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Andersen WD Hitch FAQ


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My numbers on the state weigh station scale

 

Steer Axle 3240

 

Drive Axle 3660

 

Trailer Axle 5280

 

Total Weight 12160

 

I don't believe I have my Andersen completely dialed in correctly (not enough bulge)

Randy


One Life Live It Enjoyably


2017 F350 6.7L SRW CC LB


2015 Oliver Elite II Hull #69

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The lighter and softer the suspension on your TV, the more you might need a WD hitch.  Passenger tires as found on SUVs are also not very stiff and can contribute to sway.

 

Modern 1500 pickups have soft suspension and will sag farther than a 2500 under load.  That's OK.  Trucks are designed to work well with different loads.  One of the best things you can do is install a set of premium rear shocks that are velocity sensitive and preferably, adjustable.  These will dampen the vertical movement and keep the tires planted.  Then make sure you have a high quality brake controller that is set up right.

 

A heavy duty truck does not need a WD hitch for an Oliver.  My Oliver tows better than any trailer I've had and it never plays any tricks on me.  Never.

 

I bought my Oliver when it was one year old and it came with an Anderson WD hitch.  The first thing I did was look at how it attached to the frame of the Oliver and the stresses it created.  I decided based on that that it would not be used.  Plus the hassle of hooking it up just right every time.  I frequently unhook at the campsite and drive off on the TV.

 

I just can't see those clamp on frame brackets, clamped to an aluminum frame and relying on friction and a set screw, doing much weight distributing.  Sway control, yes, but not much weight distributing.  Be sure to frequently check those clamps.

 

My TV is a Ram 3500 SRW and I keep forgetting Ollie is back there while towing.

 

The other thing is greasing the ball.  Absolutely grease the ball, especially when using a WD hitch.  My Ollie has a tongue weight of 425 pounds vertical load.  Using the WD hitch adds another fore and aft load of hundreds of pounds.  Then braking and accelerating add more fore and aft loads.  All of that transferred directly from the ball to the coupler.  The ball swivels with the coupler on an Anderson hitch, but when going through dips, into driveways or over uneven surfaces there is movement and wear at the ball.  Balls and couplers never match precisely and there is galling with no lube.

 

I find it interesting that Anderson recommends turning off your sway control if you use their hitch and it feels unstable.  Really?   The idea of the Anderson hitch was to add sway stability.  Why defeat one system to accommodate the other?  Better to try it without the hitch first.

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John


"I only exaggerate enough to compensate for being taken with a grain of salt."


LE2 #92 (sold),   Black Series HQ19   

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I am towing Elite II Hull 140 with a 2016 2wd Tundra.  One of the Andersen WD Hitch frame mounts has moved forward.  It appears that there is enough space for this.  There is a gap at the bottom of the bracket that is wide enough to allow this movement.   The set screw is at the top of the bracket.  I would have put the screw  at the bottom plus add a second.  This is where most of the  force is applied.  Until I get some guidance from either Oliver and/or Andersen, I will not be able to use the hitch.  If there are any present remedies to this problem, please let me know.  Maybe an aluminum spacer??

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One of the Andersen WD Hitch frame mounts has moved forward.  It appears that there is enough space for this.  There is a gap at the bottom of the bracket that is wide enough to allow this movement.   The set screw is at the top of the bracket.

 

This is an installation error that we have been seeing lately. When installing the bracket rotate it so the bottom is angled toward the tow vehicle and the top of the bracket toward the rear of the trailer. The two bracket bolts should be touching the top and bottom of the frame. This not only creates a bind on the frame that will prevent movement but also aligns the square tube with the tensioned chains. Tighten the main bracket bolts with the bracket in this position and then tighten the set screw.

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  • 1 month later...

Noisy Hitch Problem - Issue Solved

 

Just a quick up date for folks that have or will have this problem.   Yes... it does sound like the spawn of the undead coming from the hitch area when you turn.  I spoke to Jason at Anderson who sent out a new cone right away.  Jason said that if you have the red material you might have this problem.  I had the white cone and was told that they changed the mfg process to correct but some of the older white cones have that problem as well.

 

Instruction pdf and video are available on the anderson web site and the change out is fairly straightforward.   One tip... Don't even get the hammer out of the toolbox.  Go for the sledge right off.  replacing the cone and ball was pretty easy and seated fully without much effort.  It was however about 45 degrees here when I did this.

 

Lots of crud on the old cone and ball hitch taper.  I cleaned them off well before re-seating.

 

Pictures of what it looked like inside are attached for your amusement.

 

Safe travels and good luck,

 

Scotty9tpmuheddc27fms4bocicm8pkz33zc2y.jpg.0f7adef910fbbb1fed5d35084fc8e84f.jpg

Gregg & Donna Scott and Missy the Westie  -    The Flying Sea Turtle - Hull # 145     Western NC

 

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Lots of crud on the old cone and ball hitch taper. I cleaned them off well before re-seating.  

 

How many miles of towing and under what conditions?

 

Any dirt road use? Wet roads?

 

Was the inside cone of the aluminum mount scored?

 

The reason I ask is that, from an engineering point of view, this sort of contamination is entirely unacceptable. The "dirt" in the pic you posted is essentially silica valve grinding compound. That stuff is used to make two conical moving surfaces mate together perfectly, and then it is completely washed away. We don't need or desire that in a trailer hitch!

 

I think Anderson needs to offer a neoprene boot for the top of the mount to keep water from washing abrasive particles into this vulnerable area. Otherwise, owners are going to be continually replacing the inserts, and buying new outer units when they get too damaged to be serviceable.

 

BTW, if you wonder how valve grinding compound is used, this will enlighten you: .... http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/tapered_cone_seacocks .... Now you can decide if you want that constantly going on inside your expensive aluminum hitch. I really like the intent of the Anderson hitch. Would I ever buy one, for the dusty roads I plan to tow on? Nope, not a chance.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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  • 7 months later...

 

 

Resurrecting an old thread....

 

OK, I have changed tow vehicles, from a brute of a Ram 3500, tow rating 1 gazillion pounds, to a luscious 2013 Land Cruiser 200, tow rating 8500 pounds, max tongue weight 850 pounds... I plan to do a short tow test first, after I get my brake control installed, but I am pretty sure that I am going to need weight distribution plus, perhaps, rear airbags. I have ordered a tongue weight scale so I will know what numbers I am dealing with exactly. (With the Ram I just did not care!)

 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B007REJTGI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Any updates or new info on the Anderson hitch?

 

Are you folks who use one still happy?

 

How are the new inserts holding up?

 

Which model does Oliver sell typically - what bracket size?

 

Are your brackets moving at all?

 

Any frame damage?

 

Here is an interesting installation video from Oz. He recommends that you use this method for tuning the chain tension:

 

1- level the trailer

 

2- measure trailer frame height front and rear

 

3-measure tow vehicle wheel well height front and rear

 

4-drop the full coupler weight onto the ball (the tongue angles down and the TV angles down)

 

5-adjust nuts three turns initially

 

6-adjust nuts slowly and equally 1/4 turn until the trailer has settled (tongue comes up level) and the TV has settled level (there is an equal drop at the front and back wheel wells).

 

7-record number of threads for future reference. (That was my suggestion.)

 

In the example vehicle (LC 200 - woohoo!) it settled 30 mm from the original "no load" position.

 

Any comments about this technique?

 

 

Thanks,

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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John - Over the 1.7 years that I've used the Andersen I have had to have the "cone" replaced twice due to noise.  The hitch itself has always done what it it supposed to do and the hitching/unhitching ordeal that so many people complain about is certainly no more difficult than with other systems that I've used (on previous trailers using the Equalizer mainly).  The customer service is excellent and Andersen's rep - Sage - is a member of this Forum.  As far as I know Andersen only has one "model" (for the Oliver) and the brackets on mine have not moved even a fraction of an inch.  I understand that the original installation is critical to this issue.  Since I've never removed the brackets I really do not know about frame damage, but, a visual inspection of that area reveals absolutely nothing.  There doesn't seem to be anything "wrong" with the procedure from OZ.  I know that for most Olivers at the factory the starting point is to make sure that the hitch is about 24 inches from the top of the hitch to the ground.  Brackets are then installed and the Andersen chains are then tightened so that 6 threads are showing at the rear.  To fine tune this starting set-up one can either take before and after weights on the two vehicle axles (see Buzzy's discussion of this) and the red bushings should show a visible slight "bulge", of course, the trailer should be fairly level as should the TV.  Of course this rough guide is only a starting point and the "final" settings will depend on the TV, the (changing?) weight of the trailer's tongue, the weight and distribution of that weight inside the TV, the suspension on the TV, etc.  With all the "ya's" and "na's" concerning WDH, I fall solidly in the "ya's" category.  Particularly with the Andersen, not only does one get the desired distribution but you get "anti-bounce" via the red bushings and the sway control that (with the Oliver) is probably only going to be needed in the event of a true emergency - I've never had my Oliver sway but I've never been in anything near an emergency situation with it (hopefully never will).  Anything that I can do to increase the number of contacts between the TV and the Oliver is great by me and is fairly cheap insurance in the event of that possible emergency.  Finally with regards to your #7 above - I actually not only recorded this number, but, I placed a label of the Andersen's "whale tail" to remind me.  Again, while I don't usually change this number of threads showing, they can be changed easily to adjust for those things I listed above.

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2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

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John & Sheila Shkor

Sailors Ashore

 

Alternative Mounting of the Andersen No-Sway Hitch

 

Sheila and I have just taken delivery of our Oliver Elite II, Hull #217, and will be participating in the forum under the sobriquet "SailorsAshore."  As the name implies we are lifelong sailors who reached a time when change in activity appealed to us.  As trailer rookies we wanted to enjoy good handling and minimize the possibility of sway when towing with our softly sprung GMC Yukon.   The Andersen no-sway weight distribution hitch looked like the right thing.

 

I know that the Anderson hitch has been mounted onto many Oliver trailers and is giving great service.  From Forum discussion and pictures, however, it appeared that there might be room for improvement.  With the standard factory mounting, the axis of chain tension is not in alignment with the mounting brackets.  The chains also pull somewhat sideways from the frame member on which the brackets are mounted.  There are occasional reports of bracket slippage.  And the force resulting from chain tension has to be carried through a number of welded joints in the frame.  (The Forum contains a number of cautions about soft aluminum welds.)   I wanted to see if I could come up with an alternative mounting system that might be closer to what the engineers would call an elegant solution.

 

The chain tension required to shift tongue weight off of the hitch can be quite high.  Our GMC Yukon has a 120" wheelbase and another 52" from the rear wheels to the trailer hitch ball.  That is a 172" lever arm, long when compared to the 6.75" vertical distance between the center of the ball and the triangle plate on the Andersen hitch.   The mechanical advantage (or disadvantage in this case) is 25 to 1.  That means to transfer 150 lbs (of our estimated 600 lb loaded Oliver tongue weight)  from the hitch to the front wheels, total chain tension must equal 3,750 lbs.  (All numbers are approximate.)

 

That sounds like a lot, and it is.  But Andersen Manufacturing engineered the hitch to take this kind of loading.  For those in doubt, please see the video at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvM7mCnqmwo.

 

Mr. Ryan Andersen demonstrates the hitch and states "We like to compress the bushing....and that puts about 2,000 lbs pressure on the chain.  With both of them they push the trailer forward with about 4,000 lbs. of force."

 

What I wanted to find was a way to mount the chain brackets directly on to the center box shaft of the trailer frame.  This location is attractive because the tension force is carried fore-and-aft solely by the center box shaft, without going through any welds.  The axis of chain tension is closely aligned with both the mounting brackets and frame member.   And the center box shaft is the heaviest and strongest component of the trailer frame.

 

I first thought about mounting the brackets out in the open just behind the Bulldog coupler, but Andersen counsels against making the tension chains too short and Oliver didn't want to lengthen the trailer tongue.  Instead, I found room to attach the chain brackets inside the propane locker, just forward of the propane bottles.  (They could be mounted aft of the propane bottles, but that would make them harder to reach for adjustment.)

 

A problem to be overcome was keeping the starboard chain from pressing on the tube of the tongue jack, since both would be in roughly the same plane.  This was easily accomplished with two "quick links" which hold the chains closer together where they run by the tongue jack tube.  This results in a slight "hour-glass" shape which does not interfere with the function of the chains or flexing of the bushings.  (I have pictures showing this, but haven't figured out how to get them into the forum post. If anyone wants the pictures, send email address to (deleted) and I will by reply email.)

 

The other thing I did was ask Andersen to fabricate the chain mounting brackets with a slight offset, which they were willing to do.  This was to line up the axis of chain tension for the hour-glass shape I anticipated.  Once mounted, however, it was evident that I over-estimated the angle needed for the offset.  If I was doing it over I would go with a five degree offset.

 

A potential weakness in this mounting method is that all of the tension load is carried by two brackets rather than being split between two pairs.  This increases the possibility of bracket slippage, so I did two things to compensate.  First, since I had to get longer bolts to span the 3" wide center box shaft, I upgraded to Grade 8 bolts.   These stronger bolts enabled a bit more torque and friction.   Second, I mounted the idler brackets just forward of the chain brackets to provide additional support.   We experienced no slippage on the tow home and subsequent trips.

 

Is this installation an improvement over the Oliver mounting method?  Hard to say, but I like it better.  At this stage it is only a prototype, and I am sure others will see possible improvements.  If this catches on, however, perhaps someday Oliver will start welding aluminum cheek pieces with the right geometry onto the center box shaft.  That would provide a mechanical stop to absolutely prevent slippage of the chain brackets.  It would be an easy and inexpensive thing to do when the frame is in fabrication.

 

P.S.:  What a wonderful resource the forum is.   Pioneers Betty & Mountainborn Harmon, video-meister Buzzy, all-things-mechanical Raspy & John Davies, and others too numerous to name, know much and have shared.  Being able to draw on the accumulated wisdom of those with real world trailer experience has been priceless in enabling us to get a jump on understanding our Ollie. Many thanks from we sailors ashore to all who have contributed.

 

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(I have pictures showing this, but haven’t figured out how to get them into the forum post. If anyone wants the pictures, send email address to DELETED and I will by reply email.)  

John, wow, that was a great and detailed post. Thank you.

 

It is easy but a little unusual to add pics from your computer. You do not need a web host. Look below the text box at "Attachments".

 

Click "Select File". A popup window will open.

 

Navigate to the folder where your image is (I move mine to the Desktop for quick access)

 

If you are using a notebook you will need to navigate to your pictures app.

 

Select the image and then hit "Choose".

 

Your pic will upload and appear at the bottom there.

 

You can add more pics by selecting "Add another file"

 

You can delete a pic by using "Remove this file"

 

If you want your pic to appear in the text box with your description , click a location and then drop back down and click "Insert into content".

 

It's a little odd but the method works great and if you put your pics in with your commentary it does look very nice.

 

Please upload some pics of your Anderson setup!

 

PS, you should NOT list your email address on public forums. It is asking for it to be hacked. You can edit your post to delete it. Always use a Private Message for sensitive stuff.

 

Thanks.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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I contacted Sage at Andersen because I was getting a lot of noise and a "racheting" effect when turning.  I've had my hitch for 15 months.  They sent me a new white liner to replace the black one that was making so much noise.  I watched the YouTube videos and it seemed like it would be fairly straightforward to remove the ball.  Wrong.  I first used a jack under the ball and almost had my truck tires off the ground.  It wouldn't budge.  I reversed the hitch and broke out my sledge hammer.  No luck.  I contacted Andersen and they sent me a refurbished assembly (looked new) with a white liner and asked that I mail them my noisy one.  Good customer service.  Mike

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Texas Hill Country | 2016 Elite II #135 | 2020 Ram 2500 6.7L

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I contacted Sage at Andersen because I was getting a lot of noise and a “racheting” effect when turning. I’ve had my hitch for 15 months. They sent me a new white liner to replace the black one that was making so much noise. I watched the YouTube videos and it seemed like it would be fairly straightforward to remove the ball. Wrong. I first used a jack under the ball and almost had my truck tires off the ground. It wouldn’t budge. I reversed the hitch and broke out my sledge hammer. No luck. I contacted Andersen and they sent me a refurbished assembly (looked new) with a white liner and asked that I mail them my noisy one. Good customer service. Mike

Good news on the customer service. I wonder if heat would help free up a stuck liner? If you cooked the ball mount in boiling water for five minutes I bet it would pop free from expansion. Wear heavy leather gloves! Aluminum expands like crazy when heated.

 

Did you try a big dead blow mallet on the sides of the mount when the truck was in the air? That's how you get tapered ball joints and tie rod ends loose, by smacking the sides of the part with the hole.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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Did you try a big dead blow mallet on the sides of the mount when the truck was in the air? That’s how you get tapered ball joints and tie rod ends loose, by smacking the sides of the part with the hole. John Davies Spokane WA

I did use a dead blow mallet on the sides, wouldn't budge.  When I told Andersen I couldn't remove it they did not seem surprised and quickly said they'd mail me a replacement and pay for shipping of my "stuck" one to them.  Mike

Texas Hill Country | 2016 Elite II #135 | 2020 Ram 2500 6.7L

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With my first cone replacement, like Mike, I too could not get the parts separated.  Yes, I did the heat thing, and the dead blow, and the inverted jack lifting the back of the truck thing and the sledge and the rapping on the sides and the ......

 

I finally gave up and since I was going to Hohenwald anyway I figured that they could use a press.  Well, after trying for about two hours even the guys at the plant gave up and swapped me for a new one.

 

For the second replacement, Sage (at Andersen) simply said that he would ship me a new one and, again like Mike, the return of the old one was pre-paid.  No arguing, no hassles, no problem.

 

Bill

2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

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I have a Reese hitch ball, and I occasionally put some multi-purpose lithium all over the ball, and slather the bulldog coupler nice..not only is it good for smooth operation, it might just help with that spring mechanism in the compression arm of the bulldog from oxidizing and rusting/corroding a bit.  I personally think it is good maintenance, but I was raised by a helicopter mechanic and, later, corrosion technician...so good ole Dad would prefer that I slap some MP Lithium on there...so I do.

 

My Nissan Titan XD Diesel has that sway control element, so says the brochure. All I know is that I've got it up to 78 on the interstate (must have been some good Dwight Yoakum on the radio) and the Oliver pulled smooth and true.  I did slow down when he broke into a ballad.

 

Vector

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2016 Oliver Legacy Elite II;  #129

Ordered in 2015, picked up in 2016.  My friend Don Thompson picked his up right in front of me, very cool dude.

2016 Nissan Titan XD, Diesel

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here is a great big 10 page thread on Anderson hitches from the Caravaners Forum in Australia. It starts in 2012 when nobody had a clue what this new system was or how it could possibly work. It looked like voodoo, (my words). Some of the comments are hilarious. As the years go by, more and more actual users start commenting. Most have great things to say about it.

 

One comment really made me laugh, on Page 2:

 

by bricki » Sat Aug 04, 2012 7:40 pm

 

some of you people really are sad and ignorant. no matter how good and inovative something may be if it isnt 23 foot long and towed with 200 land cruiser with a hr wdh then it cant possibly be any good [ light weight european vans, no way, american hitch no good ]long live meat pies kangaroos and ausi. cars what a load of sh*****t it may suprise you people but in most things we are 10 years behind the rest of the world

 

Maybe it struck home because I tow a 23 ft trailer with a Land Cruiser 200.... It is a much more rowdy and undisciplined crowd there than at the Ollie Forum. Lots of good info though, later on when they have things figured out. LOL.

 

http://caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=28948

 

Sorry if that quote offends anybody. No harm intended. I am a huge fan of Australia and especially its people, and would love to go back there again. BTW, when I was there in 2004 I didn't think they were ten years behind, more like thirty! But in a good way.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Many of the forum members will remember my frequent rants about the Andersen hitch while I owned Oliver #64.  I almost lost my religion over the hitch and finally just removed it and towed with nothing other than Firestone airbags for leveling.

 

When I bought my Airstream I did not even consider an Andersen because of my prior experience plus I did not know they offered anything with the capacity to handle the 1200 pound tongue weight of my loaded AS.  I did some research and settled on a Blue Ox Sway control WDH with 2000 pound bars.  This turned out to be a $500 mistake.  On a 4,000 mile round trip to the Grand Canyon we encountered extremely rough roads on I-10 in Louisiana and East Texas.  The jarring bounces and lurching of the trailer were very problematic and resulted in a reduced speed down to 30 MPH on an Interstate highway.  As we made our way westward the roads improved but the large truck traffic increased.  Each time a truck would pass the whole rig would lurch to the side.  Even small vans had an impact on our rig.  We did encounter some serious crosswinds and surprisingly the Blue Ox handled them well.

 

When we returned I started searching for another solution and came across another Airstream owner who was talking about using the Andersen with his 34 foot classic and a Ford excursion...and very pleased with the result.  After consulting with him via the Airforum I decided to give Andersen another try.

 

First let me say that the hitch was easy to install.  This in part because the A frame of the Airstream is open...not hidden by a nose cone such as the Oliver.  Form over function what what.  The brackets are visible, plus they are super easy to access for fine tuning adjustments.

 

We set off for our annual trip to Asheville July 15 and what a difference in the towing performance.  Instead of a jarring bounce when we crossed bridges with uneven expansion joints there was just a smooth springing sensation.  The trailer did not move at all when trucks passed, or even when I sped up to 75 MPH to avoid a vehicle on an entrance ramp.

 

Hitching up was easy because I watched some videos about raising the trailer to add some slack to the chains.  Even when I had to back up and unhitch at a severe angle I was able to straighten the tension plate using the technique on the Andersen web site.

 

So Andersen, my apologies for past sins.  I love your hitch.  O and the levelers are terrific.

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Current 2007 Airstream Classic Limited 31


2015 Oliver Legacy Elite II (Sold)


2016 Ram 2500 HD 6.7i Cummins turbo diesel


 

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  • 1 month later...

I just completed replacing the Anderson Hitch hardware that attaches the rear brackets to the frame of the Ollie. I climbed under there to check the brackets against the witness lines and found that one side had shifted. It was not properly torqued. I also noticed that there were no washers used and upon further investigation, the OEM bolts were too short - ie. they had threads in bearing. This is bad for a bolt used in a shear application such as this. I did some checking here at the Oliver forum (thank you very much) and read John's  thread where he completely rebuilt his Anderson hitch using the correct hardware. I used the same grade 8   5/8-11 bolts (3.25" grip) 5 inches long with self-locking nuts and washers and torqued them to 90 ft-lbs. That torque value came from Anderson. I kept the "Anti-sway" configuration and used the witness lines to position the brackets and snugged the (2) set screws (but wonder if they are effective). Has anyone else experienced these Anderson brackets creeping forward?

 

 

Legacy Elite I

#240

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  • 4 months later...
Yesterday, I had an opportunity to continue my fine tuning of the Andersen hitch prior to heading off for my fourth weighing at the CAT scales. My goal has always been to stay within the recommended weights as listed below. The following information was obtained off the three labels located on my F150: 1. GVWR = 7050lbs. 2. Load capacity with passengers and gear = 1777lbs. 3. Max load in front axle = 3525lbs. 4. Max load on rear axle = 3800lbs. 5. Without WDH, Max Towing = 5000lbs., Max Tongue = 500lbs. 6. With WDH, Max Towing = 12,100lbs, Max Tongue = 1210lbs. The attached weight report shows the results of my efforts. At this point I am happy with the results and especially how the truck feels when I tow my Ollie. The process to attach the hitch is becoming easier each time. I could always be more efficient, but that will come with practice. I hope other Andersen hitch owners will visit their CAT scales or equivalent and post their results. Together we can share our experiences and over time become a knowledgeable group of hitch owners. Sage, thank you for being the catalyst to my efforts! Buzzy

 

Anonymous

 

Please check your owners manual since this information could be different for your model year.

 

Ford specs for 2011 and newer trucks say the w/d should be adjusted to eliminate about 50% of the front end RISE. If the front rises 1.5" initially, the RISE should be reduced to around 3/4"...

 

 

 

 

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GeoFish


Born to Fish / Forced to Work

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  • 4 years later...
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1 hour ago, MnG KY said:

Forgive me if this has already been answered ... 

Is graphite lubricant ever used on the Andersen hitch?

Could you be more specific?  On the ball?  Around the sleeve?  Andersen recommended using a few drops of Boeshield T-9 around the sleeve when I was having noise issues.  That was 5 years or so ago and the hitch has been upgraded since.  Mike

Texas Hill Country | 2016 Elite II #135 | 2020 Ram 2500 6.7L

ALAZARCACOFLGAIDILKSKYLAMDMSMOMTNENVNMNYNCNDOHOKSCSDTNTXUTVAWVWYsm.jpgALAZARCACOCTDEFLGAIDILINIAKSKYLAMEMDMAMS

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With the newest design (black aluminum collar with seal around the base of the ball) the old binding problems have pretty much vanished. This really old thread does apply to old hitches, but the very best option in those cases is to upgrade and then not have any more cone worries. 

You can and should lube the ball and coupler connection. Use a grease so the two parts don’t rust and wear excessively. That also allows better up and down motion when you go over dips and bumps. Also put a little between the nuts and washers where you adjust the chains, as they describe in the instructions. Is there some reason you want graphite? That is very messy and stains your hands. It would not be my first choice, tho I use it on the lock mechanisms.

John Davies

Spokane WA

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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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Has anyone had issues with combining smart hitch and Anderson WDH? We are towing an Elite 2 with a 2021 F150 power boost platinum max towing package. Never had any sway problems, so maybe this is academic. But, we cannot get the Anderson WDH to satisfy the smart hitch software that there is enough weight on the truck’s rear axle. Note: sway control on the F150, whether on or off, seems to make no difference. Truck and trailer sight level, if slightly tongue down. Have messed around with the ball height, chain tension (from hand tight to hand tight plus three threads), and reallocated the weight in both the cargo bed and trailer utility basket. We have even tried messing with the estimated trailer weight, but the software still calls for more weight over the rear axle, even when the truck is fully loaded.  Anyone else wrestling with this?

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