Andersen Hitches

[House97]

I have a friend who is looking for a new hitch, and ran across this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRoQ_...e_gdata_player

Anybody ever heard of this? Any experience with it?

[mtnguy]

OK, I can understand the anti-sway part of the hitch, but I'll be darned if I can figure out how it distributes the weight.

And I can see that hitch ball sleeve wearing out frequently.

[Triguy]

I remember seeing something last year in Trailer Life magazine.

Interesting and rather innovative. Its got a lot going for it: Lighter, possibly less messy, possibly quieter, looks easy to install and the price point is right in line with their competitors.

I admit that I don't immediately see how it distributes weight either. Is it the tension on the chains that provide the weight distribution? If so, then tension would be added each time you hook up (and subsequently removed each time you unhooked) with that ratchet. Sounds like it would be variable with each set up then or maybe I'm missing something.

I'd like to see about their longevity compared to their competition. But its so new I doubt there are enough users who could comment. They do have a lifetime guarantee, though, which is good.

I wonder if they have a try-before-you-buy period?

[House97]

According to my friend, they have a 45 day trial. It looked to me that the weight distribution is by the chains, but it seems like you'd have to ratchet that thing up every time you hitched up which would be a royal pain in the tuckus, and nigh impossible to duplicate unless maybe you used a torque wrench.

[RubenZ]

It appears the WD is done by tightening the chains. seems like a lot of stress would be put on chains but I can see how the concept works. We live in windy south Texas and I've been wanting to try out a WD/Anti Sway system.

[mtnguy]

If the trailer part of the chain were mounted above the frame, then I can maybe understand that pulling the back of the truck up, but I just don't understand how it would work like it is shown with the chain level.

Can somebody splain (Ricky Recardo word) that to me.

[Triguy]

Besides the explanation of how that works, I'd really like to see a CAT scale sheet with before and after weights to see how much is transferred.

You would think the manufacturer would provide a little more explanation. They tell a lot about the features, but havn't addressed the mechanics. I'm not sure many experienced campers would buy from them without understanding how it works.

I sent them an email and I'll share any information that they provide.

[mtnguy]

Originally Posted by Triguy

I sent them an email and I'll share any information that they provide.

Great idea !!

[Sean Woodruff]

Sway occurs when the trailer coupler turns on the hitch ball. Unless that ball is somehow locked into the coupler, allowing the whole shaft to pivot, the sway damping feature is useless.


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[mtnguy]

Originally Posted by Sean Woodruff

Sway occurs when the trailer coupler turns on the hitch ball. Unless that ball is somehow locked into the coupler, allowing the whole shaft to pivot, the sway damping feature is useless.
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It looks like the ball does not move in the coupler. The ball moves with the chain bracket on the bottom.