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

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Topic: New Andersen WD hitch

Posted By: LAdams on 01/15/12 08:43pm

John, why don't you pick one of these hitches up and it can be our "Leonardo" experiment this year [emoticon]

Les

2000 Ford F-250SD, XLT, 4X4 Off Road, SuperCab
w/ 6.8L (415 C.I.) V-10/3:73LS/4R100
Banks Power Pack w/Trans Command & OttoMind
Sold Trailer - not RV'ing at this point in time

HUNTER THERMOSTAT INSTALL

HOME MADE WHEEL CHOCKS

Posted By: jerem0621 on 01/16/12 10:35pm

Part of me wants to buy one and try it out. Another part of me wants to "wait and see". After all, it is only my family's safety at stake.

But, I do like new technology and the prospect of significant weight savings over a conventional wd hitch and sway bars should appeal to any half ton tower like myself, especially with payload at a premium.

Then again, somebody probably said that they wanted to wait and see how that "new fangled" Prodigy worked out before they replaced their old fashioned time based controller.

If I buy one I will report a real world towing report.

Thanks,

Jeremiah

TV-2022 Silverado 2WD
TT - Zinger 270BH
WD Hitch- HaulMaster 1,000 lb Round Bar
Dual Friction bar sway control

It’s Kind of Fun to do the Impossible
~Walt Disney~

Posted By: JBarca on 01/17/12 06:05pm

LAdams wrote:

John, why don't you pick one of these hitches up and it can be our "Leonardo" experiment this year [emoticon]

Les

OK Les, we can use my truck and your camper... And you fill your fresh water tank sitting right behind the frame header too. That should give a good 1,400# TW test. [emoticon]

I still cannot believe Skyline put that tank right there... What where they thinking...

* This post was edited 01/18/12 08:34pm by JBarca *

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: clueless campers on 01/18/12 01:17pm

JBarca wrote:

LAdams wrote:

John, why don't you pick one of these hitches up and it can be our "Leonardo" experiment this year [emoticon]

Les

OK Les, we can use my truck and your camper... And you fill your fresh water tank sitting right behind the frame header too. That should give a good 1,400# TW test. [emoticon]

I still cannot believe Skyline out that tank right there... What where they thinking...

Posted By: Ron Gratz on 01/21/12 01:25pm

Mkos1980 wrote:

Heres a nice post from another site which explains some more.
Anderson Hitch post

Even more discussion can be found at

FOREST RIVER FORUMS -- Andersen Hitches

Just don't be confused by one person's persistent insistence that the chain linkage cannot prevent the ball coupler from pivoting on the ball.

Ron

Posted By: JBarca on 01/21/12 07:01pm

Ron Gratz wrote:

Mkos1980 wrote:

Heres a nice post from another site which explains some more.
Anderson Hitch post

Ron,

Thanks for the link. Seems the discussion is on ongoing on the FR forum. They have not yet did a deep dive into the mechanics of hitch.

We have one issue here that the group on RV.net discovered and maybe you can shed your opinion on this.

Recapping this much we have sorted out.

We understand the high friction of the anti sway feature. Similar concept as the hitch in Europe I linked to.
We understand how it has the ability to distribute weight. How effective it is and sensitive it is is another question.
We have determined that the tow ball will be forced into the coupler latch under high force during WD. We question if the latch can handle this high force long term.

Now to the unknown part. This one is going to take some figuring for sure. You saw my estimates on the chain loads for a given tongue weight, on a certain TV WB, TV overhang and ball to TT distance. They may be off some but I feel they are in the ball park (I think...) I used your excel sheet on WD to determine the WD chain loads. LOL

From the Andersen WD chain loads it is going to be mixture of forces acting on the chains along with which direction they act on the tow ball, TT ball coupler front and the TT ball coupler rear safety latch.

Chains towing the camper When the TV is stopped or rolling forward at low speed, the chains are pulling the camper. The chain force is high enough that is it pulling the camper forward and seating the tow ball into the latch side of the ball coupler. Clearance exists between the ball sphere and the front part of the coupler that normally pulls the camper. The rolling resistance of the camper on the 28.3" OD tires on concrete or black top is less then the chain force under these conditions.

Tow ball towing the camper There may be a point where the wind drag on the front of the camper or up hill (gravity) loads increase enough that the TT drag is higher then the WD tension in the chains. In this case the TT would shift backwards by the clearance in the coupler when the wind drag force overcomes the WD chain force. The tow ball leaves the coupler latch and now becomes seated into the front part of the ball coupler. The TT is now pulled by the ball coupler.

There are other upsets that shift force direction on the tow ball depending on if the ball coupler front portion is pulling the camper or the WD chains. That is if the wind drag was large enough to cause a shift in the 1st place. Some concern areas are:

When the TV slows down from high speed, the forces may shift back to the coupler latch and the chains start towing the camper. .
A large bump by the rear TV axle creates a large impact and can increase chain tension. It depends on which force is greater as to if the WD chains are pulling the camper or the ball coupler.
At high speed when the brakes are applied, if the brake controller leads the truck as many set their controllers, the TT drag will increase and there will be a new point where the chains start towing the camper once again.

What we do not know yet, is on a 1,400# TT tongue weight, 9,200# GVW TT does the wind drag or up hill drag ever get high enough to let the ball coupler tow the camper? And any guesstimate on what speed that may be? I picked those weights only because they line up with my camper. The issue can occur under other TV and TT combos as well.

The high load on the coupler saftey latch is a large concern. If the TT seats and reseats back and forth constantly as you tow down the road, the fatigue on the coupler saftey latch is something to think through.

Do you have any thoughts on this and do you see this the same as some of us do?

Thanks

John

Edited: 1-22-12 Tweaked words to better get certain points across

* This post was edited 01/22/12 10:46am by JBarca *

Posted By: red31 on 01/22/12 06:23am

Would this system be less stressful on the trailer's a-frame members?

Posted By: Slowmover on 01/22/12 08:12am

Just don't be confused by one person's persistent insistence that the chain linkage cannot prevent the ball coupler from pivoting on the ball.

Ron

This, then, is a statement that it is impossible for the trailer to move independently of the ball.

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: carringb on 01/22/12 10:30am

'68Monaco440HP wrote:

Well last I checked chain is pretty inelastic. Especially once you pre-load it it with 3,000 pounds of tension. It's not really an issue of possibility. It's an issue of which force is going to win. I'll put my money on the tension in the chains.

2000 Ford E450 V10 VAN! 450,000+ miles
2014 ORV really big trailer
2015 Ford Focus ST

Posted By: shakyjay on 01/22/12 11:14am

I am certain that all the weight distribution and anti-sway products that are in use today have had their naysayers at the outset. It's only natural when we see something new to question it. There really is nothing wrong with that, to a point. Eventually though what one needs to do is go get real answers to those questions and not rely on speculation. Whether it works or not I applaud the company for their innovation.

Personally I think it is a very interesting concept. I can see from the explanations in all the links and videos how it is designed to work. I for one am going to be very interested to watch and see how it performs over time in real world applicatiions. That is the only real test that matters. Hopefully they can get enough out there to accomplish this. Personally I can't afford to go out buy something like this just to see how it works. Now if they need a tester and are looking for someone to give one to and report back I could do that. [emoticon]

2007 Rockwood 8315SS
2004 GMC 2500HD Crew Cab Duramax Diesel
1999 Dodge 1500 5.9L Gas

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