Andersen WD Hitch Periodic Maintenance?

[CRM]

45 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

That's certainly excessive! That doesn't look like our Andersen hitch which has a long 2" square shaft that can be bolted in one of two positions. The angle of movement shown in this movie clip would not be possible in ours. I always push ours in deep and use the second bolt hole. It has minimal movement in any direction.

Also notice, your trailer hitch receiver is a very light class. Compare to my picture where the receiver has 2 layers of 1/4" steel welded. I do not believe I would tow with what you have shown in your movie clip!

 

The receiver used in the video is from my 02 Tundra that I only use to tow my Hobie kayak, though the play is identical in our Sequoia and 2020 Tundra both which have heavier duty factory receivers. 2020 Tundra in the shop, and wife gone with the Sequoia... Also, same exact hitch, just had it in upside down making the video. 

Edit to add video from Sequoia receiver. 

Edited June 5 by CRM

[topgun2]

14 hours ago, CRM said:

I was getting clunking even before I started using the front jack to raise the TV. One of these fixed it right up. Rhino USA Hitch Tightener

I used one of these but after a couple of years the bolts started to deform.  So, I upgraded to grade 8 bolts but then the bracing metal started to bend. 

So, Mossemi put me onto the "Hitch-Vice Anti-Rattle Clamp (available here).  And, I added a couple of "silencer pads" (like these) for extra quiet.  

For the past 6 years I have enjoyed peace and quiet.

Bill

[CRM]

2 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

I used one of these but after a couple of years the bolts started to deform.  So, I upgraded to grade 8 bolts but then the bracing metal started to bend. 

So, Mossemi put me onto the "Hitch-Vice Anti-Rattle Clamp (available here).  And, I added a couple of "silencer pads" (like these) for extra quiet.  

For the past 6 years I have enjoyed peace and quiet.

Bill

So far the Rhino has been working fine, but I don't have a ton of miles on it. I'll order these today. Thanks! 

[Geronimo John]

On 6/4/2025 at 5:08 PM, Galileo said:

Thinking about it.. isn't there really only upward force on the Anderson hitch inside the receiver

Short answer:  No.

Long Answer: 

The Anderson Chains are under very high tension when properly loaded.  I would guess something on the order of 1500 pounds.  Since the force vector of those combined maybe 3,000 pounds of tension is resisted by the ball, and the ball is say a foot above the chains, you have 3,000 foot pounds of torque lifting the rear and pushing down on the TV front (Load transfer).

The ball sees only the 3000 pounds of thrust horizontally from the chains.  The truck sees the opposite force via the whale plate in the opposite direction.  These forces create a huge amount of torque due to the one foot separation between the two.  

With my TV loaded and not connected to Ollie, the front axle is about 400 pounds lighter than the rear axles.  With the Anderson in play, they are almost exactly equal.   If I have a 400 pound delta X 20' long lever arm, that says the torque would be 8,000 foot-pounds.  That would lead one to conclude that my WAG of a combined 3,000 pounds of force from the Anderson chains appears to be well understated.  

What do yo see on the scales as far as front end weight change with and without the Anderson in play??

 

Edited June 11 by Geronimo John
Typos

[Geronimo John]

Hitch Rattle:  

As stated above, the noise is the receiver slop at this connection.  I do not notice it with our rig and the Anderson in play.

However I like it as when I am using my front jack to hook up/take off the Anderson chains, I use the front jack to raise the back the truck a bit.  I observe as the Anderson receiver moves up in the stationary TV hitch.  When this angle stops changing, this tells me that I have "erased" the tongue weight off the TV, and I am now lifting the truck.  Not something I want to do too much; as at some point I would damage the Jack.

So, I consider the sloppy fit as a visual safety warning for my jack's long life.

GJ

Edited June 11 by Geronimo John
typo

[John and Debbie]

6 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

Hitch Rattle:  

As stated above, the noise is the receiver slop at this connection.  I do not notice it with our rig and the Anderson in play.

However I like it as when I am using my front jack to hook up/take off the Anderson chains, I use the front jack to raise the back the truck a bit.  I observe as the Anderson receiver moves up in the stationary TV hitch.  When this angle stops changing, this tells me that I have "erased" the tongue weight off the TV, and I am now lifting the truck.  Not something I want to do too much; as at some point I would damage the Jack.

So, I consider the sloppy fit as a visual safety warning for my jack's long life.

GJ

I do the same thing.

John

[Galileo]

On 6/11/2025 at 5:20 PM, Geronimo John said:

However I like it as when I am using my front jack to hook up/take off the Anderson chains, I use the front jack to raise the back the truck a bit.  I observe as the Anderson receiver moves up in the stationary TV hitch.  When this angle stops changing, this tells me that I have "erased" the tongue weight off the TV, and I am now lifting the truck.  Not something I want to do too much; as at some point I would damage the Jack.

Pretty sure every production-made ball mount/receivers are gonna have at least a little “play”. If I watch carefully when raising the front Jack when hitching up, I can detect when the point of taking weight off of the TV changes to lifting the TV. Then again, with our combo, that movement is pretty slight and under less than ideal conditions (rain, dark, rushing) I can’t see it. 

The “LevelMate” device and app will let you judge the height to 1/4”. Especially useful if you use the “set hitch height” function.