zues wrote:
My coupler will not open with tension on the chains
My coupler will not open with tension on the chains
Aha! I should have known...
2016 Palomino Puma 30RKSS
1990 Chaparral 2150SX 350 MAG
2006 Chevrolet 2500HD 6.0
1989 Pontiac Formula 350 "LSX" 6.0 LS2
2008 Harley Dyna Low Rider
At 3/16" compression, the Honda Pilot and Lance 1575 TT seemed to be locked together as one unit, and rode like a stiffly sprung truck. Every dip in the road and gust of wind experienced by the TT seemed to push and shove the Honda around. Wasn't comfortable or pleasant, and I was constantly having to make steering corrections because of what the TT was doing to the TV.
Big difference at 1/8" compression. The Pilot handled well, like it should, with very little pushing or shoving by the trailer, and felt in control. The Lance handled well without a feeling of being rigidly connected to the Pilot--it handled dips in the road just fine. The feeling of control and balance was much more like the experience of towing my boat, which is an easy tow. My confidence in towing the Lance has grown considerably.
The Andersen hitch is rated at 14,000 pounds GTWR and 1400 pounds tongue weight. My lightweight rig is only using a fraction of the hitch's capability. In one of the YouTube videos on the hitch, it is stated that 1/4" spring compression puts 2000 pounds of tension on each chain. I would like to know how many pounds of tension 1/8" compression creates.
With all my measuring, I have determined that 1/8" compression is achieved in my setup with 1 3/16" bolt showing beyond the adjustment nut. So hooking up is easy--just turn the nut so that 8 threads are showing, then adjust with a ruler and rachet.
BTW, I tried once and my coupler does not open with tension on the chains. I don't recall if that was with the full weight of the tongue on the ball, or not. I do know that before installing the Andersen, that I could not open the coupler unless most of the weight of the tongue was removed from the ball. Going camping next week and will experiement with it.
2012 Lance 1575 TT pulled by 2013 4WD Expedition with HD Tow Package
2016 6.7 CTD 2500 BIG HORN MEGA CAB
2013 Forest River 3001W Windjammer
Equilizer Hitch
Honda EU2000
"I have this plan to live forever; so far my plan is working"
Bruce H. wrote:
-- In one of the YouTube videos on the hitch, it is stated that 1/4" spring compression puts 2000 pounds of tension on each chain. I would like to know how many pounds of tension 1/8" compression creates.
That would depend on several factors, but we can make a wild guess.-- In one of the YouTube videos on the hitch, it is stated that 1/4" spring compression puts 2000 pounds of tension on each chain. I would like to know how many pounds of tension 1/8" compression creates.
If we assume the urethane bushing has an OD of 1.5" and the hole is 0.5",
the cross section area would be about 1.56".
If the bushing is loaded to 2000#,
the average compressive stress would be about 1300 psi.
Figure 1 of this Guide shows a relationship between stress and compression strain for a typical urethane.
For the urethane composition used in Figure 1,
a stress of 1300 psi corresponds to a compressive strain of about 20%.
Let's assume a strain of 20% corresponds to a compression of 1/4".
Then let's assume a compression of 1/8" corresponds to a strain of 10%.
Figure 1 indicates the corresponding compressive stress would be about 800 psi.
So for the material used for Figure 1, the relation between stress and compressive strain is not linear over the range of 0-20% strain.
If these results are applicable to your bushings,
and assuming 1/4" of compression gives 2000# of tension per spring,
we could estimate the spring tension at 1/8" compression would be about 2000*800/1300 = 1230# per spring.
Ron
Pluses: no sway, no bouncing, easy hitching & unhitching, easy wd adjustments, tighter turning radius, silent operation, sleek looking design.
Negatives: I have to loosen the chain nuts a turn each to unhitch due to the high amount of wd I require, this takes minute or so to accomplish.
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
I was thinking that I may not get to use the camper and actually try out the hitch until our first reservations in June. But if the weather stays as nice as it has been the last 2 weeks (highs in the mid-upper 70s) we may try and sneak out at the end of the month.
2004 F150 FX4, with lots of mods and way too much money dumped into the truck for said mods
2013 Passport 3220BH
old TTs:
2012 Grey Wolf 26BH
2001 Kodiak K215
2018 Jayco Eagle HT 29.5BHDS
2017 Ford F-350 CC 6.2L
bobbyg123 wrote:
This sounds like a fantastic product. The W/D concept makes sense to me, but I'm still not clear about how the anti-sway works. If this product works as advertised, I'm going to give it a shot.
This sounds like a fantastic product. The W/D concept makes sense to me, but I'm still not clear about how the anti-sway works. If this product works as advertised, I'm going to give it a shot.
How the anti-sway works: take one hand and grip your other wrist. Try to turn your wrist. Now slide your hand a little ways up your arm, but keep the hand's diameter the same, and try again to turn your arm. It's harder.
That's how the Andersen works. The hitch ball and shaft are a solid piece of metal. The shaft has a bit of a taper to it, so it gets larger toward the ball end. It fits into a socket lined with grippy brake material. As the weight of the tongue pushes down on the ball, it wedges that tapered shaft down into the brake material in the socket, which makes the shaft hard to turn. The chains force the shaft to turn right along with the trailer; the trailer does not pivot on the ball, rather the trailer, ball and shaft move as one.