Anderson Ultimate??

In our case I bought the truck before I got the trailer. I was set on the Grand Design Momentum so I got the F450 knowing the Momentum has a GVW of 16.5 lbs GVW. Well, my wife liked the Reflection 28bh instead - D'oh! The 28bh has a GVW of "only" 11k lbs.

The truck came with the Ford/Reese 27k hitch. That thing is a monster. I haven't tried taking it out of the bed yet, but I have a feeling I'll have to bust a gut to get it out. So now I'm toying with the idea of going with an AUH instead so I can easily regain the real estate in the bed of my truck when I'm not towing.

I don't think the weight of the trailer will be an issue at all. And from the post above it looks like I can bypass the puck system and just get a hitch ball for the bed.

Are there any other downsides or changes I need to consider? Can I go with the Lippert pin box that came with the trailer or do I need a Trail Air or some other cushioned in box system?

MFL wrote:

bshgto1 wrote:
Cummins12V98 wrote:

"The main one is I have to lift the fifth wheel up very high too pull the pickup under the ball."

MeAgain has mentioned this subject MANY times over the last few years! You are the FIRST owner to actually admit it can be an issue.

I`m curious why is this a problem for you. If I leave my tail gate up I have to lift high to, so

Not sure if I am understanding, but sounds like you are backing under pin with tailgate up?? If this is the case, due to clearance issues, you would almost certainly be better off by adding a V-gate.

Jerry

Thats not the case with the Andersen. With a standard 5th hitch you only need to raise the pin up about 1/4" higher than the 5th hitch. so if your truck sags 2" then you just have to raise it 2-1/4" to unhitch.
With the Andersen you have to raise it the 2" for truck sag plus the height of the ball socket in the coupler (2-1/2")and another 1/4 to 1/2". That all adds up to almost 5" of travel. More if your truck sags more. It will take twice as long to unhitch.

bshgto1 wrote:
Cummins12V98 wrote:

"The main one is I have to lift the fifth wheel up very high too pull the pickup under the ball."

MeAgain has mentioned this subject MANY times over the last few years! You are the FIRST owner to actually admit it can be an issue.

I`m curious why is this a problem for you. If I leave my tail gate up I have to lift high to, so

Your quote of me is misleading! I was quoting someone else that had the problem. All I said was...... "MeAgain has mentioned this subject MANY times over the last few years! You are the FIRST owner to actually admit it can be an issue."

bshgto1 wrote:
Cummins12V98 wrote:

"The main one is I have to lift the fifth wheel up very high too pull the pickup under the ball."

MeAgain has mentioned this subject MANY times over the last few years! You are the FIRST owner to actually admit it can be an issue.

I`m curious why is this a problem for you. If I leave my tail gate up I have to lift high to, so

Not sure if I am understanding, but sounds like you are backing under pin with tailgate up?? If this is the case, due to clearance issues, you would almost certainly be better off by adding a V-gate.

Jerry

Cummins12V98 wrote:

"The main one is I have to lift the fifth wheel up very high too pull the pickup under the ball."

MeAgain has mentioned this subject MANY times over the last few years! You are the FIRST owner to actually admit it can be an issue.

I`m curious why is this a problem for you. If I leave my tail gate up I have to lift high to, so

n7bsn wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"The main one is I have to lift the fifth wheel up very high too pull the pickup under the ball."

MeAgain has mentioned this subject MANY times over the last few years! You are the FIRST owner to actually admit it can be an issue.

You need to pay more attention then, I talk about that almost any time I post about mine.
I only have about 6 inches of clearance inside the RV port when I hitch/unhitch.

Teachers always said I needed to pay more attention.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"The main one is I have to lift the fifth wheel up very high too pull the pickup under the ball."

MeAgain has mentioned this subject MANY times over the last few years! You are the FIRST owner to actually admit it can be an issue.

You need to pay more attention then, I talk about that almost any time I post about mine.
I only have about 6 inches of clearance inside the RV port when I hitch/unhitch.

"The main one is I have to lift the fifth wheel up very high too pull the pickup under the ball."

MeAgain has mentioned this subject MANY times over the last few years! You are the FIRST owner to actually admit it can be an issue.

I have the Andersen aluminum and I wouldn't own anything else. My buddies all have traditional hitches and every one of them, except my buddy who put a gooseneck adapter on his fifth wheel, wants my Andersen. Last fall when I needed to take the hitch out, my 12 year old son did everything except undo the bolts, including carrying it to the garage himself. No doubt my wife could do the same.

For the discussion on the puck system, if you have that system, there is no Anderson that will fit in the pucks. But.... All you have to do is buy a ball for the puck system and you are done. It's the same as my setup now with a B&W turnover ball.

There are some negatives no one discusses. The main one is I have to lift the fifth wheel up very high too pull the pickup under the ball. With my front landing gear, that can take literally 5 minutes to lift and 3 minutes to drop back down. It's not a deal breaker but there is a level of agitation to it. The other negative is the discussion on whether chains are required in what states. I have gone chainless, but not sure I want to continue.

That being said, there's no other hitch I want and there's no chucking or anything, very stable setup.

time2roll wrote:
In before the lock :)

Let me know when AndersEn makes a slider...

Why would they need a slider? I can turn 90 in a short bed with no slider. Pretty well covers it.