Andersen Aluminum Ultimate Hitch Redesigned
I follow Andersen hitches on Facebook and they have announced a redesign of their Aluminum Ultimate Fifth Wheel Hitch...here are some screen shots of the Facebook post. Thanks! Jere...
Forum Discussion
I see a couple things in those photos that bother me. The gouges in the main support are something I was sure I would have by now if I went with the aluminum version, which is why I went steel instead. I'm hard on my equipment, and have a hard time figuring out how folks keep the beds of their trucks looking so nice. In addition to going with steel I sprayed liquid rubber on the main support tubes to keep things from leaving gouges.
Another issue I see is the way the safety chains are hooked up. I use the aft mounts to give more protection to keep the trailer behind me should I get hit from behind. They are still short enough the trailer should be kept riding on the bedrails should the trailer somehow come detached.
What I can't see in the photos is where the support tubes were bent when the tube locking the hitch to the ball bent. It looks like the base of the hitch slid forward a little bit but it's hard to tell, and it's even harder to tell how much the main support tubes bent or distorted by looking at the photos.
I saw a question regarding the steel version doing anything similar. I had to try and do an emergency stop with serious trailer brake issues due to problems with the RAM IBC and had no hitch issues. I've done a couple subsequent ones from 50 plus under more controlled situations to record pulse width modulation data to verify the issue is with truck. Virtually all braking was with the truck taken to antilock, no hitch issues but I'm still trying to resolve the controller issue with Chrysler.
As for hitch issues in general, At 4X4 Jamborees and club runs I've loaned my welding equipment out a couple times so folks could do repairs on 5er hitches, and even more often for bumper pull receiver issues. It tends to be a crowd that pushes their equipment hard. I had to replace the receiver on my 2011 Ram with less than 30k on the truck because it cracked beyond what I was comfortable welding and trying to beef up. The big issue is what happens if a major part of the hitch does fail. Looking over the provided photos of the Andersen it's hard to say if complete failure was getting close or not.
Another issue I see is the way the safety chains are hooked up. I use the aft mounts to give more protection to keep the trailer behind me should I get hit from behind. They are still short enough the trailer should be kept riding on the bedrails should the trailer somehow come detached.
What I can't see in the photos is where the support tubes were bent when the tube locking the hitch to the ball bent. It looks like the base of the hitch slid forward a little bit but it's hard to tell, and it's even harder to tell how much the main support tubes bent or distorted by looking at the photos.
I saw a question regarding the steel version doing anything similar. I had to try and do an emergency stop with serious trailer brake issues due to problems with the RAM IBC and had no hitch issues. I've done a couple subsequent ones from 50 plus under more controlled situations to record pulse width modulation data to verify the issue is with truck. Virtually all braking was with the truck taken to antilock, no hitch issues but I'm still trying to resolve the controller issue with Chrysler.
As for hitch issues in general, At 4X4 Jamborees and club runs I've loaned my welding equipment out a couple times so folks could do repairs on 5er hitches, and even more often for bumper pull receiver issues. It tends to be a crowd that pushes their equipment hard. I had to replace the receiver on my 2011 Ram with less than 30k on the truck because it cracked beyond what I was comfortable welding and trying to beef up. The big issue is what happens if a major part of the hitch does fail. Looking over the provided photos of the Andersen it's hard to say if complete failure was getting close or not.
