davisenvy wrote:
I called Andersen and asked them this same question. They said since their hitch hooked onto the gooseneck ball, that is where the weight is placed not 4in behind the ball as it appears. The "foot" of the Andersen hitch is just for added support, but does not support the weight of the FW, the GN ball does. Hope this answers your question.
If an Andersen Employee actually said the weight is carried on the Gooseneck ball he is totally clueless. The ball in the bed of the truck not only doesn't carry any weight whatsoever, it is actually only used to pull on in order to anchor the base of the Andersen hitch to the bed of the truck. All of the weight is carried by the tripod structure and transferred to the bed of the truck. It he wanted to discuss angles of the tripod supports and the layout of the base of the frame it would be one thing, to state in any way the GN ball is carrying any weight just makes the person you talked to totally clueless.
For those who don't know how the gooseneck ball attaches, there is a square hollow tube with a smaller inner tube that slides over the GN ball, and has a whole drilled into the lower portion allowing a pin to be inserted under the head of the ball. The top of the inner tube is closed with a threaded top plate and the top of the outer tube has a hole for a bolt to protrude down through. A bolt goes through a hole in the top of the outer tube and is threaded into the top of the inner tube so that when tightened it pulls on the anchored inner tube. This action pulls the base assembly downward since the inner tube is anchored to the GN ball and can't move upward. There are also two smaller bolts in the front of the tube assembly that take up the slack between the inner and outer tubes once the hitch is anchored firmly to the bed of the truck. The GN ball is only used to pull the base of the hitch to the bed of the truck, and prevent lateral movement. All of the pin weight is carried by the base of the hitch resting on the truck bed. The position of the GN ball has no affect on the center of gravity other than by positioning the base of the hitch in the same location every time.
