Me Again wrote:
laknox wrote:
After a call to B&W just now (Mon., 8-15-16, 1030 AZ time), they confirmed that the pin weight is carried by the ball socket and the Companion frame simply stabilizes the hitch against the bed floor. Personally, I was wrong on this in my own head, but it does make sense.
Since I've never seen an Andersen, only looked at their on-line docs, it =appears= that it is simply mounted on the GN ball and a pin is slipped under the lower radius of the ball, then a draw-down bolt is used to pull it tight to the bed. That being said, if the GN ball "tops out" in the socket on the Andersen, then it =could= transfer the weight to the ball and base at the center, and the spread frame is simply for stability. If it =doesn't= "top out" into the hitch, then the frame would carry the weight, and put it directly on the bed. An Andersen user needs to comment on this.
Lyle
Well they are also stretching the truth. You can not place the hitch in the bed and torque down the hold down bolt and expect the gooseneck to hold up weight. Andersen even advised torquing it down a second time with the pin weight on it.
B&W claims their their gooseneck hitch fits tight up again the bed floor valleys. However the bed is in play on both of these hitches vs a properly install rail system or the new puck systems.
If as someone posted that Anderson now has fillers for the valleys, it is clear that they are trying to work around bed issues.
Saying that after torquing the hitch down to the bed that is held up is similar to saying that after you torque a head on a engine the head bolts are holding the head up off the head gasket!
Chris
Problem is, you can't stop flexing of the "system" with only the center supporting the pin; you have to have the stabilizing effect of the feet of the frame. Yes, it probably carries part of the weight, but the majority of the pin weight is carried by the socket. Doubt me? Call B&W yourself and ask...like I did. They're probably getting a bunch of calls already.
Lyle
