RE: [A/S] Hensley or Pullrite

["David & Bret" <dtbw_1999@xxxxxxxxx>]

m-j-d,
As ALL of the Hensley hardware goes onto the trailer, sharing is possible
but involves some effort.  If you bought an extra set of jackscrew brackets
to mount on each trailer, then you could transfer the rest of the Hensley
between the trailers.  It would also be a bit easier if you also purchased a
set of the jackscrews to leave on each trailer, but that would not be a
necessity.  You would also need another set of torsion bars, but ONLY
because the hitch weight between the 20 and 34 footer are so different.  As
with ANY equalizing hitch, the hitch weight needs to fall within the middle
to upper end of the torsion bars rating. Since you have a 34ft, you would
want to order the new Hensley with the 1400lb hitch weight rating, but with
lighter capacity torsion bars, it would work just fine on the 20' (Hensley
sells bars for all ratings and all work in the same Hensley head).  There is
also a possibility if the hitch height is sufficiently different between the
two trailers, you might need two drawbars to maintain the proper hitch
height for both rigs.  The total cost of all the extra pieces needed would
still be in the hundreds of dollars compared to thousands for a complete
second hitch.  

As long as the switch between rigs was somewhat infrequent, the effort
involved would be acceptable.  In swapping the hitch between trailers, you
want to support the Hensley from the tow vehicle during the swap rather than
trying to manhandle it.  To move it, you would need to hitch the tow vehicle
to the Hensley, release any tension on the jackscrews and pull the pins that
connect the jackscrews to the torsion bars.  Then you would remove the
torsion bars (Hensley uses DrawTite bars, so they swing out to the side to
release), followed by pulling the pins that attach the strut bars.  Once the
torsion bars and strut bars were removed, then you would release the trailer
hitch latch and raise the trailer hitch off the Hensley. Assuming that each
trailer had it own set of already mounted jackscrew brackets and jackscrews,
the reinstall process would involve backing the tow vehicle to the other
trailer with the Hensley head still attached, aligning the ball on the
Hensley with the trailer. Drop the trailer onto the ball, reattach the strut
bars and pins, insert the appropriate torsion bars and attach them to the
jackscrews with the pins and you would be finished.  If there was a need to
switch drawbars, then once the Hensley was on the other trailer, you would
disconnect the Hensley from the tow vehicle and swap out the drawbars and
then reconnect the Hensley to the tow vehicle.  

I know it sounds complicated, but I could do in about 10 minutes by myself.

On the other hand, the Pullrite would require only an additional set of
torsion bars and associated pullup brackets as most of the Pullrite hardware
goes on the tow vehicle.  I believe that the Pullrite has an adjustable head
so if there is a significant hitch height difference, you would need to
adjust the torsion bar head height accordingly.  A Pullrite would be a lot
simpler, but as Hunter stated, if you plan to trade tow vehicles very often,
Pullrite hardware typically won't work on the next vehicle unless it is just
a newer model of the exact same vehicle and there have NOT been any changes
to the undercarriage between the two models. 

If I had two trailers, I would not hesitate to switch my Hensley between
them.

david