5th wheel hitches

Ron3rd wrote:
The bottom line is all the hitches mentioned will work. What the OP is requiring in his post is the ideal application for an Andersen. I was ready to go with a Superglide until I was talked out of it by a few former owners who are now using Andersen hitches and I'm glad I listened.

There's a lot of misinformation about this hitch. According to Andersen it's not a gooseneck hitch; it's a fifth wheel hitch and they got their approval from the DOT as a fifth wheel hitch. So why do some run safety chains with an Andersen when fifth wheel hitches don't require them? The reason is there are states that insist it's a gooseneck requiring chains so Anderson came up with a chain kit although they claim you don't need them.

As to the Andersen voiding your frame warranty, the logic behind this is that you're modifying your pin box and the MFG does not want to be responsible for your modifications so any modifications void your warranty. As an Attorney myself, I understand this reasoning. If you look at the Andersen you'll see the actual forces applied to the pin box are very similar to those on a fifth wheel hitch. In fact, Andersen has a multi million dollar guarantee to cover any damage/void warranty claimed to be caused by their hitch.

What's a completely different animal are true gooseneck adapters they made for fifth wheel pin boxes that extended down into the bed to mount on a true gooseneck ball. These long arms worked as a "lever" that could put undesired forces on the pin box. None of this applies to the Andersen which makes hitching up so much easier.

A good camping friend and my son in law both have Superglides and I've seen the good and the negative with them and the challenges hitching up in certain situations and angles. Those challenges don't exist with the Andersen.

As to strength, the Andersen is rated at 20,000 lbs while the Superglide is rated at 18,000. Andersen has a test video on their website showing the steel Andersen finally breaking at 60,000 lbs of force in a hydraulic press.

While the hitch doesn't look that strong, it's actually made from very thick steel tubing. I have no experience with the aluminum Andersen so I can't comment on that model.

IMO these types of hitches like the Andersen and the similar Reese Goosebox are the wave of the future.

As said on other threads , we have most if not all the negative comments about the Andersen from members that have never towed an inch with one. Yes the aluminum version had some problems . Andersen redesigned it ,and there have been no further issues with the Andersen . Should they supply shims for the valleys in the bed on the gooseneck version, yes .

Bottom line is we have choices. I think its a bit unfair to bash a product, without anything but an opinion, not facts. I have towed many thousands of miles now with the steel Andersen ,and I would not tow with anything else. I would recommend for " ANY" fifth wheel that that falls within the weight ratings. The Andersen is easy to hitch, and unhitch , no slop ,no noise etc etc. It solved a problem for me removing a hitch when out of town on fishing trips . Allowing me to to remove the hitch easily to transport my inflatable pontoon boat in the bed of my truck . I had only planned to use it for those trips, other trips my 18K Reese slider . I have now quit using the Reese , the Andersen is used on all trips now, just a better way to go then a conventional fifth wheel hitch, that would include any brand of conventional hitch. All conventional fifth wheel hitches require the same process to hitch ,and unhitch .