Hitch got unadjusted Anderson SwayControl

[laTraylor]

We hit a deer on our return from camping. The front we are having addressed. A mystery remains. Upon attempting to re-hitch trailer to our truck, the Anderson Sway Control will not 'fit' like it use to. I have loosened the nuts at the ends of the chains to their maximum.  The chains are very tight. 
What adjustments must I do? 

[routlaw]

Ouch, not good hitting deer especially while towing. Couple of thoughts regarding hitching, have you raised the TV enough after connecting the hitch mount to trailer so that the tension is eliminated? If not you’ll never get it connected because essentially you have your weight distribution fully engaged. Also uneven or out of level ground will exacerbate this situation based upon my experience. Keep us posted on how things go.

[Ralph Mawyer]

Did the brackets locking the chains to the trailer move?

[SeaDawg]

Hi, @laTraylor. I have nothing to add since I have never used an Andersen,  but I wanted to offer a warm welcome as I  see this is your first post. So sorry about the deer. They're everywhere in many camping areas, and certainly a scary experience for you, I'm sure. 

Good luck with figuring it out. More knowledgeable people here will surely help. 

 

[John E Davies]

How long have you had the trailer? Have you learned the tricks for hitching, like not reversing the truck at an angle? Or was this a maiden voyage? Please add your trailer type and hull number and tow vehicle info to your signature, that is very helpful.

I can’t imagine any part of the Andersen that could slip and render BOTH chains too tight. If the “whaletail” is misaligned, one chain will be slack and the other too short. We need more information, pictures help too.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Trainman]

I have had the adjusting bolt on the end of the chain get turned wrong when it goes into the bracket on the trailer, thus the chain does not go all the way up inside the bracket. All that is needed is turn the adjusting bolt a 1/4 turn or so and it will now slide up inside correctly. This doesn't happen very often, but it has once, or twice and you will notice it when you insert the adjusting bolt and it seems too short. Like someone said, make sure the chain wing is at a 90 degree angle to the hitch, this will make one side longer and the other shorter when hitching, easily corrected if you know what to do. 

trainman

[Mountainman198]

did the whale tail get flipped 360 degrees when it was removed, resulting in the chains getting twisted and thus effectively shortened?  Easy to check.  Are the links in the chain aligned in a smooth, straight path or are the links twisted?

[laTraylor]

Well, is there any good time to hit a deer? Wow. Some very good things to check!  We know the pin that attaches the whale tail was at a good 90 degrees.  We are confused because we have successfully hooked up on this driveway often.  I will check the chains flipping over. 

Thanks!

[Katjo]

So sorry this happened to you and the deer! Hope you got the hitch straightened out. 

[laTraylor]

Thank you All for your insight. The chain was twisted -- flipped it twice.  It lengthened to meet the under side of the hitch. 
Thanks again. 
 

[MAX Burner]

A bit late to this thread of posts, but felt the need to jump in.  Smacking a deer whilst moving isn't a good thing under any conditions.  We survived a double deer strike on a mountainous road in the high country near Cloudcroft, NM a few years back.  Two does vectored out of the trees on a left to right pass - the first hit the driver's door just below the mirror, the second managed to smack the front left corner of our Airstream.  Fortunately, for us and the deer, we were only doing about 15-20mph.  After stopping and struggling with opening the door, I looked back at 2 deer laying side by side on the dashed white centerline of the narrow road we were on.  By the time I freed myself and out on the pavement walking back toward the animals - they apparently "came to", jumped up, and off they went!  USAA coughed up just shy of $10k for the trailer damage and $4.5 for our 2015 RAM 3500, ouch!  Our puppy never liked curvy mountain roads again...