The Andersen WD Hitch User Thread

[idroba]

I am halfway through a 2500 mile trip with the Andersen and have hooked up and unhooked every night due to site level issues. Like Jason, I find that using the supplied socket with a half inch drive on the big nuts is the easy way to unhook and hook up. Takes about 2 minutes or so. My chain brackets were installed with a slight angle to begin with, and have not moved.

On I 80 in Wyoming I was passed by a lot of large trucks going faster than me (I was going about 70). Absolutely no movement or even sensation of anything passing at all. Going south into Craig CO, there were side winds, but no movements. Long days of driving and no tiredness on my part, but the new Jeep Grand Cherokee may be more responsible for that than the Andersen. But, as I have said in other posts, the Jeep with the 20' Argosy behind feels just like the Jeep solo. Hitch weight is 680 pounds, total weight of the Argosy, as normal travel, about 4200 pounds. Jeep weight is 5200 pounds.

I have noticed some creaking at some times, and have no idea what that is. I hear it when moving forward slowly, but not always. I also feel the stinger is sloppy in the Jeep hitch receiver, and when you have it in, but not hooked up, you can move it a lot, both sideways and up and down. I have no idea if that is a Jeep issue, or an Andersen issue. My old Draw Tight and Reese hitches never had that slop in the stinger on my other Jeeps. Of course, once hooked up and under load the slop is gone.

It is just a nice hitch in all ways. Towing is great, light weight head, no spring bars to deal with. I do put a little dab of grease on the ball and wipe it off with a paper towel when I unhitch.

[HowieE]

If you mounted the brackets perpendicular to the frame they will rotate about the set screws till the bolts contact the frame top and bottom.

When placing brackets position them for length from the ball while rotating them back at the top to force the bolts to rest on the top and bottom of the frame. Run the set screw in to mark the frame and remove the brackets. Drill a hole about 2/3 the diameter of the set screw at the mark. Replace the brackets and set screws. This is the position that they will find if you have not set then up this way.

[HowieE]

Not sure if I mentioned this or not.

I store my trailer parallel to the driveway which lowers the tongue about 5 in. with respect to level.

When I jack the trailer level to start the frig the triangle plate cuts into the jack post and stalls the jack. I have ground a relief angle on the center underside of the plate so it will ride up the jack post without binding.

[chrism]

I know you guys are a head above me on the physics of the Andersen WD hitch. But I am buying my second Andersen WD hitch because it works and my airstream just follows me down the road without noise and bouncing. It costs half what a reese WD dual cam costs and performs better. I am 66 years old and I can not deal with spring bars any more. Plus I am tired of the noise that sounds like the rear end of my truck is falling apart with reese. Also, reese hitch was dragging. I am buying second one because I just sold my other airstream and bought a new one. New 28 ft airstream came with reese and after weeks of negotiating dealer has agreed to take the reese back. I have encourage dealer to look at Andersen WD hitch. I think Andersen has made a remarkable product that will catch on.

[purman]

Originally Posted by HowieE

Not sure if I mentioned this or not.

I store my trailer parallel to the driveway which lowers the tongue about 5 in. with respect to level.

When I jack the trailer level to start the frig the triangle plate cuts into the jack post and stalls the jack. I have ground a relief angle on the center underside of the plate so it will ride up the jack post without binding.

I had the same problem with my manual jack, but just keep an eye on it when jacking it up high.

I haven't used anything but a spring bar system, but I can't imagine that a Hensley or any other brand does that much of a better job if better at all.

And you can't beat the price.
I have had no sway and the the simplicity of hooking and un-hooking is amazing. Plus nothing heavy to lift.

I have about 1600 miles on it now from Colorado to Washington. Through very strong winds, up over passes and winding roads. Never a problem or a worry the whole way. Heading back next monday after a camp out with the family this coming weekend at some property by Mt Rainer.

[idroba]

Today I visited the Andersen factory in Idaho Falls, Idaho. I had been experiencing creaking noises which were annoying and since I was going right through Idaho Falls on my way back home from the Vintage Rally in Gunnison CO, I called and they said come in and they would look at it.

Two very knowledgable people came out and looked things over and as I drove around the parking lot they listened to the noises. They decided that the friction material may have been the problem, with water getting into it. They changed out the material and that cured the issue completely. It is dead silent now.

Two more people came out and talked with me, including Andrew, the VP of marketing. Great team. All were interested in my comments, problem, and providing a solution. As it is a new product, they want to know of any issues and want to resolve them. With feedback, they can continue to improve the hitch as needed.

I also got to meet the inventor of the system, John Andersen. Super nice guy, started and owned the company for 50 years, sold it to his son two years ago. I encouraged him to invent a better safety chain system for all of us. I told him how much I liked his hitch and he beamed.

So, was a great day. Now with about 2000 miles on the Andersen system, I could not be happier. The Jeep simply handles the same, solo or with the Argosy on the back. What higher praise could I give?

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by idroba

So, was a great day. Now with about 2000 miles on the Andersen system, I could not be happier. The Jeep simply handles the same, solo or with the Argosy on the back. What higher praise could I give?

I'm just currious here, please tell us what other weight distribution anti-sway hitches you have owned and used in the past that you are comparing the Andersen with.

[azflycaster]

Thanks for giving me a demo of the hitch at the rally in Gunnison. It is a very interesting concept that i will be considering in the future. Did you happen to ask about an extended shank that would accommodate my ekay mud flaps?

[idroba]

I have both a Reese straight line trunion hitch and a Draw Tight round bar hitch. Draw Tight is now a Reese brand. Neither have had sway control, I have not had any sway issues on the trailers I have owned, up to 25' Airstreams. I have been towing with WD hitches since 1979, in fact my Reese is the one I purchased way back then. I have about 200,000 miles of towing I would estimate. My current Argosy 20 is 4200# with a 670# tongue weight. New axle and 16" Goodrich LT tires.

I never had any issues with the Reese or the Draw Tight. Both tow well, but the Andersen seems to be simply better. The difference is subtle, but there. It also has a much lighter hitch head (22# vs. 40# DT) and no heavy greasy spring bars to deal with. It is very easy to hook up, has built in sway control, and is essentially grease free. (I use a little on the ball, but it is not called for in the Andersen manual).

[idroba]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

Thanks for giving me a demo of the hitch at the rally in Gunnison. It is a very interesting concept that i will be considering in the future. Did you happen to ask about an extended shank that would accommodate my ekay mud flaps?

Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that in my post. They have made at least one custom one with a longer stinger shank, and they are getting more inquires about them, so I believe it will soon become another variable on the parts available. Someone there said "we are getting about one request a day for a longer stinger" and the VP for marketing was all ears to hear that information. LOL, it is still a small company.

I think they would custom one for you now, but they may have them as standard soon. Call them and add to the request list.

[purman]

Originally Posted by idroba

Today I visited the Andersen factory in Idaho Falls, Idaho. I had been experiencing creaking noises which were annoying and since I was going right through Idaho Falls on my way back home from the Vintage Rally in Gunnison CO, I called and they said come in and they would look at it.

Two very knowledgable people came out and looked things over and as I drove around the parking lot they listened to the noises. They decided that the friction material may have been the problem, with water getting into it. They changed out the material and that cured the issue completely. It is dead silent now.

Two more people came out and talked with me, including Andrew, the VP of marketing. Great team. All were interested in my comments, problem, and providing a solution. As it is a new product, they want to know of any issues and want to resolve them. With feedback, they can continue to improve the hitch as needed.

I also got to meet the inventor of the system, John Andersen. Super nice guy, started and owned the company for 50 years, sold it to his son two years ago. I encouraged him to invent a better safety chain system for all of us. I told him how much I liked his hitch and he beamed.

So, was a great day. Now with about 2000 miles on the Andersen system, I could not be happier. The Jeep simply handles the same, solo or with the Argosy on the back. What higher praise could I give?

How many threads do you have showing? I have seven but the socket has started to bottom out. I'm guessing 9 maybe would be the max. Wonder if they make a deeper socket?

[newroswell]

Jason, Craftsman has the Max Axess socket set, and Lowes has a blue case version also. Should give you unlimited depth on the socket.

Craftsman 51-Piece Max Axess Mechanic's Tool Set - YouTube

[Uzzah]

Is there a reason that a socket is required? I don't have this hitch, but seriously looking at it, and wondering if a box wrench would do. Or, is there a design issue that prevents this?

[purman]

Originally Posted by Uzzah

Is there a reason that a socket is required? I don't have this hitch, but seriously looking at it, and wondering if a box wrench would do. Or, is there a design issue that prevents this?

Box wrench would work but it comes with a socket and a socket is quicker to tighten and lose. Unless it would be a ratcheting wrench.

[idroba]

Jason: I am running about 6 threads showing, seems to work about right but I still need to put it on the scales to see the actual numbers. The 6 threads seems to level the Air Suspended Jeep out at the same fender height, when the suspension is turned off.

Yes, it bottoms out at around 8 or 9 threads, but I don't need that many showing on my setup.

I am sure you could get a deep socket 1 1/2" and might have more ability to turn more threads if needed. Or, if possible, just move your frame brackets back half an inch or so.

To those wondering, any wrench that will fit a 1 1/2 nut will do. The one supplied works fine in my case.

[loanarranger]

Over the past several weeks, I have had an exchange of emails with Andy Thomson of CanAmRV, concerning the possible set-up of my 2011 Chrysler Town & Country to tow an AS 27/28 camping trailer. As a part of our discussion I asked the following question:

“As far as sway control and weight distribution, I really like what I see about the Andersen hitch. There has been a very interesting thread on Airforum: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...ead-92131.html also see Videos”

Andy’s reply was as follows:

“I have not tried the Andersen hitch but I really can’t see how it is going to transfer enough weight. If you calculate the torque necessary to transfer weight to the front wheels the chains on the hitch will be weaker than the force they have to apply and will likely just stretch. As well I am concerned about the rearward force on the coupler. The coupler was designed to have most of its force on the front of the ball this would place thousands of pounds of force on the rear. “

It is not my intention to become Andy’s “voice” on this thread, but I thought his concerns were worth sharing, given his towing set-up expertise, long recognized in many post on this forum board and other publications. I would be interested in hearing others’ comments about his concerns and any relevant real experience with the Andersen hitch.

[purman]

Originally Posted by loanarranger;“I have not tried the Andersen hitch but I really can’t see how it is going to transfer enough weight. If you calculate the torque necessary to transfer weight to the front wheels the chains on the hitch will be weaker than the force they have to apply and will likely just stretch. As well I am concerned about the rearward force on the coupler. The coupler was designed to have most of its force on the front of the ball this would place thousands of pounds of force on the rear. “[/FONT

It is not my intention to become Andy’s “voice” on this thread, but I thought his concerns were worth sharing, given his towing set-up expertise, long recognized in many post on this forum board and other publications. I would be interested in hearing others’ comments about his concerns and any relevant real experience with the Andersen hitch.

Well first he says he has not tried it, and until he does it's just an opinion, with unfounded conclusions.

For us using it and from the numbers posted here it does transfer the weight and it doesn't stretch. As for rear force on the coupler I can post some pictures and the wear on my ball it is not right on the back. It is on the top and rear sides. The coupler is fine.. It takes all kinds of pounding when you stop. More than a WD would put on it.

I would be interested in what he has to say IF and only IF he would try one. I would gladly here anything he has to say about a traditional WD as he has tons of experience with them. But none with the Andersen. Just my opinion.

I have 1600 miles on mine and it is far better than my old WD..

Read through the whole thread all these issues have been addressed more than once.

[HowieE]

Jason

Threads on the bolts of an Andersen hitch are the same discussion as links of chain to drop on a Reese hitch. If you have reached the so called limit of threads that just says you need to move the brackets more rearward on the trailer tongue.
I probably have one of the heaviest combinations, a 34fter and a Excursion and have plenty of range on the bolt.

One thing to keep in mind. The Andersen is a self centering system so if the plate is not perpendicular to the trailer center line it makes no difference. The force produced for WD is the sum of the chains and the ball shaft will move to equalize them.

Loanaranger

As for Andy's comments as to force on the coupling he is clearly ALL WET. I have till now had some respect for his work based on comments from those that have used his services. Yes it would appear that the general force on the coupling is to the forward side while towing but the force to the rearward side is equal or greater during a panic stop. The coupling is designed to handle far more load than we would ever put on. Look at those trailer that have turned over and taken the TV with them through the strength of the coupling

The socket wrench is supplied for adjustment but I have never had to use it. If I address my trailer at the same angle I uncoupled at all I have to do is couple, jack the rig up and there is enough clearance to slip the plate on the bottom of the ball shank. If I have not addressed the trailer at the same angle as I unhooked, but close to it, I just back the nut on the long side off enough to put the plate on and then run the nut in by hand to my set point and drop the jack.

The only time I can see ever having to use the socket is if you are at an extreme angle from when you unhooked. In that case you might even have to couple and straighten out the rig before attempting to set the chains. This would be a lot easier than working with the socket while the chains are loaded.

This system is just too simple to make complicated but some will try.

[AWCHIEF]

Opinions are free, everybody has them. However knowledge can cost a little or a lot. I have over 4000 miles on my Andersen and I can say that his uninformed concerns are not valid. I see nothing to confirm what Andy is guessing at. It still amazes me that the only negative comments about the Andersen WD hitch system continue to come from people that have zero actual experience with the hitch.

[dkottum]

Andy's note is a private message to an inquiry. He claims no experience with the hitch and expresses caution, rather than any recommendation. More should not be read into it.

doug k