Andersen No-Sway Experience

mrad wrote:
I have a question for those of you with 1,000+ lbs of TW. Are you setting the hitch up any differently ( ex: nose of TT up a bit??)
I purchased an Anderson last year and loved the anti sway. Last year we drove from MN to CO to Grand Canyon. We hit high winds numerous times and I felt the Anderson greatly improved sway control over the Equalizer brand I previously had.
However the one issue I had was that I could not move enough weight off my drive axle.
On our return trip I actually had one of the bushings explode in Iowa. Anderson replaced it but I have not put the anderson back on and have been using the Equalizer (which is a pain to hitch and unhitch).

I am driving an Excursion and my TT is a Sabre 30BHDS and has a loaded tongue weight of about 1,100lbs. This spring a rep at Anderson told me the heavy rear end of the X along with the heavy TW just may not be a good fit for the Anderson. I was bummed because after using the Anderson, it's hard to go back to the Equalizer.

I too, have near 1100 lbs tongue weight.

I too, was concerned about the amount of weight restored to drive axle. Scale numbers showed 48 - 50 percent.

Then, I read, and re-read the owners manual for the truck (08 F250). It said nothing about how much weight needed to be restored to front axle. It only talked about measureing front and rear bumpers, unhitched and hitched, with and without weight distribution. My measurements, with the Andersen hitch, were within what Ford said they should be.

Out of curiosity, I tried it with an old drawtite (1200 lb trunion bar) hitch. Measurements were slightly better, but, front axle weight restoration was still in 50 - 60 percent range.

I bought a Blue Ox Sway Pro with 1500 lb bars. Measurements were about the same as those with the drawtite. First pull, I took the trailer to CAT scales. I had the bars tightened up pretty good, and, again, front axle weight restoration was not up to the 90 - 100 percent that many folks were saying, I should have. When I got home, I noticed, one of the trunion bars had actually bent.

So, Now I have three hitches. The drawtite (pretty much scrap metal) is quite worn. It was used when I got it, and, I used it for ten years. The Blue Ox is (still new) in my shed, with new trunion bars, and, I have been towing (about 4000 miles) with the Andersen.

I like being able to lift the hitch with one hand, and, not get covered in grease while I'm doing it. I'd have to measure, but, I think I have the ball set pretty much level with height of trailer coupler.

Maybe, you just had a bad bushing.

Maybe, you were expecting too much weight transfer and tightened it up too much.