laknox wrote:
corvettekent wrote:
IdaD wrote:
I think they're more solid than any of the turnover ball setups, which can have bed deflection issues.
B&W has 3/4" thick cross bars under the bed so there is no deflection issues.
IdaD wrote:
There are lots of great options these days. B&W has a great reputation so I don't think you can go wrong with them if you go that way. Or Andersen for that matter. Lots seem to like Pullright too - never used one myself but the biggest knock I've heard on them is you need to be real level to hitch it up.
The companion hitch has a fully articulating head allows front to back and side to side pivoting.
Kent, there =have= been bed deflection issues. Partially caused by the beds being much, much thinner than before and not being able to support the tortional loads produced by the Companion base. The B&W engineer I spoke to talked about "membrane strength", which I take to mean the ability of the bed, as a membrane, to support a load. Combine the thin beds with frame changes, and how they support the bed, and these were the 2 main causes of the deflections seen. There =are= pics posted here if you search for them. Notwithstanding this, I'm still a B&W "fanboy" and they will be my go-to if/when I ever need another hitch.
Lyle
I had deflection with my 18K Companion. It was engineered when the bed materials was MUCH thicker and stronger. There was no bed deflection up to 18K with that hitch when used with trucks that it was designed to be used in. In my 2011 RAM I installed the TurnoverBall and used the 18K Companion that I had used in my 98 RAM. The hitch base developed a bend and my bed had a deflection towing 18K. B&W sent a new base along with filler strips to transfer the fore and aft loads directly to the bed cross members instead of the top of the bed corrugations. Around that time B&W re engineered a new base to work with the weaker beds in todays trucks. The result is a Companion that is rated 20K and will not deflect the bed.
Andersen has the same issue with using ONLY the bed for fore and aft support on the Ultimate.
