New Andersen WD hitch

Just a note that to 'watch' or 'keep an eye' on it is only going to catch
(if you see it) the obvious issue (crack, looseness, etc), but what about while
towing out 'there' ?

It does not surprise me that the set screw holes (or gouged indentation) has
elongated. That is how the Andersen works

Wonder about those who welded their bushing brackets onto the tongue

Since no compliance, the bushings take it all

Depends on the amount of compression and how much stroke is left before those
bushings fatigue to crack/break apart/etc

If me, I'd have many, many more bushings in series to increase the potential
stroke of the spring stack. Design the recommended compression to somewhere in
the middle of that stroke (based on expected or desired WD force vs the tongue)

Ditto that force dynamics exercise...that is what I saw and noodled when John first
posted this new to me hitch system

Still think an elegant design, but as usual...the devil is in the details and
the 'testing', which in today's product world...those test mules are us...

THANK YOU to Ron for posting that link and never saw a coupler latch like that.
Interesting and initially would seem better for the way Andersen loads coupler
latches...weird and needing more noodling. First blush says not in the bottom
area of that latch design, but upwards in how those two 'MOVING' components
interplay. Since both moves, wonder if over time, that very movement becomes the
issue?

Again for those who don't know what the or how the latch does it'w work...

The ball snugs into the front (towards the TV) of the formed coupler dome, which
has a lower hemisphere that goes below the equator

The latch then moves a pawl or some such into the back of the ball and creates
a lower hemisphere.

Now the balls equator is larger in dia than the subsequent dia of the lower
hemisphere created by that latch

Why when the ball is 'stuck', most will back up the TV into the coupler while
the latch is opened.

This moves the ball away from the front dome area and into an area that has an
opening larger than the ball's equator (circumference or dia)

Since this discussion on forces on the latch...ask you guys to noodle what might
be the forces on the latch during a whop-d-do

Assume the bushings have a very slow rate of change (why it works so well to snub
porpoising) will it compress more during that XXX milliseconds during the bottoming
of that whop-d-do?

I say or initially think, it will NOT compress very fast or fast enough to
absorb those forces and why the reported bushing bracket set screw indentation
elongation or movement

What is the force over and above the preset via torque on the bushing nut on
the bushing?

How many cycles is that bushing(s) good for at those forces?

Now that then brings into question the chain clevis that is ground down, polished
to reduce the cross section of it...how close to the plastic point of the
metal? How many cycles will it endure at those forces?

Since the chain is welded to the bushing rod, what is the condition of the
subsequent weld(s)? Did the chain lose it's temper, or was it dead soft metal
chain to begin with?

Hope there isn't any angular movement between the rod/chain and the bushing
bracket...tin canning is a potential on that now questionable weld (to me)


Note to those who are not in design, nor in CDR cycles of any design...my questions
are NOT pessimistic, but part of the design review cycle.