Checklist
- Grease spring bars every 500 miles (Can’t over grease)
- Check the U-Bolts which clamp the frame brackets to the trailer’s A-frame within the first 200 miles after installation and every 5000 miles thereafter. TORQUE THESE NUTS TO 45 ft. lbs.
- Check the nuts that attach the spring bar U-brackets to the spring bars. Torque these nuts to 30 ft. lbs.
- It is very important to check that the strut bars are tight and will not move when gripped and shaken. If loose tighten the square nut. Check these at every hookup, on a level, flat surface.
- Periodic greasing of the hitch ball and coupler will prolong the life of these parts.
- A light coating of oil or grease on the wedges of the hitch bar will make the latching and removal of the hitch bar easier.
- Periodic paint touch up is recommended for the Hensley Arrow hitch on a regular basis.
Greasing the Hensley Hitch Ball
- Hook up to your trailer. Lock the over-center latches but leave everything else unhooked. Leave the tongue jack down.
- Unlatch the coupler from the hitch ball.
- Loosen the strut bars until they are sloppy loose (if you forget to do this, the struts will hold the ball tight against the coupler and you’ll never get it unhooked).
- Raise the trailer tongue as if you were unhooking from a standard ball hitch. The coupler should lift off the ball. If it doesn’t come off, loosen the struts more or remove them altogether. If that still doesn’t work, you probably have some rust or dirt in the coupler. Get some WD-40 or rust penetration spray and spray up into the coupler. It will work free. If you lube the ball once a year, you should never have this problem.
- Once the coupler is free, raise it up until you have room to work on the ball. You can pull the tow vehicle forward if you’d like more room.
- Clean the ball and inside the coupler. Try to get any dirt or rust out of the coupler.
- Now grease the ball. Any automotive grease will do. Be generous. You can’t over-grease. Use a rag to wipe it inside the coupler as well.
- That’s it. Now lower the coupler back onto the ball, lock the latch. Many owners actually put a lock through the coupler latch to prevent theft of their Hensley Hitch. Just don’t lose the key!
- Tighten the struts again. Remember: they should be even on both sides (count the threads) and just tight enough so that the struts don’t rattle when you try to shake them. Check your struts after the next time you tow, they may loosen as the ball settles back into the coupler.
- That’s all there is to it! Shoot for once a year with this. Thought the ball doesn’t move much inside the coupler with the Hensley Hitch, it does rotate up and down. If it sits for years without lubing, the coupler may rust and damage the ball.
Greasing Spring Bars
Spring bars should be greased before an extended trip and at 500 mile intervals. (Cannot be over greased)
There are two options for greasing the spring bars.
Method 1 (recommended)
Use a grease gun on the grease zerks provided. (Recommended) Fill them until you see grease come out of the bottom of the housing. Note: Squeaking or groaning around turns usually means the bars could use more grease.
Method 2
Remove the spring bars and apply grease directly to the round end of the spring bars and spring bar bushing. Use caution to keep dirt off the grease portion of the spring bar. (Greasing the bars by hand should be done during initial installation as well.)
- To remove the spring bar, remove the pin from the spring bar U-bracket and jack assembly at the near of the spring bar. If your Hensley Arrow came equipped with the heavy-duty 1400# spring bars, you will need to unscrew the zerk fitting off the threaded bushing first and then rotate the bar around toward the vehicle until it drops out of the housing. Then replace zerk back onto bushing tightly. If equipped with the Drawtite bars you do not need to remove the zerk. Simply rotate the bar until it drops out. Note: The Drawtite bars are denoted by a sticker, the heavy-duty bars are not.
- To reinstall spring bars, insert the round end of the spring bar into the bushing and align the center of the groove with the zerk fitting. Apply upward pressure until the bar locks in place. If the bar falls out with downward pressure, you may need to adjust the retainer pin 1/2 turn at a time and repeat the process. It is still a good idea after greasing the bars by hand to finish filling the housing using a grease gun on the zerks themselves.
Measuring for Correct Hitch Bar
The following instructions will help you determine if you have the correct hitch bar or which one you might need.
- Please hook up your trailer with the hitch bar you currently have.
- Pull up the spring bars to the position that gives you the best ride and performance.
- Apply enough tension to stop the bouncing up and down and get good positive steering.
- Do NOT adjust the spring bars to try to get the vehicle level or the trailer level but only until you get the best ride and performance.
- Then pull your trailer to a large parking lot where the vehicle and trailer are on the same plane.
- Get under the trailer and measure the frame to the ground just in front of the wheels and again at the front of the trailer.
- Remember to measure the front and middle of the trailer not the front and rear. You need to determine how close to parallel to the ground is the front half of the trailer.
- This will tell you if you have the correct hitch bar or if you need to get something different and which one it would be.
Building a Ball Hitch for the Hensley
While Hensley Mfg. does not provide a device to move your trailer around a storage lot. Below is what some Hensley Owners have made in order to allow the trailer to be moved around a lot at low speeds. The device is NOT recommended for on-road use or at speed because all sway eliminating aspects of the hitch are effectively disabled.
Equipment needed:
- Receiver Hitch. 2-inch x 2-inch shank. Reinforced collar. Ready to weld. Around 8 inches in length. Pre-drilled to accept a trailer hitch pin.
- Trailer Coupler. You are fine using a 2” ball coupler as long as it’s appropriate for the weight of you’re trailer. BUT, you may want to use a 2-5/16” larger ball coupler because it’s most common. And, down the road, there’s a chance you may purchase a bigger trailer and still want to use this same device.
Weld the coupler to the receiver hitch. Insert your hitch bar into the front of the Hensley Hitch securing it in place with both over center latches. Next, slide the receiver tube coupler combination over the hitch bar and pin it in place. Now you will have a ball coupler on the end of your Hensley Hitch.
To back up using such a device you may need to block out the swivel action of the Hensley Hitch by putting a pin down thru the center slot on the top of the orange part of the hitch. This will leave the ball coupler you made as the only pivot point and allow you to back up. (See picture with OCL wrench inserted into the slot.)
CAUTION!! This device can only be used to move your trailer around a storage lot at 5 mph or less. Do not use it on the road at all. Improper use of such a device could cause severe damage to your trailer, your vehicle, injury to yourself or others, or even death.
