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Old 01-09-2012, 02:52 PM   #1
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Andersen Hitches

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

Anybody ever heard of this? Any experience with it?
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Old 01-09-2012, 02:58 PM   #2
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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.
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Old 01-09-2012, 03:31 PM   #3
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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?
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Old 01-09-2012, 03:43 PM   #4
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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.
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Old 01-09-2012, 04:53 PM   #5
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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.
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Old 01-09-2012, 06:39 PM   #6
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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.
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Old 01-10-2012, 07:05 AM   #7
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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.
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Old 01-10-2012, 08:22 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Triguy View Post
I sent them an email and I'll share any information that they provide.
Great idea !!
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Old 01-10-2012, 11:11 AM   #9
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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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Old 01-10-2012, 11:21 AM   #10
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Quote:
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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.
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Old 01-10-2012, 11:50 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mtnguy View Post
It looks like the ball does not move in the coupler. The ball moves with the chain bracket on the bottom.

A force on the trailer (e.g.- passing truck, high winds) would pivot the trailer on the hitch ball unless the ball is somehow locked into the coupler.
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Old 01-10-2012, 12:01 PM   #12
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A force on the trailer (e.g.- passing truck, high winds) would pivot the trailer on the hitch ball unless the ball is somehow locked into the coupler.
Sean, check out 1:20 and 3:50 into the video. Looks llike for the most part, the ball rotates with the chain plate, resulting in the ball rotating with the trailer tongue.
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Old 01-10-2012, 12:12 PM   #13
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Sean, check out 1:20 and 3:50 into the video. Looks llike for the most part, the ball rotates with the chain plate, resulting in the ball rotating with the trailer tongue.

Yes, I see that when the turn is initiated by the tow vehicle. The outer tube that the hitch ball shaft is mounted in is being turned by the tow vehicle because it is fixed solid to the hitch bar inserted in the tow vehicle receiver.

Trailer sway occurs when the trailer is hit with a force and the coupler turns on the hitch ball. One chain would get shorter and the other would need so get longer without the hitch ball being captured in the coupler.

Imagine the tow vehicle and trailer in line with each other. If you could pick up the rear end of the trailer and move it 3 feet to the side what would stop it from pivoting on the hitch ball?


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Old 01-10-2012, 12:25 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Sean Woodruff View Post

Trailer sway occurs when the trailer is hit with a force and the coupler turns on the hitch ball. One chain would get shorter and the other would need so get longer without the hitch ball being captured in the coupler.

Imagine the tow vehicle and trailer in line with each other. If you could pick up the rear end of the trailer and move it 3 feet to the side what would stop it from pivoting on the hitch ball?
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The way I see it, the chains remain the same length during a turn.....that is the way it looks on the overhead shot swerving down the road. If you pick up the rear of the trailer and move it over 3'. the chains look like they would remain the same, with the chain bracket plate moving in conjunction with the trailer, albeit the ball turning with the trailer. Of course I could be wrong, and I am open to other ideas.

As mentioned before, I don't see how the weight distributing works. IMHO, that Ford Super Duty is squatting some in back. If you can't get that hitch to distribute the weight better than that on a 3/4 or ton truck, what is going to happen to my measly little F150 ??
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Old 01-10-2012, 10:09 PM   #15
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Here's my 2 cents.
The weight distribution is in the chains. Instead of using bending of spring bars, they are pulling a tension force at the bottom. This tension force at the bottom creates a compression force to be resisted by the ball/coupler connection. The distance between the ball/coupler and the chain creates the ability for the system to distribute weight.

It looks like they are using some type of break material around the ball shaft to create the anti-sway. Basically they've moved the friction to the area around the shaft/brake material. The shaft/ball rotates with the trailer as it is locked in with the chains. This shaft rotates in the portion attached to the truck, but is dampened by the brake material.

I still like my Equalizer.
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Old 01-13-2012, 05:52 PM   #16
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I sent them an email and I'll share any information that they provide.
Well, I got through to the President, Ryan Andersen. Nice guy who spent some time describing his hitch and explaining the WD part of the hitch. I am not going to address the sway control as the video covered more of that.

Frankly, I'm more of a numbers guy rather than an engineer but I'll try to pass along his explanation as clearly as I can. BTW - they plan to address the WD questions in a future video from their company.

Here goes. I hope I get this right. Basically, as mentioned above, the chains do the same job as spring bars. The chains are logging chains that can pull up to 6,000lbs each. He explained that there is typically 2-3K lbs of force from each chain.

As opposed to the typical spring bars, the way they work is that they pull back on the bottom of the ball; tilting the ball forward (Picture pulling on the bottom of a box while pushing on the top). This causes some of the load to transfer to the front axle of the TV.

His example was that a 4,000lb trailer would transfer about 270lbs to the front axle using a 10% tongue weight. I suggested that they include an example on a CAT scale with before and after sheets demonstrating the distribution.

I also asked how you know what to tighten the ratchet to since the chains are loosened each time you disconnect. He explained the easiest way was to count the number of threads at the end of each screw once its tightened to the force you want (e.g., 7 or 8 threads). Remember that and tighten back to that placement to get the same amount of distribution.

I invited Ryan to come onto the forum to clear up anything with regards to their hitch. I'm sure I left more questions than answers with my explanation above but hopefully it gives you a better idea of how it distributes the weight.
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Old 01-13-2012, 06:02 PM   #17
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Scott, many thanks for calling and getting that information, and for your excellent description here.

I can understand the theory behind pulling on the bottom of the ball, but still don't see how that will work as well as lifting the hitch as in a traditional WDH. The upcoming video should be interesting.

I am all for new inventions, and hope this works out for Mr. Anderson.
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Old 01-13-2012, 06:12 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mtnguy View Post
Scott, many thanks for calling and getting that information, and for your excellent description here.

I can understand the theory behind pulling on the bottom of the ball, but still don't see how that will work as well as lifting the hitch as in a traditional WDH. The upcoming video should be interesting.

I am all for new inventions, and hope this works out for Mr. Anderson.
Looking at it I would say when you tighten the chain you are shortening it,since the pole of the trailer will not allow the trailer to get closer to the truck and the shortened chain will not allow the trailer/truck joint to move down,the only other way to move is up,thus distributing the weight.Really a neat idea if I have it right.
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Old 01-13-2012, 06:15 PM   #19
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My understanding is the ball does turn in the coupler. The coupler is lined with brake materal. I might be wrong.
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Old 01-13-2012, 06:17 PM   #20
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I hope that Ryan does come on. It was fairly clear to me as he was describing it and I can picture it in my mind but a picture is worth a thousand words and I don't know if I have that many words
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