Three Year Review Anderson WDH

[Powder Hounds]

Yesterday I removed our Anderson hitch to visually see how our aluminum frame was doing and to provide some feedback to forum members. Sorry, nothing major to report. I did not initially install any material between the alumium frame and the bolt on metal clamps. There was no corrosion between the two different materials. There was a bit of friction wear spots but nothing to be worried about IMO. The only concern I had was a bit of concave frame deflection under one of the bolt on clamps. I believe that was due to my first incorrect install, possibly due to over torquing the top bolt. My fault for not checking my torque wrench setting. I cleaned up the frame a bit, added some material between the aluminum and bolt on clamps (just in case) brushed on some rust paint on the brackets, inspected the chains and reinstalled, (torquing to the correct specs as well).  Worth mentioning, the chains did have some minor wear and tear. Limited to a link or two,  as the chain enters the bracket the high friction is going to eventually wear down some metal. Again, not really a concern. Perhaps in another few years I might have the chains replaced.

We have put on alot of km/miles on our rig. We use our trailer regularly and now winter with our rig in AZ. We are close to being full timers. It does not sit in storage for more than a few weeks out of the year. High grade mountain passes, rain, driving rain, hail, gravel roads, highways, offroad, ice and snow, desert gumbo mud, wind, crazy insane wind than you pull off the highway. Trucks passing us at mach one speeds, you name it. The Anderson hitch is solid. I would not hesitate to purchase another one nor would I not hesitate to recommend it to fellow travel trailer owners.

However, from fellow travel trailer owners who really require the WD due to larger rigs or limted setup options IMO there are better WDH many of them are described here on our forum. For our LL rigs I believe it is a perfect option. Low additional tongue weight, flexible easy set up, can back up your rig, no frame drilling, great anti bounce, perfect anti sway. For us it works perfectly.

We tow with a half ton Toyota Tundra, have a Tekonsha P3 controller and installed LT tires on our truck rather than the P rated ones that came with it.

Regards,

[Paul]

This is good to hear! I am not sure what to do for WDH/antisway so far for when I receive my 21BHS I think I will try without it for now and see.

[Powder Hounds]

I think you will be fine, we had to tow without the Anderson hitch installed for a few months. No problems, but towing conditions were optimal. Maybe when you have your rig set up, check your tongue weight and adjust it as required.

Enjoy!

[gbpack]

Powder Hounds - I agree with you 100% that the Andersen system is the right WDH for our rigs. Has the combination of all the positives you mentioned. I also agree that not everyone necessarily needs a WDH and our trailers will tow just fine without one, but if you're ever in less than optimal towing conditions you'll be really glad that you have it (windy day, lots of big trucks, slick roads, etc.)!! Thanks for your post. Nice to hear that there is no discernible difference or marks on the frame from hitch brackets. I don't believe that we have any special material between the frame and our brackets either, so that is good to know!

[Merlin]

Good review and I agree. My 3 year report would have been the same with one exception. On our trip east this summer we got into some super dust that mixed with rain on the hitch and the friction cone became noisy. It didn't turn smoothly and popped and snapped as we turned sharply. A call to Andersen lead to a simple solution. A bit of T-9 around the top of the cone worked its way down and forced out the water. It's now quiet and smooth again. Anyone who has an Andersen hitch may want to get a 1 oz bottle to have in the tool bag. Works like magic and is Andersen recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Boeshield-T-9-Waterproof-Lubrication-aerosol/dp/B001AYOK9C/ref=sr_1_1?rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1503367320&sr=8-1&keywords=t-9%2Bboeshield&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011&th=1&psc=1

[gbpack]

Good to know Merlin! Will get some. Thanks!

[mojospeople]

Interesting thread that I have to add on to....
We installed an Andersen Anti Sway hitch on our new 16TBS about 6 months ago.We had this hitch on our 13RDB and liked it so got another one. On our recent trip to Colorado it began making a horrendous noise in every turn. I mean head-turning, embarrassingly loud noise that sounded like the entire hitch was being ripped from the tow vehicle!

Well, as we started home from the mountains, once I had a good cell signal I called Andersen and left a message for Tiger inquiring about the safety of towing the remaining 1300 miles home like this. Within an hour Tiger had returned my call and I described the problem and he confirmed that it was worse when wet (it rained on us nearly everyday for a week).  Then he  assured me that while annoying, it was safe to drive and wouldn't cause any further damage, but the cone needed replaced. He asked where my nearest dealer was to send a replacement to and I didn't know since we bought it from our camper dealer. So he checked but then also asked if we were going to be in the Denver area because he had a dealer there who likely had a replacement cone they could install.

Cut to the chase - we drove through Denver the next morning stopping at Classic Trailer Sales in Arvada who replaced the cone while we waited and got us rolling.....QUIETLY.....again in less than an hour. All parts and labor were covered under the lifetime warranty. The mechanic showed us the old cone and it was quite damaged.

In summary, while I'm a little leery about the cone failing in the first 3000 miles of use, I can't speak highly enough of the customer service we received from Andersen and Classic Trailer Sales. Both were very friendly and cared about getting our problem resolved. Here's hoping we don't need their services again for a while!

[Popup2012]

Was spending a couple of weeks in NM and CO to get out of the heat here in central TX.  Decided to head back home in a hurry to check on things thanks to HARVEY.
I got hit by some 35 to 45 MPH winds coming back and loved the way my Andersen hitch worked.  Saw the 18 wheeler in front of me almost go off the road.  I felt the high wind but at no time felt out of control.