Andersen Hitch for Lightweights

[Route66Cruisers]

I would appreciate feedback from members who have experience using the Andersen hitch for towing a lightweight travel trailer with a tongue weight in the 400 to 600 pound range. I am interested in the anti sway feature, its lightweight and easy installation.

Thank you,
Mike

[Muddydogs]

I run the Anderson hitch towing my 28 foot toy hauler which when loaded with 2 ATV's, 100 gallons of water and 32 gallons of fuel is running right around 10,000 pounds. Tow rig is a 2500 Ram 4x4 short box pickup. I have no problems towing with this combo, no sway from side winds and no pushing around from tractor trailers while running 70 down the interstate. I think this hitch is a great idea for matched truck trailer combos but it is not designed for the guy that wants to push his limits with a big trailer and small tow rig, I just don't think there is enough lift with the chains to put a lot of weight back on the front of the tow rig.
If you can’t back up straight to the ball when hooking up or have to unhook the trailer with the truck at an angle this may not be the hitch for you as you need to be pretty straight with the trailer or at least close to the same angle when you unhooked to get the bottom plate hooked back to the ball otherwise you have to unscrew the tight chain from the trailer and move the trailer around to get the ball and bottom plate back square so both chains can be hooked up. This isn’t a big deal but I have had to mess around with hooking up a few times to get everything to line up where as if I would have had conventional bars I would have been able to just hook them up.
The plus side is the hitch weights less than my double ball hitch I use to tow my boats around so messing around with the hitch is easy and I don’t have to handle and store sway bars. Just drop the ball plate on the ground or use the safety chains to hold it up while unhooked.

[fireman41]

hvac wrote:
I am curious if the Andersen hitch will control sway w/o hooking up weight distribution chains. The web site has a video that shows how the friction material works by adding weight. I dont want to hassle with chains etc, and need sway control only. Your thoughts pleaase.

No it wont.
The way the the anderson works is that the hole ball truns in a tapered hole that has a fiction material.
If you don't hook the plate up at the bottom of the ball and attach the chains your toung will just trun on the ball.
But you don't have to have the chains tight just take all the slack out of them.

[hvac]

I am curious if the Andersen hitch will control sway w/o hooking up weight distribution chains. The web site has a video that shows how the friction material works by adding weight. I dont want to hassle with chains etc, and need sway control only. Your thoughts pleaase.

[Ron_Gratz]

Dave and Sue wrote:
We use a Anderson on our Ram 1500 Hemi.We pull a Outback 26 RBS and it's heavy on the tongue.980# or so.I like the Anderson and can almost get the front back down to normal ride height with it.It likes about a inch.---

Are you saying the front lacks about an inch of returning to the unhitched height?

Do you recall how much the front end lifted when the trailer was attached without any WD being applied?
A front-end rise of about 1.5" or less is fairly typical for your conditions.
If the application of WD caused the front to return to within only 1" of the unhitched height, that would suggest a front axle load restoration of only about 35%.

Ron

[Dave_and_Sue]

We use a Anderson on our Ram 1500 Hemi.We pull a Outback 26 RBS and it's heavy on the tongue.980# or so.I like the Anderson and can almost get the front back down to normal ride height with it.It likes about a inch.Sway is control is pretty good unless your fighting a brisk side wind.Then the semis start pushing you some.Nothing white knuckle,but you know it.I would,for what it's worth,recommend it highly.The weight and the ease of setting up make it worth the trade offs.

[Ron_Gratz]

ChrisGNV wrote:
4500 is the expected gross weight, loaded.

I don't know how much weight restoration my Durango requires, or if Dodge's recommendation is based on fender height, not weight, as some are.---

I've never been able to find out what Dodge recommends for front axle load restoration.
However, there effectively is no difference between a height-based requirement or a weight-based requirement.
The amount of load transfer required to return the front axle to the unhitched height is effectively the same as the amount of load required to return the front axle to the unhitched weight.
Height measurements are a less accurate means of determining load transfer due to hysteresis effects in the front suspension components.

---My interest in 100% or 50% was to get an idea of how well it performs, compared to others.

Has anyone done similar analysis of spring bar type WDHs?

It has been demonstrated many times that the "conventional" WDHs can generate in excess of 100% FALR, although that no longer is considered as desirable as it was in years past.

With a conventional WDH and relatively light TWs, if your existing WDH setup cannot generate 100% FALR, you usually have the option of increasing the load transfer by switching to higher-rated WD bars.

The load transfer capacity of the Andersen WDH is limited by the polyurethane bushings and, AFAIK, there is only one strength of bushing available.

Ron

[handye9]

ChrisGNV wrote:
4500 is the expected gross weight, loaded.

I don't know how much weight restoration my Durango requires, or if Dodge's recommendation is based on fender height, not weight, as some are. My interest in 100% or 50% was to get an idea of how well it performs, compared to others.

Has anyone done similar analysis of spring bar type WDHs?

Thanks for the objective details.

Ford's recommendation for my F250 is based on bumper height. I had similar measurements with a drawtite trunion bar hitch and the Andersen hitch. I compared scale weights and found the drawtite was transfering a little more weight, but, both hitches were within bumper height specs. I'm on my third year with the Andersen hitch. I like not have to carry any grease, not hearing any moaning and groaning from the hitch, and not having to mess with a sway bar.

[ChrisGNV]

4500 is the expected gross weight, loaded.

I don't know how much weight restoration my Durango requires, or if Dodge's recommendation is based on fender height, not weight, as some are. My interest in 100% or 50% was to get an idea of how well it performs, compared to others.

Has anyone done similar analysis of spring bar type WDHs?

Thanks for the objective details.

[Ron_Gratz]

ChrisGNV wrote:
---I'll be towing a 4,500# trailer with a Durango Hemi (2005, truck frame) and putting about 500# on the hitch. I'd like to move as much of that to the front as was shifted back by connecting the trailer. If it won't do that sufficiently, I'll have to consider a more traditional rig.

Is 4500# the expected loaded weight of the trailer or is it the empty weight?
If the loaded weight is 4500#, the tongue weight should be about 4500*0.13 = about 600# for good yaw stability.
If 4500# is the "dry weight", then you could be looking at a loaded weight of 6000# and a loaded TW of nearly 800#.

I take your statement about moving load to the front to mean that you'd like to restore 100% of the load which was removed from the front axle.
Based on Andersen user reports, if 100% front axle load restoration (FALR) is your goal, it is not likely you will be able to achieve that with the Andersen WDH and a 600-800# TW.

The following is a plot of FALR values versus tongue weight derived from load transfer information provided by Andersen users.
The data suggest that with a 600-800# TW, you might be limited to a FALR of 60% or less.



Front Axle Load Restoration (FALR) is chosen as the indicator of load transfer effectiveness.
For measured front-axle loads, FALR is defined as the amount of load added by application of WD divided by the amount of load removed by tongue weight (with NO WD applied).
For measured front-axle heights, FALR is defined as the front-end lowering due to application of WD divided by the front-end rise due to tongue weight (with NO WD applied).
When the front end is observed to be returned to the unhitched height, the FALR is taken to be 100%.
The data indicate FALR=100% can easily be achieved for low tongue weights.
However, for tongue weights in excess of 1000#, it is not clear that FALR=100% can be achieved.

The curves labeled "FALR Theory" are calculated from:
FALR = 100*CT*2*LA*(1+BOH/TTL)/TW/BOH where CT = chain tension in #/chain LA = lever arm from ball center to chain in ft (assumed to be 6.5"/12 per Bruce H.)
BOH = ball overhang in ft (assumed to be 5') TW = tongue weight in lbs TTL = distance from ball to mid-point between axles (assumed to vary from 12' for TW=400# to 20' for TW=1200#)

Contributors of data can be identifed by their TW and achieved FALR in the following table:
TW - FALR - Load/Height - Contributor - DataSource
400---100%----hgt.----SteveH------Airforums.com
400----91%----load----Bruce H.-----Lanceowners.com, RV.net, Airforums.com
900----75%----hgt.----gallifrey------RV.net
800----57%----load----airheadsrus---Airforums.com (updated for 10 threads)
600----54%----load----hbillsmith-----RV.net
800----50%----load----airheadsrus---Airforums.com
800----36%----load----airheadsrus---Airforums.com (new data for 9 threads)
1250---45%----load----housedad-----RV.net 960----43%----load----renojack------RV.net
600----43%----hgt.----zues----------Airforums.com
670----40%----load----HowieE-------Airforums.com
560----63%----load----eartha--------RV.net
800----19%----load----CHD Dad 3/16"--RV.net
800----50%----load----CHD Dad 7/16"--RV.net
946----50%----load----babies_dadeo---RV.net
680----33%----load----idroba--------Airforums.com
680----50%----load----idroba--------Airforums.com
700----50%----hgt.----PHS79-----------RV.net
(chart updated 11/16/2013)

Ron

[ChrisGNV]

BarneyS, handye9, thanks for the info.

I'd rather not depend on having to lift the hitch to connect the chains. I've been in camp ground situations where the trailer was level but the TV was at a downward angle with the hitch being lower than the front. The angle between the TT and the TV made it impossible to raise the coupler high enough to engage the WDH. It sounds like I could at least attach the Andersen WDH and engage the chains, if not tighten them fully.

I also like the idea of not having to be concerned with the angle of the sway controller, when backing up.

I'll check out pricing and availability and, if acceptable, add it to the list I'm accruing of stuff to buy/do when we buy a new TT.

[handye9]

ChrisGNV wrote:
Does hookup require a torque wrench, or any wrench? Or do you just lift the hitch to take enough tension off the chains to allow connecting the bottom plate, then drop it down?

I read a comment elsewhere that the Andersen can't transfer sufficient weight forward for larger loads. The figure I saw printed was not more than 50%, but I don't know the validity of the statement. If there is a limitation, at what point does it become a factor.

I'll be towing a 4,500# trailer with a Durango Hemi (2005, truck frame) and putting about 500# on the hitch. I'd like to move as much of that to the front as was shifted back by connecting the trailer. If it won't do that sufficiently, I'll have to consider a more traditional rig.

I do like the idea of it being clean and seemingly simple.

Thanks

Chris Cowles
Gainesville, FL

The Andersen hitch comes with a 1/2 inch drive socket. You need to provide a ratchet handle or breaker bar. Torque wrench is not required. For me, a long handled ratchet works best.

Lifting the hitch by itself, does not take off enough tension to drop the lower part of the hitch, you still need to loosen the compression nuts.

I think the Andersen would work fine with 500 lbs tongue weight. It works for me, and I have over 900 lbs on the tongue.

[BarneyS]

Chris,
I don't have an Andersen hitch but from everything I have read about it, and that is quite a bit, the hitch should work fine with the weights you are considering. See my post earlier in this thread and check out some of the links provided.

As far as I know, you do need a socket wrench or something to turn the nut on the end of chain assembly for adjustment. A torque wrench is not needed because you just count the number of threads showing.

Some folks have hooked up and un-hooked by lifting the truck/trailer combo with the tongue jack and removing the chain plate from the bottom but I am not sure that is safe as the whole ball/coupler many come out and let the truck drop down suddenly. Andersen may have fixed that issue however - I don't know.
Barney

[ChrisGNV]

Does hookup require a torque wrench, or any wrench? Or do you just lift the hitch to take enough tension off the chains to allow connecting the bottom plate, then drop it down?

I read a comment elsewhere that the Andersen can't transfer sufficient weight forward for larger loads. The figure I saw printed was not more than 50%, but I don't know the validity of the statement. If there is a limitation, at what point does it become a factor.

I'll be towing a 4,500# trailer with a Durango Hemi (2005, truck frame) and putting about 500# on the hitch. I'd like to move as much of that to the front as was shifted back by connecting the trailer. If it won't do that sufficiently, I'll have to consider a more traditional rig.

I do like the idea of it being clean and seemingly simple.

Thanks

Chris Cowles
Gainesville, FL

[Route66Cruisers]

Great information.

Thank you all very much,

Mike & Kathy