Hensley/Propride experience in snow or ice

[squeegee_boy]

I have an opportunity to purchase a used Hensley Arrow hitch for a good price. It seemed like a no-brainer until I started reading about the Hensley/ProPride "bump" that occurs at times when the trailer is not braked as aggressively as the tow vehicle. It seems like the common response/solution is to use a Prodigy P3 brake controller. I own one of those.

I have two compounding factors, however.
1.) Snow and/or ice covered roads are a given, as is hauling in "mountain" terrain, if 3000' elevation changes count as such. I estimate that 2/3 of my towing is on snow or ice covered roads. Freezing rain is common, and causes a lot of the jack-knife conditions that I am hoping to avoid.
2.)A significant amount of my trailer towing is under extremely cold conditions, sometimes on the cold side of -40 degrees, but more commonly -20 deg F to 10 deg F. In my experience, electric trailer brakes do little to nothing until I drive about 20 to 50 miles, at which point heat from the wheel bearings seems to be sufficient to warm the brakes. In short, properly setting the proportioning of the trailer brake controller is not possible.

I am currently using a Reese Double Cam set-up, tow vehicles get proper winter compound studded tires from November to May, but I have not done so with the trailers (they run standard ST trailer tires).

I am trying to remove those pucker-inducing jack-knife conditions as well as wind-induced sway with a Hensley-Arrow. I emailed the company but received crickets in response.

To date I have racked up tens of thousands of miles towing under these conditions. No incidents yet, but I have often felt like I am flirting with disaster when the tail of the tow vehicle comes out by a few degrees. Less often, the trailer itself comes around like a giant pendulum.

I think it is well established that Hensley Arrow and ProPride hitches are the ones to have when it comes to cross-wind. My intuition tells me that these hitches would be the way to go in straight-line conditions on ice and snow. My concern is downhill curves in mountain passes, especially if the trailer brakes have not warmed up, but even then if the winter tires on the tow vehicle overwhelm the summer tires on the trailer. I'd hate to spend money to mitigate a potential issue under one condition only to create an instability in another.

For anyone with experience using these hitches in inclement weather cares to chime in, I would very much appreciate hearing the experience. Likewise, if you avoid these hitches due to their performance in snow or ice, I would also like to know why you decided against them.

[carringb]

Friction sway control is bad news in snow. If you jackknife, the friction bar can hold the jack-nife and prevent you from pulling out of it. The Hensley offers zero resistance to straightening back out. The one rear scenario where it may want to cam-over, is far less likely than any other destabilizing event you may encounter on ice.

BTW (this is mostly for squeegee_boy) - I went from a Hensely to a Dual Cam for capacity reasons, and I did not notice any degradation in ice and snow, so I'm not sure you'll realize the stability gain you are looking for. Re-reading the original post, it sounds like maybe you have some inherent instability with your setup. The only time I get any instability, is braking hard on patchy ice, or hitting deep heavy snow suddenly from drifts or lack of plowing.

[nickthehunter]

I think you're thinking of this all wrong. I would use studded tires or chains on ice and snow with a friction sway bar - something I can take off when snow and ice gets bad. You're not going to have a problem with sway when the roads are bad, but you could very well have a problem with the trailer not wanting to turn or not wanting to straighten out when it does turn. I have had the back end want to slide down the hill on a banked turn, a quick hit of the brake controller would pull it back in line. Traction yes, something trying to keep it from changing direction - big no in my book.

[squeegee_boy]

I appreciate all of the responses. I think studded winter compound tires may be the way to go, but I'll probably pick up the Hensley hitch as well. A number of people who pull snowmobile sleds stud their tires.

Chains tend to be very regional; I see them a lot in the Rockies and on the west coast. I think the speed limitation is why we very rarely put them on around here, but I agree that when roads are glare ice, a set of chains on TV and TT are unbeatable.

I'll report back any snow towing experiences with the Hensley this winter.

[carringb]

FWIW I've thought about snow tires on the trailer too. But really, chains just work better. I haven't had trouble with locking up the brakes on uniform slick surfaces. I have it get squirrelly under hard braking when only one side of the trailer is on ice.

ODOT is usually very conservative about requiring chains of trailers. I can think of only a couple times where they didn't require it, but the changing conditions made me pull over and chain up the trailer on the way down.

Keep in mind extreme cold temperatures improve snow and ice traction, vs coastal temps where you're near the freezing mark. But I think it would be worth considering a winter compound even if just for ride. I've noticed that below zero, my trailer tires hold their flat-spots from parking. I've never noticed issues with braking. Maybe you're brakes are getting snow in them, and freezing on the magnets? I do run a spray skirt on the back of the van in snow, and it greatly reduces the snow buildup under the trailer.

[BurbMan]

I've not towed in those extreme cold conditions, but I think your assessment is correct and advice here so far is solid. CarringB and Blt2ski have lots of experience towing TTs in the conditions you mention.

I wouldn't hesitate to grab the Hensley, but would also consider studded tires on the TT to improve braking traction.

Even in balmy temps, I find that the TT brakes take a while to grab. It's not the temps per se, it's that when the TT sits between trips, surface rust forms on the drums and magnets, and it takes some usage to rub that rust off. What I do is activate the TT brakes manually (while at low speed, before the highway) until I feel them start to grab like they should.

If you don't like the Hensley, you can put a coat of paint on it and sell it for more than you paid for it.

[Lynnmor]

I have towed enclosed snowmobile trailers in all kinds of conditions. I believe that any kind of sway control will hurt as much as help because it depends on the traction of the trailer tires to pull things back in line. An active sway control will try to prevent turning even if that is what you want to do. A friction control will try to keep the combination in the same condition till traction is regained.

Trailer drum brakes are a joke under any conditions, you should consider disk brakes and have them controlled with foot pressure because controllers that use inertia for reference have no ability to function when on slippery surfaces.

[blt2ski]

I'd put studs on the trailer too. To me, a tow rig with studs, and no major traction ability on the trailer, is no different than a FWD rig with studs on the front, normal street tires on the rear is icy conditions.

I have not towed at all with the hitches you are asking about. I have towed many miles in the snow, with a std WD and a Dual cam. I ran with out studs, yes legal here in Wa St. Just a traction tire on the truck, an aggressive hwy tire on the RV trailer. If in the local mtn passes, and I felt I need chains to go forward, stop safely etc, and or it was required per the WSP, I chained up the trailer along with the truck. I never had the trailer wanting to come around. That included going down a really icy 10% grade with mid 50+ MPH winds.

Not saying you need a different hitch setup. But as noted, that trailer does not have any traction compared to the truck, so it sliding sidways and in front of you, does not surprise!

marty

[carringb]

It can be an issue, but not enough so that I wouldn't use use it.

Basically, the "bump" in icy conditions can cause sudden oversteer instead of a bump, under the same conditions like a sharp turn into a driveway while going downhill, and you let off the brakes mid turn. Basically, you just have to lightly accelerate out of it, and NOT panic and hit the brakes again. That that's it. since you already know to expect it, you'll probably be able to react to it just fine.

[Boomerweps]

I have zero experience in those kind of extreme cold conditions. BUT I would think you would strongly want to have studded tires on the TT so the TV doesn't try to stop with the TT just sliding along. My Pennsylvania winter hill driving experience would make me want studs on the camper even more so than on the TV if I towed in winter. I've often towed an unbraked 3K# 10x6x6 cargo trailer full of band gear, sound equipment and lights in icy conditions and that was no fun, towing using a 4WD Ford Expedition. I actually had the trailer slide in a sloped parking lot while stopped!