. In all honest most of us know how we can magically take something like a sledgehammer and relate it back to somehow it helps the "family" just so we can get it.
You guys are indespensible in knowledge. Thank you.
Jon