Coopers_Dad
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- Joined
- Jun 20, 2019
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I left a few people hanging last fall after my review and mentioning that I was going to get a Hensley for the 2020 season.
Go look at this post for my 11hr pull to Ocean City review https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/new-truck-new-travel-trailer-first-tow-review.12127/
2019 Setup. Blue Ox 12K WD hitch and airride in spring bags.
2020 Setup: Hensley Swift Arrow and Timbergrove Bags.
We had everything booked and planned for at least 30 nights with stops in New England, Maryland and Michigan. But like everyone else when the border shut due to COVID we were stuck on the wrong side. Slowly we cancelled hoping that things might clear up but it became pretty obvious by June that it was getting worse and our year was shot. Things here in Ontario slowly opened in July but with pretty limited access, paying full price per night with half the facilities closed wasn't happening. So rather than having the trailer just sit in storage unused for 12 months we put it up for sale.
Pulling Review:
Hensley Hitch:
The question everyone asks. How much did you say?? $2500 USD.
Is it worth it?: Absolutely, I took it up and down the HWY at 110KPH over the bridges and all sorts of horrible wind. I went out one afternoon with gusts nearly 80KPH and it did its job. ( I'd never have even considered doing that with the Blue Ox. It's kinda cool you can turn on the rear camera and watch the hitch moving around in the gusts.
Can you still feel it moving: Yes, you can still feel it moving around but with the soft suspension on these trucks I don't know if there is any way to eliminate that feeling with a trailer so tall and long.
Did it ever activate the stability control?: No. Not once in the worst winds. With the Blue Ox it happened three times on our last 2019 trip forcing us off the HWY and on to two lane roads.
Hensley didn't sell with the trailer so it's going on EBay soon if anyone is interested.
TimberGrove Bags:
There are a million threads on here about how good these are so I'll make it short.
Are they worth the money?: Yes. The kit is well built, easy to install and hasn't leaked.
Do they work better than the airride? From a functional standpoint it's probably even until my bags started to leak I can't say I was unhappy with the airride.
Final Thoughts: I think the Ram did a fine job of pulling our trailer. As I said in my first post yes I was well aware I was near the upper end of it's capacity but it was still within it's capacity. Is pulling at that end of the range for everyone? Absolutely not and there lots of other threads around where you can argue about that. My wife as a passenger didn't like it she found the motion of the trailer made her car sick from time to time, where I never noticed a thing. With 2500's now just as luxurious as the 1500's and with 12-15K on the hood, if I was keeping the trailer I'd probably upgrade before the 2021. But that upgrade would be from no loss of comfort and features, not because the 1500 wasn't capable.
One last thing. NEVER trust your RV dealer to setup your hitch, from truck brand to truck brand they are different. I found out after our first trip 22+ hrs on the road that our hitch was istting 2" lower. The tech just installed the hitch level to the trailer rather than the +1.75"-2" recommend for a RAM.
Sorry it's a long one, stay safe out there everyone.
Go look at this post for my 11hr pull to Ocean City review https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/new-truck-new-travel-trailer-first-tow-review.12127/
2019 Setup. Blue Ox 12K WD hitch and airride in spring bags.
2020 Setup: Hensley Swift Arrow and Timbergrove Bags.
We had everything booked and planned for at least 30 nights with stops in New England, Maryland and Michigan. But like everyone else when the border shut due to COVID we were stuck on the wrong side. Slowly we cancelled hoping that things might clear up but it became pretty obvious by June that it was getting worse and our year was shot. Things here in Ontario slowly opened in July but with pretty limited access, paying full price per night with half the facilities closed wasn't happening. So rather than having the trailer just sit in storage unused for 12 months we put it up for sale.
Pulling Review:
Hensley Hitch:
The question everyone asks. How much did you say?? $2500 USD.
Is it worth it?: Absolutely, I took it up and down the HWY at 110KPH over the bridges and all sorts of horrible wind. I went out one afternoon with gusts nearly 80KPH and it did its job. ( I'd never have even considered doing that with the Blue Ox. It's kinda cool you can turn on the rear camera and watch the hitch moving around in the gusts.
Can you still feel it moving: Yes, you can still feel it moving around but with the soft suspension on these trucks I don't know if there is any way to eliminate that feeling with a trailer so tall and long.
Did it ever activate the stability control?: No. Not once in the worst winds. With the Blue Ox it happened three times on our last 2019 trip forcing us off the HWY and on to two lane roads.
Hensley didn't sell with the trailer so it's going on EBay soon if anyone is interested.
TimberGrove Bags:
There are a million threads on here about how good these are so I'll make it short.
Are they worth the money?: Yes. The kit is well built, easy to install and hasn't leaked.
Do they work better than the airride? From a functional standpoint it's probably even until my bags started to leak I can't say I was unhappy with the airride.
Final Thoughts: I think the Ram did a fine job of pulling our trailer. As I said in my first post yes I was well aware I was near the upper end of it's capacity but it was still within it's capacity. Is pulling at that end of the range for everyone? Absolutely not and there lots of other threads around where you can argue about that. My wife as a passenger didn't like it she found the motion of the trailer made her car sick from time to time, where I never noticed a thing. With 2500's now just as luxurious as the 1500's and with 12-15K on the hood, if I was keeping the trailer I'd probably upgrade before the 2021. But that upgrade would be from no loss of comfort and features, not because the 1500 wasn't capable.
One last thing. NEVER trust your RV dealer to setup your hitch, from truck brand to truck brand they are different. I found out after our first trip 22+ hrs on the road that our hitch was istting 2" lower. The tech just installed the hitch level to the trailer rather than the +1.75"-2" recommend for a RAM.
Sorry it's a long one, stay safe out there everyone.
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