Andersen Hitches

[flc]

gwest - Thanks! That's just the info I was needing. I think I'm going to take the plunge and order one. I'll still have the equalizer until I check out the Andersen.

[PHS79]

Yesterday we did our first weekend using the new camper and the Andersen hitch. Since this was our first actual trip with this whole new setup I was fooling around with the compression of the bushings alittle on the trip to the campground vs the drive home.

On the way to the camp ground we had 20-25mph winds with gusts to 35, I had 6 threads showing which was just a hair under 3/16" of compression. There was no bounce at all and but a little bit of sway with the higher winds.

On the way home winds were only 10-20 mph with gusts to 25, I had 9 threads showing which is 1/4" of compression. The camper pulled very well, no bounce or noticeable sway.

Also as a side note, I am guessing that I had about 400-500lbs of firewood and other gear in the bed of the truck. And I also ran 25 psi in my airbags to level the truck back out.

Considering this was my first tow with a WD hitch at all, and also the first trip with our new camper I was pretty impressed with how everything went and how it towed. Granted I still have some messing to do to fine tune the my truck and hitch setup, it was a very good experience.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by PHS79

Also as a side note, I am guessing that I had about 400-500lbs of firewood and other gear in the bed of the truck. And I also ran 25 psi in my airbags to level the truck back out.

IMHO, if you had to use airbags to level out the truck even while using a WDH (Anderson), then your truck was overloaded, the WDH was not distributing the weight properly, or some of both.

Next time you need to use the airbags to level the truck, a trip to the scales might be in order, weighing both the empty truck and with the trailer attached to see which of the above 2 scenarios are happening.

[PHS79]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

IMHO, if you had to use airbags to level out the truck even while using a WDH (Anderson), then your truck was overloaded, the WDH was not distributing the weight properly, or some of both.

Next time you need to use the airbags to level the truck, a trip to the scales might be in order, weighing both the empty truck and with the trailer attached to see which of the above 2 scenarios are happening.

My truck sits dead level with no air in the bags, and it sits about 1/4" lower in the rear trailer hooked up using the Andersen. Then I add 500lbs and the truck is about 5/8" lower in the rear than the front, so I use the airbags just to level the truck back out, so the front and rear are level.

If my truck was not lifted in the front I would not need or even have the bags. My truck in stock form even with the trailer hooked up and NO WD hitch, my truck would sit with the rear high by roughly 1.5". The whole reason for me using the airbags and even having the bags on my truck is because the of it being lifted.

[Triguy]

Actually, I view this thread as very useful for members to discuss their thoughts alongside the few experiences posted now that some have opted to try it out. It's perfectly fine to express reservations as well as praises. It's all good.

[Kaytee1206]

Did a post get deleted? I saw a response in my email but its not here.

[Triguy]

Originally Posted by KKapa

Did a post get deleted? I saw a response in my email but its not here.

Yes. A member deleted his own threat, which is his right. My response to his is the one immediately above yours.

[heron2000]

Great threat - been looking for a WD that didn't have some kind of bar to engage the spring bar and this Anderson is the one. I just need to know if they have longer chains and what the distance is from the center of the ball to the hole the pin goes in on the receiver. I need at least 12 inches. Can anyone give me that measurement. i'll send a request to Anderson also.
New member - great forum

[comfun1]

I bought one of these and have had a Reese in the past. I am much happier with the Andersen. I called them with a few questions before I bought mine and they are easy to reach and very helpful.

[PHS79]

Originally Posted by heron2000

Great threat - been looking for a WD that didn't have some kind of bar to engage the spring bar and this Anderson is the one. I just need to know if they have longer chains and what the distance is from the center of the ball to the hole the pin goes in on the receiver. I need at least 12 inches. Can anyone give me that measurement. i'll send a request to Anderson also.
New member - great forum

You can add links to the chains, or shorten, to get the chains to the lengths that you need. I personally had to lengthen my chains to clear my LP tanks. From the center of the ball to the center of the pin hole is roughly 10 5/8" and from the back of the U that holds the aluminum tapered ball sleeve the measurement is roughly 4 3/4" to the center of the hole.

Maybe Andersen has a longer shank available, it would be worth a call to find out.

Also I only have about 500 miles on while towing with the Andersen, but I love this thing so far! And I get people asking me almost everytime we go camping about the hitch, how it works, ect.

[heron2000]

Thanks for the info - i'm going to contact them about a longer shank for my project.

[oncemore10]

The first time I used it I got a tremendous amount of Bounce on a particular stretch of freeway, was it the road or the hitch?
thanks
Bill

[oncemore10]

I have this hitch and the results are still out for me . the installation process was not quite as easy as they say the chain brackets have four set screws in them and they suggest you drill four holes for the set screws of have the brackets tack welded. To adjust the chain you do it just as you do a regular WD hitch , you crank up the jack and take the pressure of the springs than you can loosen or tighten them. I set my to seven threads showing . only have taken it out once and got a lot of bounce on a piece of expressway but maybe that was just the road . They give you a socket to adjust the chains with but you need a 1/2 inch driver to use it. I happen to have a shorty driver so that worked for me

[maggiemarks46]

I am getting ready to buy my second Andersen TT hitch. I like the concept. I am 66 years old and racheting is a lot better than me lifting heavy spring bars. Hitch works well and racheting chains pulls triangular plate and distributes weight forward. I pull a 28 foot airstream and hitch works great. Cost 1/2 of reese WD dual cam hitch. No noise and do not have to remove to reverse.

[hazmat456]

WOW this thread has really shown me who I don't want to buy from, the guy who clams to have 15 years of knowledge can't understand a simple push/pull theory.

I like the new hitch design but I would like to see it with a positive detent instead of just a friction pad. I'm ready to pull the trigger on somthing soon,just hard to justify more than a weeks pay on a new hitch, much less a months pay on some oversized chain-links. Looks like anderson might have hit a homerun.

[jd-ford-hd]

Originally Posted by firemanrod

....................."........................... I can tell you that I couldn't release the trailer hitch until I relieved pressure on the adjusting nuts. This tells me the weight distributing force was being forced back against the trailer itself.

Bingo...! The chains are drawing the ball rearward and the trailer forward. This in turn forces the ball into the latch mechanism on most couplers instead of the ball being seated in the formed socket of the coupler which is why you could not unlatch with chains tight. This system looks like a great sway control and testimony from users seem to substantiate it.

[Sean Woodruff]

Originally Posted by hazmat456

WOW this thread has really shown me who I don't want to buy from, the guy who clams to have 15 years of knowledge can't understand a simple push/pull theory.

Thank you! That guy doesn't know a damn thing about towing or hitches. Probably doesn't even have an engineering degree. Push/pull theory? That's all about immigration, isn't it?

[hazmat456]

nope Sean, I've seen you on alot of forums and you have always proven yourself to be a salesman and nothing more. Over and over you shout down new ideas instead of encouraging competition. It is very apparent that you had nothing to do with the converging links design,just happened to be in the right place when the patent ran out.
No I do not have a engineering degree, and I shouldn't need one to know that if I push on one side of a lever the other side will move in a predictable way, a class I guess you missed back in second grade.

[hazmat456]

and just to be clear encouraging someone to pull a 32' tt with a jeep just because it has a v8, to make a sale, is dangerous and you open yourself up to be liable when someone gets hurt.

[Sean Woodruff]

Originally Posted by hazmat456

nope Sean, I've seen you on alot of forums and you have always proven yourself to be a salesman and nothing more. Over and over you shout down new ideas instead of encouraging competition. It is very apparent that you had nothing to do with the converging links design,just happened to be in the right place when the patent ran out.
No I do not have a engineering degree, and I shouldn't need one to know that if I push on one side of a lever the other side will move in a predictable way, a class I guess you missed back in second grade.

Over and over? Really? Prone to much exaggeration?

Can you point out all these posts to back up your talk?

You won't. Not due to your obvious lack of intelligence but because there aren't any.

How about posting your REAL name rather than hiding behind a username? See mine?

Did the patent run out? Once again, you don't quite research any facts, do you? You might want to attempt to do that before you post anything. Your credibility in ALL your posts (3 of them?) really takes a hit when you post information that is easy to prove false.

Just to be clear with you, whomever you are, you don't have a clue. I've been doing this every day of my life for over 15 years, THOUSANDS of happy customers, and have NOT ONE that has ever been hurt. What are you implying? Once again, your KEYBOARD COURAGE doesn't impress me. Please let me know your REAL name.

If you'd like to back up your assertions, let's get on a test track.

Here's my open challenge to you... I'll meet you at any test track with a jeep and a 32' trailer. You can bring your combination.

We'll each pay half the bill to get the testing done by test engineers. All of it will be documented so we can post it here.

That should tell us if you really have a valid point.

What do you say?