Trailer Hitchs

[Royalelk]

Hi all. My wife and I just bought our first Airstream. A 2011 16' Bambi Sport. I will be towing it with our Suburban and am thinking of using a weight distributing, anti sway hitch. I'm wondering if anyone has used a Anderson no sway hitch and if so how you like it. If anyone has other recommendations I would appreciate those also. Thanks!

[TWA640316]

Over on the hitch forum there are a number of threads on Anderson hitches, plus every other kind of WDH that is made. I have a 23' Oliver fiberglass trailer and none of the Oliver owners use a WDH. One guy bought a Anderson and used it for a while, but decided it was too much trouble. These Olivers pull like a dream.

Stan

[AWCHIEF]

The good, the bad and the ugly. Truth, opinions and down right lies.

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

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

[msmcv51]

I have been towing with the Andersen hitch for the past 3 years and it has done a wonderful job for me. We have an 87 25' Sovereign and a 2005 F250. The whole Andersen system weights less than the hitch head from the old Reese straight line that came with the trailer. I did replace the coupler with a new quick-bite coupler. Between the two it is very easy to hook up.

[Royalelk]

Thanks for the info and sorry about posting to the wrong forum.

I did pick up the bambi yesterday in Red Lodge and brought it home. There were severe winds from Big Timber to Livingston and I hardly noticed them. So now I'm wondering if I need a WD, AS hitch at all.

[dkottum]

When you add your load to the front of the Airstream, and additional load to the truck behind it's rear axles, weight will be taken off the front of the truck's steering axles. This can be dangerous in many situations, slippery roads, diminished braking in sudden slowdowns, quick steering maneuvers to avoid something in the roadway or moving into your lane for example. A good weight distribution hitch will bring the steering axle weight back to that recommended by the truck manufacturer, giving your a safer vehicle to drive, bring your headlights down near normal, and minimize trailer porpoising on undulating road surfaces.

Sway control will resist any sway forces introduced by sudden wind gust, semi passing during strong side winds, traveling too fast, traveling too fast downhill, traveling too fast downhill on a curve, blown tire, or a combination of these at once. Whoa, that will be exciting!

A simple inexpensive Eaze-Lift w.d. hitch will a separate sway control bar is a great setup for your combination. You can adjust w.d. as needed, add or remove sway resistance as needed. Combination sway/w.d. hitches are disadvantaged because sway control and w.d. are dependent on each other (for example you may not be able to reduce friction sway control for icy roads without also reducing weight distribution). More expensive Hensley/ProPride hitches use no friction, completely eliminate sway possibility by projecting the trailer pivot point forward near the truck's rear axle; weight distribution is totally independent and easily adjustable by turning the screw jacks attached to the w.d. bars.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Royalelk

Hi all. My wife and I just bought our first Airstream. A 2011 16' Bambi Sport. I will be towing it with our Suburban and am thinking of using a weight distributing, anti sway hitch. I'm wondering if anyone has used a Anderson no sway hitch and if so how you like it. If anyone has other recommendations I would appreciate those also. Thanks!

Any WD hitch will work for that combination. If you like the Anderson, get it; I think there are better choices but that's not what you asked about.

Carefully inspect the receiver in your Suburban especially if it is stock. They are prone to cracks and weld failures with heavy use, and if yours has had a hard life, you should think about replacing it with an aftermarket hitch.

[Ron A]

Originally Posted by Royalelk

Hi all. My wife and I just bought our first Airstream. A 2011 16' Bambi Sport. I will be towing it with our Suburban and am thinking of using a weight distributing, anti sway hitch. I'm wondering if anyone has used a Anderson no sway hitch and if so how you like it. If anyone has other recommendations I would appreciate those also. Thanks!

I have a 16' Bambi and really liked the Anderson, however, please read the note on their website. My Atwood coupler is not compatible, yours may not be either. Please check your coupler number.

"NOTE: Currently the Atwood 88007, 88010, 88555 and 88600 couplers are not compatible with the Andersen WD Hitch (all other Atwood couplers are fine)."


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[dkottum]

Okay. We used the Andersen for 4,000 miles, did everything we could to get it to work properly, even lying to ourselves about its performance until we nearly lost steering control on a slippery road surface.

It does not have the leverage for our trailer/truck combination to distribute a safe amount of weight. All components of it that that could wear against another part did, prematurely towards failure. Including the hitch ball and friction material. It's built too lightly for our application as a weight distribution hitch. It's design imposes excessive pressure on its own components with our Ram 1500/Airstream, and will wear the latch mechanism of the standard Airstream coupler. You need to cut off the Airstream coupler and weld on a different design.

That's only our experience. I don't know how it will work on a lighter trailer or heavier truck. Refer to the lengthy Andersen hitch thread here for a lengthy unpleasant discussion.