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Old 10-26-2014, 01:05 PM   #1
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Andersen WD, No-Sway hitch

Just ordered 2015 FC 28. TV is 2015 Tahoe w/max tow pkg. Dealer recommended the Andersen WD hitch. I've read up on Pro-Pride and Hensley, but not familiar with Andersen. Any advice?


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Old 10-26-2014, 01:21 PM   #2
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I use the Anderson and am very satisfied with it. We tow roughly 7000 mi/ year with trips out west, north and south to Fla for the winters lately.
I tow with a Dodge Ram 3500 and do not use any external sway control. In fact even before the Anderson I found no need for a sway control device. My trailer is an '01 Excella Classic 30'er. This will be my 3rd. year using it with no complaints at all. My trailer still has the factory installed Atwood coupler on it. This is the one that is claimed to be less than satisfactory for use with the Anderson hitch. I do have another coupler but have not yet installed it. I keep an eye on mine and so far see no issues but I'm prepared to change it one of these days. In my opinion that is the only issue you should be aware of and may with to correct should you go Anderson.

Go for it. I don't think you'll be sorry.
See ya on the road sometime.
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Old 10-26-2014, 02:18 PM   #3
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I have had the Andersen hitch for two years and have traveled about 20,000 miles, including a trip to Alaska. I have a 25FB and tow with an F250. I, too, still have the factory Atwood coupler on my trailer, although I do carry a replacement with me in case it is needed. I also carry repair parts for the Atwood. I am very satisfied with the Andersen.
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Old 10-26-2014, 02:27 PM   #4
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All the information you would ever care to know about the Andersen hitch.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...on-101220.html


And to become really involved, this older post:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...ead-92131.html

I am an Andersen user, and am very happy with mine.
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Old 10-27-2014, 12:43 PM   #5
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I am another Andersen hitch user, also replaced the Atwood an our 87 25' Sovereign to a quick-bite. I love them both. Towed with them both with a F150 then a F250. The ease of hooking up them is great, and the weight of the whole Andersen unit is only half of my old Reese straight line Hitch.
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Old 10-27-2014, 01:18 PM   #6
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Nice to see a dealer has picked up on the Andersen.
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Old 10-27-2014, 01:29 PM   #7
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Ron, a very controversial piece of gear. Many are hoping a new and improved version will address some of the negative issues.
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Old 10-27-2014, 02:28 PM   #8
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I'm a newbie at this. What is the Atwood coupler folks are talking about and what's the specific problem vis-a-vis the Andersen hitch?


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Old 10-27-2014, 02:31 PM   #9
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I have been using the Andersen for over 2 years now and have been in close contact with the company throughout that time.

I noticed a way of improving the hitching sequence early on and made a change to my hitch. Andersen followed my suggestion and added a C clip to the ball shank almost immediately. Others noted the chain angle in the hangers should be changed when used on certain smaller A frames. Again a quick product change. The frame anchor set screw has been moved again in response to user suggestions.

At this point those questioning the Andersen seam to be hung up on the fact that it will cause a failure with certain Atwood couplers. This is no more a problem with the hitch than the fact that an I Phone 5 could not use the charger used on the 4. New products are not required to remain comparable with older products if they offer overall quantum improvements. Andersen now states in it's literature this limitation.

Has any other hitch manufacture responded to consumer feedback at all let alone as fast. The answer is no. Two are plagued with insane hitching up problems. One has gone through a "bean counter" driven redesign that caused premature failure if the head and has not yet responded to the failure rate of their latest system that fails during an acute turn while backing up.
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Old 10-27-2014, 02:48 PM   #10
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Controversial, for those who don't own and use one. For those of us who do own and use them, it is a great hitch.

All hitches have positive and negative things that can be brought up about them by someone. Those good and bad items can be magnified by repeating them over and over and over. That does not make the hitch any different, only people make things controversial.

The Andersen, like virtually every other hitch, has detractors and supporters. I don't believe that there is a truly bad hitch out there on the market. You look at the features vs. what you want to do with it, and make a decision. One reason there are 15 or 20 different WD hitches on the market is that there is no one which is best for everyone. And no one can, or should, make the decision for you.
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Old 10-27-2014, 03:03 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HowieE View Post
I noticed a way of improving the hitching sequence early on and made a change to my hitch. Andersen followed my suggestion and added a C clip to the ball shank almost immediately. Others noted the chain angle in the hangers should be changed when used on certain smaller A frames. Again a quick product change. The frame anchor set screw has been moved again in response to user suggestions.
Howie,
Would you mind explaining the C clip some more? I've got an Anderson, and if you've got an improvement, I'd be interested.
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Old 10-27-2014, 03:22 PM   #12
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I being lazy and suffering from terminal tinkeritis often look for a different approach to things. That said I wanted to be able to lift the the truck and trailer to a point that I could attach the triangle plate without releasing the chains. A few time when I did this the ball shaft lifted free form the head. To limit that movement I drilled the shaft and put a 5/16 roll pin in it. Andersen achieved the same results by putting a C clip on the shaft. Without this mode and if the shaft has come free of the friction material the triangle plate will come up in contact with the bottom of the head and make the pin hard to insert or remove.

Hitching takes less than 2 mins. with most of that being jacking time.

Picture shows the pin in place.
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Old 10-27-2014, 03:27 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HowieE View Post
I being lazy and suffering from terminal tinkeritis often look for a different approach to things. That said I wanted to be able to lift the the truck and trailer to a point that I could attach the triangle plate without releasing the chains. A few time when I did this the ball shaft lifted free form the head. To limit that movement I drilled the shaft and put a 5/16 roll pin in it. Andersen achieved the same results by putting a C clip on the shaft. Without this mode and if the shaft has come free of the friction material the triangle plate will come up in contact with the bottom of the head and make the pin hard to insert or remove.

Hitching takes less than 2 mins. with most of that being jacking time.

Picture shows the pin in place.
Thanks Howie.
My hitch is only about six months old, but has no C-clip. I haven't run into this problem yet, but will keep this solution in mind if I do.
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Old 10-27-2014, 03:40 PM   #14
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---You look at the features vs. what you want to do with it, and make a decision.---
If what one wants to do with it is to transfer the amount of load specified by the maker of the TV, then the load distribution capability of the Andersen WDH must be carefully considered.

The loaded tongue weight of the 2015 FC 28 could be 1000# or greater.
Chevrolet specifies that the WDH should be adjusted to return the front end to its unhitched height.
This implies that the WDH must be able to transfer a load equal to 100% of the load which was removed from the front axle.

I think there now are enough reports from users and former users of the Andersen WDH to indicate that one is not likely to achieve 100% front axle load restorartion if the TW is near 1000#.
This would not be a deciding factor if the OP were planning to tow with a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton or 1 ton pickup which now specifies only 50% or 0% FALR.
However, the OP has a new TV which, per the manufacturer, requires 100% FALR.

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Old 10-27-2014, 03:48 PM   #15
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Controversial, for those who don't own and use one. For those of us who do own and use them, it is a great hitch.
Correct.... and the reason many of us don't own one is because of the controversies surrounding this product.


Quote:
Originally Posted by idroba View Post
All hitches have positive and negative things that can be brought up about them by someone. Those good and bad items can be magnified by repeating them over and over and over. That does not make the hitch any different, only people make things controversial.
The OP claims to be a newby. Should we keep him in the dark about the negatives regarding this product or get him up to speed about both the positives and the negatives???

Quote:
Originally Posted by idroba View Post
The Andersen, like virtually every other hitch, has detractors and supporters. I don't believe that there is a truly bad hitch out there on the market. You look at the features vs. what you want to do with it, and make a decision. One reason there are 15 or 20 different WD hitches on the market is that there is no one which is best for everyone. And no one can, or should, make the decision for you.
Agree.... Let the OP learn about the pros and cons regarding this hitch and let him make up his own mind.
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Old 10-27-2014, 05:37 PM   #16
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I own and use an Andersen No Sway hitch with my 17' Casita/ Toyota FJ Cruiser, and the combination works really well. However, the Casita is listed at 2500lbs by the mfgr. (actually closer to about 3,000) with a tongue weight of about 300lbs.

I would not attempt to use it with a larger, heavier trailer, or one equipped with the coupler that Andersen says their hitch is not compatable with.
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Old 10-27-2014, 06:30 PM   #17
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I own and use an Andersen No Sway hitch with my 17' Casita/ Toyota FJ Cruiser, and the combination works really well. However, the Casita is listed at 2500lbs by the mfgr. (actually closer to about 3,000) with a tongue weight of about 300lbs.
We also realize that it is much easier to transfer weight on a short wheelbase vehicle compared to a vehicle with a long wheelbase.
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Old 10-27-2014, 07:46 PM   #18
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O boy, here we go again. We take two Schwinn bikes with us when we go. With the front receiver, drop down thingy and the bikes I figure there is about 300# of down force at the front bumper. Just returned from five days of camping. I experienced no trailer sway at 55 mph when passed by semis doing 65 mph, only gentile pulling toward the truck the same as the Hensley and pro pride users talk about.
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Old 10-27-2014, 07:54 PM   #19
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We also realize that it is much easier to transfer weight on a short wheelbase vehicle compared to a vehicle with a long wheelbase.
Yes, we do realize that, and also that 300lbs of tongue weight to distribute is not much.
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Old 10-27-2014, 08:11 PM   #20
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We used an Andersen hitch and found it fraught with problems, but most importantly unable to perform the basic function of weight distribution on two different half-ton pickups, one 140" wheelbase and the last 120" wheelbase. We had some very uncomfortable towing experiences when the weather was windy or the roadway a little slippery.

We gave up and bought a ProPride (Hensley style hitch) and in spite of what some Andersen devotees claim with no experience to back to up, it is a joy to use and tow with in any weather or traffic condition. No the semis and/or crosswinds do not push us around as they did with the Andersen, they don't push us around at all.
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