Andersen Ultimate VS B&W Patriot Slider
I've been to the end of the internet and back, and I'm still torn on which hitch to get. I'll start off by saying my TV is a 2015 Ram 2500 CC SB with 35" inch tires. It's does not have a lift kit, but...
Forum Discussion
I used to love my Andersen rail mount until I nicked the bed rail. My issue is the very long 1716 MorRyde pin box. Only way to alleviate the issue is to turn the aluminum coupler so the ball socket is rear of the pin. Then I need to turn the Andersen around so that the ball is rear of the axle center so my bumper clears my 5th wheel front. If I mount the ball towards the cab then I only have about 1" of clearance between the bumper and 5th wheel when turning. That makes me nervous.
The other issue I had when we came home a week ago and tried to unhitch I couldn't get the coupler off the ball. Never had that issue before. My truck and 5er are in a slight V configuration when back into the driveway. You could see the angle and it was definitely greater than when I had things mounted the other way. I couldn't even release the sliding pin that holds the coupler to the ball. Ended up releasing all four rail pins and lifting the Andersen out of the truck. Interesting in that I started using the Andersen late last summer. Put a few trips on it then used it all of this summer plus. Only way I found this out was when I recently took the 5er into an Auto/RV paint shop to get an estimate to paint my front cap. I needed to drive to the end of the street and make a uturn in a large parking lot. As I was turning I looked in my side view mirror and saw the pin box make slight contact with the bed rail.
Guess I was pretty luck as to not have made contact with all the towing I did prior. Mt bad for not measuring the distance of things after installing.
So now I'm back to my B&W. Arrg. Kinda sucks as I really like the Andersen but I see no way to make it work. Just a heads up to those interested.
The other issue I had when we came home a week ago and tried to unhitch I couldn't get the coupler off the ball. Never had that issue before. My truck and 5er are in a slight V configuration when back into the driveway. You could see the angle and it was definitely greater than when I had things mounted the other way. I couldn't even release the sliding pin that holds the coupler to the ball. Ended up releasing all four rail pins and lifting the Andersen out of the truck. Interesting in that I started using the Andersen late last summer. Put a few trips on it then used it all of this summer plus. Only way I found this out was when I recently took the 5er into an Auto/RV paint shop to get an estimate to paint my front cap. I needed to drive to the end of the street and make a uturn in a large parking lot. As I was turning I looked in my side view mirror and saw the pin box make slight contact with the bed rail.
Guess I was pretty luck as to not have made contact with all the towing I did prior. Mt bad for not measuring the distance of things after installing.
So now I'm back to my B&W. Arrg. Kinda sucks as I really like the Andersen but I see no way to make it work. Just a heads up to those interested.
