> i'm a pullrite fan :-) >>
>
> Actually so am I. I debated long and hard which one. The only reason the
> Hensley won is because it goes on the trailer not the truck and it's easily
> moved to the next trailer.

i am not yet clear on the relative advantages and disadvantages of this factor.

i tend to keep vehicles a long time, so change is less of a factor for me.
even then, if you change to same type of tow-er,
old pullrite should still work (else get with a welder)
and can be moved to new tow-er,
so i estimate several changes with pullrite would still cost less
than the hensley.

>
> I've also heard, but have no first hand experience, that the Pullrite is
> harder to back

i have heard that, and then talked to fifth wheel folks,
and pullrite vendor here in houston,
who describe the backing process as different, not harder-

this makes sense, since the connection geometries are different.
Pullrite and 5th are almost exactly the same geometry as all semi-trucks,
which can probably be considered the ideal towing geometry.

ie - during backing,
pullrite is less sensitive than regular hitch to steering wheel turns
(until the tow-er gets to large angle to towee, when they are about the
same)

consider -

the tow-er to towee pivot point for regular hitch
is towball by tow-er rear bumper;
for 5th and pullrite and semis,
it is at tow-er kingpin connection near rear axle.
(5th above truck, pullrite below it)

this longer lever arm of regular hitch from back axle to rear bumper
multiplies any tow-er backing turning motion on towee
==> backing action for regular hitch is more sensitive.

for example,
for tow-er with 100 inch = wheel base, and 50 inch = rear axle to towball:
a 10 inch sideways move of tow-er front wheels
--> 5 inch sideways motion of towball turning the towee

while for 5th and pullrite , the backup is just like a semi truck:
the effective tow-er towee connection is near back axle
= say max of 10 inches ...so a short lever arm...
-->the same 10 inch sideways motion in tow-er front
may move tow connection about 1 inch sideways,
ie- more truck motion is required to change the backing turn.

having backed a bunch of 4 wheel hay wagons in my youth,
i can attest to the advantages of this type of action. :-)

when you get the tow-er almost perpendicular to towee
you can just about pivot the towee on its tires with both systems.

BTW - this short lever arm is also the reason that
the dreaded sideways sway forces have little effect on the
5th, pullrite, semis tow-er compares to regular hitch tow-er
- much smaller lever action to reduce sideways forces
back through the tow connection to tow-er.
( about 1/5 in above example)

And no extra friction gadgets are needed to help do this.

(as i understand it, the hensley uses complex geometrical linkages
to mimic this same short lever arm )
 

>and needs a wider turning radius....

interesting,
i got mine because it needs less turning radius. :-)

think about it....
if you have a long tongue trailer,
you can turn so the tow shaft is almost parallel to the back bumper;
because nothing on the towee hits the towee before the tongue shaft;
-->you can approach a 90 degree tow-er to towee turning angle.

with short tow shaft like travel trailers,
as turn gets tighter,
the rear corner of the tow-er will hit the front corner of towee
severely limiting the turns
-->you can approach a 45 degree turning angle (my estimate)

5th wheel & pullrite
keeps all of towee behind tow-er, regardless of the turn angle,
so it insures all of towee stays "out of touch" with tow-er.
ie - it forces a long tongue trailer geometry.
BTW - this longer towing shaft also decreases the backing sensitivity

the pullrite hitch design limits turn to 70 degrees or so,
which is, i estimate,
about 30 degrees more
than max turn angle for my airstream and reg hitch
before they kiss.

but you can also get a 90 degree turn pullrite hitch if you want.

give me a year with it, and i'll let you know more :-)

darrell