Anderson ultimate 5th wheel hitch

We picked up our Fifth wheel March 26 left on a 3500mile trip on april 5. We had no issues with the AUH. I have the coupler rotated under the pin box instead of in front of the pin box. This puts my king pin right over my rear axle. With my long box F350 I can lower the tail gate and open the front compartment with out nay problem. I really like the ease of removing the AUH.

Both the Andersen and PullRite are probably good hitches. I bought the PullRite 2600 single point because it was $100 cheaper, it's light enough for me to remove without an engine hoist, and I think the pads that are under the legs are a bit bigger (more contact). I don't think you would go wrong with either one.
I think some of y'all are comparing apples to oranges regarding the ISR models vs. gooseneck balls.

I have the rail mount Andersen and love it. It’s easy in and out of the truck. No chucking or clunking.
I bought the rail mount not because I don’t have the gooseneck setup in my truck but because it looked sturdier when pinned into the truck. Probably not a big deal but I like having four points of contact with the truck, not just one with the ball mount. The small handful of failures I’ve heard of were the ball mount Andersen.

laknox wrote:
...The failures on the AHU all, AFAIK, were from extreme braking situations that caused the front of the hitch to deform to the point that the hitch became virtually unusable
Lyle

Lyle, I know you mean well but you are providing incorrect information. The early aluminum models did in fact have a small number that experienced a frame bend where the upper ball is inserted (I had one of those incidents). Though bent, the hitch was very usuable to the point I was in no hurry to get my free replacement. I was on a trip and called Andersen to notify them of the issue and they overnighted me a free replacement.

Since that time about 3 years ago, Andersen has improved their hitch design 3 times to eliminate those bend possibilities. Each time they changed the design they offered me a free upgrade. The hitch comes with a lifetime warranty.

I have had my Andersen Ultimate now about 3 years and its great. Check out the youtubes (not the out of date ones that show an old model)

We have the steel version, but it still only weighs about 50 pounds, if that. We LOVE it and will never go back to the regular hitch. Our last hitch was a HUSKY 16K hitch and it weighed over 150 lbs and DH and I had a really hard time getting it in/out without additional help.

Super_Dave wrote:
Very smooth ride with my 12,000 pound trailer and you gotta love 5 minute install and removal.

X2. I use the steel GN version and it hangs on the wall in my garage.

I bought one to replace my B&W to save my old back. My issue is my 1716 long pin box. I need the coupler positioned behind the pin so my 1716 clears my bed rails.
That puts the truck bumper real close to the front of the 5er in turns. Also where I keep my 5er stored it's real hard to get the coupler to release off the ball because of the severe 'V' that the truck and 5er are in.
So it's hanging in my garage and I'm still using the B&W.
I found nothing wring quality wise with it but I do find the B&W faster and easier to hitch and unhitch.

laknox wrote:

Mjfandal wrote:
Anybody ever use this hitch. andersenhitches.com
Aluminum hitch frame. Fits over existing ball. Under 40 pounds. Looks like a great hitch to save on weight.

The search feature is your friend. Many, many pages of the pros/cons of the AUH vs "traditional" hitches.

As with all hitches, there have been failures of the AUH, but they =have= responded quickly to them. Personally, I found the "crush test" they pushed very hard a few years ago to be totally unrealistic as the vertical loads on any hitch are minuscule compared to the fore/aft loads. The failures on the AHU all, AFAIK, were from extreme braking situations that caused the front of the hitch to deform to the point that the hitch became virtually unusable. Just my observations on them. Again, personally, I'd not own one and will be happy to stick with my old-school B&W Companion until the end of my RVing days.

Lyle

To be fair on this, and tell ALL the facts about the ONE, and ONLY problem on the Aluminum version that we have read about on here, none on the steel version . The tubes bent, nothing came undone, no damage to truck or trailer, and Andersen responded quickly with a replacement, and apparently a redesign.

I have not heard of ANY problems with the Aluminum version since, although there is one individual here on this forum that consistently bashes the Andersen, and keeps falling back on this one failure, referring to it as the folding hitch. The biggest critics if any are the ones that have never owned one.

I have towed many thousands of miles with two different conventional hitches, and both performed very well. Went to the Andersen rail mount about a year ago, wouldn't trade it for hundred conventional hitches, thats including the B&W. The Andersen is just too easy to hitch, remove from truck etc etc.

The ONE ,and ONLY drawback I keep hearing from the non users, is having to raise the fifth wheel a bit higher to get it on the ball. If that is a drawback as some think it is. I don't, its not that big of deal.

I’ve used the Anderson for two years. No problems.

Mjfandal wrote:
Looked at pullrite. It uses the rail. The andersen uses my existing goose neck ball.

IMO, the rail mount for Andersen is the better, more solid method, than the single point attachment.

Jerry