Andersen Aluminum Ultimate Hitch Redesigned

Bobandshawn wrote:

I think seeing one small issues with the Andersen bending slightly under a panic brake situation does not tell me the company has a failed product. I'd be suspect the person did not have the brake controller set properly or had bad brakes on the rig. The trailer had to be putting a heck of a lot of forward weight pressure on that hitch to do that which would indicate something was wrong with his trailer brake system. My trailer doesn't push me through an intersection when I brake hard. In a perfect world the braking should be fairly neutral with the TV stopping itself and the trailer stopping itself. Now in a front end collision I can understand hitch failure. And if he did indeed have a partial or total brake failure of the trailer I'd say the hitch held up fine.

There's been several comments similar to yours, which basically all echo the same thought: was there a problem with TV brakes or 5er brakes, was it setup properly, what were the circumstances, etc. We should be reminded of the exact words of the person who posted this:

"After about 7000 miles of flawless performance, I had a problem with it. We had a panic stop, going down a pretty steep hill. Brakes to the floor, anti-locks chattering, wife screaming, you get the picture. Pretty much the worst case scenario for putting lateral stress on a hitch, short of running into a wall, train, semi, etc."

A few salient points to consider:
1. The guy clearly had some sort of equipment failure related to the brake system which contributed to his circumstances.
2. This fellow is the only verifiable incident of having sustaining hitch damage I've seen. THE ONLY VERIFIABLE ONE. I don't consider the one single negative Amazon review to be valid, especially since folks clearly aren't buying these from Amazon.
3. Later in that thread on CumminsForum, the guy states that he installed his hitch based upon the original instructions (tighten/torque bolts then connect trailer), whereas the new instructions tell you to do that AND re-torque after the trailer is connected. From personal experience, I can tell you that after the trailer weight is on it, it does need to be re-torqued. No doubt that this very likely contributed to his issue.
4. He stated that he towed at 15K or 15,500 pounds. His truck is noted in his sig line, and without knowing all the details, its safe to say that, at those numbers, he's on the upper end of his TV's limits.

Contrary to the point that some folks are trying to make, Andersen didn't just dream up some sort of hitch arrangement, fab it up, crush it, and then put it on the market. Some engineer(s) had to dutifully take the time to evaluate every known criteria related to all the forces applied to this hitch. That person(s) has professional licenses, education, and experience in this field. Some person(s) has assigned their livlihood and career to this design, and some insurance company is standing behind it.

It has become foolish to continue to debate this matter. Andersen is the proprietor of the design, and the engineering is in their favor. If anyone wishes to further doubt the structural attributes of their product, then bring the engineering to the table and prove it. Talking about locking the hitch or safety chains or how it may deflect your bed is fair game in the name of product improvement. But discussing structural matters is truly a moot point without facts and figures.