Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Towing: New Andersen WD hitch

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Topic: New Andersen WD hitch

Posted By: zues on 03/04/12 08:02pm

I found a really good price on this hitch. I am not sure how to post price without causing any trouble.

Posted By: JBarca on 03/04/12 08:12pm

zues wrote:

We just got back from a 200 mile trip and the hitch worked great. The hitch is really quiet and smooth. The road going to our house is about 2 miles and really rough. With the old hitch, the truck and trailer would buck. Today coming home with the Andersen hitch, it was really smooth. I love this hitch.

Truck sitting in front of trailer getting ready to hook up

Front 39 9/16
Rear 39 even

Trailer hitched up without the Andersen hooked up

Front 40 even
Rear 38 even

Truck and trailer with the Andesrsen hitch hooked up

Front 39 13/16
Rear 38 1/2

Hi Zues,

Thanks for reporting back and the numbers. Glad the system is working well for you.

It would be helpful if we knew the year/TT make/model and the truck year,make, model,cab and bed size.

Trying to get a handle on TT length and hitch weight coupled to a what size truck and wheel base that the WD hitch is working on.

Would you by chance happen to know your loaded tongue weight?

Thanks and happy camping.

John

PS a side picture of the hitch hook up would be super.

John & Cindy

2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10
CC, SB, Lariat & FX4 package
21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR
Ford Tow Command
1,700# Reese HP hitch & HP Dual Cam
2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver

2004 Sunline Solaris T310SR
(I wish we were camping!)

Posted By: Gallifrey on 03/04/12 11:58pm

Well, I also decided to take the plunge and I just ordered the hitch. I have a short (90 mile) trip coming up next weekend, so hopefully I get it in time to try it out on the trip.

I have a trailer that has the coupler mounted to the bottom of the frame. As I'm thinking of the forces involved, I don't think this should matter much since changes in the vertical distance between the coupler and where the chain attaches won't significantly change the amount of horizontal force applied to the hitch.

Right now my tow vehicle is a 2005 Nissan Armada. The trailer is a KZ Spree 318BHS. I use an Equal-i-zer hitch and it works very well. I've towed it in all sorts of weather conditions without trouble. The only time I did have some problems with the wind pushing the trailer a bit, we pulled over for gas and I had a bit of trouble standing when I got out due to the wind. I didn't realize the wind was blowing quite that hard! So, we waited about 30 mins for the wind to die down and then continued on our way...very impressed with the hitch.

So, why am I interested in switching to this hitch? Quicker to hook up, no grease (which has ruined quite a few of my and my kids' shirts and pants), less noise, possibly less vertical bounce and, above all, perhaps less frequent tightening. I have to constantly re-tighten parts of the equalizer, especially the arm brackets which move about on the trailer frame quite a bit if I don't really stay on top of them (and still move a bit even if I do keep them tight!). So, hopefully the Anderson is much better in this regard.

I'll let you know how it works out.

Posted By: Clanton24V on 03/05/12 03:36am

Glad to see someone else that feels the same as i did after the first use of the hitch.

Posted By: zues on 03/05/12 09:07am

Our truck is a 2009 Dodge Ram Mega Cab diesel. Our trailer is a 1965 Streamline Duke. I do not know the weight, but the trailer is 24 ft long. There is no cat scale very close to us, so that is why I have not weighed the trailer.

Posted By: ch47d99 on 03/05/12 10:21am

Gallifrey, I will be interested to see your review as I have the same combo. My equalizer has worked well too, but you nailed its drawbacks. Plus the thing is a little heavy...certainly not a big deal now but somethign to consider down the road.

Posted By: Slowmover on 03/06/12 07:19pm

zues wrote:

Streamline called it at around 3,500-lbs with a 375-lb TW for a 25' empty. Have a neighbor with a Prince that he renovated/restored and he reported 4,250-lbs fully loaded for a month-long trip. With that in mind, that Duke might be at 4,600-lbs with a 580-lb TW.

.

* This post was edited 03/06/12 07:57pm by an administrator/moderator *

1990 35' SILVER STREAK Sterling, 9k GVWR
2004 DODGE RAM 2WD 305/555 ISB, QC SRW LB NV-5600, 9k GVWR
Hensley Arrow; 11-cpm solo, 17-cpm towing fuel cost

Posted By: logistic on 03/07/12 02:47pm

I received and installed the new Andersen no-sway hitch yesterday. The install was simple. It required none of the normal trial and error tilt adjustments I'm accustomed to with spring bars. I loved the WD setup; I literally dialed in the amount of distribution by turning two nuts until the front wheel well was a 1/8" higher than original unhitched height. It was a piece of cake.

I had two small issues come up, both caused by the location of my battery bracket:
1) Install required moving my propane tank mount forward about a 1/2 inch to create clearance for the frame mounting brackets.
2) I had to cut a link off each chain with a cutoff disc in my grinder. This is due to the relatively forward mounting position I used on the a-frame rails. Handling this issue is detailed clearly in the hitch instructions.

I took a 50 mile test drive that showed lots of promise. I had 25-35 mph diagonal crosswinds to contend with on the hwy. Sway control was smoother but still comparable to dual friction bars. I found the elimination of trailer bounce was excellent and more noticeable than I had anticipated. I'm leaving for 1000 mile trip on Friday, I'll check in next week with an update. Regards

2004 Keystone Cougar 294-RLS (6125 lbs/675 lbs dry)
2011 Ford Expedition EL XLT HD Tow
2012 Ford F150 S-Crew EcoBoost XLT Max Tow

Posted By: JBarca on 03/07/12 06:50pm

Logisitc,

Thanks for reporting back. Looking forward to hearing your report after the long trip.

When your hitched up next time if you can take a few pics of the hitch setup and post would be great.

Good luck and happy camping

John

Posted By: zues on 03/07/12 10:10pm

I would say the tongue weight on our trailer will be more. I added 4 6 volt golf cart batteries, and two bigger propane tanks to the tongue.

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