Andersen Weight Distribution Hitch

[sky2adam]

I have an 1809s with an F150 supercab TV and using the Anderson. I do not like the way it feels on the highway period. It develops a weird sway depending on road surface and speed. I've moved the ball height around from a level bias to both nose high and nose low.

My previous TV was a Chevy 2500, I didn't use sway or weight control to pull this camper and there was no strange handling with just using a towball.

If my trips were close with fairly short highway runs I'd keep it. The system is nice in that it's quiet, light, clean, relatively inexpensive and takes up no storage space.

[Rugman1952]

I pull a 35' toy hauler using an Anderson WDH and love the way it works. That being said, my TV is a F250 King Ranch diesel. I would Not use an Andersen with any less truck than what I have. Not enough weight transfer. If you're sagging to begin with, the Andersen won't set you level. Great hitch, but you need a lot of truck to pull the bigger tt's.

[hunterrick]

Hi,

I have a 3008W and I tow with a 3/4 ton diesel pickup. I've tested 4 hitches in back to back tests. One was an Andersen. As others have said, it doesn't transfer as much weigh back to the front as one would like. I've been to the scales with all 4 hitches so I know exactly how they perform. Loaded, with no WD my trailer axles carry 7680lbes, with 950 lbs on the tongue. Again with no WD, the front axle lightens 380 lbs. With the Andersen optimally adjusted, I could get a max of 50% of that weight back to the front.

On my truck, I technically don't need WD for this trailer. The main benefit is sway control. However, if enough weight isn't transferred back to the front, the ride is very harsh. In back to back tests with the Andersen and my 10,000 lb Equal-I-Zer, the unanimous choice of my family was the Equalizer due to a much better ride.

However, even the properly adjusted Equalizer didn't transfer more than 68% back to the front. I discussed this with the Equalizer people and they recommended that I go with their 12,000 lb hitch because my tongue weight is right at the max for my original hitch.

Equalizers are a bit noisy so instead, I decided to try a Blue Ox Swaypro 15,000. The Blue Ox is very nice to hook up, totally silent and easily transfers 100% of the weight back to the front. The ride is great, and thee is no sway. The downside is the handling is a bit squirrely when going around curves. I put on over 5000 miles travelling through the Rockies back in September so I gave it a pretty thorough test. In the end, I decided good handling trumped noise, so I went for the 12,000 Lb Equalizer.

The bottom line is the heavier Equalizer works great. I get 90% weight transfer back to the front, no sway, handling is great and the ride is only slightly harsher than the Blue Ox.

On your truck, I would not recommend the Andersen since I don't think it will provide adequate weight transfer. Your ride and handling will be seriously impacted. I originally towed my trailer with a Tahoe, which is a more substantial vehicle than your Colorado. It was not up to the task at all and provided plenty of white knuckle moments, as well as providing very poor mileage while towing. The move to the bigger truck happened shortly thereafter. I'm afraid you will find similar issues with your situation. At the very least, I'd put LT tires on if you don't already have them. They are much stiffer and will squirm around much less while towing.

If you would like to see the weigh station results for all of the different hitch combinations, I have them in an XL spreadsheet. I'd be happy to provide them to anyone who is interested.

[sgh77]

Thank you for your advice everyone, Andersen guarantee it will work, and because no one is selling WDH's in our country apart from Andersens I will try it.

[Timtation]

I love my Andersen but I have a half ton Ram and a heavy 25 camper. It transfers the weight just fine but as Andersen told me, I am in the sweet spot. We had a regular wd before and the ride is sooo much better and control is quite good. Good luck.

[Scotty]

Originally Posted by sgh77

Does anyone have any success stories from using the Andersen with over a 30ft Travel Trailer?

Yep tows as good as my 37ft 5er. However I'm also towing with a 2500 Ram CTD. I love the Andersen due to is simplicity and weight, meaning weight I have to lift. LOL.

I do agree that heavy trailers behind light trucks needs more help. Then again, too many people try to justify towing with a light vehicle. 30+ ft TT's and 5ers provide a lot of sail area for the wind and Semis to blow around, tail wagging the dog.

[HONDAMAN174]

When we left for this long weekend, we ended up just loading our unit at storage and leaving from there. Everything was a breeze- hook up, pulling out, and driving along the highway was pretty easy this trip.


2014 Evo 2850 "Woodstock"
2011 Toyota Tundra "Clifford"

[Springerdad]

Originally Posted by sgh77

I dont have a Chevrolet Colorado I have an Australian Holden Colorado, like all small trucks in NZ are sold as 3500kg (7700 pound) and 6000kg (13220 pound) combined.

We just dont have the big 250's and 350's over here.

I didn't see it mentioned, but the Holden is a GM subsidiary in Australia, if I'm not mistaken. Supposedly GM is pulling out soon. sgh77 - is your Colorado based on a late model GM pickup 1500/2500?

[madmaxmutt]

Originally Posted by sky2adam

I have an 1809s with an F150 supercab TV and using the Anderson. I do not like the way it feels on the highway period. It develops a weird sway depending on road surface and speed. I've moved the ball height around from a level bias to both nose high and nose low.

My previous TV was a Chevy 2500, I didn't use sway or weight control to pull this camper and there was no strange handling with just using a towball.

If my trips were close with fairly short highway runs I'd keep it. The system is nice in that it's quiet, light, clean, relatively inexpensive and takes up no storage space.

I would say you have an issue with your setup or you have something worn out. No sway at all on F150 with 6500 Surveyor behind it.

Originally Posted by sgh77

Thank you for your advice everyone, Andersen guarantee it will work, and because no one is selling WDH's in our country apart from Andersens I will try it.

If your rear suspension is too soft, add air bags. The soft rear springs on most 1500 and smaller trucks today are for grocery getting, not towing. The air bags will do the truck leveling for you. The trailer can then easily be set using an Andersen. As others have said it probably won't move 700lbs, but the air bags will level the truck keeping the headlights on the road.

Andersen actually recommends Timbrens. I tried them for a little while. The work great towing, but not so much empty when you hit big bumps.

Be darn sure you use the Andersen fitment guide BEFORE ordering. You need to be sure you are ordering the correct hitch for your application.

[sgh77]

Originally Posted by Springerdad

I didn't see it mentioned, but the Holden is a GM subsidiary in Australia, if I'm not mistaken. Supposedly GM is pulling out soon. sgh77 - is your Colorado based on a late model GM pickup 1500/2500?

Im not sure, they are a smaller body than the 1500. Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max, Holden Colorado, VW Amorak, Madza BT50, etc... all compete for the 7700 pound towing market in New Zealand and Australia. If we need a bigger truck then we have to go to a truck truck, not a pickup.

[sgh77]

Originally Posted by madmaxmutt

Be darn sure you use the Andersen fitment guide BEFORE ordering. You need to be sure you are ordering the correct hitch for your application.

Will try the hitch first then will look at airbags or extra leaf springs if the hitch leaves me sagging.

[sgh77]

Update after fitting hitch... wow what a difference, tows so nicely now, no movement, didnt return as much weight to the front as I'd hoped, but feels tight and follows the truck nicely. Still a little bit of bounce, well worth the $1000 investment. No more hairy moments being tossed around.

[zuterbru]

Glad it is working for you! WOW! $1000? It is under $500 here, even with shipping it should have been way less than a grand... I LOVE the way my setup handles with the Andersen. I think the problem people have with the Andersen, it is not setup properly. And once setup, there is not much you can do to change it, you cant add heavier bars etc. It does not put that much weight on the front axle like the other systems, glad to hear it was 50% versus 65% with an equalizer so it is putting a fair amount of weight down. I have a 31' 5000lb dry trailer with a 3/4 ton HD truck, so I do not need that much weight put down on the front axle. I will also never haul close to my tow rating again! With the dry weight on my trailer I am at less than half. You do not know how bad your setup is until you upgrade to a heavier truck.