Anderson hitch

[Raspy]

Here's another brand. Equal-I-Zer.  This would require cutting a bit of the fiberglass shroud over the tongue where the bar brackets fit, but it looks like a very nice unit.

 

To hook up just jack the front of the trailer up until the bars slip onto their brackets, pin them and lower the tongue.

 

This is not a sway control hitch, but it will have some friction since the bars have to slip in their brackets while turning.

 

Possible advantages are:  The brackets are attached to the frame in a way they cannot slip.  It uses a standard ball which is hardened and can be either 2" or 2 5/16".  It applies a downforce on the ball instead of  the Anderson forward force that damages the Anderson ball.  No repeated friction or wear problems and replacements.

 

Disadvantage:  Some fiberglass must be cut in the tongue area to allow mounting the brackets.

 

Thoughts?

 

https://www.equalizerhitch.com/how-equalizer-works

[hardrock]

I have a 2003 Toyota Tundra small V8, and a 2016 Oliver Elite, first Elite in production after the 2008 Oliver shutdown. Hull # 73.   I traveled  4000+ miles on my first trip, Alabama to Califonia and return, mostly on Route 66.  I had no weight distribution hitch, no sway control.  As I drove west across Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico, I encountered very strong winds daily.  On two separate days, the winds were so strong that the semi trucks and "Pusher" RVs were getting the heck off the roads because of the high winds.  Truck stops and roadside parks were full, they would pull out at dusk when the winds slowed down, somewhat.  I drove through the high winds and was in complete control with my Ollie in tow.  The rounded aerodynamic hull makes a huge difference.  I never once felt that the winds adversely impacted my driving in an unsafe manner.  I dove between 60-65 most of the time.

 

Last Spring my insurance company said they would give me a discount if I would install a sway control on my trailer.  I did NOT want anything that was difficult to attach, detach or otherwise encumber my travels.  Bill (Ride and Fly) put me onto the Hayes Electronic Sway Control. It is easily installed and can be bypassed with ease.  I researched it and saw that it was designed at Aburn University here in Alabama.  I asked some of the electrical, mechanical and aerospace engineers I worked with before I bought it.  They felt the design and components were unique and based upon sound engineering.  I purchased it but saw little difference as I drove because I had never had any difficulty with adverse sway. On my next trip I drove to Grand Isle, Lousiana State Park.  It is a small island with the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Mississippi River  on the other.  To get to it, you travel on an immense causeway/tollroad into the Gulf of Mexico. I decided to test my sway control on my Ollie.  Several times I would quickly move the steering wheel to the left or to the right to check the sway control.  The trailer itself would self-correct immediately and go back to center.  I tried doing this both left and right after making sure no one was near me.  Same results, it self corrected very quickly.  Since I installed the Hayes Electronic  Sway Control, I have traveled another 4K+ miles with no incidents or safety concerns.

 

When I travel, I travel light.  I have leveled my Ollie while it was  sitting in my garage with a 8' carpenters level, documenting the tongue height from the floor.  When my Ollie is fully hooked up, loaded and ready to roll, the trailer's tongue has dropped about 1/2 inch.  I have gone through the CAT  commercial scales thing to make sure my tongue weight, trailer weight and vehicle weight and related requirements are well within the reccomended specifications.  It all checks out.

 

Bottom line. I bought the Elite size BECAUSE it tows easily, is lightweight, has 90 % of all of the "stuff" that the Elite II has    and I do not have the concerns of add ons to get me to the safety perimeters that many are concerned about.  I will buy a new tow vehicle in the next year and will have some additional factory installed features that I do not have now such as the factory installed sway control, the factory installed trailer brake control and other features.  Oliver builds a great travel trailer.  I have not pulled a Elite II. I waited 2 years and hounded Robert Partee and Scott/John Oliver to begin production on the Elite.  I feel that I do not need the WD hitch, the sway control and other items that may be necessary on the larger Oliver.      Safe travels to all of my fellow Ollie owners.  Hope to see you at the next Oliver Rally in Sweet Home Alabama

 

Hardrock

 

 

[rideandfly]

Hardrock,

 

While towing the Ollie down a mountain earlier this week I entered a curve too fast and felt the Swaymaster apply trailer brakes in the last half of a curve. The Swaymaster detected/corrected a sway event before I noticed it. I slowed down for the rest of the trip. Happy the Swaymaster was installed, too.

[topgun2]

Raspy - I towed for years with an Equalizer.  It does have anti-sway.  Basically I liked it.  Yes, there are times when getting the bars into the frame brackets is a problem and I even had times when the bars actually popped out of the brackets.  It can be noisy with the steel bars grating against the brackets and you better wear gloves because it can be dirty.  The bars are heavy and the hitch does nothing to reduce "bounce" and, in fact, may actually contribute to it.  The frame brackets can "creep" unless you bolt them through the frame or weld them to the frame.  But, I repeat, I did like it.

 

Bill

 

p.s.  I think that rideandfly's experience above should be a lesson for all of us.

[Maverick]

If Anderson Hitches has come up with a new design that will get rid of this noise issue once and for all, then it would be nice if Sage-AndersonHitches would come up with a special price for all current Oliver Travel Trailer owners to purchase the replace hitch for a reduced price.

 

I have replaced the cone four times, if you include the original cone that makes five cones.  After the cone gets wet the first time, the noise starts all over again.  This is not an easy task to keep replacing the cone after each trip.  Yes I have had other weight distribution hitches and they would make a noise some time, but very rarely.

 

I sent a PM to Sage last week after we returned from a six week trip; and all he said was a replacement cone was being ship to me.  He never said anything about there was a new design that would correct this noise issue.  I would like to thank topgun2 for the information.  I plan on calling the Anderson factory tomorrow to see about this new design unit that gets rid of the noise issue.

 

I like the Anderson Hitch very much, but the noise problem needs to go.

 

 

[topgun2]

Horace & Diane - Perhaps instead of your call you could either PM Sage here on the Forum or email Sage (Sage@anderseninc.com) detailing the problems you have had and the work that you have done to try to rectify the noise situation.  This way Sage would have something in writing to take to his bosses and plead your individual case.  Good luck in either case.

 

Bill

[Maverick]

topgun2

 

I sent Sage a PM last week and when he answered several days later, the only thing he said a new cone was being sent to me.  He said nothing about there was a new design.

 

 

[Rumline]

Any updates regarding the new design?  Has the noise problem been mitigated with the new part(s)?

[topgun2]

Rumline - I thought that I did a short review of the new design in a previous post but can't seem to find it at the moment.  Anyway - I only did a relatively short trip of less than 1,000 miles with it prior to putting Twist to bed for the winter.  I did have a little bit of rain one day but I did not travel any real dirt roads.  Having said that - the hitch performed great with no noise at all.  In addition, the new design is easier to hook up because you do not have to get the "whale tail" up tight under the hitch ball post while at the same time aligning the holes for the pin that holds it in place.

 

Since there has been precious little discussion about it on the Forum, I'd take that as a good sign that the previous noise problems have been taken care of.  Hope this helps.

 

Bill

[Maverick]

I installed the new designed Anderson WD Hitch that I obtained from Sage; then we took a 10,000 mile trip out west for two months, we did not experience any noise.  During the trip we hid some very hard rain at times and so far no issue with the upgrade, other than having to pay a $100.00 for it.

 

 

[Rumline]

Thanks for the info!

 

Bill, like you, my tow vehicle requires the use of a WD hitch.  So I'm glad to hear that one of the more annoying problems with it has been resolved.

[Mike and Carol]

Sage sent me a new hitch after my noise issues earlier this year. I haven’t experienced any noise issues after several thousand miles. I pulled my Ollie over to the house Monday morning to do some maintenance (hot water heater anode and flush, new kitchen faucet) and it’s still quiet. We’ve had rain the last couple of days so we’ll see how it does when I take it back to storage this afternoon. Mike

[Geronimo John]

I have posted updates to the below message in italics and bold.  The responses from our community have been wonderful and very much appreciated.  GJ

 

Hello.  This is my first post, so a bit about my background.  I have extensive Idaho, Utah, and Colorado high mountain off road and heavy boat trailer experience.  My vehicle of choice for hauling hang gliders and paragliders up mountain fire roads is my 2005 Toyota Sequoia  4x4 (4.7 (updated typo) liter V8, 7100 pound tow limit with a max tongue weight of 650 (Updated) pounds with a WD hitch).  I have very little RV experience, but have owned a 23' inboard or years.  Starting this Spring, I will be using this vehicle as my Elite II tow vehicle with my target trips almost all being in mountains with all types of road.

 

As I am looking at options for my Oliver Elite II, the Anderson topic is very much on my mind.  As I have not needed a anti-sway or WDH before, I would appreciate your thoughts on the below:

 

A.  Would you classify my Sequoia as a heavy duty or a light duty tug?  (Updated: Consensus Answer NO. Get an Anderson)

 

B.  Is it safe to assume that Oliver new builds if specified to have an Anderson WDH, will have the new design Red inserts and "Whale Tail"?

 

C.  Is the Anderson designed to handle maintained (updated) mountain roads that likely will be causing a bit of trailer rotation and movement, not to mention switchbacks?

 

D.  Finally, with a limited budget, in your opinion, is the Anderson an expense that I should undertake with the above circumstances?  (UPDATED:  With my TV capability be marginally above the Elite II requirements, IMHO, a WD hitch is required. )

 

I thank you for your time and sharing your expertise.

 

Geronimo John

[topgun2]

GJ -

 

I'll bet that you are going to find the answers you get to most of your questions to be either in the "for" or "against" categories regarding the Andersen.  Simply put - there are those of us that like WD hitches and those that don't.  I'm in the "for" catagory.

 

From the numbers you supplied, it appears that a WD hitch is not absolutely necessary for your vehicle.  However, be a bit careful on this in that with my 2017 F-150 pickup I can tow up to about 12,000 pounds, but, a little label on the hitch says that I must use a WD hitch if the tongue weight is over 500 pounds.  Also, while at a 7,100 pounds tow limit, the Elite II will bring you too close to that limit (at least for my taste).  I would not consider your vehicle as heavy duty.

 

As far as I know, Andersen does not sell the "old style" ball assemblies anymore and Oliver has had only the new one for a number of months now.

 

As I think you already know, the Andersen has a typical ball hitch.  As such it will handle most situations just like any other ball hitch assembly.  Beyond that, as you probably know, there are other hitch assemblies that can handle extreme off-road situations a bit better.  But, only you can determine just how extreme you are going to get with your Oliver.

 

Finally, regarding budget - that depends on you and your risk tolerance.  Do you absolutely HAVE to have a WD?  It would appear that the probable answer to that is - no.  But, are you willing to void the warranty on your TV and possibly assume increased vehicle liability if that hitch says that you should have a WD hitch for anything over 500 pounds?  Are you willing to accept (or not notice) a somewhat more bouncy ride (due to the dolphin or porpoise effect) and due to too much weight being put on your rear axle (as you may know, there are other suspension mods to take care of this problem other than using a WD hitch)?  Are you willing to take more risk of adverse TV and/or trailer movement in an emergency situation (note that this point can be argued)?

 

Perhaps it is a bit unfortunate that the Andersen is the only WD hitch that will easily work with the Oliver without some fairly significant alterations to the Oliver and it is not cheap.  However, I am more than happy with mine.

 

Bill

[Mike and Carol]

I agree with everything Bill said. I got the Andersen because I initially towed with a Tacoma and felt the need for a WD hitch with the smaller truck. I still use it with my Ram even though it has 10K+ capacity. Once you figure it out it’s quick and easy to hitch and unhitch. The folks at Andersen have been very responsive to issues.  Mike

[Rumline]

From what I've read, weight distribution hitches are for use on-pavement only. When driving bumpy forest roads the weight distribution arms / chains should be disconnected.  This is because WD hitches are designed to limit articulation between tow vehicle and trailer.

[John E Davies]

GeronimoJohn, welcome to the forum.

 

Everybody defines “offroad” differently. If you mean true off road vs off pavement, then you need to rethink your trailer or TV choice. For maintained forest service roads there would be no problem with your choices other than the inherent difficulties of manuevering a 24 ft tandem in tight places. These difficulties are significantly harder than for a shorter single axle trailer.

 

The Anderson does limit articulation badly, and that is where you will have trouble once you get onto those washed out secondary forest roads and high mountain passes with their ledgy sections and creek crossings. You have to relieve the load on the chains (not remove them entirely) and then you have some motion, but in no way will the connection move around like a true offroad coupler.

 

I originally hoped to find a campung solution that would let me go anywhere but in the end I realized that stopping before the roads got nasty, dropping the trailer in a civilized campground, then proceeding to explore the back county in my 200 was a better choice. Less risk of getting stuck, damaged or rolled down an embankment.

 

Is your Sequoia stock? If yes, then you definitely 100% need the Anderson.

 

If modified, then maybe you would be OK if you are lifted with stiffer suspension and oversized LT tires, and it might work fine with a dead weight hitch or Lock N Roll type hitch. Maybe. The short wheelbase is still a liability.

 

If you bought an Elite then there would be no worries and no need for the Anderson. If you bought a long wheelbase pickup, then you could maybe haul the bigger trailer without the Anderson.

 

My 200 has stock suspension but 10 ply tires. No way would I consider not using the Anderson, except for dead slow maneuvering.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Geronimo John]

I again thank each of you for the considered responses and perspectives.  Mentally I am having to re-calibrate to a 24' trailer vice a similar sized I/O tail heavy boat trailer.  The tandem axles of the boat are well behind that of an Elite II due to the big block being near the transom.  The impact difference on the TV of course is a lot more tongue weight (due to tail heavy I/O) and a higher propensity for sway due to side square footage of the trailer vs. boat.  I think that the "Insurance" provided, ride comfort advantages, and limitations of my specific tow vehicle combine to make getting a WDH a good expenditure.

 

I have the expertise to install it so I will be looking at the Equalizer 9000-1000 (With necessary mods to the Crowl) and the redesigned bolt on Anderson with no mods.  I prefer no mods, but I also would like to see more time on the road for the new Anderson design field reports to accumulate.  Good news is I have time to do both as my Elite II Egg does not hatch until mid May.

 

Again, thank you all.  I very much appreciate the great responses to my questions and look forward to the future with the Oliver Community.

 

Mahalo,

 

Geronimo John

[John E Davies]

GJ, you mistyped your model year, the 5.7 was not available until 2008. Plus, are you sure about the 1300 lb max tongue weight you quoted? That seems awfully high. My 200 has a max of 850.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane Wa

[Spike]

I, too, am confused with the specs given by GJ. We pull our Oliver Elite II with a 2012 CrewMax Tundra 4x4, 5.7, with a tow package. The maximum tongue weight is 1,010 lbs. The maximum tow capacity of my Tundra is 9,000 lbs. The 1,300 tongue weight that GJ lists for a 2005 Toyota Sequoia doesn't seem to match up with the stated 7,100 pound tow limit.

[Geronimo John]

Spike:

 

The tow capacity is from my original brochure from Toyota.  Yes, I have kept it all these years.  I had a devil of a time finding the MFG max tongue weight.  I did finally get this spec's off the internet.  Frankly, I had a hard time with the 1300 pound number myself.  Besides, even if the Sequoia could handle it, the hitch can't.  I could find the Class III Receiver Hitch info.  It is much more realistic:

 

Trailer Receiver Size:   2 Inch Hitch Opening

Towing Capacity:  500 Pound Tongue Weight and 5000 Pound Towing

Weight Distribution Towing Capacity: 650 Pound Tongue Weight and 6500 Pound Towing

This makes finding the right one pretty much a requirement I think.

 

Thanks for the push back on the numbers.

 

GJ

[Try2Relax]

 

This makes finding the right one pretty much a requirement I think. Thanks for the push back on the numbers. GJ

 

So, to keep in mind when searching for the right one, the brochures, commercials, all advertising only shows the max possible numbers, not the real world numbers you end up with.

 

For example, Ford F150 best in class payload 3270lbs, but that requires a very specific build, usually a stripped down work truck, real world is 1600lbs, even their max payload option is only available on certain trim levels so do you want that or leather? Class leading towing capacity 13,200lbs, that requires longest wheel base, super crew, 4x2. The 4x4 drops to 13,000lbs and most configurations come in around 10,500, still more than enough for an Oliver.

 

This just demonstrates that the onus is on you to "know" the numbers, neither the advertisers nor a sales person (that I've encountered) will have the knowledge to properly inform you, if they think your cash is halfway out of your pocket, then they'll tell you it'll work fine for what you want.

 

Forget the hype and go straight to the specs and tables around page 33

 

Brochure

 

 

[topgun2]

I understand that a representative from Andersen will be attending the 2018 Oliver Owner's Rally.  Obviously this will be an opportunity to get questions answered and see all the Andersen products.

 

Bill

[Try2Relax]

For those who may have wondered who owns Andersen hitches.

 

Here he is

 

Corona Arch

 

To be fair

[Overland]

That really burns me.  If I had one of his s*** hitches on my truck I'd rip it off.  Maybe it's time Oliver found a better solution.