Anderson Hitch Information

[RpodBJR]

I have a tale of woe. My 2013 R-Pod 177 was destroyed last Thursday. Something failed and I'm trying to figure out the cause. I tow with a 2013 Santa Fe 2.0T. And, have made several trips with the rig without any issues. Anyway, this was a single vehicle accident. I was on the way home when the rig started to porpoise/whipsaw, I let off the gas, but everything continued to go south. The end was in the grassy median (luckily) with the frame and a destroyed trailer on it's right side. The trailer trailer side of the hitch twitted off the ball. Luckily an Anderson hitch ball is very substantive. The the Anderson hitch chains and the safety chains were still attached. The compression bushings were a 5.5 threads. Here's the only clues I could see: the right/passenger side tire was flat; the red compression bushing on the left/driver side of the Andersen hitch was missing and not in the debris field, which meant it left the rig prior to the end of the crash. Has anyone experienced or heard of a hitch failure like this? I always check tire pressure before towing and both tires were at 50#.

I'm going to replace the trailer after the insurance company settlement and don't want to repeat this calamity. I liked my Anderson hitch, but now I'm worried.

The irony to all this is that I had just made some minor repairs to the rear stabilizers and painted some surface rust spots. I'd been putting this off for a while. Bummer.

[Big Red and 30WR]

I don`t see that missing washer being the cause of your accident . Some other factors had to come into play somewhere down the line.

[lakejumper]

So sorry to hear a out your loss...at least you're okay. Without knowing all of the facts, it appears that the blown tire or broken hub, or bad bearings may have caused loss of control based on your speed, road conditions (straight, curvy, etc). I would also check to see if a spring shackle or bushing broke that may have caused the axle to move. We have used the Anderson for many miles and tows and it has been great. Your loss of control may have caused the bushing to break and come out. We have a TPMS for our trailer tires which is very helpful. Although, you may not have been able to prevent this, at least you would have known if there was a problem with the tire. I have driven over two hours, with a very heavy fifth wheel, without knowing my spring shackle was broken and the axle had shifted. I have also towed a boat trailer with a broken hub and narrowly missed a disaster! With how new your RV is, I would look at the flat tire first. I am not an expert so these are just some things to consider.

[lbrjet]

Highly unlikely your hitch had anything to do with your accident.


2010 F250 5.4L 3.73
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equal-i-zer 4pt 12K

[RpodBJR]

The frame stayed together and the axle was not effected. So, it would have to be the tire ,except that I checked before starting, and I hit no curbs or anything else that would cause the bead to separate from the rim. It's still a mystery.

Thanks for your replies.

I am going to contact Anderson and ask them. Probably should have done this first.