RE: [A/S] Hensley v/s PullRite Hitch Systems

["DT/BW" <dtbw_1999@xxxxxxxxx>]

While I only tow a 19' 2002 Bambi, I can still sing the praises of the
Hensley.  Regardless of trailer length, any rig is susceptible to sway.
With the Hensley, I absolutely can NOT detect any reaction to passing 18
wheelers going either direction, with or without severe crosswinds.  Also I
recently had the opportunity to experience what happens with a blowout on
the single axle Bambi setup.  I had a valve stem blow while traveling about
75MPH on I44 I NE Oklahoma.  There was ABSOLUTELY no change in the way the
rig behaved.  The only way that I knew something was amiss was I noticed the
trailer was leaning to the curbside.  I immediately pulled over, again, no
problems or odd handling and discovered the blow valve stem.  The tire was
still cool to the touch, so I had NOT run for more than a few seconds with
the tire blown (discovered after we pulled it to replace the stem that while
the exterior looked perfect, the interior sidewall had sustained damage in
those few seconds).  Part of my reasoning for going with the Hensley was to
hedge all my bets given that the Bambi was a single axle and this episode
proved that the Hensley really provided that added level of control in what
could have been a bad situation.

BTW, we also discovered the other valve stem was failing...replace all valve
stems with 100PSI metal stems (A/S installed 65PSI rubber and the Bambi
requires 60-65PSI in the D rated Marathons, so the valve stems were at their
limit...not a good thing).  It appeared that the length of the rubber valve
stem was allowing it to flex toward the rim at speeds causing
flexing/heating and finally failure.  The new stems are shorter and being
metal, no flexing problem.  

david